Matt Thrower
@mattthr.bsky.social
Board game writer. Words on IGN, GamesRadar, Senet and many others. There will be puns.
Pinned
Matt Thrower
@mattthr.bsky.social
· Nov 15
There was a win-a-toy stall at the local fair where all the kids wanted to get a certain Sith with a dual lightsaber. But I watched all night and not one of them did. When I challenged the stall holder whether it was rigged he shrugged and said "you can't win the Maul"
The excellent Nate Warren was kind enough to invite me onto his podcast where I had a fantastic time talking about some older games that really don't get talked about enough anymore www.breakupgamingsociety.com/episodes/nin...
Ninja Borg RPG! Fantasy Flight Retro Bangers! Die, Boredom! — Breakup Gaming Society
A gorgeous indie TTRPG thrill ride for your inner '80s ninja, plus board game writer Matt Thrower weighs in on Fantasy Flight Games' Golden Age.
www.breakupgamingsociety.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:55 PM
The excellent Nate Warren was kind enough to invite me onto his podcast where I had a fantastic time talking about some older games that really don't get talked about enough anymore www.breakupgamingsociety.com/episodes/nin...
I don't have any answers to this but it pains me terribly to know that the current generation, particularly young men, are being sucked into right-wing thuggishness and we're really going to feel the pain in a few years time. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
How liberals lost the internet | Robert Topinka
In the first part of our series on digital politics, we look at how centrists have lost ground fighting disinformation – when the real battle is over emotion and attention, says digital media academic...
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:30 PM
I don't have any answers to this but it pains me terribly to know that the current generation, particularly young men, are being sucked into right-wing thuggishness and we're really going to feel the pain in a few years time. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I've been painting miniatures for 40 years and I've never painted a monster. Never anything bigger than a cavalry model.
Happy Friday everyone. Apparently it’s STILL January.
Anyway, this week the theme is…gribbly.
So let’s see monsters.
As usual I’ll repost the lot and if you like something, share it!
#Nerdlings #FindFolkFriday
Anyway, this week the theme is…gribbly.
So let’s see monsters.
As usual I’ll repost the lot and if you like something, share it!
#Nerdlings #FindFolkFriday
January 30, 2026 at 9:26 AM
I've been painting miniatures for 40 years and I've never painted a monster. Never anything bigger than a cavalry model.
I've always been baffled by this argument: it seems to me quite obvious that the much thicker cream makes a good stable base on which to place jam, whereas jam first just makes a mess.
Yesterday I glimpsed this Cornish-flag bumper sticker in the wild and leaned forward expecting to read some horrible jingoistic slogan across the middle.
January 30, 2026 at 9:17 AM
I've always been baffled by this argument: it seems to me quite obvious that the much thicker cream makes a good stable base on which to place jam, whereas jam first just makes a mess.
Never mind jobs you had, tell me five classes you took at university
1. The Joy of Bacterial Sex
2. Incomprehensible Maths taught by someone who used m & n instead of x & y
3. Fish, Snail and Rat Gutting
4. How Not To Make Yourself Radioactive in a Laboratory
5. Plants Are Weird & Magical
1. The Joy of Bacterial Sex
2. Incomprehensible Maths taught by someone who used m & n instead of x & y
3. Fish, Snail and Rat Gutting
4. How Not To Make Yourself Radioactive in a Laboratory
5. Plants Are Weird & Magical
Never mind jobs you had, tell me five classes you took at university
1. Protein folding
2. Bacterial genetics
3. Statistics for biologists
4. Medical virology
5. Parasitology
1. Protein folding
2. Bacterial genetics
3. Statistics for biologists
4. Medical virology
5. Parasitology
Never mind jobs you had, tell me five classes you took at university
1) principles of animation
2) fashion & textiles
3) advanced fine art practice
4) form & purpose
5) building a vocabulary
1) principles of animation
2) fashion & textiles
3) advanced fine art practice
4) form & purpose
5) building a vocabulary
January 30, 2026 at 9:05 AM
Never mind jobs you had, tell me five classes you took at university
1. The Joy of Bacterial Sex
2. Incomprehensible Maths taught by someone who used m & n instead of x & y
3. Fish, Snail and Rat Gutting
4. How Not To Make Yourself Radioactive in a Laboratory
5. Plants Are Weird & Magical
1. The Joy of Bacterial Sex
2. Incomprehensible Maths taught by someone who used m & n instead of x & y
3. Fish, Snail and Rat Gutting
4. How Not To Make Yourself Radioactive in a Laboratory
5. Plants Are Weird & Magical
Reposted by Matt Thrower
Whoever Simon Mills is, his rotten words on the Communards should mean he should have never worked again, but googling him and he's got a column at the Telegraph. Of course.
