Can't help but pine for a moment of grace, where the anxiety just blasts away from me like volcanic ash in a chopper's downdraft. Where I cough up the poisoned toad fattening in my heart & the curse is broken, & I can enjoy & appreciate life & love those around me without terror.

I read The Game Changers and now my feet are on back to front and everything tastes of broccoli.

apropos of nothing, we made a board game review that can physically implode your board game collection. if you watch it, your entire kallax (or billy) might crumble into chipboard debris, inseparably mixed with meeples and cubes, littered all over your home. we'll try not to upload it, no promises

Tim Clare@timclare.bsky.social · 12h ago

I'm fascinated by this new form of PR that's emerged with LLM companies where they leak stories like 'our product spontaneously assembled an army of domestic appliances & announced it would exterminate the lowly hairless apes - we barely managed to pull the plug' to imply it's really powerful

I'm fascinated by this new form of PR that's emerged with LLM companies where they leak stories like 'our product spontaneously assembled an army of domestic appliances & announced it would exterminate the lowly hairless apes - we barely managed to pull the plug' to imply it's really powerful

I really want to find 3 people to try Finnish trick taker Ristikontra with, especially the Ristiklappi variant, where loss conditions for your team include a 'piss game' & 'being sent to Lapland'. You can tell it was created by Finnish loggers in the winter. www.pagat.com/sedma/ristik...

Your question hits upon something quietly powerful — the idea that my crime debut is itself a crime: deception. You're right to push back on this. That's sharp. I'll explain why it was written by me — a human — and not a machine. No excuses. No LLM-generated rhetoric. Just me, a real living human.

The Bookseller@thebookseller.com · 2d ago

Uncertainty and trepidation is the dominant theme of the literary agents following news that a crime novel sold in a 14-way auction in the US for $2.4m was withdrawn by its primary agent on Friday (31st July) due to suspected AI use. 👇

I know I built a podcast around giving very blunt critiques of writers' work, but I have so much respect for someone brave enough to write something shit (& then work on it & grow) & zero for blandly competent prose scraped together by an LLM. Being shit is human, & noble in its authenticity.

PETER FALK making his debut as ‘Lt. Columbo’ in 1968’s “Prescription: Murder”.

I admit, this card has stirred feelings in me about a Wind in the Willows Secret Lair

Ok going to go play some Scotland Yard Jr

Look, I know we shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but I'm just going to say it: more like *Rude* Liddle

Thank you for the lovely questions! I really appreciate your indulging me

Tim Clare@timclare.bsky.social · 2d ago

I have a long train journey today, & got intensely overwhelmed before leaving the house this morning. I'd love to answer some questions / offer some advice etc to distract me a bit! Any takers? I have specialist areas (tabletop games, Mario, mental health, neurodiversity, writing) but please AMA

Oh man so many but I love Don't Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton right now. It's a very sweet story about Very Big Crab taking Little Crab on a trip to the sea. The visuals are gorgeous & the rhythm of the story is lovely. King Baby by Kate Beaton is also a house favourite.

Stephen Long@steplong.bsky.social · 2d ago

Who are your favourite children's authors? I want more books to read to my son (getting on three years). There's so much terrible stuff out there, almost as if publishers believe it's ok for it to be bad because the kids won't know the difference. Anyway, anything you'd recommend?

I'm getting a medication review this week & god I can't shake the dream of finding something that works. Probably switching from methylphenidate to Elvanse. There was this brief window last year where I could concentrate & my rejection sensitivity mostly vanished & that was everything

Depends on the game - with some games this is a design flaw, where turns are long & too much changes to make planning for one's next turn feasible. So to start with, choose games with simultaneous turns, short turns, or dynamic turns where I might get something from your actions (e.g. Concordia)

Quantum@quantumonium.bsky.social · 2d ago

What's the best way to keep players engaged when it's not their turn, specifically inexperienced players who are grappling with the rules so are slower?

Either my complete Saki or my selected Damon Runyon, I think. Assuming we're excluding like the complete Grimms' (which I'm close to finishing). Runyon is terrific fun, & I find Saki very rewarding on the line. Susanna Clarke's Ladies of Grace Adieu crushes, too.

Micky Penguins@tommyds.bsky.social · 2d ago

What’s your favourite collection of short stories? Lately I always have one novel and one short story book on the go depending on my mood, underrated medium

So there are multiple canons. There's no consistent lore, a bunch of stuff got introduced in manual translations, there's the early Dic cartoons, the comics, the RPGs. We have to treat any answers as corrigible & not final. Even ones in interviews from Shigeru Miyamoto.

