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Tony Tran 🔜 Home

@tonytran.bsky.social

I play and design tabletop games, perform improv comedy, and watch Starcraft. He/Him. TN, USA You can find my self published games at chitragames.com and at https://chitragames.itch.io/

832 Posts889 Follower 510 Folgt

Ian Howard @leafydragongames.bsky.social · yesterday

After the last Button Shy design challenge, I offered feedback to willing entrants in exchange for a small charitable donation. That meant watching and rewatching a lot of pitch videos, and there’s one big piece of feedback that I found myself repeating: SHOW US WHAT MAKES YOUR GAME EXCITING. 1/8

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 4h ago

@protospielo.bsky.social Protospiel Online is back this upcoming weekend! If you ever wanted to attend the best designer focused online convention, this is it. I will be there this weekend with my game Juxtafruit, getting it ready for the IGNM 🎲✂️

Game Makers Guild @gamemakersguild.bsky.social · 2d ago

GMG has been trying out different nights at Tavern of Tales the past few months to find out what works best for our playtesters and the venue. Catch us Tue August 18th, for a Playtest Night! 🎲✂️ Come join us for an evening of #playtesting, #gamedesign, and helping bring new ideas to the table.

BackseatGamer.com @backseatgamer.com · 4d ago

Board Game Publishers Just Got Their Contracts Scored #BoardGames #GameDesign #TTGDA #BoardGameNews #TabletopGaming #BackseatGamer

Board Game Publishers Just Got Their Contracts Scored

The Tabletop Game Designers Association scored 50+ publishers' standard contracts out of 110 points. A fifth pay no advance, and 75% keep your game's name.

backseatgamer.com

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 5d ago

🎲✂️ How do you store your prototyped games? I used to use the 6x4 picture boxes but the closure has gotten weak over time and I need replacements.

JC @jcw.gay · 5d ago

Oh hey Indie Night Market designers and vendors! 📸 Last year I worked with a few folks to take some photos of them at the market (along with some random ones I took). I'm gonna be there again this year, so reach out if you want photos of your table and you in it!

A really well composed photo showcasing a designer that I wish for the love of God I could remember the name of showcasing their game to an enraptured crowd.

Matthew Hocker selling the hell out of Lunarpunk Games' Games, looking all in focus and sharp and engaged and stuff.

Eric Ditmore signing a copy of Adulting, the game he released at the indie game night market, a moment he surely enjoys having such a high-quality photo to remember it by.

I know this game was designed by Max Seidman, but I can't remember the name of it. It's a really good photo, though! Look at that slight angle, the action of the hand placing a block, the depth of field. It's almost like the guy taking the photos has an eye for composition.

Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries@dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 5d ago

The vendors for the 2026 Indie Games Night Market have been decided on! www.newmillindustries.com/ignm

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 5d ago

LET'S GOOO! Juxta-Fruit got selected and I am over the moon, especially since it will be a family effort. Story time: My nephew (in-law, but I'm just use nephew) is 6 and does not come from an artistic family. I want to encourage that by featuring his art in the game! It's going to cute AF

Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries@dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 5d ago

The vendors for the 2026 Indie Games Night Market have been decided on! www.newmillindustries.com/ignm

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 5d ago

Are you doing pre-orders? Asking for a friend. Me.

David Masnato 🔜 PAX West@davidmasnato.com · 5d ago

Woah! Big week for Pax Playground news. I’m super excited to share that it's been selected as one of the games at the PAX Unplugged Indie Game Night Market! This will be the first time any of my games are publicly available. I’m aiming to bring 50 copies for $35 each. One copy per person.

A digital rendering of the box for Pax Playground with the logos for the Indie Games Night Market and PAX Unplugged overlaid.

Tabletop Game Designers Association @ttgda.bsky.social · 5d ago

Today TTGDA released what we believe is our most important effort so far - our Licensing Contract Rubric. This is an objective scoring metric that can be used to partially evaluate the quality of a contract. We applied it to a huge swath of the industry, and this chart shows how they scored. 🧵 🎲✂️

Elizabeth Hargrave @elizhargrave.bsky.social · 6d ago

One major purpose of TTGDA is to help tabletop game designers negotiate better publishing contracts. We just released the rubric of what we look for -- and info on how different publishers scored on the rubric. Soon we will also release a model contract. More at www.ttgda.org/contract-bas...

