Mike Mullins
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bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Mike Mullins
@bluedevilduke.bsky.social
320 followers 320 following 310 posts
Solo tabletop game designer and developer. He/him
https://mikemullins.me/

PFP by Momo (https://www.heyheymomo.com/)
Banner is a screen from Donut County
BGA: mullins014
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bluedevilduke.bsky.social
No Kings featuring a crossed out crown on a yellow background
October 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Riding in @tettix.bsky.social's boat up to #2 on the hotness!
An image of the Hotness list on BGG, with Deep Regrets #1, and Shallow Regrets #2. Shallow Regrets is the pocket-sized version that Judson Cowan designed for Button Shy.
April 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Hey look! It's #Unpub25! @unpub.bsky.social @wunfatkid.bsky.social
The rear doors of a packed Uhaul van are open to reveal boxes and a dolly.
March 26, 2025 at 2:57 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
When I first started playing I thought, "Is there enough here to make it interesting?" Then on about turn three we both said "Ohhhhh, ok yeah, I get it." I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Jason Tagmire placing a tile on the Rebirth board.
March 12, 2025 at 12:53 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I'm really grateful.
Selfie of my wife Sarah and I on the beach. She's got a windbreaker on and I have a zip-up hoodie because it's not really warm enough for the beach yet.
February 17, 2025 at 5:54 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
"Did you play basketball today?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"
My knees, both of which have electrodes connected to a TENS unit (electrical stimulation for pain relief) and an iced knee sleeve.
February 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Very pleased to have finished #LOKdigital, even if I am sad there's not more to discover. Luckily, there are daily puzzles!
Mostly black and white illustration with 5 of the characters from LOK in front of a metal structure. The text reads "Congratulations for 100% completing LOK Digital! We hope you had a good time with our game and we hope you stay curious on your path forward. - Letibus designs, Icedrop Games, Draknek & Friends"
February 2, 2025 at 3:06 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
The secret behind my solo modes has been laid bare: pacts with demons.
Screenshot of a BGG blog post. The text above reads, "I thought I was doing well 2 rounds in. The additional bouquet cards Demon received in round 3 though... they combined beautifully and a 6 point swing meant I lost by 4." The image shows a stuffed demon serving as the opponent in a solo game of Tussie Mussie, with beautifully illustrated flower cards distributed on the table. The text below reads, "Demon smug with his 6 card hand that did for me in round 3. The forces of darkness don't play by the rules. Or rather they do, thanks to a pact with Mike Mullins."
December 24, 2024 at 9:29 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
The last winter #BoardGame before some holiday traveling is Jokkmokk, the Winter Market. I tend to like drafting games, and this one was fun. I played with the suggested card sets for my first game, and I look forward to trying more.
The box cover of Jokkmokk, featuring colorful storybook art of a winter scene in Sweden. The bottom left corner says Designed by Henrik Larsson, Illustrated by Christina Hägerfors, and Visit the famous Swedish folk market! The rectangular central board contains another colorful winter scene. A score track surrounds the board. Two decks of cards (day and night) have been set in the center of the board. Several meeples form a queue around the board, and in each other open space around the board are cards to be drafted by the players, including Hot Dog, Patchwork, Antique, and Dalecarlian Horse. The reminder cards in a row below the board describe how each type of card scores. An angled view of the board during the game, with some meeples on spaces formerly occupied by cards, and a cardboard standee skater indicating the active player (the one at the back of the queue).
December 20, 2024 at 6:20 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Next winter #boardgame? Keystone North America. I grabbed the snowy player board, and surprisingly the winter migration scenario was next on my list!
Player board is a 4x4 grid of squares, with a snowy alpine scene covering the entire thing. Beneath the board are several of the square species cards: snowy owl, emperor goose, Canada lynx, woodland caribou, snowshoe hare and northwestern gray wolf. The animals are beautifully illustrated, with icons indicating their habitats and additional details. The solo campaign is formatted like a journal, and Assignment 14 is "Flight of the Raptors." The left page is a faux journal entry with a story providing background, and the right page has setup instructions and special rules for the scenario. Sketches of geese, a colored drawing of an eagle, and a feather "taped" to the page adorn the journal.
December 18, 2024 at 5:58 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I like to play through my winter-themed games this month, and holiday games next week (looking at you @hokiestone.bsky.social and @mattriddlegames.bsky.social). I got a convincing win in the Winter is Coming scenario of Empires of the North. What are your go-to winter #boardgames?
5 action tiles surround a Yeti tile, and two are flipped to their yellow solo-only side. Two blue player cylinders are on the tiles. The scenario book is open to the scenario I'm playing. Several cards fill my player area, and the backs show my clan. Fish tokens, the famous tomato/apple tokens, and some meeples are placed on the cards. The sea themed score track board sits above the Sailing board. Two decks, nearby and distant islands, are placed on the board, with whimsical nautical art (whales, sea monsters, viking ships). Two sailboat tokens are on the board.
