James Wallis

James Wallis

@jameswallis.bsky.social

Game designer (co-created SE!ZE with Charles Leclerc), publisher, teacher, critic, writer, player. FRSA.

3.4K followers1K following6.4K posts

James Wallis reposted

D6 Learning
@d6learning.bsky.social

Designing Educational TTRPGs for Children 🐉 A #GameBasedLearning course by sociologist, educator, and game designer Konstantinos Fousteris. Find out more here: www.d6learning.com/course/desig... #TTRPG #GameDesign #SeriousGames

d6learning.comDesigning Educational TTRPGs for Children _Learn how to design and run your own educational tabletop RPG campaigns for elementary school students. Discover how to create and run your own educational TTRPG campaign with the help of a live, prem...
James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

Weirdest thing Playing 7 Wonders with six players, I deal out six hands of seven cards, I count them in my head, other players watch me do it. We reach out to pick up our hands and there are seven piles of six cards. No explanation. Not a rational one, anyway.

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

A question occurs to me. The name 'Ludonarrative Dissidents': [ ] I get it [ ] I don't get it [ ] I think I get it [ ] I get it but I can't pronounce it I mean it's a bit late, we're five years and over a hundred hours of content in, but I figured I should ask.

James Wallis reposted

c0nc0rdance
@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social

This is such a fantastic photo: "The Witches' Tea Party" but I want to use it to explain the origin of the tall, pointy witches hat. The real story of this photo: These are residents at the Hospital of the Holy & Undivided Trinity: an almshouse in Castle Rising, Norfolk, England established 1610.

James Wallis reposted

The Lever
@levernews.com

You asked AI for the cheapest flight. It dug through your emails, decided you could afford more, and suggested a ticket costing $100–$200 extra. Lindsay Owens explains ⬇️

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

Because a friend had never heard of it, here's a treasure from my collection: Edward Gorey's storytelling card game THE HELPLESS DOORKNOB, originally published in 1989 in a limited edition of 500. It's twenty laminated cards with typically Gorey text and art: a large cast of characters with names

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James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

in doing the research for this, I noticed that the Gorey signature on my copy is slightly different to the ones on other copies on the internet. It's also slightly paler than the rest of the lettering. Each copy of the fourth edition, it turns out, was signed by Gorey. It's worth a few hundred bucks

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

Because a friend had never heard of it, here's a treasure from my collection: Edward Gorey's storytelling card game THE HELPLESS DOORKNOB, originally published in 1989 in a limited edition of 500. It's twenty laminated cards with typically Gorey text and art: a large cast of characters with names

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

starting with 'A' (including the dog) act and interact without adequate explanation. There are no instructions. It is as much of a game as it is a short story, which is to say, not very, but it's charming in a faux-Victorian gothic style.

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

I picked up my copy in a NY bookstore in the late 90s for, I think, about $10. It's the fourth printing. also limited to 500 copies. Gorey died a year or two later and I hoped the game might become madly collectible, but it was reissued in 2015 and you can buy it on Amazon for under a tenner. But...

James Wallis reposted

Chris Kluwe, adjudicated poaster
@chriswarcraft.bsky.social

There was a fucking hole in our planet’s *atmosphere* Like a legit, no joke, “this will unravel our entire ecosystem” hole in the world, and then we fixed it by working together across national and political lines As a species we decided, “we will survive” Let’s do that some more

Michael Druker 🇨🇦@mdruker.app

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

James Wallis reposted

Billie Jean Sweeney
@billiejsweeney.bsky.social

Replying to @evanurquhart.bsky.social

Rowling *never* writes about women’s rights, workplace discrimination or the threats to women from predatory men. I tracked her posts for five months: Well over 200 hateful transphobic smears. Not a single post about women’s actual concerns or needs None

James Wallis reposted

Tristan Grayford
@tristangrayford.scot

When the Chancellor says he will "harness the power of AI" and it's briefed to the papers like it's a sure fire vote-winner - you know you have a political class who haven't even got a single foot outside Westminster and the lobby bubble

James Wallis reposted

Micro SF/F by O. Westin
@microsff.com

When a nobleman came in to the tavern and put a note on the board, the monster hunters went to check it out. Laughter erupted. "A gazebo? Quick, someone get Eric!" Then the bounty caught their attention. "That's a lot of gold. Why?" "This gazebo," the nobleman said, "was made by Baba Yaga."

