Matt Leacock

Look what I found in the attic! Prior art: "Meples" ©1980, Matt Leacock. I clearly need to reach out to Corey Thompson and demand a share of the candy for every "Meeple" trademark he approves.

My October newsletter is out! Forbidden Legacy news, upcoming events, opining about Earth, and more.

I'm heading to PAXU for the first time and will be their Keynote / Storytime Speaker! I hear many good things about the show. Looking forward to seeing folks there and spending some time in Philly.

I sat down with Le Point de Polgara earlier this year to discuss five games that made a large impression on me. When I started, I didn't expect 10-Four Good Buddy to make the list. @polgara.bsky.social

Today TTGDA released what we believe is our most important effort so far - our Licensing Contract Rubric. This is an objective scoring metric that can be used to partially evaluate the quality of a contract. We applied it to a huge swath of the industry, and this chart shows how they scored. 🧵 🎲✂️

Tonight on GameNight! Nikki, Rusty, Dave & Lincoln teach & play "The Four Doors" designed by @mattleacock.bsky.social, @mattriddlegames.bsky.social & Ben Pinchback and from @happycampergames.bsky.social. Thanks to @gamegenic.com for sponsoring this episode! —Lincoln www.youtube.com/watch?v=Troy...

Our Tabletop Spotlight series continues with more incredible guests! Check out the NEW lineup including the one and only "evil bowtie man," Dr. Reiner Knizia, along with many other notable creatives from across the tabletop gaming industry! Sunday 11:00 AM CST www.youtube.com/@OurFamilyPl...

Newsletter is out! This month: breaking news about Flickering Stars, upcoming appearances, life imitating art, and more.

I'm currently doing an AMA if anyone has a question or wants to hang out:

Gosh, I love this poem. I keep returning to one of my favorite Chesterton quotes. "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly." Please Use AI, via open.substack.com/pub/shawnsmu...

The Eighth Annual Uganda Village Boardgame Convention Crowdfunder is Now Live! The event is incredible, their needs are modest, and the money goes far! And Donna and I will match the next £1,000 that are donated to their crowdfunder.

I’m a climate scientist. Let me fix this headline. “Nearly a century ago, scientists showed that burning fossil fuels warms the planet. Today, we know human emissions account for over 100% of the warming. Yet dark money and disinformation still work to keep Americans addicted to fossil fuels.”

My May Newsletter is out. Giant Pandemics, upcoming releases, and more!

The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship won Cooperative Game of the Year, Thematic Game of the Year, and Medium Game of the Year at the Golden Geek Awards! Congrats to the whole team at @zmangamesofficial.bsky.social.

Excited to welcome our special guests for Game Market West Spring 2026, a tabletop game market where independent designers showcase/sell their newest games: @mattleacock.bsky.social @dodecadonuts.bsky.social @themisplay.com SumLilThings #boardgamesky #ttrpg #cute

Animal Rescue Team (the first game in our SU&SD Presents line) has been nominated for an Origins Award in the Coop/Solo category! Thank you to the panel!

My March update is up: Forbidden Legacy announced, Fate of the Fellowship availability info, The Four Doors design diary, Flickering Stars update, and more!

Matt Riddle and I have posted our Design Diary documenting the strange and circuitous history of The Four Doors. Development was a gauntlet: five different themes, four different publishers, four contributing designers. Includes: Goonies! Disease! Flooding! Vermin! and Meddling Locals!

Grab your jetpack, Forbidden Legacy will premiere at Gen Con this year! Designed with Rob Daviau. This one unfolds over seven chapters. www.wericmartin.com/forbidden-le...

Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/

Rhado calls The Four Doors "A miracle of design." @mattleacock.bsky.social

Latest newsletter is out! If you're interested in updates on my games, please take a second to subscribe.

when I worked on This Guilty Land, and immersed myself in antebellum primary documents, the thing that really struck me is how incrementalism today is just the same shit it was then, responding to the same kind of bad faith arguments by evil fuckers, & treating real change as impossible & infantile.

Outside/In from New Hampshire Public Radio aired a wonderful episode about Daybreak yesterday. Not going to spoil whether they won or not!

We were happy to join the first Sun Day day of action at San Jose City Hall today. Hope and expect this day to become bigger and bigger each year.

My September update is up! New and upcoming release info, appearances, trivia results, our trip to Middle Earth, and more. This is also a great time to subscribe if you haven't yet.

I try to keep my feed mostly positive, but this is worth a read. My plea to you is to get involved locally, not just in yelling into the void but in building community. Human connection is (hopefully) one way through. We are so much better than all of this.

I love this so much.

I’ve just posted my full design diary for The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship on my blog. Lots of goodies including some time-lapse videos and some goofy bonus materials including a Middle Earth Tube Map.

June Update is up! Announcing the Four Doors and more! (also: psst, great time to subscribe if you haven't already)

If you're unaware of the incredible history and meaning behind the @dianajonesaward.org, I have a story to share with you.

Excited and honored to hear that Daybreak is up for the Diana Jones Award along with @charliehall.bsky.social, @rascal.news, and Rose Estes!

My May update is up. This one is focused on The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship.

Yesterday there was a massive outage in Portugal. No power, water, internet or phone signal from 11h30 to 00h30. We were prepared. What better time to crack open our copy of Daybreak, a co-op game about dealing with climate change? We finished it by candlelight, and won! @mattleacock.bsky.social

Lisa and I did our first interview about Animal Rescue Team!

Boardgamers, do yourself a favor and check out Illuminating Games. Chris Farrell provides in-depth analysis of a surprisingly wide variety of games every week. This week: Molly House, Slay the Spire meets AI, and more.

Had a fun conversation with Keepers of Fun about the 5 games I'd select to restart my collection. The premise: "Inspired by Turkey's strict import restrictions, this series explores what games truly matter to collectors." On the day of the interview, Turkey announced even more severe restrictions.

The @newyorker.com piece linked below is worth a read. The factoid that sticks with me: when at least 3.5% of the population participates in nonviolent opposition, movements are successful. (And you get there not just through yelling but also shared joy)

Just posted my April update! Information on new releases including The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship and Animal Rescue Team, upcoming appearances, and more.

Amabel continues to make thought-provoking and persuasive arguments about the ability of boardgames to express and advocate for ideas. I imagine a future where we wonder how we were so dismissive (frivolous, toys, etc.) but then one remembers comic books, film, and even the novel. Recommended!

We are experiencing an assault on science unparalleled by anything I’ve seen in my life. It’s not one issue or another anymore, the entire institution is under attack by the most powerful individuals in the country. This Friday, where will you be? standupforscience2025.org

Per Dr Atul Gawande, ex USAID: “All malaria supplies protecting 53 million people, mostly children, including bed nets, diagnostics, preventive drugs, and treatments – terminated.” There are no words that sufficiently describe this level of cruelty and sadism.

Joined over 500 folks in Palo Alto (including Joan Baez!) and over a hundred in Sunnyvale to protest Musk and Trump's illegal dismantling of our government. Keep calling, keep protesting, keep the pressure on.

Molly House is a strange and meaningful beast, at once a celebration of queer love, a critique of imperial power, and a call to solidarity. More than that, it is a game that can't help but be personally meaningful to the lonesome and tired. My review: spacebiff.com/2025/02/12/m...