Kevin Wilson
@kevinwilson42.bsky.social
Boardgame designer best known for Arkham Horror, Descent: Journeys in the Dark, A Gentle Rain, and the Kinfire series of games. Now Director of Game Design at Incredible Dream Studios. He/him.
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Kevin Wilson
@kevinwilson42.bsky.social
· Oct 18
For new followers, I'm Kevin Wilson and I've designed tabletop games for about 25 years now, though I'm mostly known for board games these days. Around here I largely talk about my games, food, and my recently-renewed cd collection. I try to encourage folks to be kinder to themselves and each other.
This is a good night to drink some tea and read some Moomin and not look at any news, I think.
November 11, 2025 at 2:18 AM
This is a good night to drink some tea and read some Moomin and not look at any news, I think.
Instead of posting something absolutely pointless in frustration, here's a little doodle I've drawn for Bindlestiff. This critter is called a jellyfly, and they serve as some decoration on the game board. And like most decorations there, they also serve a game function, if the player discovers it.
November 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Instead of posting something absolutely pointless in frustration, here's a little doodle I've drawn for Bindlestiff. This critter is called a jellyfly, and they serve as some decoration on the game board. And like most decorations there, they also serve a game function, if the player discovers it.
I think for this year's Xmas game, I'm going to revisit one of my past efforts and see if I can't make it better. And for me, the Xmas game I always liked but which didn't quite come together was "Pneumatic Santa", which was based off of a 15-tile puzzle. Might try to self-illustrate it this time.
November 10, 2025 at 6:16 AM
I think for this year's Xmas game, I'm going to revisit one of my past efforts and see if I can't make it better. And for me, the Xmas game I always liked but which didn't quite come together was "Pneumatic Santa", which was based off of a 15-tile puzzle. Might try to self-illustrate it this time.
The nice thing about getting in park walks when the weather isn't great is there are fewer people, so there are usually more critters, though the squirrels were scarce today - I'm sure they're thinking about wrapping it up til Spring. On the other hand, I saw 2 deer, which is always nice.
November 9, 2025 at 11:38 PM
The nice thing about getting in park walks when the weather isn't great is there are fewer people, so there are usually more critters, though the squirrels were scarce today - I'm sure they're thinking about wrapping it up til Spring. On the other hand, I saw 2 deer, which is always nice.
Knowing that it's gonna snow soonish, I made sure to get a walk in today, even if it involved wearing thermals to make it tolerable. Grocery store had some decent sales going on, so I picked up a few things, though they were out of my frozen burritos, like usual.
November 9, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Knowing that it's gonna snow soonish, I made sure to get a walk in today, even if it involved wearing thermals to make it tolerable. Grocery store had some decent sales going on, so I picked up a few things, though they were out of my frozen burritos, like usual.
As a game designer, you always hope that some of your work will stick, at least for awhile - that it'll endure some. If A Gentle Rain is the design of mine that lingers the longest, I'll be well pleased, even if it's very different from my usual fare.
November 9, 2025 at 4:12 AM
As a game designer, you always hope that some of your work will stick, at least for awhile - that it'll endure some. If A Gentle Rain is the design of mine that lingers the longest, I'll be well pleased, even if it's very different from my usual fare.
Also, since I've gone very nocturnal today, I went looking for some late night food, and turns out the mcRib is back, so that was a pleasant surprise. I always make sure to get a few while it lasts whenever it returns.
November 8, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Also, since I've gone very nocturnal today, I went looking for some late night food, and turns out the mcRib is back, so that was a pleasant surprise. I always make sure to get a few while it lasts whenever it returns.
Picked up the CMYK version of Magical Athlete, and I gotta say the graphic design and art is just delightful to me. The rules tweaks look really good as well. A real banger for $30.
November 8, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Picked up the CMYK version of Magical Athlete, and I gotta say the graphic design and art is just delightful to me. The rules tweaks look really good as well. A real banger for $30.
