Randy O'Connor
@randyogames.bsky.social
Game designer. Artist. YIMBY. www.randyo.net
Gun It, Stranger Things VR, Roll In One, Escape Goat 2, Waking Mars, Dead End, Spider: TSOBM
I write sometimes: https://randyoconnor.substack.com/
Gun It, Stranger Things VR, Roll In One, Escape Goat 2, Waking Mars, Dead End, Spider: TSOBM
I write sometimes: https://randyoconnor.substack.com/
Made a fascinating little #boardgame history discovery.
Lookin through Twilight Struggle on #BGG, October 2020 (election year) had more recorded play sessions by far, 2707, than any other month in the game's history. Next highest was 1978 sessions in April 2012.
boardgamegeek.com/playsummary/...
Lookin through Twilight Struggle on #BGG, October 2020 (election year) had more recorded play sessions by far, 2707, than any other month in the game's history. Next highest was 1978 sessions in April 2012.
boardgamegeek.com/playsummary/...
November 10, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Made a fascinating little #boardgame history discovery.
Lookin through Twilight Struggle on #BGG, October 2020 (election year) had more recorded play sessions by far, 2707, than any other month in the game's history. Next highest was 1978 sessions in April 2012.
boardgamegeek.com/playsummary/...
Lookin through Twilight Struggle on #BGG, October 2020 (election year) had more recorded play sessions by far, 2707, than any other month in the game's history. Next highest was 1978 sessions in April 2012.
boardgamegeek.com/playsummary/...
Did you know... In North America, apartment buildings over 3 stories generally require two stairwells.
Can you guess why North America requires two stairs for taller apartment buildings? That's right. #FireSafety.
Can you guess why North America requires two stairs for taller apartment buildings? That's right. #FireSafety.
October 24, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Did you know... In North America, apartment buildings over 3 stories generally require two stairwells.
Can you guess why North America requires two stairs for taller apartment buildings? That's right. #FireSafety.
Can you guess why North America requires two stairs for taller apartment buildings? That's right. #FireSafety.
"Games don't teach skills, they teach context." A new article on #gamedesign in #edugames, but I'd argue games more broadly. randyo.notion.site/Games-don-t-...
Games don’t teach skills, they teach context | Notion
I’ve been making edu-games since 2006; they have been about half of the games I’ve worked on. From a small Flash game company in college to big corporate offices, I’ve worked on topics from programmin...
randyo.notion.site
October 1, 2025 at 8:23 PM
"Games don't teach skills, they teach context." A new article on #gamedesign in #edugames, but I'd argue games more broadly. randyo.notion.site/Games-don-t-...
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
Fall 2025 Recap: 400+ Attendees | 36 Designers & Special Guests
We had quite the lineup of games from a fan made expansion to a social deduction and area control crossover. Thank you for coming out and supporting indie game designers.
Stay tuned for our next event in late March!
#boardgames
We had quite the lineup of games from a fan made expansion to a social deduction and area control crossover. Thank you for coming out and supporting indie game designers.
Stay tuned for our next event in late March!
#boardgames
September 24, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Fall 2025 Recap: 400+ Attendees | 36 Designers & Special Guests
We had quite the lineup of games from a fan made expansion to a social deduction and area control crossover. Thank you for coming out and supporting indie game designers.
Stay tuned for our next event in late March!
#boardgames
We had quite the lineup of games from a fan made expansion to a social deduction and area control crossover. Thank you for coming out and supporting indie game designers.
Stay tuned for our next event in late March!
#boardgames
Players don't need new games.
Been thinking about the tumult of the game industry, and this is what I ended up writing.
randyo.notion.site/Of-rituals-r...
Been thinking about the tumult of the game industry, and this is what I ended up writing.
randyo.notion.site/Of-rituals-r...
Of rituals, rules, and stories - Players don’t need new games | Notion
Digital games were tightly coupled to the advancement of computers. Computers rapidly reshaped the aesthetics of digital games. Digital games became separated conceptually from traditional, physical g...
randyo.notion.site
September 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Players don't need new games.
