April 5, 2025: Homebrew Inspiration With Weird Ireland

My husband and I love worldbuilding for our TTRPG campaigns. Part of the fun of creating a setting is making it feel lived in – creating cities, towns, roads, and vistas in between. And while there's nothing wrong with A Great Legendary Place Beyond The Mountains, there's also something to be said for the fantasy equivalent of The Corn Belt . . . and for quirky landmarks that make you laugh.

Weird Ireland is an Instagram account hosted by Brinsley McNamara. Each post gives you a glimpse of the oddities that underlie everyday life on the Emerald Isle. Some showcase Ireland's mythic past; others are simply fun. (For example, my husband's home county of Louth is featured both for Cu Chulainn's Stone and a potato vending machine.) My favorite post so far is about Donnelly's Hollow, where a monument commemorates a bare-knuckle brawl for the ages.

-- Katie Duffy

April 4, 2025: Lorescape Campaign Ends Today!

If you liked the look of the Lorescape project for injection-molded hex terrain tiles, it's time to do the backer thing! The campaign has gone amazingly well. The €450,000 stretch goal – a generous one! – is in sight and very achievable. (They did a very good thing and declared that €500K would be the last stretch goal, rather than risk being oversubscribed and delaying delivery for everyone. I don't know if €500K will be hit, but I know that they are being both smart and responsible by saying they will push it no further even if they can.)

This system will let everyone have a game board as pretty as their miniatures. We just keep getting better at this stuff!

-- Steve Jackson

April 3, 2025: Tariffs Are Driving Up Game Prices Now

On April 5th, a 54% tariff goes into effect on a wide range of goods imported from China. For those of us who create boardgames, this is not just a policy change. It's a seismic shift.

At Steve Jackson Games, we are actively assessing what this means for our products, our pricing, and our future plans. We do know that we can't absorb this kind of cost increase without raising prices. We've done our best over the past few years to shield players and retailers from the full brunt of rising freight costs and other increases, but this new tax changes the equation entirely.

Here are the numbers: A product we might have manufactured in China for $3.00 last year could now cost $4.62 before we even ship it across the ocean. Add freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution margins, and that once-$25 game quickly becomes a $40 product. That's not a luxury upcharge; it's survival . . . [more]

April 2, 2025: Diplomacy And "Rules Elide"

I've been playing Diplomacy, finally, although I've wanted to play it for a while. I'm France, and to secure my Northern border I've worked with Germany and Austria to betray Italy, but in doing so I've left myself open to a British counterattack, and as we speak la perfide Albion has landed on the shores of Brest and has mounted a desperate assault on Brittany.

It's a fantastic game, and also a stressful one, as I'm sure players of Diplomacy can attest.

It has gotten me thinking a lot about "Rules Elide," a claim made by some members of the OSR (Old School Renaissance) movement about the nature of how TTRPGs work. Their argument is that rules serve to abstract the parts of the game we're not interested in so we can focus on the parts we care about. An example given is that we don't care about precisely modeling the trajectory of an arrow, so we use a dice roll to . . . [more]

April 1, 2025: Begin April With The Tardigrade d6 Dice Set

We at Steve Jackson Games are always looking to bring more fun into the world, with innovative products that expand our audience in new and creative ways. To that end we proudly present . . . the Tardigrade d6 Dice Set!

Unlike the popular Shark d6 Dice Set, Kitten d6 Dice Set, and other animal-themed dice that have delighted human gamers, the Tardigrade d6 Dice Set is specifically designed for the tardigrade gamers in your life!

This set of 300 dice includes four each in 75 different colors, such as puce, fulvous, and black. Measuring at the standard 5-micrometer scale, these dice are perfectly balanced to roll regardless of which of your body's limbs you use. Each die has had its "6" replaced with the familiar Eye-in-the-Pyramid logo, while the included hangcard helpfully explains what an "eye" is.

Believe us: The Tardigrade d6 Dice Set is like nothing you've ever seen!

