Cole Wehrle
@colewehrle.bsky.social
Game designer focusing on strategy games with strong emergent narratives. Half of Wehrlegig Games. Creative director at Leder Games. Voracious reader of just about anything I can get my hands on.
It's broken (sorta)! A lot of Oath cards flirt with disruptive play patterns. When it works, it helps give the generations a deeper sense of identity but sometimes it goes sideways. Happily, patched in the upcoming expansion to be limited to campaigns.
November 15, 2025 at 2:28 AM
It's broken (sorta)! A lot of Oath cards flirt with disruptive play patterns. When it works, it helps give the generations a deeper sense of identity but sometimes it goes sideways. Happily, patched in the upcoming expansion to be limited to campaigns.
Drew and I have been overwhelmed by the support for the reprint campaign. If you've been looking for a copy of John Company or Molly House, this is your best chance to get a copy and the way that most directly supports us and our further efforts.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...
November 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Drew and I have been overwhelmed by the support for the reprint campaign. If you've been looking for a copy of John Company or Molly House, this is your best chance to get a copy and the way that most directly supports us and our further efforts.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...
It's the most magical time of the year. Outside the skies are gray and the air is cool. Meanwhile I'm cozied up in the office laying out punchboard for Oath: New Foundations while listening to true crime podcasts.
October 30, 2025 at 8:30 PM
It's the most magical time of the year. Outside the skies are gray and the air is cool. Meanwhile I'm cozied up in the office laying out punchboard for Oath: New Foundations while listening to true crime podcasts.
Come join Drew and Jo, and I for a mid-day game of MH on the lovely new BGA mod. www.twitch.tv/wehrlegiggames
@miasmacorp.bsky.social @wehrlegig.games
@miasmacorp.bsky.social @wehrlegig.games
October 29, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Come join Drew and Jo, and I for a mid-day game of MH on the lovely new BGA mod. www.twitch.tv/wehrlegiggames
@miasmacorp.bsky.social @wehrlegig.games
@miasmacorp.bsky.social @wehrlegig.games
That feeling when you're rushing to finish a complex project, helping run a Kickstarter, are midway through another design, and think that you might have time to learn a new game...
October 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
That feeling when you're rushing to finish a complex project, helping run a Kickstarter, are midway through another design, and think that you might have time to learn a new game...
It's time for the Roguelike Celebration! You'll find me wandering around the MUD and catching talks today. I'll be giving my presentation on Oath at 3:30 pm Central US Time. @roguelike.club
You can still get tickets. Come hang out!
You can still get tickets. Come hang out!
October 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
It's time for the Roguelike Celebration! You'll find me wandering around the MUD and catching talks today. I'll be giving my presentation on Oath at 3:30 pm Central US Time. @roguelike.club
You can still get tickets. Come hang out!
You can still get tickets. Come hang out!
Now that's a good mail day! Two incredible subjects with equally remarkable productions. I can't wait to get these on the table.
October 12, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Now that's a good mail day! Two incredible subjects with equally remarkable productions. I can't wait to get these on the table.
And, tomorrow, we get Shadow Ticket. I've got a bunch to say about it, but I want to wait a few weeks before I get into the weeds.
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
And, tomorrow, we get Shadow Ticket. I've got a bunch to say about it, but I want to wait a few weeks before I get into the weeds.
And it's gorgeous to boot! I mean, come on!
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
And it's gorgeous to boot! I mean, come on!
It all feels like a final novel. But of course we get another (and another). In 2013 we get Bleeding Edge. This novel rips.
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
It all feels like a final novel. But of course we get another (and another). In 2013 we get Bleeding Edge. This novel rips.
The book also has some lovely set pieces. A particular favorite is the Las Vegas section, critically important in the book but not in the movie. I also adore the final chapter as Doc navigates a dense fog on the highway. Just look at that middle paragraph!
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
The book also has some lovely set pieces. A particular favorite is the Las Vegas section, critically important in the book but not in the movie. I also adore the final chapter as Doc navigates a dense fog on the highway. Just look at that middle paragraph!
But, here's the thing about Inherent Vice. Like an old hot rod, there's quite a bit going under the hood! Heck, take a look at the novel's epigraph. Yes, you guessed it, we're still sorting through revolutionary politics. This novel is far closer to Chinatown than Big Lebowski.
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
But, here's the thing about Inherent Vice. Like an old hot rod, there's quite a bit going under the hood! Heck, take a look at the novel's epigraph. Yes, you guessed it, we're still sorting through revolutionary politics. This novel is far closer to Chinatown than Big Lebowski.
That context helps explain passages like this where the book jumps beyond its familial scope.
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
That context helps explain passages like this where the book jumps beyond its familial scope.