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

A couple of points: * Reading UK, not any of the others. * Ignore the Eclectic Games description, I'll be talking about ancient games but mostly about using ancient ideas in games today. Also I'm not a Dr. * No site for tickets yet but there will be soon. Put it in your diary and watch this space.

James Wallis reposted

Euan
@euan.bsky.social

presented without comment

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *
James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

With a week till Halloween, it is my duty to once again share this fantastic 2023 mix by WBBL. Starts spooky, ascends into brilliance, and possibly peaks at 28:45 with a moment that's deeply satisfying on every conceivable level on.soundcloud.com/jOqNw0t6PIOi...

soundcloud.comWBBL @ E1 London Stanton Sessions Halloween 2023WAV + MP3 DOWNLOAD + TRACKLIST ON PATREON PATREON.COM/WBBL Here's my set from Halloween at the Stanton Warrior's show in london on the 27th of october 2023. It's SPOOOOKY and has some sneaky previews

James Wallis reposted

Fuzzy Mike
@fuzzymike.bsky.social

seems like "on the orders of a nazi every major news outlet on the planet hounded an innocent man to death because he's black" should be one of the biggest stories of the year

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James Wallis reposted

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

You should back this. I've got an article in it. Those two sentences may or may not be connected.

James Hoare@jdhoare.bsky.social

Secret Passages is BACK. Inside the mutagen-powered fourth issue, you’ll find #Warhammer40k’s first foray into live-action, the origin of #SLAIndustries, #DND’s first campaign setting, Britain’s 1980s paperback RPG boom, a reappraisal of #Gorkamorka, and more! www.kickstarter.com/projects/jdh...

kickstarter.comSecret Passages #4: A Retro TTRPG and Warhammer ZinePacked with interviews and illustrations covering Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40,000, Fighting Fantasy, and the art of John Blanche.

James Wallis reposted

Tom & Lorenzo
@tomandlorenzo.bsky.social

There is good in this world, Mr. Frodo.

Faine Greenwood@faineg.com

Dudes rock (highly laudatory): www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha...

cbc.caThree Italian ‘hobbits’ flew to Ireland to return this man’s ring — and it was precious | CBC RadioIrishman Patrick Mohr thought his wedding ring was lost forever after it slipped off his finger into a fast-moving river in Italy. That is until three Italian strangers made it their mission to find i...
James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

You should back this. I've got an article in it. Those two sentences may or may not be connected.

James Hoare@jdhoare.bsky.social

Secret Passages is BACK. Inside the mutagen-powered fourth issue, you’ll find #Warhammer40k’s first foray into live-action, the origin of #SLAIndustries, #DND’s first campaign setting, Britain’s 1980s paperback RPG boom, a reappraisal of #Gorkamorka, and more! www.kickstarter.com/projects/jdh...

kickstarter.comSecret Passages #4: A Retro TTRPG and Warhammer ZinePacked with interviews and illustrations covering Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40,000, Fighting Fantasy, and the art of John Blanche.
James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

Just solved a game design problem in my latest project while in the bathroom not thinking about anything very much except shaving. The unconscious mind, wow, it has no idea how to pick its moment. This is for Carol of Duty, if anyone's keeping track, a one-session RPG where you play Spec Ops Elves,

James Wallis
@jameswallis.bsky.social

on a Christmas Eve mission to deliver lumps of coal to the Yuletide stockings of the worst people on the planet, by any means necessary. Think of a tinselly Who Dares Wins, in high-pitched voices.

James Wallis reposted

Dan Hon
@danhon.com

php thing feels like the kind of thing in science fiction when all the devices update and their lights go from blue to red (evil, kill all humans)