Nick Cummings

I’m delighted and grateful to be speaking at this year’s Roguelike Celebration 💖 Come check it out! Interesting talks, a MUD to hang out in, and lots of good vibes. My talk is about baseball, which may well be the US’s oldest roguelike and — perhaps surprisingly — a font of endless inspiration.

I am only fluent in English, but I recently began studying my fifth language (French) and I am surprised (and relieved!) that the act of learning languages is, in the abstract, a general skill you can develop.

Over the last several days I've heard directly from parents who are scared and outraged about the PPS proposals for closure of their schools. They are calling for action from their elected officials at all levels. Today I have filed an emergency that responds to the urgency of these calls. 🧵

Congrats to Lula on overcoming Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump to defeat Hospital Pervert Jr., even as his opposition literally blocked off roads and turned off bus service during election day. Fascists are scary but they are always, 100% of the time, ultimately gigantic fucking losers.

Bike Summer is over as of today :( fly home little bugs

doing the thing where I watch videos on YouTube about Dutch bicycle infrastructure and descend into a gentle, distant reverie

At this point the only sensible conclusion is that the games industry is doing great but the desperate greed of capitalism keeps murdering us

I've mentioned before I've updated my contracts to make sure everything in the production of my books is done by humans and not "AI"; if you're wondering what such a thing looks like, here's a clause covering that from a recent contract.

According to donor data on Orestar, Kellie Torres’ donors overlap most with Rene Gonzalez and Dan Ryan. She’s running as a progressive in all her mailers. Just something to consider!

Got my ballot today! I consider myself an above-average engaged voter, but even I have no idea what some of these races on my ballot are. Really appreciate Chloe Eudaly putting together a voter guide for me and my MultCo friends streetwonk.substack.com/p/street-won...

Roguelike Celebration 2026 is now happening! Please pick up a pay-what-you're-able ticket at ti.to/roguelike-celebration/roguelike-celebration-2026 and join us in our custom event space for the first of two days of many fun and interesting talks!

It's happening! Right now!! Come hang out in a friendly MUD in the year 2026!

Roguelike Celebration starts tomorrow morning, and my talk is the day after, on Sunday morning at 9:45am PDT! The talks this year all sound fascinating — I can't wait :D Tickets are pay-what-you-want — don't miss it! ti.to/roguelike-ce...

Only one more sleep 'til Rooguelike Celebration! Before getting into the last batch of speaker shoutouts before the show, one more reminder that tickets are pay-what-you-can - we'd love for you to hang out and join us! ti.to/roguelike-ce...

if i take a walk in my little walkable neighborhood to buy fresh flowers and crunchy nectarines and my serenity is punctured by the sound of your tesla flipping in the air, i will blow up your car with a rocket launcher

howling www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/u...

@nickcummings.com will be giving a talk that should catch the eye of baseball and blaseball fans alike, "Baseball Is a Roguelike (no, really)"! bsky.app/profile/nick...

An explanation on why Big Walk isn't available on Xbox. bigwalk.game/xbox

I would take more seriously the people promoting the idea of AI consciousness if they first materially grappled with the (much more obvious) consciousness of animals and how that affects our moral obligations to them.

It’s been a tough year. The toughest yet, one might say! And while I’ve Posted Through It on bsky, I’ve largely vanished from my social and professional spheres while I get my own house in order. I need a little more time yet, but I’m finally starting to feel good (in the fullest sense of the word).

I played the first two hours of Echo Weaver last night after years of occasionally testing in-progress builds over the years, and the final game is such a treat! Really excellent level, mechanic, and instruction design, and the visual art is wonderfully fluid and expressive. Don’t miss it!

My history as the most qualified and effective progressive policy maker at the City over the last decade is clearly a threat to WW. Help me prove what’s possible and freak WW out! Just 50 more $25 donations will give me what I need to reach the right voters! secure.actblue.com/donate/jamey...

Ballots go out to Multnomah County voters today, and I want to highlight a voter‘s guide I love: @streetwonk.bsky.social’s newsletter! Eudaly was the first renter ever to serve on Portland City Council, and she’s excellent at explaining the nuances of local politics. (Substack, alas, but free.)

Portland needs to get its shit together and daylight every intersection. If the City won't do it, we need to. If we are serious about Vision Zero, we need to de-prioritize car storage and prioritize our own lives. www.oregonlive.com/commuting/20...

I get asked a lot about how I think the new government is working. I spent two years on the Charter Transition Team helping to implement the will of the voters, so I have a LOT of thoughts. We need a council with the courage to lead instead of deferring to the mayor.

Reality Fracture's limited environment play experience is such a treat. The more I play Magic, the more I come to understand just how endlessly enjoyable and unfathomably deep the study of game design can be. Which is good! Because I plan to spend the rest of my life digging into that sort of thing.

Daily bunny is not returning their cart

Bike Summer isn’t over until bugs stop flying directly into my eyeballs while I ride around at dusk

As Order of the Sinking Star is coming out next month, in advance of review coverage coming in I wanted to add one thing to my last statement about the game: bsky.app/profile/drak... (note: at that time I didn’t have a separate personal account)

I’m less than 100 Portland donors from reaching the final tier of Small Donor Elections, and we have to get there before October 13th to qualify! If you or a member of your household support us but haven’t donated yet, now is the time, even $5 goes a long way 💙 secure.actblue.com/donate/angel...

when i am governor i will do the following: - direct ODOT to abandon freeway expansion - establish a statewide social housing public developer - create belt and road initiative for oregon cities to lower water bills and modernize infrastructure - ban waymo, flock and amazon drone deliveries

I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:

Absolutely wild arrangement and performance! Wow. youtu.be/44Dh4Vb8Wtk?...

I am also saying this

# BANNED AND RESTRICTED ANNOUNCEMENT / 09/30/2026 One-card spread: The Ten of Swords is *banned* The Nine of cups is *banned* Another season of pro tarot league is almost upon us. While most formats are thriving, in the fast and degenerate world of one-card we're seeing concerning metagame data,

I’m pretty sure the Tilikum Crossing isn’t even halfway there, but I haven’t checked in a while, and I also don’t know if that’s even a fair comparison. But hey, go Seattle!

Lo-fi hip-hop Joe Hisaishi at the doctor’s office is raising a lot of questions this morning

anyway, i’m now only 150 new donors away from hitting tier 3, which unlocks another $100k in public matching funds. if you live in portland and haven’t donated yet, $5 counts as one of those 150 secure.actblue.com/donate/m4pdx...