January 30, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Whoever Simon Mills is, his rotten words on the Communards should mean he should have never worked again, but googling him and he's got a column at the Telegraph. Of course.
Reposted by Matt Thrower
The Signalman (Postgate, 1976)
January 29, 2026 at 11:15 PM
The Signalman (Postgate, 1976)
I've been doing this for months and I haven't even made it into the 1001 albums yet
January 30, 2026 at 8:51 AM
I've been doing this for months and I haven't even made it into the 1001 albums yet
Reposted by Matt Thrower
I am a writer and it pains me to admit there are very many times when a single image can communicate an entire thinkpiece more effectively than words
January 30, 2026 at 8:07 AM
I am a writer and it pains me to admit there are very many times when a single image can communicate an entire thinkpiece more effectively than words
I have never before seen an option in a "tag yourself" post that so perfectly encapsulated my entire life
January 30, 2026 at 7:57 AM
I have never before seen an option in a "tag yourself" post that so perfectly encapsulated my entire life
Reposted by Matt Thrower
Hang on, I had missed the fact that the AI Skills Hub cost £4m. mahadk.com/posts/ai-ski... If this wasn't tax payers' money it would be quite funny. Also, can only assume PWC spent some time rolling around in gold because they did NOT spend it on building this
The UK paid £4.1 million for a bookmarks site
Or, as they like to call it, the 'AI Skills Hub'. Which was built by PwC because of course it was
mahadk.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Hang on, I had missed the fact that the AI Skills Hub cost £4m. mahadk.com/posts/ai-ski... If this wasn't tax payers' money it would be quite funny. Also, can only assume PWC spent some time rolling around in gold because they did NOT spend it on building this
Still chuckling at the thought of Sam, sitting solemnly at home, believing himself to have pulled off a righteous rhetorical trick of Churchillian brilliance that we're going to be mocking for years to come.
“How’s that boot taste?” “It tastes like freedom” is an incredible joke and I’m so MAD this dumdum said it 100% seriously. What a waste. I could have gotten triple digits with a shitpost like that.
Seems like he is stepping down immediately by his own decision.
This doesn’t change my views on DT at all, as I don’t think it should others either. But good riddance to yet another stain this industry has platformed for far too long.
This doesn’t change my views on DT at all, as I don’t think it should others either. But good riddance to yet another stain this industry has platformed for far too long.
January 29, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Still chuckling at the thought of Sam, sitting solemnly at home, believing himself to have pulled off a righteous rhetorical trick of Churchillian brilliance that we're going to be mocking for years to come.
If anyone has unsubbed from the Dice Tower and would still like regular board game content that doesn't involve God, Boots*, or the lionisation of fascist martyrs, I do have a patreon.
www.patreon.com/c/mattthr
*may occasionally involve boots
www.patreon.com/c/mattthr
*may occasionally involve boots
Get more from Play Matt! on Patreon
creating Board Game Stories
www.patreon.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:22 PM
If anyone has unsubbed from the Dice Tower and would still like regular board game content that doesn't involve God, Boots*, or the lionisation of fascist martyrs, I do have a patreon.
www.patreon.com/c/mattthr
*may occasionally involve boots
www.patreon.com/c/mattthr
*may occasionally involve boots
Reposted by Matt Thrower
“How’s that boot taste?” “It tastes like freedom” is an incredible joke and I’m so MAD this dumdum said it 100% seriously. What a waste. I could have gotten triple digits with a shitpost like that.
Seems like he is stepping down immediately by his own decision.
This doesn’t change my views on DT at all, as I don’t think it should others either. But good riddance to yet another stain this industry has platformed for far too long.
This doesn’t change my views on DT at all, as I don’t think it should others either. But good riddance to yet another stain this industry has platformed for far too long.
January 29, 2026 at 5:34 PM
“How’s that boot taste?” “It tastes like freedom” is an incredible joke and I’m so MAD this dumdum said it 100% seriously. What a waste. I could have gotten triple digits with a shitpost like that.
Reposted by Matt Thrower
A reminder of the character of Sam Healey. This is who he is, he makes no apologies for it either. Stop giving him and the organizations that promote and platform him anything.
He will continue to do MAGA bullshit, its on you to stop giving him support and a platform.
He will continue to do MAGA bullshit, its on you to stop giving him support and a platform.
January 29, 2026 at 1:54 AM
A reminder of the character of Sam Healey. This is who he is, he makes no apologies for it either. Stop giving him and the organizations that promote and platform him anything.
