My dalliance with my BoardGameGeek’s blog has cost me weeks of embarrassment. The neglect of whenitsready.com left it opento hackers, who used it to advertise a Romanian casino. To clear up any misunderstanding, I am not in the gambling business, although I wouldn’t be above a management position if someone were to offer the job.
I am blogging on BoardGameGeek to generate awareness of what I’m trying to do and to test all my philosophies. There’s nothing quite as honest as an anonymous poster, and making grand claims like I’m building a better dungeon crawler might stir people to poke holes in my theories. It’s a place where board gamers can defend my board game criticisms. Who knows? Maybe I’ll generate enough content to include a design diary with my game’s Kickstarter.
Aside from restoring my website to its former glory, there’s more good news. Travis Baldree has confirmed his commitment to narrating The Book of Dungeons, although his schedule doesn’t allow for more than 2-3 books a year, which somewhat dampens my plans for rapid release. I suppose I could sit on the first couple of books until I have a lot of material built up, but I would very much like to have an income. Having a rock star voice actor certainly justifies the wait, but I’ve been sitting on this series for so long already. Expect audiobooks late in 2026 at the soonest. At least I’m living up to my company’s name, whenitsready.
The running count of playtesters for my competitive deckbuilder board game has reached 34. The improvements are cosmetic, but every iteration feels more elegant. Recent playthroughs have revealed several quality-of-life issues, and watching people play educates me. I’m learning what elements create barriers to understanding and what parts need better readability. The feedback helps hone my symbology, for the ideal board game has a self-explanatory system.
My playtests at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus went well, and I’ll probably return in 2026, but I was a bit put off by the diminished size of the conventions. People who signed up for the game often didn’t show, and there wasn’t a great deal of floor traffic. Showing my game to 2-4 people at a time doesn’t move the needle much, but it’s free, and the positive feedback is encouraging.
While I polish the graphic design, I’m grinding through the second half of the dungeon art, including props to fill the play spaces. Time constraints have forced me to test empty rooms. Filling areas with objects makes the dungeons more immersive. The rooms look like they’re in use, and the props should greatly improve the atmosphere and instill a sense of character.
The dungeons should take a few months to finish. After I’m done, I’ll sculpt and paint monsters or assay the formidable task of making art for the cards.