Simple Pleasures
009
Hello again, wherever you are in the world. It’s nice to be back in your inbox.
1. Locking In
The Slow Knife playsets are written, art is all proofed and placed and the boxed game being printed in Italy—we’re all go! I have a short lull now while I wait for things to get made & posted, and then it’s onto a mammoth packing task (which I’ll be doing myself—I think I might have trust issues after last time!). There’s still time to order a copy for the first batch of deliveries, if you’d like :)
Speaking of deliveries, I’ve also been having a lovely run of orders since re-opening my store a couple of weeks ago (mousehole.press). You can order Bucket, Artefact and Orbital books, packed by me in my little studio, and you’ll get digital codes sent alongside your order. I’m also doing quite a few wholesale orders, so do get in touch if you’re a retailer.
I’ve got a fair amount of stock but it won’t last forever and I’m unlikely to be doing reprints of this stuff any time soon, so if you’re interested I’d recommend ordering sooner rather than later.
2. Striking Out
We’ve been using our car less recently, mainly because fuel is so horribly expensive, which has resulted in lots of train rides, running through farmer’s fields1, throwing sticks in rivers and pockets full of stones. Needless to say, while this wholesome life is rather exhausting (and weather-dependent, much as we’d like to pretend it’s not), it has been a lot of fun.
3. Good Stuff
This article on user interface design, explained through the medium of Lego, is a fascinating and fun look at how simple decisions can have big impacts (sometimes life-threatening!). I’m always thinking about the usability of the books I design, but this article has been especially thought-provoking.
I enjoyed these thoughts on calendars and time in RPG design by Ava, as I look towards my next design which has slice-of-life elements built into the flow.
I can’t be the first person to tell you, but you can buy a recording of James Acaster’s most recent live show and it’s very, very good. Watch some highlights on YT if you’re on the fence.
That’s it for this month! Trying to trim these letters down again as that was always the intention and they’ve gotten a little naval-gazey recently… Have a great month, see you soon :)