Been thinking about the tumult of the game industry, and this is what I ended up writing.
randyo.notion.site/Of-rituals-r...
Been thinking about the tumult of the game industry, and this is what I ended up writing.
randyo.notion.site/Of-rituals-r...
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
Game Market West Fall 2025 Countdown: Gun It by Randy O'Connor
Gun It is a timed cooperative game in which 1-4 players are packed together in a car in the middle of a thriller. Over a series of rounds, the crew must collaborate to shoot their way through numerous hostile vehicles.
#boardgames
Gun It is a timed cooperative game in which 1-4 players are packed together in a car in the middle of a thriller. Over a series of rounds, the crew must collaborate to shoot their way through numerous hostile vehicles.
#boardgames
September 4, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Game Market West Fall 2025 Countdown: Gun It by Randy O'Connor
Gun It is a timed cooperative game in which 1-4 players are packed together in a car in the middle of a thriller. Over a series of rounds, the crew must collaborate to shoot their way through numerous hostile vehicles.
#boardgames
Gun It is a timed cooperative game in which 1-4 players are packed together in a car in the middle of a thriller. Over a series of rounds, the crew must collaborate to shoot their way through numerous hostile vehicles.
#boardgames
Game Market West is a great event, and I'm excited to bring my tabletop games for sale there!
Game Market West is back!
I'm proud to announce the tabletop games for the upcoming GMW Fall 2025, on September 21 at San Jose Guildhouse, are now available: www.gamemarketwest.com/fall-2025-ga...
I'm proud to announce the tabletop games for the upcoming GMW Fall 2025, on September 21 at San Jose Guildhouse, are now available: www.gamemarketwest.com/fall-2025-ga...
Fall 2025 Games
Directory (Games Below)
www.gamemarketwest.com
August 14, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Game Market West is a great event, and I'm excited to bring my tabletop games for sale there!
I love talking #gamedesign and how games teach.
Watch (for free) this quite nerdy talk I gave last year, about how games teach through their arbitrary choices!
You, too, will teach players something by how you arbitrarily constrain them in your game.
youtu.be/d3VU4IFYb0w
#education #edugames
Watch (for free) this quite nerdy talk I gave last year, about how games teach through their arbitrary choices!
You, too, will teach players something by how you arbitrarily constrain them in your game.
youtu.be/d3VU4IFYb0w
#education #edugames
Learning through friction and boundaries (Game design talk, GBLVC 2024)
YouTube video by Randy O
youtu.be
July 7, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I love talking #gamedesign and how games teach.
Watch (for free) this quite nerdy talk I gave last year, about how games teach through their arbitrary choices!
You, too, will teach players something by how you arbitrarily constrain them in your game.
youtu.be/d3VU4IFYb0w
#education #edugames
Watch (for free) this quite nerdy talk I gave last year, about how games teach through their arbitrary choices!
You, too, will teach players something by how you arbitrarily constrain them in your game.
youtu.be/d3VU4IFYb0w
#education #edugames
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
I signed up for this seminar at the East Bay Board Game Convention in July purely based on the conversation @randyogames.bsky.social had with @themisplay.com in their May 18th podcast. 🎲✂️
June 23, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I signed up for this seminar at the East Bay Board Game Convention in July purely based on the conversation @randyogames.bsky.social had with @themisplay.com in their May 18th podcast. 🎲✂️
Thanks @davengdesign.bsky.social for having me on the Experience Points podcast! It's a 20-minute episode going into some of my philosophy and understanding about games-based learning. #edugames #gamedesign #gamesbasedlearning www.universityxp.com/podcast/140
Episode 140 Randy O'Connor on Designing Through Constraints — University XP
In this episode of Experience Points, Dave Eng welcomes game designer, artist, and educator Randy O’Connor to explore the crucial role of constraints in game design and learning. From limited resource...
www.universityxp.com
June 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Thanks @davengdesign.bsky.social for having me on the Experience Points podcast! It's a 20-minute episode going into some of my philosophy and understanding about games-based learning. #edugames #gamedesign #gamesbasedlearning www.universityxp.com/podcast/140
Watched the #Pixar TV show "Win or Lose", and adored it. Gets better with each episode.
a cartoon of a boy pushing another boy in a shopping cart with the words win lose written on the bottom
ALT: a cartoon of a boy pushing another boy in a shopping cart with the words win lose written on the bottom
media.tenor.com
May 28, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Watched the #Pixar TV show "Win or Lose", and adored it. Gets better with each episode.
