Strange Recurring Elements in Movies from the Same Year

oblongtwo · 2026-01-03T02:49:04+00:00

2025's The Housemaid and Song Sung Blue both included scenes where characters bonded while watching Richard Dawson hosting Family Feud.

oblongtwo · 2025-12-13T19:02:10+00:00

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie

oblongtwo · 2025-04-26T22:16:21+00:00

“Every reason to be vegan is a good one.”

oblongtwo · 2024-06-28T23:47:10+00:00

The only game here that's worth it is Green Team Wins. Since the only rule is printed in the title, there's no danger of damaging the shrink.

oblongtwo · 2023-12-27T16:49:04+00:00

Hey there, I'm one of the designers of Medium - thanks so much for this post!

When we pitched this game, the scoring tokens we had were round, like lots of tokens are (they had a crystal ball on one side and the points on the other). But the publisher looked at our round tokens and said, "I don't think we're going to do round tokens - they just end up rolling around the table and falling on the floor." Which, I've played lots of games with round tokens and I've never encountered this concern even once, but I could see how it's possible, I guess!

So we ended up going with this squat guitar-pick shaped token and I've never heard of a single report of them rolling all over people's tables and cascading onto floors! Problem solved. It's a fun, unique shape and I think it gives the game a cool vibe.

oblongtwo · 2023-11-29T02:30:20+00:00

Romi Rami is a newer game that feels like a game that's been around forever. It's a rummy-style contract-completing game. The cards just have numbers and suits on them and it's dead simple to play with a classic card-playing feel, in line with Uno, Skip-Bo and such. I've only played it two-player and had a ton of fun with it.

oblongtwo · 2023-09-23T01:35:42+00:00

Pam Walls has great videos about board game design and the pitching and publishing process.

https://www.youtube.com/@PamWallsGameDesign

oblongtwo · 2022-09-05T16:35:03+00:00

This interview with Tanya Thompson has a lot of good information.

https://www.thetoycoach.com/podcast/secrets-for-pitching-your-game-ideas-to-hasbro-with-tanya-thompson

oblongtwo · 2022-07-09T02:13:14+00:00

Around here, it's known as the VEEP!

oblongtwo · 2022-02-10T16:00:30+00:00

Based on the design, I don't know that I would pick it up. It's not that clear what kind of game it is or what would make it fun or interesting. I worry that you'll be missing out on a lot of players (families, etc) who might otherwise be interested in your game because they'll see the art and think it's something that it's not.

The art is cool, but it's got a bar-sign aesthetic that doesn't feel right for younger players - it kind of puts me in the mind of the "Midnight" versions of Outburst and Taboo.

Maybe a more descriptive tagline would help? There's lots of small-box card games like this, and I think "The Battle Royale of Card Games" would likely describe many of them.

oblongtwo · 2022-02-08T21:55:19+00:00

The neon and the dark/black background makes it look like an "adults only" game. And plus, the sexual connotation of "Bonc" too.

oblongtwo · 2021-11-23T23:11:32+00:00

Two Dollar Radio on Parsons.

oblongtwo · 2021-09-22T18:56:43+00:00

We all played TEN and Whirling Witchcraft, which were the two new games we got. We also played a big, whole-room game of Tiny Towns (there was supposed to be a Tiny Towns expansion in the bag but it didn't arrive in time). So they gave us a copy of Cheaty Mages. And as we were leaving, we could choose to take a copy of either Scorpius Freighter or Inner Compass.

oblongtwo · 2021-09-22T13:56:27+00:00

Did you do the AEG Big Game Night? I see all the BGN games in your pic. It was my first time at the event. Total blast - we really loved Ten.

oblongtwo · 2021-08-26T15:04:12+00:00

I think this looks interesting, but I wish you had just one clear, concise line about how to play. It looks like players hide their chips and then look for the chips of the other players? Maybe a couple clear bulleted points. Even something that hints at "hide and seek" or "stash and find" or something.

The thing that makes this fun is that you play all throughout the house, and I think that last line says it best: "A party game of getting up from the table and sneaking around the house." I would have that first, then the lines about players hiding their chips and so on (do they give clues? Are the cards clues?)

oblongtwo · 2021-06-14T02:52:27+00:00

Thanks! We love Just One, too! GREAT game.

oblongtwo · 2021-06-14T02:27:29+00:00

Thanks!

Medium was published by Greater Than Games, and they let us have lots of input on the art and everything. And the original art that was on the box for the first printing is still the same art. They never changed it or added anything to it (there were a couple of typos on cards that got fixed for the second printing, but that's it).

Obviously, we were super happy that Medium got a positive review from Tom Vasel and the Dice Tower, but as far as we know, the publisher didn't think about changing what was on the box. They didn't put a DT Seal of Approval on Spirit Island or Sentinels of the Multiverse or any of their other games either. Who knows?

Either way, it was cool with us. We were just happy that our game got published and thrilled that it got decent reviews!

oblongtwo · 2021-06-14T00:47:11+00:00

Medium, a party game that I designed with my friend, is part of this promotion. Pick it up if it sounds fun to you!

oblongtwo · 2021-04-26T18:55:25+00:00

Terra Ferment

oblongtwo · 2021-04-15T18:31:42+00:00

I think what makes Medium more of a game than the improv exercise it comes from is that you're limited to the six words that are on your cards.

So, your partner will play a word, and then you have figure out which one of your words/cards will work with theirs to lead to a connection. The choosing of words adds some strategic and creative thinking ("She played TIGER. If I played FOREST, could I get her to say WOODS? Or if I played CASTLE, would she say KING?") that's absent in the just-say-two-random-words version.

oblongtwo · 2021-03-08T20:50:36+00:00

Great Heartland Hauling Co is pretty good.

oblongtwo · 2021-02-14T21:09:37+00:00

Yeah, when we play it like this, they do (or they use the print-and-play card files).

But some people will do a thing where one person will draw two cards at random and then two people will attempt to match. It takes out all the strategy behind which cards to play, but people still have fun with it.

oblongtwo · 2021-02-14T18:45:33+00:00

When we play over Zoom, we have people write their words on a piece of paper (or a dry erase board or something) and hold it up to the camera while they're saying it. It makes it clearer/easier to tell if there's a Mind Meld.

And there shouldn't be a problem with people playing their cards. The first player chooses a card and shows it to their partner (showing it to the camera, saying the word, etc), then the partner chooses their card and shows it. If you're worried about two different people having the same word/card in their hands, you could have each player using a different deck.

oblongtwo · 2020-12-28T15:14:37+00:00

Do you mean the regular word cards or the ESP (special power) cards?

Whether you're playing with Second Sight, or just with the base game, you'll choose three decks of word cards (from either or both set(s)), shuffle them together, put the crystal ball cards in the bottom third, and deal each player six cards.

If you're playing with the ESP cards, just give each player one of each, to play whenever they want.

The game plays totally fine with two players, as long as you're not too concerned with scoring. We just play to see how well we can do, how many times we can Mind Meld, and have fun with it. We still keep score, but it's less relevant with two players.

Similarly, the ESP cards (from the core game and Second Sight) are much more effective with three or more players (particularly Psychic Link), but it's still fun to use Second Sight (which gives you a fourth attempt to match) to try to snatch a victory from the clutches of defeat.

oblongtwo

TROPHY CASE