Tabletop Game Designers Association (TTGDA) Releases Scoring Rubric and Tabletop
Market Contract Analysis to Promote Equitable Industry Standards

Bridgewater, NJ – The Tabletop Game Designers Association (TTGDA) today announced the
launch of their Contract Scoring Rubric and publication of its Tabletop Market Contract Analysis
– 2026, a comprehensive industry report designed to share information about contract practices
and advocate for fair treatment, intellectual property protection, and designer involvement in the
tabletop game publishing process.
The report, developed by the TTGDA contract & grievance committee—led by industry veterans
Geoff Engelstein, Elizabeth Hargrave, Matt Leacock, and James Lowder—seeks to address the
wide disparity in publishing agreements across the industry. With many first-time game
designers accepting terms that may be disadvantageous, the TTGDA has developed a rigorous,
objective scoring rubric to evaluate publisher contracts.
“Our intention is to shine a light on these industry practices and lead to more equitable
standards,” says TTGDA Vice President Sen-Foong Lim. To assist in this effort, the TTGDA will
be releasing model contracts that adhere to the criteria established in the scoring rubric.
The full report can be downloaded at www.ttgda.org/contract-basics.
Key Industry Findings
The analysis of contracts from over 50 publishers reveals several critical areas where many
standard publishing agreements fall short of fair practices:
● Advances: Only two-thirds of publishers offer a baseline advance above the
TTGDA-recommended minimum of $1,000, while 20% offer no advance at all.
● Designer Involvement in Expansions: 40% of publishers retain the right to create
expansions without consulting the original game’s designer.

Intellectual Property Rights: 75% of publishers retain the rights to a game’s name after
the publication agreement concludes and rights to the design revert to the creator.
● Financial Transparency: One-third of publishers deny designers the right to audit their
books, and 10% include non-standard deductions to revenue before royalties are
calculated.
Moving Toward Standards
The Tabletop Market Contract Analysis includes aggregate results, with summary scores for
each individual publisher available to TTGDA members. However TTGDA would like to highlight
the top five scoring publishers (alphabetically): 25th Century Games, Fireside Games, Lunar
Punk, Plaid Hat Games, and UP Games.
“These results are not a call to avoid specific publishers,” says TTGDA President Geoff
Engelstein. “Rather they are a tool for designers to negotiate terms that include fair payment,
intellectual property protection, and a meaningful role in the final product.”
The organization plans to release semi-annual updates to the Tabletop Market Contract
Analysis as more contracts are reviewed and publishers revise their standard agreements.
About the Tabletop Game Designers Association
The Tabletop Game Designers Association is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization dedicated to
supporting designers of all types of tabletop games, including board games, role playing games,
card games, miniature games, and others, whether mass market, specialty, or hobby. Learn
more about us at www.ttgda.org.

Contact:
Geoff Engelstein
President
Tabletop Game Designers Association
president@ttgda.org
www.ttgda.org

David Masnato 🔜 PAX West @davidmasnato.com · last wk.

After almost 2 months waiting in the pending queue and a contentious submission process, Pax Playground is finally on BoardGameGeek. Despite having a ruleset and player objectives, BGG didn’t want to list the game because the ending doesn’t explicitly identify players as winners or losers.

Connie @connievdc.bsky.social · last mo.

Almost exactly a year ago, I left my (stable!) job for full-time game design. Some reflections 1/ 🧵

David Masnato 🔜 PAX West @davidmasnato.com · last mo.

I'm David! I'm a graphic designer, illustrator, community manager, and game designer. Most of my graphic design and illustration work in the tabletop world has been for my own projects, but I'd love to get serious about changing that! 💼: davidmasnato.com ✉️: hello@davidmasnato.com #PortfolioDay

The box cover for my game Pax Playground. The illustration shows a child in a yellow coat standing at the top of a slide. The title of the game is in big bold red letters below with my name nearby.

The cover for another game called Pax Penning. The words "Pax Penning, Game Design by Matilda Simonsson, Graphic Design by David Masnato" are surrounded by a detailed and colorful border.

A digital render of my game Tiers of Joy. Colorful tokens are spread across a playing area. Some of them are stacked to resemble miniature cakes.

Some cards from my game Oar Deal. Some cards are laid out in a playing area while another card is off to the side. The cards have a watery blue background with some iconography and numbers.

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is not a drill! There's a starcraft BW tournament happening the same weekend as PaxU just a few blocks away from the convention center. I gotta plan on how to do to both now...

Marceline Leiman @marcelineleiman.bsky.social · 2w ago

Play is intrinsically connected to hope, community, and identity. Games are a function of that play that we need in times of darkness. Games ARE political, and have been used as tools of propaganda by colonizers for nearly our entire modern understanding.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Ukrainian publisher of board games including Catan and Exploding Kittens is fighting for its existence after a Russian missile strike destroyed its warehouse, wiping out its entire stock of about 200,000 games: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A fire engine outside a burnt out warehouse, with a burnt out van outside. Smoke and steam are still rising from the destroyed building. Photo shows damage to Ukrainian board game publisher Rozum's warehouse following a Russian missile attack on August 1. Photo Credit: Rozum.