December 18, 2024 at 2:45 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Solani is based upon Diné stories of the cosmos that are only to be shared in the winter. I managed to beat the impatient Coyote tonight for a solo victory.
The game box, with a bright moon overhead shining on a circular tablet with Diné paintings in front of a fire. Rocky buttes line the background. Red and green cloth draw bags containing pieces for the game are next to the box. My player mat at the end of the game. Circular star, constellation and planet tokens are interspersed with cross-shaped branch tokens, forming a mosaic. Diné artwork decorates the edges of the mat. 4 constellation cards detailing the scoring rules are next to the mat.
December 17, 2024 at 6:23 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I tried Snowcrest tonight. The solo mode is really an efficiency puzzle, but the various card decks do a good job of making each game feel different. I'm looking forward to playing the higher difficulty levels and trying for the perfect score of 20 (achieving inner peace in the process). #BoardGames
The cloth central mat has a row of achievement cards (two face up for solo), a common villager deck, a guardian card deck, a forest spirit deck with three wooden juniper tokens on it, and a row of 5 face up common villagers. There is a supply of square building tiles (3 types: farm, forge, shrine), and a supply of resources (scrolls, barley, offering bowls, prayer bells, and gold). The cloth player mat has a snowy mountain temple background, 4 starting villagers on the corners of a 3x3 grid, and one additional villager in the center space (purchased during setup). An omen track from 5 to -5 is under the grid, with a skull token on 0. A row of 8 building spaces is at the bottom, with a farm in the far left space. Four solo rest tokens numbered 1-4 are on the top left of the grid. The reminder card and player deck are to the right if the mat, as well as the two cards that would be in my hand. The Snowcrest rulebook is nearby.
December 3, 2024 at 6:27 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Sometimes a road trip provides amusements that you didn't expect.
Photo taken from a car window of a large beaver statue View of the beaver statue from the front. It's white painted eye and crooked teeth make a really goofy expression. A green and yellow Beaver Storage sign is in the foreground.
November 27, 2024 at 3:41 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Set up Explorers of Navoria for later tonight. Time to increase the difficulty level and play through the solo scenarios. #boardgames
The full setup: 6 rows of 3 cards each, next to their respective decks on the left edge of the board. A colorful map board with scoring objectives, three exploration tracks with a player piece and several solo tokens on each, and many towns (action spaces) with the relevant resources stacked nearby. Below the main board is a small player board with three sections to place resources and 3 house tokens that unlock abilities once placed. A white draw bag contains the action tokens.
November 26, 2024 at 1:06 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
The main board has colorful art representing the continent, a score track around the outside, the "borderlands" area in the top left where creatures come into play, the sun track (game timer) on the top right, 8 branched paths dotted with rewards your villagers can collect, 6 resource tracks which players generate and share (you score for unused resources you create), and 4 season tracks for bonus scoring. Closeup of green and yellow elder villager meeples on the punch board track that sits between 2 branched paths. Each round the track slides towards the center of the board, giving the villager access to a more valuable path full of resources. Three punchboard component trays filled with colorful creature meeples. The top tray has blue fish plus bright and dark spirits used in the Midnight River expansion. The other 6 trays have orange, red, pink, peach, purple, and teal creatures with unique shapes and black screen printed features.
November 24, 2024 at 6:46 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
About 8 snowflakes fell today, and Duke is inconsolable.
View of my legs from the waist down as I lie on the couch with a blanket over my legs. A black and brindled Plott hound is tucked behind my knees, with his chin resting on my legs. He's probably thinking dog thoughts like, "The snow makes my toe beans cold and now I can never go outside again."
November 22, 2024 at 2:59 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I needed a break from prototypes, so I played #JuicyFruits with the expansion modules. It uses a sliding block puzzle mechanism, made more interesting by unlocking space (finishing boats) and cluttering your board (purchasing buildings for points/effects).
Home board is a square island. 3 ship tiles (contracts to be fulfilled) line each coast. 4 boulder tiles (obstacles/scoring goals) are in each corner. 5 basket tiles (that you slide to collect resources) form a quincunx in the center. The buildings board has five rows of square tiles, each costing fruit, that award points and sometimes additional abilities. To the left of the board are several larger tiles, which are granted by purchasing the correct building. Two whale meeples come in to play if you purchase the whale watching boat tiles. The bottom of the board has ice cream that you can make in exchange for fruit. The right side is a progress tracker with a black disc on it. It advances when buildings are purchased. This board has a large winding score track on the bottom 2/3 which goes to 100. The top has a somewhat complicated looking track with lots of arrows and some colored discs. You can spend fruit to make juice, which is a way to make some quick points. Next to the board is a pile of the colorful fruit shaped wooden pieces that you collect by moving your basket each turn. In the foreground is the board for the mystic Island expansion, dotted with square statue tiles. Red and blue explorer meeples share one space. On your turn, instead of collecting fruit, you can move your explorer the same direction and distance that you moved your basket, hopefully landing on and collecting a statue. Behind that is a small square board with four boulder-shaped spaces. When you meet the conditions and remove a boulder from your home board, you place it here to score points. Slightly blurred in the background is the Juicy Fruits box.
