This is an interesting interview. I don’t think I’m sold on the defense—if anyone can afford to pay artists, the team behind Terraforming Mars can—but I do see how there’s more nuance here than my gut reaction to the headline. Still not pleased, though. link to ‘Terraforming Mars team defends AI use as Kickstarter hits $1.3 million - Polygon’

Sad news! Catan hasn’t been my favorite for a while, but it helped introduce me to designer games, and I owe Teuber a lot for that. link to ‘Settlers of Catan Creator, Klaus Teuber, Has Passed Away’

Scrabble’s fundamental flaw is that it tries to make language more discrete and managed than it ever has been or ever will be.

a-ha’s “The Living Daylights” came up on a playlist just now, and it made me want to play Axis and Allies. I received the game the same Christmas my brother received a CD of James Bond music, and the two will always be associated in my mind.

Besides explaining Star Wars stuff, one of the greatest perks of parenting is pulling out board games I haven’t played in years because kiddo wants to try them.

When I was a teenager, I would sometimes spend a weekend setting up Axis and Allies and then playing the better part of a whole game against myself. I got pretty good at opening moves this way, and I kind of wish I had the time to do this again once.

Trouble is a dumb game, and I will never own a copy, but if it kills some time with kiddo at Grandma and Grandpa’s when I’m too tired to play anything more imaginative, I guess that’s fine.