Taylor Shuss 🔜 PAXU
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drawnonward.bsky.social
Taylor Shuss 🔜 PAXU
@drawnonward.bsky.social
520 followers 320 following 1.2K posts
Tabletop Game Designer of 🏳️‍🌈Stonewall Uprising, 🛫Fold & Fly! and more to come. (he/him)

Lover of Gundams, handsome men & dexterity games.
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drawnonward.bsky.social
Keen-eyed people may have noticed a QR code on the rules sheets, and that is the file for my airplane templates - so players will never run out! 😉
The credits for Fold & Fly! with a covered QR code below it. The QR code is for printing extra airplane templates so you'll never run out.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
And that is how a copy of Fold & Fly! is made. 😅 Doing it in batches makes things run smoother, and it really it a labor of love. I adore this game and am so so SO excited to share it with the world! 🌈🛫

Please come by and grab a copy at PAX Unplugged's Indie Games Night Market! 💖
Many copies of Fold & Fly on a chair with one standing above them. A jacket is on the back of the chair.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
I trim the excess from the legal-sized cardstock for my cover. Then I glue the top of my cover to the remainder of the cardstock. And finally I put the components back in their slots at the back of each copy.
Me cutting the excess cardstock from the spine. An unevenly glued cover of Fold & Fly!
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Then I cut my giant notepad into 30 sheets each. I placed sticky notes before gluing to keep count. Once the backings are dry I put a spacer there and glue the 30 template notepad onto the spine.
6 30-sheet temples cut apart from each other. A flipped up page with a sticky note on it - to denote where each 30-page count starts & ends. One of my 30-page template notepads being glued to the legal-sized cardstock.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
I also print my covers at this stage, and the put my rules on the back - up-side down, so when players open the game the rules are right there & right-side up!

There is a bit of trimming that happens at this stage for the rules, since most things are letter-sized.
6 covers of Fold & Fly! freshly printed. I am so in love with this game's cover! 6 copies of the rules for Fold & Fly! on sticker paper, with the edges trimmed off via a paper cutter seen below.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
I punch out the components and keep the excess. That excess is supposed to house those components - though it's not perfect. I take the excess and use spray glue to bind them to the back of the spine of Fold & Fly! - legal-sized cardstock.
My cut out components. My cut out components on top of legal-sized cardstock and a can of spray adhesive. One backing completed - with the excess glued to the legal-sized cardstock. 6 finishing backings!
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
The following day I do a flurry of things. I print sticker paper components and put those on my chipboard sheets.

Once they are good to go I use a cricut I am borrowing (thanks C!) to give them each a few cuts.

Also pictured -snacks!
Me applying the sticker paper to thin chipboard backing. The sticker paper has my components on it. 6 chipboards with the components on them via sticker paper. You can see Jon Perry's Spots in the background as well. A cricut cutting one of my chipboard component sheets. Next to it is the foot of a chair, and next to that is a bag of Hi- Chew - delicious!
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Then I glue the top of each template together to make a simple notepad. I do these in groups of 6 copies to keep a good clip. These get clamped while drying to prevent the glue from getting between the pages (thanks r/bookbinding!)

I let this sit overnight after two thin coats of glue.
A picture of a large ream of paper with clamps on it. Below the clamps are wooden rulers to make sure it doesn't damage the paper templates.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
First I print 30 airplane templates for each copy I am making. I was going to do 50 but it turned out to be so much extra paper. These are printed on both sides which takes a decent chunk of time - longer than I would have guessed!
My ET-3850 printer (which my boyfriend got for me <3) printing out airplane templates. There are cans of ink next to it plus other doo-dads.
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
How is a single copy of Fold & Fly! made? I decided to make my ideal version of the game, so there are a decent number of steps. It's all hand-made & put together (with one slight exception) so let's walk through it!
A copy of my IGNM game, Fold & Fly!
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Got the final ingredients needed to really get production of Fold & Fly! into high gear before PAX Unplugged. 🌈🛫

Now just gotta get printing & gluing!
A picture of a carton of 1500 sheets of white paper, a pack of 100 sheets of sticker paper, and a full refill of ink for an Epson printer.
November 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Day 3 of @sdhistcon.bsky.social is a wrap, and my final day at the con unfortunately. Had a lovely time as always and already excited to get back next year.

Played some superb games throughout the event with some of the best people around!
A picture of a premium cut wooden board with etched icons and lines. On the board are some walls, some discs, and some cubes in two colors. In the center is a Boggle die. A picture of a rondel with 6 action spaces with various other components near it on a table The board for Striking Flint. It is made up of 5 cards with needles and tokens on it. A picture of 5 playing cards ripped in half.
November 10, 2025 at 2:06 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Ohhh yeah, that's the stuff. 🚆🌊
A picture of a beautiful blue sky with a few clouds in the distance. Below it is a beach with waves leading out to the ocean. On the beach are a few rocks. The sky and beach are framed inside a train window, with curtains to the side.
November 6, 2025 at 9:42 PM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Headed out to SDHist this weekend. Very excited to be going this year, with a back full of prototypes as usual! I will also have a copy of Fold & Fly! on hand to demo for those curious.
A picture of my IGNM game Fold & Fly!, assembled with the vibrant cover on display. It is on a bed with a blanket below it. The blanket looks incredibly soft & inviting.
November 5, 2025 at 12:48 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
🐌🏁
A quote with a slightly textured background. The quote says "In the underground world of illegal snail racing, there's no one you can trust." The quote is attributed to Slimy Mike.
October 24, 2025 at 2:36 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Got to try out @gregisonthego.bsky.social's IGNM release the other day, Resilience!

