Sam Nelson
@samanthanelson.bsky.social
Covering entertainment and tabletop games at Polygon and food and drinks for Eater and the Chicago Tribune.
Playing Draw Steel and the fact that War Dogs explode on death makes them the meanest low level enemies since the exploding skeletons of D&D 4E.
February 14, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Playing Draw Steel and the fact that War Dogs explode on death makes them the meanest low level enemies since the exploding skeletons of D&D 4E.
I'm trying to give indie TTRPGs some love on Polygon but it's tough because they don't do the sort of traffic as D&D stories. But one of the best part of my job is talking to game developers about their passion for the hobby. Here's a piece on Nimble: www.polygon.com/nimble-dunge...
D&D alternative Nimble returns to Kickstarter with a big expansion
Designer Evan Diaz talks about respecting everyone's time and making memories
www.polygon.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:46 AM
I'm trying to give indie TTRPGs some love on Polygon but it's tough because they don't do the sort of traffic as D&D stories. But one of the best part of my job is talking to game developers about their passion for the hobby. Here's a piece on Nimble: www.polygon.com/nimble-dunge...
I love that my job sometimes involves an editor coming to me like J. Jonah Jameson demanding a story about Spider-Man. Spider-Noir looks like it's going to be really weird and I am excited about it.
www.polygon.com/spider-noir-...
www.polygon.com/spider-noir-...
Spider-Noir won't be Peter Parker in the upcoming Nicolas Cage show
The new Spider-Noir series made major changes to the character's comics background to give him a darker origin story.
www.polygon.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:52 PM
I love that my job sometimes involves an editor coming to me like J. Jonah Jameson demanding a story about Spider-Man. Spider-Noir looks like it's going to be really weird and I am excited about it.
www.polygon.com/spider-noir-...
www.polygon.com/spider-noir-...
I woke up from an anxiety dream and then started reading the news on my phone like that was a smart thing to do. Going to yoga to try to get my brain back in check.
February 10, 2026 at 8:37 AM
I woke up from an anxiety dream and then started reading the news on my phone like that was a smart thing to do. Going to yoga to try to get my brain back in check.
There’s a play called I Never Saw Another Butterfly based on the art and writing of children kept at the Terezin Concentration Camp during WWII. I wonder if it will have a revival or someone will just write the American version.
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 10, 2026 at 1:53 AM
There’s a play called I Never Saw Another Butterfly based on the art and writing of children kept at the Terezin Concentration Camp during WWII. I wonder if it will have a revival or someone will just write the American version.
Reposted by Sam Nelson
Extremely exciting news: We're hiring a full-time film critic to come work with me at The A.V. Club!
You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
The A.V. Club hiring Film Critic in Greater Chicago Area | LinkedIn
Posted 8:42:22 PM. The A.V. Club is seeking an experienced Film Critic to join our team of trenchant writers and…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Extremely exciting news: We're hiring a full-time film critic to come work with me at The A.V. Club!
You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Me playing a platformer.
The kitten gave us a valuable lesson: Persistence and determination are the key to success.
February 8, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Me playing a platformer.
Playing a D&D one-shot where all our characters had dark secrets and two of us confessed ours over the course of the game which meant that we fought fewer skeletons in the final boss fight because we banished the skeletons in our closets. 😅
January 17, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Playing a D&D one-shot where all our characters had dark secrets and two of us confessed ours over the course of the game which meant that we fought fewer skeletons in the final boss fight because we banished the skeletons in our closets. 😅
I worked at Blockbuster in college. Dogville was on our loop but the clips they showed didn’t make it clear what a weird movie it was. Then people rented it and returned it complaining “the sets were missing.” After I got a job editing and quit my manager was arrested for embezzlement.
Blockbuster sucked ass compared to Hollywood Video.
But these are damn good stories.
But these are damn good stories.
I know nostalgia for Blockbuster is a thing. I don’t really remember it that way. I remember it having fewer movies than the stores I went to as a kid. But I worked at Blockbuster when I was 17.
Here are some things that happened while I was there.
Here are some things that happened while I was there.
January 14, 2026 at 9:29 PM
I worked at Blockbuster in college. Dogville was on our loop but the clips they showed didn’t make it clear what a weird movie it was. Then people rented it and returned it complaining “the sets were missing.” After I got a job editing and quit my manager was arrested for embezzlement.
I get to live in the Netherlands because of the Dutch American Friendship Treaty and I'm a little worried that if the U.S. invades Greenland I'm going to get unfriended and I really don't want to go back. I still have two years until I can apply for permanent residency.
January 6, 2026 at 3:04 PM
I get to live in the Netherlands because of the Dutch American Friendship Treaty and I'm a little worried that if the U.S. invades Greenland I'm going to get unfriended and I really don't want to go back. I still have two years until I can apply for permanent residency.
Eddie Munson was a great Dungeon Master, but Mike's games have had a lot of problems since season 1. Here are some tips for running better games that put characters at the center.
www.polygon.com/stranger-thi...
www.polygon.com/stranger-thi...
Stranger Things' emotional ending is undermined by one brutal truth: Mike is a bad Dungeon Master
Mike's flaws as a DM parallel some of the show's biggest storytelling mistakes
www.polygon.com
January 4, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Eddie Munson was a great Dungeon Master, but Mike's games have had a lot of problems since season 1. Here are some tips for running better games that put characters at the center.
www.polygon.com/stranger-thi...
www.polygon.com/stranger-thi...
Rodrigo is one of the best game masters out there. Check out his new show.