Yesterday I found a couple Flaming Lips EPs and the Spongebob Squarepants movie soundtrack (which has some really surprising tracks on it), and I'm listening to the EPs this evening. Also picked up the Angry Beavers complete series dvd set, so some nice finds overall.
November 8, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Yesterday I found a couple Flaming Lips EPs and the Spongebob Squarepants movie soundtrack (which has some really surprising tracks on it), and I'm listening to the EPs this evening. Also picked up the Angry Beavers complete series dvd set, so some nice finds overall.
Bindlestiff is absolutely going to be considered pretentious by a chunk of the few folks who will play it, and that's fine by me. If it wasn't going to have anyone roll their eyes at it, then it would be a good sign that I'm not stretching my design boundaries hard enough.
November 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Bindlestiff is absolutely going to be considered pretentious by a chunk of the few folks who will play it, and that's fine by me. If it wasn't going to have anyone roll their eyes at it, then it would be a good sign that I'm not stretching my design boundaries hard enough.
Oh, that's a relief. The one super creepy candidate for school board lost to the other three actually normal ones by a wide margin here. Bullet dodged.
November 5, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Oh, that's a relief. The one super creepy candidate for school board lost to the other three actually normal ones by a wide margin here. Bullet dodged.
The most miserable job I ever had was doing software intended for Halliburton, my employer's biggest (only) client. Thankfully, I got out of there fairly quickly. Anyway, time to go fire up a crab rave.
November 4, 2025 at 7:41 PM
The most miserable job I ever had was doing software intended for Halliburton, my employer's biggest (only) client. Thankfully, I got out of there fairly quickly. Anyway, time to go fire up a crab rave.
All set for my local election tomorrow. Today I got a walk in and worked on Bindlestiff as well as another maybe project. Worked up a character sheet and the "Home" sub-board for Bindlestiff, which you pretty much hit right away and it gets you set up and playing, more or less.
November 4, 2025 at 3:17 AM
All set for my local election tomorrow. Today I got a walk in and worked on Bindlestiff as well as another maybe project. Worked up a character sheet and the "Home" sub-board for Bindlestiff, which you pretty much hit right away and it gets you set up and playing, more or less.
The fall colors here are really pretty right now. On my walk yesterday I took some nice photos and came across a tree I remember from last year. Its bright yellow leaves make it stand out like something magical - maybe it has a quest for someone, or heals damage in a small radius.
November 3, 2025 at 5:35 AM
The fall colors here are really pretty right now. On my walk yesterday I took some nice photos and came across a tree I remember from last year. Its bright yellow leaves make it stand out like something magical - maybe it has a quest for someone, or heals damage in a small radius.
Game design and law/regulation authorship have a fair amount in common, being exercises in incentives and psychology. From that you could assume that many lawmakers are super crappy at their jobs, but no - it's more that game designers generally don't design games such that they always win at them.
November 3, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Game design and law/regulation authorship have a fair amount in common, being exercises in incentives and psychology. From that you could assume that many lawmakers are super crappy at their jobs, but no - it's more that game designers generally don't design games such that they always win at them.
Got my New Wave Halloween cd on. It features such tracks as the Time Warp, Dead Man's Party, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Pet Sematary, 6 tracks named Halloween, the theme from the Munsters, and Creature with the Atom Brain. It's a pretty darn good cd.
October 31, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Got my New Wave Halloween cd on. It features such tracks as the Time Warp, Dead Man's Party, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Pet Sematary, 6 tracks named Halloween, the theme from the Munsters, and Creature with the Atom Brain. It's a pretty darn good cd.
Here's a very rough draft of the Burial Mound sub-board for Bindlestiff. More proof of concept really, but I think it kind of shows that I'm shooting for something pretty weird and artsy on this design.
October 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Here's a very rough draft of the Burial Mound sub-board for Bindlestiff. More proof of concept really, but I think it kind of shows that I'm shooting for something pretty weird and artsy on this design.
Did up a draft of the first sub-board in Bindlestiff last night, the Burial Mound, and it definitely feels like the way to go. I'll need to level up my doodles some more, but that's fine. If and when I finish it, I'll prolly put it up on itch.io or wherever to sell it as a PnP for $5-10.