Alright, the littlest kiddo has been dropped off at school. Now I can get back to the work at hand. Let's get into the later works.
October 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Alright, the littlest kiddo has been dropped off at school. Now I can get back to the work at hand. Let's get into the later works.
A lot of readers struggle with the book. That's mostly because the prose is done in the style of an 18C novel. Like Gravity's Rainbow, if you aren't used to the source material, it can be a hard thing to get used to. But, put in the work and you'll be treated to some of his best writing.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
A lot of readers struggle with the book. That's mostly because the prose is done in the style of an 18C novel. Like Gravity's Rainbow, if you aren't used to the source material, it can be a hard thing to get used to. But, put in the work and you'll be treated to some of his best writing.
Next up is Mason and Dixon. I think this is my favorite Pynchon novel but one that took me a long time to figure out. It is every bit as global as his previous work but also far more intimate in scope. It's really just a bromance novel. Mason and Dixon. Worry about them, not the hundred others.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Next up is Mason and Dixon. I think this is my favorite Pynchon novel but one that took me a long time to figure out. It is every bit as global as his previous work but also far more intimate in scope. It's really just a bromance novel. Mason and Dixon. Worry about them, not the hundred others.
Next we get Vineland (1990). After the highs of Gravity's Rainbow, this was a big letdown for readers and critics alike, but I think the bright lights of GR blinded them to its merits. Vineland is the work of a mature writer in full command of their powers. It's also completely bonkers.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Next we get Vineland (1990). After the highs of Gravity's Rainbow, this was a big letdown for readers and critics alike, but I think the bright lights of GR blinded them to its merits. Vineland is the work of a mature writer in full command of their powers. It's also completely bonkers.
I mean, really, I could just keep quoting the novel all day. Here's Slothrop, after visiting the grave of Dr. Jamf, one of the novel's great villians, looking over the Alps.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
I mean, really, I could just keep quoting the novel all day. Here's Slothrop, after visiting the grave of Dr. Jamf, one of the novel's great villians, looking over the Alps.
It also has a special kind of energy to it. It's written as if it was going to be the guy's last book. Every page has urgency. In one of my favorite chapters, Roger and Jessica visit a compline service.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
It also has a special kind of energy to it. It's written as if it was going to be the guy's last book. Every page has urgency. In one of my favorite chapters, Roger and Jessica visit a compline service.
Gravity's Rainbow owes a lot to espionage thrillers from the 1940s. Watching a Carol Reed movie like Fallen Idol or Third Man or Last Train to Munich will go a long way in helping dial into the book's voice.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Gravity's Rainbow owes a lot to espionage thrillers from the 1940s. Watching a Carol Reed movie like Fallen Idol or Third Man or Last Train to Munich will go a long way in helping dial into the book's voice.
In 1973 we get Gravity's Rainbow. For a long time (maybe still) it was my favorite book. I am always reading it or about to re-read it. Gravity's Rainbow is tough. It might be the hardest read on this list. It's worth noting why it's so hard.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
In 1973 we get Gravity's Rainbow. For a long time (maybe still) it was my favorite book. I am always reading it or about to re-read it. Gravity's Rainbow is tough. It might be the hardest read on this list. It's worth noting why it's so hard.
Alright we'll start with V. (1963) and Crying of Lot 49 (1966). V. is an incredible first novel. It's got a great voice and real narrative range. At the same time, like its little brother, both books clearly show a writer testing the waters. Both are a little more restrained than later works.
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Alright we'll start with V. (1963) and Crying of Lot 49 (1966). V. is an incredible first novel. It's got a great voice and real narrative range. At the same time, like its little brother, both books clearly show a writer testing the waters. Both are a little more restrained than later works.
Alright, let's do it. Here's a little prospective reader's guide to every Thomas Pynchon novel. We'll take them in order of publication. This might be a long thread. Buckle up! 1/x
October 6, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Alright, let's do it. Here's a little prospective reader's guide to every Thomas Pynchon novel. We'll take them in order of publication. This might be a long thread. Buckle up! 1/x
October 25th I'll be giving a talk for this year's Roguelike Celebration @roguelike.club among an absolutely stacked speaker lineup. I'll be talking about Oath and what happens when you apply roguelike procgen conventions to tabletop games and the sorts of strange stories that follow.
September 24, 2025 at 2:12 PM
October 25th I'll be giving a talk for this year's Roguelike Celebration @roguelike.club among an absolutely stacked speaker lineup. I'll be talking about Oath and what happens when you apply roguelike procgen conventions to tabletop games and the sorts of strange stories that follow.
A little evening prototyping.
September 24, 2025 at 12:56 AM
A little evening prototyping.