In the end, I don’t think any advice for or against keeping players engaged/entertained is one size fits all. Two designers, creating a similar game but toward two different audiences, must craft their pieces to appeal accordingly.

IMO, lazy design sees a mechanism that randomly punishes players or leaves them with nothing to do, and does not critically examine whether it is thematically relevant, or simply something obstructive or sadistic.

Certainly, what I meant was as long as I can learn how to not paint myself into a bad corner in the future, there game holds promise of improving my skill. Meanwhile, educating people on the topics of your games seems to require creating an unease that matches the context.

Define “bad turn,” perhaps?
If I learn something from mistakes that led to me having a bad turn: cool.
If the game is up front that players are going to have a rough time, then ok.
Resigning players to never getting to play the game is a great way to discourage replays, IMO. See: Catan.

(FWIW, I'm trying to outline them for a friend who has an interest in building a business around BG manufacture in the US. TOTALLY get it if you don't have time with the upcoming campaign to get into this but maybe another follower has time and a link?)

I remember the posts going off back when the tariffs were announced, but I am wondering if you know of anyone who compiled a comprehensive guide to these challenges? I can find critiques so far, but nothing outlining the hard costs of setting up manu here. TIA, and GL with the new RtDT campaign!!!

The guests were all fantastic! DC Douglas was hilarious at his table, too.

Tbf, I brought my own copy, didn’t even think to make it an announced event because, well, life has been complicated recently. Hopefully you had a great time with the Arcade Pit however!

Aww, missed ya, then! Alright, be safe wherever you are!

There are two there that I’ve never seen, but holy cow, I haven’t heard anyone refer to Young Sherlock Holmes, a firmly under rated movie, imo!

That word is high on my list of words to avoid, both in spelling and in real life use.

It seems that roast was served in your household today.

Though my favorite IP is probably Shadowjog.

One
Stay
Might Stop
Jester of Tokyo
Mix Up
Cellars and Geckos

7 Nifties
Power Brick
Mansion of Frustration
Return to Shadowed Shack

Strangely, while I read most of Pern up to ATWoP, almost all the Ship Who Sang series, and the Sassinak series with Elizabeth Moon, I never got into Crystal Singer, not sure why.

Very few of us are "simple" humans; while I was too young to get the nuances of the homosexual takes in her books, I was more impressed with her strong(er) femme protagonists, though I was also unaware at the time how unusual that was at the time her books were published.

She definitely carved her own path, but it’s one I feel modern writers tread with no thought to her work.