I have cancelled my Microsoft Game Pass subscription until #Microsoft is no longer complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. It's not much, but it's something I can do.
May 22, 2025 at 6:54 AM
I have cancelled my Microsoft Game Pass subscription until #Microsoft is no longer complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. It's not much, but it's something I can do.
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
If a foreign adversary snuck into our Federal budget and cut science research and education the way we’re cutting it ourselves — strategically undermining America’s long-term health, wealth, and security — we would likely consider it an act of war.
May 19, 2025 at 7:36 PM
If a foreign adversary snuck into our Federal budget and cut science research and education the way we’re cutting it ourselves — strategically undermining America’s long-term health, wealth, and security — we would likely consider it an act of war.
"This unassuming golf game makes one of the best uses of dice I have ever seen in a tabletop game." - BGG user, Roll In One.
Some reviews truly, truly warm my heart.
#boardgames #tabletop #bgg #rollinonegame
Some reviews truly, truly warm my heart.
#boardgames #tabletop #bgg #rollinonegame
May 6, 2025 at 4:07 AM
"This unassuming golf game makes one of the best uses of dice I have ever seen in a tabletop game." - BGG user, Roll In One.
Some reviews truly, truly warm my heart.
#boardgames #tabletop #bgg #rollinonegame
Some reviews truly, truly warm my heart.
#boardgames #tabletop #bgg #rollinonegame
As someone who grew up on PC Gamer and still peruses reviews plenty, this is a cool breakdown of video game reviewers over history. Bunch of fun charts, and interesting to consider. spritecell.com/bp13-reviewe... (h/t to @gamediscoverco.bsky.social for finding this!)
Video Game Reviewers
Looking at how video game review outlets score games, how long they've been around, and where they're from.
spritecell.com
May 1, 2025 at 6:19 PM
As someone who grew up on PC Gamer and still peruses reviews plenty, this is a cool breakdown of video game reviewers over history. Bunch of fun charts, and interesting to consider. spritecell.com/bp13-reviewe... (h/t to @gamediscoverco.bsky.social for finding this!)
Oh, cool! 'Gun It' got nominated for BoardGameQuest's "Best Small Publisher Game".
Voting is open, and ends tomorrow. If you like voting, check it out? #boardgames #coopgames #gunitgame #oopsididnotnoticethis
www.boardgamequest.com/2024-board-g...
Voting is open, and ends tomorrow. If you like voting, check it out? #boardgames #coopgames #gunitgame #oopsididnotnoticethis
www.boardgamequest.com/2024-board-g...
2024 Board Game Award Nominees
We are excited to present the nominees for our 2024 board game awards. Congrats to all the games nominated!
www.boardgamequest.com
April 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Oh, cool! 'Gun It' got nominated for BoardGameQuest's "Best Small Publisher Game".
Voting is open, and ends tomorrow. If you like voting, check it out? #boardgames #coopgames #gunitgame #oopsididnotnoticethis
www.boardgamequest.com/2024-board-g...
Voting is open, and ends tomorrow. If you like voting, check it out? #boardgames #coopgames #gunitgame #oopsididnotnoticethis
www.boardgamequest.com/2024-board-g...