Let's talk about Moon Generation, the new #LancerRPG actual play we're doing on the #CriticalHit podcast! There are four episodes out now, and you can listen on youtube, spotify, apple podcast or your aggregator of choice. youtu.be/eAzfOSujiUA?...
Critical Hit #811: Operation Wild Moon - Part 1 (LNRS01-E01)
YouTube video by Major Spoilers Video
youtu.be
January 4, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Rodrigo is one of the best game masters out there. Check out his new show.
Invading another country to steal it's resources is abhorent but what's wild is that the U.S. is barely going to benefit from Venezualen oil. Oil prices are going down because of clean energy. More oil will hurt U.S. producers who will just stop drilling and the cost of gas will remain stable.
January 4, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Invading another country to steal it's resources is abhorent but what's wild is that the U.S. is barely going to benefit from Venezualen oil. Oil prices are going down because of clean energy. More oil will hurt U.S. producers who will just stop drilling and the cost of gas will remain stable.
When I tell my husband I have to work late on Jan. 2 to write a story about Stranger Things I feel exactly like Seth Rogen in The Studio interrupting his date because he has to sign off on fart jokes.
January 2, 2026 at 11:21 PM
When I tell my husband I have to work late on Jan. 2 to write a story about Stranger Things I feel exactly like Seth Rogen in The Studio interrupting his date because he has to sign off on fart jokes.
My friends invited me to go see a screening of Only Lovers Left Alive introduced by Tilda Swinton today assuming I had the day off but I told them I sadly have to spend the rest of the day writing about Stranger Things. Now they're distracting me by complaining about plot holes in the finale.
January 2, 2026 at 12:28 PM
My friends invited me to go see a screening of Only Lovers Left Alive introduced by Tilda Swinton today assuming I had the day off but I told them I sadly have to spend the rest of the day writing about Stranger Things. Now they're distracting me by complaining about plot holes in the finale.
Happy New Year from Amsterdam where the whole city smells like smoke from all the amateur fireworks that have been going off for hours.
January 1, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Happy New Year from Amsterdam where the whole city smells like smoke from all the amateur fireworks that have been going off for hours.
Played Draw Steel today and our Null hatched a plan to catch a capybara to use as bait for a werewolf but then the capybara was so cute he named it Jim Bob and decided my Censor should be the bait instead. My character is now infected with lycanthropy.
December 28, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Played Draw Steel today and our Null hatched a plan to catch a capybara to use as bait for a werewolf but then the capybara was so cute he named it Jim Bob and decided my Censor should be the bait instead. My character is now infected with lycanthropy.
The writers of Stranger Things make a lot of D&D references but the show really should have consulted with someone who knows more about the game and how it’s evolved over the decades. They’re making references in 1987 to rules that didn’t release until 2000.
www.polygon.com/dungeons-and...
www.polygon.com/dungeons-and...
Stranger Things season 5's butchers a critical piece of D&D history
There are some big issues with Stranger Things season 5's Dungeons & Dragons sorcerer plotline.
www.polygon.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:02 AM
The writers of Stranger Things make a lot of D&D references but the show really should have consulted with someone who knows more about the game and how it’s evolved over the decades. They’re making references in 1987 to rules that didn’t release until 2000.
www.polygon.com/dungeons-and...
www.polygon.com/dungeons-and...
Reposted by Sam Nelson
Bestselling author Andy Weir discusses his attention to detail and telling a different first contact story
Don't expect The Martian 2 — we got Project Hail Mary instead, says writer
Bestselling author Andy Weir discusses his attention to detail and telling a different first contact story
www.polygon.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Bestselling author Andy Weir discusses his attention to detail and telling a different first contact story
“So do you get to write what you want about something you review or are you told what you’re supposed to say about it?”
What’s the worst question someone can ask after you tell them your profession? For linguists, it’s definitely “how many languages do you speak?”, but I’m curious what else is happening to the rest of y’all out there?!
December 2, 2025 at 1:26 AM
“So do you get to write what you want about something you review or are you told what you’re supposed to say about it?”
I’m at Spiel Essen. If you want to say hi, play a game or show me your game let me know!
October 22, 2025 at 11:33 AM
I’m at Spiel Essen. If you want to say hi, play a game or show me your game let me know!
Playing an 11th level D&D game and my druid has used a 5th level spell slot to charm a bunch of goats. Definitely a good use of my gas.
September 28, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Playing an 11th level D&D game and my druid has used a 5th level spell slot to charm a bunch of goats. Definitely a good use of my gas.
My 71-year-old dad with asthma can't get a COVID vaccine in Florida. The pharmacy has them but said they're waiting for guidance on whether they're allowed to give them. Good times. Meanwhile I got my annual Amsterdam postcard telling me when to go get my free flu shot at my local doctor's office.
September 21, 2025 at 2:29 PM
My 71-year-old dad with asthma can't get a COVID vaccine in Florida. The pharmacy has them but said they're waiting for guidance on whether they're allowed to give them. Good times. Meanwhile I got my annual Amsterdam postcard telling me when to go get my free flu shot at my local doctor's office.
John Cena's Peacemaker thinks he's found the 'best dimension ever,' but I think I know what's coming next.
Peacemaker season 2 takes a darker, deeper dive into the potential of the multiverse
The MCU is doing it wrong
www.polygon.com
September 6, 2025 at 7:48 AM
John Cena's Peacemaker thinks he's found the 'best dimension ever,' but I think I know what's coming next.