October 30, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Did up a draft of the first sub-board in Bindlestiff last night, the Burial Mound, and it definitely feels like the way to go. I'll need to level up my doodles some more, but that's fine. If and when I finish it, I'll prolly put it up on itch.io or wherever to sell it as a PnP for $5-10.
Me at the grocery today: "Oh hey, they dropped rotisserie chicken by $3 to $6. I'm in, you sonuvabitch."
Literally Everyone Else in Line: <nods at me over their own rotisserie chicken>
Literally Everyone Else in Line: <nods at me over their own rotisserie chicken>
October 29, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Me at the grocery today: "Oh hey, they dropped rotisserie chicken by $3 to $6. I'm in, you sonuvabitch."
Literally Everyone Else in Line: <nods at me over their own rotisserie chicken>
Literally Everyone Else in Line: <nods at me over their own rotisserie chicken>
Bindlestiff has a solid story and theme to it for me, but I'm still tinkering with the mechanics. At its heart, it's a roll n' move. You roll 3 dice, and assign them to various things each turn, one of which is movement. It's a fairly straightforward board, but with special locations on it.
October 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Bindlestiff has a solid story and theme to it for me, but I'm still tinkering with the mechanics. At its heart, it's a roll n' move. You roll 3 dice, and assign them to various things each turn, one of which is movement. It's a fairly straightforward board, but with special locations on it.
Just poked through the working files for Bindlestiff, a self-illustrated roll n' move game I started during lockdown, and I've got the urge to continue it. Even with some distance, there's the kernal of something really good and unique there. We'll see if inspiration boils up this week.
October 28, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Just poked through the working files for Bindlestiff, a self-illustrated roll n' move game I started during lockdown, and I've got the urge to continue it. Even with some distance, there's the kernal of something really good and unique there. We'll see if inspiration boils up this week.
Time to get new tires for the Buick tomorrow. The previous owner told me when I bought it that the tires were worn and knocked down the price a bit, so it's no big surprise or anything. I just want to get it done before the snow rolls in this winter. Best time to replace tires is early winter here.
October 28, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Time to get new tires for the Buick tomorrow. The previous owner told me when I bought it that the tires were worn and knocked down the price a bit, so it's no big surprise or anything. I just want to get it done before the snow rolls in this winter. Best time to replace tires is early winter here.
After my walk this evening, popped into the cd shop to browse the new stuff, and happily came across one of my wants that I'd pretty much given up on - Chris Smither's Live as I'll Ever Be. It has "No Love Today" on it, which I dearly enjoy and had on itunes. Always nice when persistence pays off.
October 28, 2025 at 12:51 AM
After my walk this evening, popped into the cd shop to browse the new stuff, and happily came across one of my wants that I'd pretty much given up on - Chris Smither's Live as I'll Ever Be. It has "No Love Today" on it, which I dearly enjoy and had on itunes. Always nice when persistence pays off.
One of the main reasons I gave up on RPG and strategy videogames ages ago was the near-universal shift to real-time elements. It just wasn't and isn't something I enjoy in games where I'm supposed to be carefully considering my strategy or what-have-you. Adding time pressure wasn't a plus for me.
October 25, 2025 at 8:32 PM
One of the main reasons I gave up on RPG and strategy videogames ages ago was the near-universal shift to real-time elements. It just wasn't and isn't something I enjoy in games where I'm supposed to be carefully considering my strategy or what-have-you. Adding time pressure wasn't a plus for me.
One thing that has helped me as a game designer over the years is that early on, I spent several years working as a part-time clerk in a game store, and I spent a lot of time watching people shop in that store... (yes, this is in reference to another post, but only sort of, so I'm not quoting it).
October 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM
One thing that has helped me as a game designer over the years is that early on, I spent several years working as a part-time clerk in a game store, and I spent a lot of time watching people shop in that store... (yes, this is in reference to another post, but only sort of, so I'm not quoting it).