Highly recommend giving this a look at PAX U when it releases. One thing I am enamored with about this game is the kind of dialogues it can start about community prep work.Great work Greg, thanks for sharing!
The rules booklet for Greg Loring-Albright's Resilience. A picture of our end of game Crisis: Superstorm. A close up shot of my player board, where I took too much harm and lost!
October 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Pleasantly productive week. Got two new games to the table:
- A pickup & deliver trick taker
- a racing game that uses a component I have never seen in a board game before

Both went great! Way better than most first drafts. 🎉

Did you get any playtesting done this week? Tell me about your games!
A picture of a board showing 6 unique plants with generic sci-fi names like "Spiralis Prime", "Zeta Cluster B", & "Corriscus". In the center of the board is a circular chip with an arrow drawn on it. On one of the planets is a yellow spaceship token.
October 19, 2025 at 11:25 PM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Protest & playtest
A picture of many people holding up signs at a local No Kings protest in Southern California. A picture of a game in progress. On the table are some colored tracks with cubes on them, plus some dice. The game looks like a prototype.
October 19, 2025 at 12:57 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Over the past 6 months or so I've been using cheap, foldable pizza boxes for my prototypes. They are a bit flimsy but handy for organizing new games quickly, and stack flat very well.

What kind of boxes do you use for your prototypes? Is there a cheap but more sturdy alternative I should look into?
A picture of 5 foldable pizza boxes. On the side of each is an acronym or a title. "Walkable City" & "Magellan 2" are the only ones written out in full words, where the rest say "LPF", "QT", & "BAR" on them. If you look closely you can spot some gunpla and some lube. 🤫
October 17, 2025 at 10:29 PM
drawnonward.bsky.social
This is the cover for my IGNM release - Fold & Fly! 🌈🛫

Syd Weiler did the illustrations for the game, and they totally nailed the vibe I was aiming for! Plus I am always excited to have vibrant colors accompanying my games.

Let me know what you think!
The cover for Fold & Fly! printed on fancy gloss paper. It shows many paper airplane flying in a circle around the game's title in the center. In the background are many unique paper airplanes with differently colored trails of color behind them. At the bottom is a checkerboard flag waving in the wind. The cover is on a bench in a park, which green grass and a blue sky in the background. It is the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen, and if you stare at it deeply enough you feel a strange connection you've never felt before. As if it is beckoning you to come to its side, to be near to it at it's release in November of this year (2025). You find yourself in a trance - mentally craving more of it's beauty & mystique. You know deep down this is becoming a problem - you (likely) have a partner and you cannot betray their trust. Not after all you've been through. But Fold & Fly's cover, releasing in November at the Indie Game Night Market, is teasing you so. You turn away and try to go about your day - performing some busywork here and there. Start some mild innocuous conversation with a stranger, but the craving continues to burn deep inside. Like an addiction that keeps you coming back for more of its addicting addictioness. You know the game isn't available yet. It doesn't release until PAX Unplugged, located in Philadelphia. You still have plenty of time to get badges and solve travel plans - and maybe this will be what convinces you to finally make the trek. It's been on your radar but now that this game exists the convention seems tantalizing in a way no event has ever felt before. But what about your (likely) partner? You can't leave them out in the cold? It becomes obvious - blindly so! You must go to PAX U this November, attend the Indie Game Night Market and buy them a copy as well! Surely they'll love it! And not suspect you of having a para-social affair with this small print-run dexterity game. How ridiculous! How absurd! They never need to know...
October 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Me: Time to get some good pictures of my awesome new game! What a perfect day.

Wind: 🌬️

M: This is lovely but if you could please tone it down that'd be great.

W: 🤣🌬️🌬️

M: please stop!

W: 🙅🌬️🌬️🌬️

M: I just need a few pictures 🥺

W: 😈🌬️🌬️🌬️🌬️

M: 🫠💀
A picture of lots of paper being held down by a book-shaped game. The paper is being blown by wind and it is very rude.
September 30, 2025 at 9:56 PM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Probably dropping the actual cover art sometime Wednesday, so hopefully this teaser can tide people over in the mean time! 🌈🛫
A number of conceptual covers for the game Fold & Fly! They are all pixelated but you can make out that there are paper airplanes with vibrant rainbow colors flowing behind them all.
September 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
A game about coinflipping as an esport has no right to be this enjoyable. But number go up! 🪙
A victory screen from the game Q-UP. It shows my username at the top with a +2,329,625Q score plus some other silly bonuses at the bottom.
September 29, 2025 at 1:01 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
All of these imperfections were invisible before I threw some paint on these. Very happy I decided to check before jumping directly into painting!
A picture of a heavily customized gunpla piece made mostly out of putty. It has been painted with a light gray which has revealed uneven surfaces on the part. A shoulder gunpla piece that has been coated in a light gray paint. The paint has revealed imperfections on the part. A backpack for gunpla. It has been painted a light gray which has revealed some uneven surfaces on the part. A wing piece that has been painted light gray. It has uneven panel lines chiseled into it, which the paint revealed.
September 18, 2025 at 1:45 AM
drawnonward.bsky.social
Ultimately - and with thanks to Brian Henk if memory serves - I landed on using a simple disc. It naturally flows from throwing paper airplanes and seeing where they land.

Fold & Fly! will be available at PAX U's Indie Game Night Market. Stay tuned for more info as we get closer to the event!
A color disc with 9 different colors in wedges on the outside. Each color wedge has a unique symbol in the center of its wedge. In the center is a circle with a rainbow with some paper airplanes flying.
September 8, 2025 at 9:49 PM