It's ACTION APRIL! Get my now critically acclaimed game 'Gun It' for $30 with free shipping, all this month on my website! www.randyo.net/gunit.html
#boardgames #coopgames #tabletop #gunitgame #dicetowerapproved
#boardgames #coopgames #tabletop #gunitgame #dicetowerapproved
April 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM
It's ACTION APRIL! Get my now critically acclaimed game 'Gun It' for $30 with free shipping, all this month on my website! www.randyo.net/gunit.html
#boardgames #coopgames #tabletop #gunitgame #dicetowerapproved
#boardgames #coopgames #tabletop #gunitgame #dicetowerapproved
This month, on my substack, I write about Paul McCartney's awful song that I discovered recently and got my toddler addicted to. And then I talk about public education. What more could you want in a personal newsletter? randyoconnor.substack.com
Randy O’Mails | Randy O'Connor | Substack
Thoughts on every and anything. I’m a game designer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Often a peek into my latest doings, always a Spotify playlist. Sometimes game design, or city planning, or the outdoo...
randyoconnor.substack.com
March 29, 2025 at 4:58 AM
This month, on my substack, I write about Paul McCartney's awful song that I discovered recently and got my toddler addicted to. And then I talk about public education. What more could you want in a personal newsletter? randyoconnor.substack.com
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
GDC! Join me at 2:30 in room west 2006 for a design talk about grids in games!
Guaranteed to make you more popular at parties!
#GDC2025 #Design @officialgdc.bsky.social
schedule.gdconf.com/session/grid...
Guaranteed to make you more popular at parties!
#GDC2025 #Design @officialgdc.bsky.social
schedule.gdconf.com/session/grid...
Grid Topology vs Game Mechanics: Which Grid for You?
20th March, 2025 02:30pm - 03:00pm - Grids are supposed to make life easier for player and developer alike by quantizing space, but they ...
schedule.gdconf.com
March 20, 2025 at 5:31 PM
GDC! Join me at 2:30 in room west 2006 for a design talk about grids in games!
Guaranteed to make you more popular at parties!
#GDC2025 #Design @officialgdc.bsky.social
schedule.gdconf.com/session/grid...
Guaranteed to make you more popular at parties!
#GDC2025 #Design @officialgdc.bsky.social
schedule.gdconf.com/session/grid...
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
Game designer @randyogames.bsky.social joins us tomorrow to share his playtesting experience and offer advice on where we’re at!
March 17, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Game designer @randyogames.bsky.social joins us tomorrow to share his playtesting experience and offer advice on where we’re at!
Hey, I wrote a Designer Diary about 'Gun It', and it made the front page of #BoardGameGeek. Check it out! boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogp... #boardgames #gamedesigner #tabletop #gunitgame
Designer Diary: Gun It | BoardGameGeek News
boardgamegeek.com
March 13, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Hey, I wrote a Designer Diary about 'Gun It', and it made the front page of #BoardGameGeek. Check it out! boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogp... #boardgames #gamedesigner #tabletop #gunitgame
Next week! 'Gun It' and its expansion are playable and purchasable at #dicetowerwest!
Coopboardgames.com - "Thematically, Gun It absolutely nails it. It’s hard not to feel like you’re right in the middle of a crazy gun fight on the road."
#boardgames #dtw #dtw2025
Coopboardgames.com - "Thematically, Gun It absolutely nails it. It’s hard not to feel like you’re right in the middle of a crazy gun fight on the road."
#boardgames #dtw #dtw2025
February 27, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Next week! 'Gun It' and its expansion are playable and purchasable at #dicetowerwest!
Coopboardgames.com - "Thematically, Gun It absolutely nails it. It’s hard not to feel like you’re right in the middle of a crazy gun fight on the road."
#boardgames #dtw #dtw2025
Coopboardgames.com - "Thematically, Gun It absolutely nails it. It’s hard not to feel like you’re right in the middle of a crazy gun fight on the road."
#boardgames #dtw #dtw2025
Reposted by Randy O'Connor
ANNOUNCEMENT: 2025 games are now available! I'm so proud of the designers and their hard work to make these games come to life.
www.gamemarketwest.com/2025-games
#boardgames
www.gamemarketwest.com/2025-games
#boardgames
February 20, 2025 at 2:15 AM
ANNOUNCEMENT: 2025 games are now available! I'm so proud of the designers and their hard work to make these games come to life.
www.gamemarketwest.com/2025-games
#boardgames
www.gamemarketwest.com/2025-games
#boardgames