The family in a light tunnel in the botanical gardens

Hey friends and family. I missed the 2024 recap so here’s an extra large update covering both 2024 and 2025.

On the family front, we’re still living in SF and having a blast as Curio continues to grow. He’s nearly four years old and provides endless delight and entertainment. We play lots of storytelling games and build endless types of castles with Magna-Tiles. To no surprise, he’s also become a bit of a foodie, with some favorite dishes including salmon sashimi, ikura (fish roe), and saag paneer. He’s recently started at a Mandarin immersion pre-school and loves it there – he’s now belting out Mandarin songs at home.

Last spring we took Curio to the Loire Valley in France with the rest of my family and it was a perfect vacation: plenty of good family time, interesting castles to visit, and endless delicious food. We accidently brought Curio to a 2-hour tasting menu but he thrived there and learned the meaning of amuse bouche.

Leveraged Play

Trust and Safety Armed Conflict Logo

It’s been a busy couple years for my serious games consulting firm Leveraged Play – here are some highlights:

  • We launched Trust and Safety: Armed Conflict – a browser game exploring how social media platforms can navigate armed conflict situations. We designed it in collaboration with the International Committee for the Red Cross and it  was great working with their experts.
  • I collaborated with the Intelligence Rising team to help them make a game about the future of science, government policy, and artificial intelligence.
  • I joined a Popshift retreat called Futures Basecamp, where they brought together foresight experts with Hollywood showrunners and screenwriters. The event was a blast and I ran a game called The Movement in which players create the story of future social movements.
  • I made a lighter futures game with Sidney Icarus, called Posting Through It. It’s played out over a fake social media network and is very silly.
  • We translated our content moderation game Moderator Mayhem into Dutch and German and it appeared at events in the EU.
  • And I participated in a few other projects that I can’t discuss, due to client confidentiality.

Diegetic Games

The Behind the Magic Kickstarter Zine

My consumer games practice has generally taken a backseat to my serious games work but I still find time to noodle on games and occasionally publish them. Some of what I’ve been up to:

  • I Kickstarted a physical version of Behind the Magic, which you can buy print-on-demand via Mixam.
  • I published the digital version of Working the Case with themed playsets for Fantasy, Space Station, and Cyberpunk mysteries. I love this game and still plan to make a physical version at some point.
  • I designed and playtested Seizing the Crown, which uses Working the Case style mechanics to tell stories like Game of Thrones. It’s in open playtesting so check it out and let me know what you think!
  • I collaborated with Sam Dunnewold to make Three Generations: The Rise and Fall of the Eternal Empire. It’s a prompt driven map making game where you build a network of cities and tell stories of the folks who travel between them.
  • Jason Morningstar and I adapted Honor Bound for Sinking Ship Creations. They ran it for a public audience near the site of the Hamilton-Burr duel.
  • I also worked on a number of prototypes including several on themes of city building and revolutions. We’ll see if any of them enter public playtesting this year!

Avital’s work

the 2025 edible architecture offerings: a classic chalet, mini chalet, and tree

Avital has a wild two years for both of her businesses:

  • She grew Avital Experiences to over 12 cities, with plenty of growth coming from the interactive meal product line for teambuilding and client entertainment
  • She launched Edible Architecture, a consumer foods brand that sells Charcuterie Chalets and Charcu-trees. She did a phenomenal job of going from founding to Costco shelves in just two years. Also, she aired on Shark Tank last month and delivered a fantastic pitch!

Hobbies

I published a short story called The Caucus, commissioned by Summer of Protocols. They’ve recently commissioned another story which I’m hoping to publish in the next few weeks.

I’ve continued playing piano, guitar, and ukulele, often with Curio jamming with me and singing along. I’m trying to pick up a bit of jazz improv and we’ll see how that goes.

Curio playing the guitar and singing

We’re also trying to hike more often and, closer to home, Curio has developed an enthusiasm for weekend climbs up to the top of Bernal Heights.

Hiking Mori Point

Catch up with us!

We haven’t been great about proactively scheduling calls but we always get excited when old friends reach out to chat. Shoot us an email and we’ll get something on the calendar!

A selfie of us hiking in the Armstrong Nature Reserve