He will continue to do MAGA bullshit, its on you to stop giving him support and a platform.
He will continue to do MAGA bullshit, its on you to stop giving him support and a platform.
Reposted by Matt Thrower
Something I've been thinking about since the AI hype started is that the inevitable end game here is that human interaction will only be for people who can afford to pay for it. This isn't accessibility, it's automated inequity
We want to make sure tutoring isn't the preserve of a lucky few, but accessible to every child who needs it.
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
Poorest pupils to be given AI tutors
Bridget Phillipson says tuition would no longer be the preserve of ‘the lucky few’
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Something I've been thinking about since the AI hype started is that the inevitable end game here is that human interaction will only be for people who can afford to pay for it. This isn't accessibility, it's automated inequity
Reposted by Matt Thrower
uh oh, shame on me, went down a rabbit hole on FB and BGG. Jesus tapdancing Christ.
These folk need to refocus and look out the window: the “dark underbelly” they speak of isn’t in the board gaming hobby at all, it’s right outside their door, it’s killing innocent people, & they’re supporting it.
These folk need to refocus and look out the window: the “dark underbelly” they speak of isn’t in the board gaming hobby at all, it’s right outside their door, it’s killing innocent people, & they’re supporting it.
January 29, 2026 at 4:37 PM
uh oh, shame on me, went down a rabbit hole on FB and BGG. Jesus tapdancing Christ.
These folk need to refocus and look out the window: the “dark underbelly” they speak of isn’t in the board gaming hobby at all, it’s right outside their door, it’s killing innocent people, & they’re supporting it.
These folk need to refocus and look out the window: the “dark underbelly” they speak of isn’t in the board gaming hobby at all, it’s right outside their door, it’s killing innocent people, & they’re supporting it.
any of my followers know much about automapper in C#?
January 29, 2026 at 4:35 PM
any of my followers know much about automapper in C#?
Reposted by Matt Thrower
The Dice Tower's silence on Sam Healy's fascist apologia is bad — hot take, I know — but it's also in line with this hobby's paradoxical insistence that games are simultaneously art and apolitical.
January 29, 2026 at 4:06 PM
The Dice Tower's silence on Sam Healy's fascist apologia is bad — hot take, I know — but it's also in line with this hobby's paradoxical insistence that games are simultaneously art and apolitical.
It's pretty well worn by now that anyone who posts that argument is effectively arguing that the status quo is fine. So at best they're dissembling to try not to lose portions of their audience
The falsehood that board games + board gamers + board game spaces *aren't* inherently political has always been a huge red flag.
Dice Tower built their entire brand on people - mainly white men - who believe or want to believe or need to believe this fallacy.
Dice Tower built their entire brand on people - mainly white men - who believe or want to believe or need to believe this fallacy.
January 29, 2026 at 4:33 PM
It's pretty well worn by now that anyone who posts that argument is effectively arguing that the status quo is fine. So at best they're dissembling to try not to lose portions of their audience
Reposted by Matt Thrower
oh, and it’s unfortunate that the Dice Tower and the current president have the same initials, I guess
January 29, 2026 at 4:19 PM
oh, and it’s unfortunate that the Dice Tower and the current president have the same initials, I guess
Ladies and gentlemen, Sam Healey. Religion and Fox news are one hell of a speedball combo.
January 29, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, Sam Healey. Religion and Fox news are one hell of a speedball combo.
Reposted by Matt Thrower
![3-panel comic. (1) [Three small arthropods on ocean floor.] ARTHROPOD 1: Now that we’re multicellular, what are your plans? I’m gonna evolve little legs and swim around with them! ARTHROPOD 2: I’m gonna evolve sharp pincers and use them to crunch stuff! ARTHROPOD 3: I’m gonna evolve glands to make string from my butt and use it to construct elaborate geometric nets hundreds of times my size to catch other animals. (2) [Silence] (3) ARTHROPOD 1: *Dude.* ARTHROPOD 2: Can you *please* just be normal about this? ARTHROPOD 3: *What??!*](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreia3p425asp237hjolbn5lly6g6hzm2eoygqjpkd5dii6zrwqnp7qi@jpeg)
January 28, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Matt Thrower
Sam Healey once again failing a basic character test. He's an absolute millstone around the Dice Towers neck. I wonder if Tom will actually say anything about this or just keep pretending that politics don't matter in the USA these days.
January 28, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Sam Healey once again failing a basic character test. He's an absolute millstone around the Dice Towers neck. I wonder if Tom will actually say anything about this or just keep pretending that politics don't matter in the USA these days.