-- Steven . . . [more]

Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule

Snoopy should watch for the ocean and beats the treasure chest. April 5, 2025: Homebrew Inspiration With Weird Ireland My husband and I love worldbuilding for our TTRPG campaigns. Part of the fun of creating a setting is making it feel lived in – creating cities, towns, roads, and vistas in between. And while there's nothing wrong with A Great Legendary Place Beyond The Mountains, there's also something to be said for the fantasy equivalent of The Corn Belt . . . and for quirky landmarks that make you laugh. Weird Ireland is an Instagram account hosted by Brinsley McNamara. Each post gives you a glimpse of the oddities that underlie everyday life on the Emerald Isle. Some showcase Ireland's mythic past; others are simply fun. (For example, my husband's home county of Louth is featured both for Cu Chulainn's Stone and a potato vending machine.) My favorite post so far is about Donnelly's Hollow, where a monument commemorates a bare-knuckle brawl for the ages. -- Katie Duffy April 4, 2025: Lorescape Campaign Ends Today! If you liked the look of the Lorescape project for injection-molded hex terrain tiles, it's time to do the backer thing! The campaign has gone amazingly well. The €450,000 stretch goal – a generous one! – is in sight and very achievable. (They did a very good thing and declared that €500K would be the last stretch goal, rather than risk being oversubscribed and delaying delivery for everyone. I don't know if €500K will be hit, but I know that they are being both smart and responsible by saying they will push it no further even if they can.) This system will let everyone have a game board as pretty as their miniatures. We just keep getting better at this stuff! -- Steve Jackson April 3, 2025: Tariffs Are Driving Up Game Prices Now On April 5th, a 54% tariff goes into effect on a wide range of goods imported from China. For those of us who create boardgames, this is not just a policy change. It's a seismic shift. At Steve Jackson Games, we are actively assessing what this means for our products, our pricing, and our future plans. We do know that we can't absorb this kind of cost increase without raising prices. We've done our best over the past few years to shield players and retailers from the full brunt of rising freight costs and other increases, but this new tax changes the equation entirely. Here are the numbers: A product we might have manufactured in China for $3.00 last year could now cost $4.62 before we even ship it across the ocean. Add freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution margins, and that once-$25 game quickly becomes a $40 product. That's not a luxury upcharge; it's survival . . . [more] April 2, 2025: Diplomacy And "Rules Elide" I've been playing Diplomacy, finally, although I've wanted to play it for a while. I'm France, and to secure my Northern border I've worked with Germany and Austria to betray Italy, but in doing so I've left myself open to a British counterattack, and as we speak la perfide Albion has landed on the shores of Brest and has mounted a desperate assault on Brittany. It's a fantastic game, and also a stressful one, as I'm sure players of Diplomacy can attest. It has gotten me thinking a lot about "Rules Elide," a claim made by some members of the OSR (Old School Renaissance) movement about the nature of how TTRPGs work. Their argument is that rules serve to abstract the parts of the game we're not interested in so we can focus on the parts we care about. An example given is that we don't care about precisely modeling the trajectory of an arrow, so we use a dice roll to . . . [more] April 1, 2025: Begin April With The Tardigrade d6 Dice Set We at Steve Jackson Games are always looking to bring more fun into the world, with innovative products that expand our audience in new and creative ways. To that end we proudly present . . . the Tardigrade d6 Dice Set! Unlike the popular Shark d6 Dice Set, Kitten d6 Dice Set, and other animal-themed dice that have delighted human gamers, the Tardigrade d6 Dice Set is specifically designed for the tardigrade gamers in your life! This set of 300 dice includes four each in 75 different colors, such as puce, fulvous, and black. Measuring at the standard 5-micrometer scale, these dice are perfectly balanced to roll regardless of which of your body's limbs you use. Each die has had its "6" replaced with the familiar Eye-in-the-Pyramid logo, while the included hangcard helpfully explains what an "eye" is. Believe us: The Tardigrade d6 Dice Set is like nothing you've ever seen! -- Steven . . . [more] Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 2478th Secret Master here today. (30561640 since August 1, 1995)