Day 1 of the summit is behind us.

Spent most of the day working through the new operating system.

Good day.

Also completely exhausted.

#PlaytestingAEG

New passport.

No stamps. No visas. No travel memories… yet.

Hadn’t even signed it until today.

Feels like the right way to head into the summit.

#PlaytestingAEG

Feels like an excellent explanation of how they work. Sounds like he earned them.

Had 3 weeks to build next week's summit agenda.
Putting the finishing touches on it the day before I leave.
Parkinson’s Law is undefeated.
Shorter deadlines might be part of the fix.
#PlaytestingAEG

I can already feel the pull to optimize this.
Better posts. Better timing. More reach. More Posts.
Not the goal.
One post a day.
Build the habit.
#PlaytestingAEG

Nineteenth century nthropomorphic cats (and a prairie dog) battle an alligator turtle and giant mosquitoes in the bayou outside New Orleans.

Gamers! My sons @martyforbeck.bsky.social and Pat and I have been working on a tactical tabletop game with @rayboxgames.bsky.social called THE CATS OF NEW ORLEANS, and it's coming to Kickstarter! Get on the pre-launch list for an alert the moment it launches on April 21.

Wrote a procedure for writing procedures.

That’s when I knew I was in the deep end.

Also not the part of the business I ever expected to enjoy… but here we are.

If the system can’t explain itself,
it doesn’t scale.

#PlaytestingAEG

Some things scale because they’re systemized. Some things work because experienced people hold them together.

You don’t really know which is which…
until you start doing the work yourself.

#PlaytestingAEG

The cover to Driveable City, an April Fools joke on my crowdfunded game Walkable City. On the cover all the streets have been paved, the title has been changed, and the monorail above the streets has been turned into an inter-city highway.

And I can finally announce my followup project with Tim Fowers - Driveable City!

In this 60 minute solo game you get to pave through local communities, meddle with local transit, and play with millions in grants from your government like funny money. Just how Robert Moses would have wanted it!

This game cast a spell on me that is for sure.

Wait what??? This is awesome. I am a misfit. I need a card. My ability should l be like Designer Wins from L5R. If your picture is on this card and in your tableau you win. LOL.

117th game of 2026 is Cascadia by @rf-seattle.bsky.social @alderaceg.bsky.social with @kbowenwriter.bsky.social - such a pleasant game on a pleasant Virginia afternoon

Same with me Zen. First move I have wanted to see in theaters in the past few years.

Finished room over garage! We did not have them in California or Vegas but they are all the rage here in South Carolina. A little gaming oasis in my own home. My wife has said no to the Wiz Kids heads from the #Larkstone house though.

Walkable City - the Urban Planning Boardgame Asymmetric Cooperative boardgame about building a city without cars.

Day 2 of Walkable City on Kickstarter!

Huge thanks to all the backers who've pledged. Please feel free to share this in urbanist communities as I am sure many people there will be interested in the project! 💖

www.kickstarter.com/projects/fow...

Looking good. I am moving to a new house next week. So my gaming stuff will be in boxes for most of April. :(. But I am getting an awesome FROG workspace.

I voted for Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur because it just sounds beautiful.

My view for the last hour. Click a couple of buttons and presto! Coffee and my fake fireplace. My favorite way to start the day.

Spending a part of each day this week watching designer pitch videos and writing rejection letters.

A reminder that publishing games means saying “no” far more often than “yes.” Not because the games are bad, but because they don’t connect with you in that moment.

#PlaytestingAEG #boardgames 🎲✂️

I have been to France a few times and LGTF has me want g to go back to see the things I missed on the other trips.

"Let's Go! To France" game box

Let's Gooooo! (To France)

Prototype just arrived--excited to try it soon! @sirjoshwood.bsky.social @alderaceg.bsky.social

Can’t count the number of times I have approved press files in hotel rooms over the last 30 years.

At GAMA this week. When I’m not showing games, I’m hunting sparks. New partnerships. Smart collaborations. Big swings that could turn into something real.

If you’re building, dreaming, or plotting something interesting, let’s talk.

Putting the finishing touches on my GAMA packing can’t wait to see friends play lots of games and talk business next week. See you at The Galt House.

Taylor is one of
My favorite people and a great designer. He is an original #Larkstone alumni. I cannot wait for this game.

As AEG moves into its next chapter, leadership alignment and clarity matter more than ever. This transition reflects that reality.
Our commitment to our designers, partners, retailers, and players remains unchanged. We will continue building great games through collaboration, creativity, and trust.

Today I want to share that Ryan Dancey and AEG have parted ways.
This is not an easy post to write. Ryan has been a significant part of AEG’s story, and I am personally grateful for the years of work, passion, and intensity he brought to the company. We have built a lot together.

There’s been conversation today about AI and game design.

I want to be clear where I stand. For 30+ years, AEG has worked with human designers to bring games to life. That creative partnership, the collaboration, the shared spark, is what makes tabletop special. That is not changing.

Relearning AEG’s systems and I keep hitting small annoyances.

Not big failures. Just friction.

The tension is real:
Focus on the big levers… or fix the tiny things so they stop draining energy?

Maybe the rule is simple:
If it steals my attention twice, it earns a fix.

I used to think, “Why don’t we just do what they’re doing?”

Turns out the thing they’re doing isn’t the trick. It’s the judgment behind it.

The taste. The confidence. The timing.

Simple is earned.