November 19, 2024 at 4:52 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Putting some #boardgame salve on a meh day, with Oak by Wim Goossens. I openly admit that the toy-factor makes me like this game even more. Look at those druids!
The box cover is upright on the game table, with shelves filled with games in the background. The box is black with a silver Celtic knot style circle and Oak written in the center. Very minimalist but striking. The main Oak board has a large tree depicted on it, as well as several "temples," which are action spaces for druids. Orange, purple, and teal druid-shaped Meeples fill the board, including the branches of the tree. Each branch offers points and increased income. Closer view of the board, highlighting that there are rubber pieces that can be added to the Meeples. One druid has a satchel over his shoulder. Another has a good with deer antlers. Towards the back can be seen another druid with a cloak, and one with an instrument. The personal board is dual layered, with trackers for each of the game's resources (feathers, mistletoe, and runestones). The druids are placed in their home spaces, each adorned with the rubber upgrade pieces. Above the board are the player cards used to take actions, some chunky resources tokens used to brew potions, and one of the punchboard organizers used to hold player pieces. The art is lush green, with a thatched hut and other thematic touches.
November 14, 2024 at 9:42 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Went to Euroquest in Annapolis this weekend, and got to play a bunch of new and new to me #boardgames, plus some favorites.
- Peacemakers, Horrors of War
- Rep•Tiles
- The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game
- Wondrous Creatures
- Path of Civilization
- Stephens
- Windmill Valley
- Opus Dei
Closeup of the map of Peacemakers, Horrors or War. Orange ocelot meeples in rubber bases are facing off against one remaining red bird. Three Adventurers (player pieces) are also on the map. Several pink discs represent damage taken by the units. The rulebook for Rep•Tiles with a snake and a lizard on the cover, and a drawbag with a scaled pattern spilling out colorful scale tiles. Luke Peterschmidt seated in front of a banner reading The Fellowship of the Ring Trick Taking Game at a table with three other players, learning the card game. A closeup of three sea serpent meeples, with a character meeple seated on top of one. These are player pieces for Wondrous Creatures
November 12, 2024 at 4:12 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I'd like to make it very clear: my kiddo is amazing.
Hannah as Vi from Arcane/League of Legends, with red hair, a neck tattoo, red leather jacket & black hoodie, plus handmade Vander's Gauntlets. Hannah as Vi from Arcane/League of Legends, with red hair, a neck tattoo, red leather jacket & black hoodie, plus handmade Vander's Gauntlets (slightly different angle)
November 1, 2024 at 2:51 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
Halloween at my house. Because she can't just dress up as Vi, she's also got to build Vander's Gauntlets.

Yes, I'll post the whole look later. Right now there's red hair dye everywhere...

#Arcane
Handmade gauntlets and various tools used to craft them, including tin snips and a drill.
October 31, 2024 at 9:09 PM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I usually get #ArkhamHorror 2.0 out around Halloween. It was the first #boardgame I ever bought at my FLGS, and I still enjoy playing. My Miskatonic University team (Professor, Astronomer, Researcher, Scientist) saved the world. So, you're welcome.
Part of the Arkham Horror board, showing locations like Rivertown, Graveyard, Black Cave and General Store. Two locations have an Elder Sign token meaning they are sealed (protected). Two cardboard standees (both white bearded academics) and a handful of custom dice are on the board.
October 31, 2024 at 4:41 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
I like to play thematic games this time of year, and the #UnconsciousMind Nightmares expansion fits perfectly. Creepy new patients, metamorphosis grief layers (thanks Kafka!), nightmares to analyze, the Treatise of the Dead publication, a cracked insight wheel with dark insight tokens, and pets!
A picture of the components described in the post. A tray of iridescent blue swirl tokens represent madness, black beads are added to the clear and blue (player color) beads to track insights on a circular board with three sections. The nightmare cards are tarot sized cards, and the patients are poker sized. Two cards have translucent plastic overlays that add features to the cards. There is a square token that looks like it's straight out of Evil Dead, with two mini-euro cards tucked under it as the required publication materials. Finally, there's the pet board with the illustration of a sleeping dog, several rows of abilities, and a dog-shaped wooden tracker piece. You need something to keep you sane when facing all this darkness!
October 25, 2024 at 5:26 AM
bluedevilduke.bsky.social
So, you like icons eh? I'll give you icons! #UnconsciousMind #solo #BoardGame
In the foreground I'm holding 4 large sheets that serve as an icon glossary. The "Routine Client Effects" and "Case-Study Client Effects" sheets have 12 rows explaining icons. The two "Icons" sheets have 50+ icon definitions. The background of the photo is my game table with a blue playmat and several game boards, cards, tokens, etc
October 24, 2024 at 4:32 AM