Not long ago I saw a commercial, packaged game - a boxed set of ... The Floor is Lava. I just stared at it wondering what they put INSIDE the box, given that the printed the entire rulebook in the title on the front =)

This game was not for sale and it never will be

barenuckelavee.bsky.social@barenuckelavee.bsky.social · 3d ago

I have a blog now and wrote about playing a bastardized version of OD&D in prison and how the DIY spirit of the OSR is most alive when you don't buy anything at all barenuckelavee.bearblog.dev/no-one-can-t...

The things someone creates are a part of their embodiment in the world. You can't understand Mary Oliver by reading just one poem, or Shakespeare by reading just one sonnet. The poems challenge each other. They bolster and inform each other. The same is true of the games by a designer.

These Games Are Not For Sale@notforsalegames.bsky.social · yesterday

Let's take celebrating games as art a step further What if we celebrated the joy of creating games as an artistic endeavor Without regard to whether those games ever "go to market"

This is a book about the video game industry and some of its pitfalls, but a lot of the concepts apply to board games. In some cases, it's more applicable, like the prevalence of hobbyist creators. direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...

The Videogame Industry Does Not Exist: Why We Should Think Beyond Commercial Game Production

The precarious reality of videogame production beyond the corporate blockbuster studios of North America.The videogame industry, we're invariably told, is

direct.mit.edu

Let's take celebrating games as art a step further What if we celebrated the joy of creating games as an artistic endeavor Without regard to whether those games ever "go to market"

Daniel Wynter@boardgamefeast.bsky.social · 2d ago

I've been thinking on this a lot lately and cementing my thoughts on how we cover games on @omnigamers.bsky.social. Namely that there's value in discussing games and what makes them tick as pieces of art, completely divorced from whether you can/should buy it.

"Content" and its "creators" are a major force of our industry, but we've all become so indebted to the marketing cycle that I fear we've lost purpose and I think our audiences feel it. Being a reviewer on YouTube these days is a hobby for most, and tends to wear down those that find big success

Reposting this urgent question in response to a handful of Dan's readers

Dan Thurot@danthurot.bsky.social · 2d ago

Sometimes readers will ask if it's really worth covering a game that isn't available to buy. I think so. I believe so. I'm interested in games as forms of human expression, which makes it all the more worthwhile to cover the things that might otherwise go overlooked. What do you think?

t/f if a game has no market there's no point in making it