Jacob Burgess@jacobburgess.bsky.social · 2d ago

Happy to! Honest Mario lore questions. Do goomba's relate to Toads in any meaningful way? Has there ever been any information on Bowser's mate? Where do Wario and Waluigi fit in? Sorry, three questions. The 'tism got out. Please do not feel obligated to answer all or any.

Anything that feels unprecedented usually isn't - that feeling is rather an expression of my ignorance. & I'm glad I work in a field where my reach exceeds my grasp & it's too diverse & rich a world for me to exhaust. ('work in a field'? I play games. Come on, Tim)

Calum Novak-Mitchell@calumnm.bsky.social · 2d ago

Have you seen anything that you think feels like an Excitingly Brand New Innovation in tabletop games in the last year?

Amazing, & I love being reminded of Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey which is one of the best sequels Hollywood ever did. I'm actually not great at many games despite playing them all the time. I lack a certain killer instinct. Maybe Netrunner because I do have a freakish talent for psi games.

Olivia Online 🌐@oliviaonline.bsky.social · 2d ago

If you were in the position of playing for your life against/with the grim reaper; what tabletop game would you like to play?

Holy crap thank you. Sunshine. It's my current favourite. I love FLUUD, I love power washing things, the levels are delightful, the music slaps, the dynamic between Bowser & Jr is weird & sweet, & Mario is an absolute joy to pilot. You have loads of freedom & it feels expensive & gorgeous.

tinymattresses@tinymattresses.bsky.social · 2d ago

Tell me about why your favourite Mario game is your favourite Mario game and do you ever think there will be an Odyssey 2?

I have never talked about my writing choices easily & clearly in my life. Whenever I describe a work in progress I sound like I'm at the crescendo of some long brewing mental health catastrophe. My proof of authorship is how slow I am & my tears when you ask 'how's the WIP?'

Ann Leckie@annleckie.com · 5d ago

For writers worried that they won't be able to "prove" their work isn't Spicy Autocomplete--worry not. You thought about every choice and will be able to talk about those choices easily and clearly. Folks who used the slop machine didn't make choices and won't have anything to say about why

I have a long train journey today, & got intensely overwhelmed before leaving the house this morning. I'd love to answer some questions / offer some advice etc to distract me a bit! Any takers? I have specialist areas (tabletop games, Mario, mental health, neurodiversity, writing) but please AMA

Every 3rd ad I encounter across the internet is for the Rosalie Kickstarter, & tbf it looks pretty sick, but I'm cursed with the knowledge that even if I back it the ads won't go away, in fact the algo / my tracking data will treat me as an optimal mark for more ads & waterboard me with them 24/7

The people yearn for Broom Service

Kareem the board game minimalist@gameminimalist.bsky.social · 3d ago

Dear @allplay.bsky.social and / or @bitewinggames.bsky.social please can you reprint Broom Service and Witches Brew as a double whammy. Including some Kiki’s delivery service artwork and maybe add a solo mode for witches brew. Thanks! 🙏

It *is* true that autism & ADHD are somewhat socially-constructed in the sense that having a diagnosis, having access to certain explanatory frameworks & stories, having those reasons for some of your experiences & behaviours, & being part of a community is qualitatively different to not knowing

If you're going to quote an 'expert' or 'researcher' in your book or article, be it on neurodivergence, mental health, nutrition, immunology or whatever, you owe it to your readers to check if most of their peers think they're a crank. Some squares in my personal Bullshit Bingo now include:

Played Compania again tonight & it is fast becoming one of my favourite euros. Really it is a 'euro with ameritrash characteristics'. Area control + worker placement + tableau building + simultaneous action selection. It's like Pirate's Cove, Terraforming Mars & Caverna had a transporter accident.

Played Compania again tonight & it is fast becoming one of my favourite euros. Really it is a 'euro with ameritrash characteristics'. Area control + worker placement + tableau building + simultaneous action selection. It's like Pirate's Cove, Terraforming Mars & Caverna had a transporter accident.

On 'But, Why Vikings?" we have done the occasional themed episode. Here @ava.foxfort.net and @timclare.bsky.social talk about their experiences at @ukge.bsky.social and how to cope with such a large event. Send us your questions for future episodes!

A Massive Aura

Podcast Episode · But Why Vikings? · 19 June · 1hr 6min

podcasts.apple.com

I would love to figure out an excuse to interview / visit more people. Genuinely my favourite thing about writing nonfiction & making a podcast is the social alibi the role gives you to pester interesting people & put yourself in interesting situations. I get to discover & explore & ask questions.