Strategy, off the clock.
No luck, no shooters — economic engines and macro strategy. The same systems itch as the day job, after hours.
0 on screen · 0 on the table · 2 field notes
On the table · turn by turn
Same itch, slower clock: the systems step off 30 frames a second and onto a table.
Tap a game for the designer, mechanics, and why it's here.
Field notes
Two notes between matches: why engines beat dice, and what the engine-builder's brain borrows from network design.
No luck, only systems
I don’t play games to escape systems thinking — I play to indulge it. Dota 2 is supply-and-demand under fire. Age of Empires is the S&OP loop I run at work, sped up and with trebuchets. The board games are quieter versions of the same itch. Add dice-luck and I lose interest fast.
The engine-builder’s brain
A good Euro game is a constraint problem you actually want to solve. Castles of Burgundy is inventory placement; Splendor is tempo and compounding; Gizmos is a literal engine you build mid-game. Same muscle as network design at work — better decisions, better outcomes, no hiding behind a slide deck.
Same systems after hours — the only difference is trebuchets.