JC @jcw.gay · 2w ago

A photo of a stack of games called Pressed designed by an incredible designer has been lovingly scribbled around and stickered to draw the user's attention.

The current iteration has added a vignette to the myriad of attention-grabbing effects.

Unpub@unpub.org · 2w ago

Watch It Played @watchitplayed.bsky.social · 2w ago

Mission accomplished! Met up with good friend and talented creator @travisdhill.bsky.social and going home with two of his games. So good to see you - thanks for the rpg recommendations. Keeping making and sharing your art with us please.

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 2w ago

I'm so excited to see Pressed out in the wild for the very first time! And at GenCon too! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh The booth is 1649 if you want to check it out and pick up a copy! It's a little cozy flower game about planting and pressing flowers with art by Beth Sobel!

A picture of a table of board games being sold at the PlaytoZ booth at Gencon 2026 with my game, Pressed, circled in red.

Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries @dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 2w ago

reminder: you've got until 9pm eastern tomorrow to submit an application to be a vendor for the Indie Games Night Market! I'll then spend a couple weeks going over the submissions and let folks know by the 15th whether or not you've been selected! www.newmillindustries.com/ignm-app

IGNM App — New Mill Industries

newmillindustries.com

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 2w ago

Let's gooooo!

These Games Are Not For Sale@notforsalegames.bsky.social · 2w ago

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

grungy poster: "If a game can't be bought or sold, is it... (a) worthless (b) priceless?"

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 2w ago

For anyone at GenCon, I have two games there and I would love it if you played either one. Look out for Pressed (I designed) and Super Chonk (I dev'ed). Both are light weight card games that I'm super super proud of

Chris | Junk Food Games @junkfoodgames.bsky.social · 4w ago

Attention local DMV tabletop game designers! We have a catalog of indie games that we want local shops to have so they know how to buy our games! Our collective, Designed in the DMV, will be making the Fall 2026 catalog soon! Wanna join in? Discussions will be on our discord discord.gg/G3vMHU5kS

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 3w ago

🎲✂️ I started directing an improv show based on Fiasco this week. It's been super interesting to use my game design skills to adapt the board game into a show, such as moving the positive/negative cards to audience choice. Has anyone done similar before?

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 4w ago

I have been OBSESSED about this game since I tried the demo. I bought it immediately at full price and beat it completely in under 6 hours. If you like RTS games or love being the support/healer or just resource management try out the demo. store.steampowered.com/app/4634490/...

Master Healer Kale with useless party on Steam

A short incremental game where you play as a Healer in a party. Your main job is to keep your party alive. Upgrade 200+ skills in a skill tree, from healing to party damage. Designed to be completed i...

store.steampowered.com

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · last mo.

What a surprise! I found a little free zine library in a coffeeshop in Halifax called Wired Monk.

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · last mo.

You heard of elf on a shelf, but have you seen a peacock and his hump on a stump. PS there has to be a game theme here.

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · last mo.

I loved this for the community and industry at large. If you are going to PaxU, look out for an announcement from @notforsalegames.bsky.social PS Quinns if you are coming to PaxU, we would love to have you!

Quinns@itsquinns.bsky.social · last mo.

New video! Last month I was invited to Spain's Guadalindie game convention to do a talk of my choice. I ended up giving an angry polemic about how the culture of games is failing designers left and right, because there is no games industry. There's just "play" www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Xm...

Sticky Doodler @ vacation @stickydoodler.bsky.social · last mo.

So congratulations to fellow inaugural nominees: ✒️ @pawelkicman.bsky.social 🏅 Odyssey of the Giant ✒️ @innocentgoblin.bsky.social 🏅 Pirouette ✒️ @almostbedtime.bsky.social 🏅 Song of the Scryptwyrm ✒️ @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social 🏅 SPINE It's an honor for The Bonsai Diary to stand in your company! 3/▶️

Me and The Bonsai Diary at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museu, with the ENNIES Nominee stamp

Lunarpunk Games @lunarpunk.games · 2mo ago

Make your next work of art in Color Jam, a cozy, print-and-puzzle coloring game launching on Kickstarter later this year. Grab your favorite crayons and play solo or with friends. Follow along here for when the project goes live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/lun... The night is for creativity. 🖍️

Coming soon: Color Jam: A Print-and-Puzzle Coloring Game

Enjoy cozy and clever coloring at your next game night. Craft the story of each hand-illustrated picture with creative color choices!

kickstarter.com

Tony Tran 🔜 Home @tonytran.bsky.social · 2mo ago

My highest score ever in Balatro (with multiplayer mod). I don't think I'll ever make it to naneinf.