July 11, 2026: Take The Retailer Survey . . . And Win!

If you own a local game store, we want to hear from you!

The goal is to learn more about our retail partners so we can find more ways to improve their experience.

As a thank you for completing the survey, we will randomly draw two winners. Each will receive a $50 credit to use on our online store, Warehouse 23. Winners will be notified shortly after the survey closes.

Please submit your response by Sunday, July 26.

-- Michelle Richardson

July 10, 2026: Happy National Kitten Day!

It's National Kitten Day! That's right! Today is a day to celebrate those cute, little, furry-purry balls of fluff that melt our hearts. Hopefully . . .

I don't know that there's a specific way to celebrate National Kitten Day, but here's some ideas:

• If you have a cat-ear headband, you could go out and about showing your support for our feline friends. (Note from editor: Bridget does this!)

• If you have a cat or kitten, give them a special treat and extra skritches.

• You could go to your local shelter and adopt a kitten or an older cat. (Full disclosure: I have a 7-year-old cat, Agnes, that I still call "kitten." I called my last cat, Artie, "kitten" for all of her 14 years.)

• You could volunteer at your local animal shelter. Cats and kittens in shelters need plenty of care and attention, and most shelters always need volunteers.

• You could become a pet foster parent . . .

[more]

July 9, 2026: The Most Depressing Fun Game You'll Play Today

. . . Or is it the most fun depressing game you'll play today?

Gerrymandle is an online game that challenges you to draw fake (abstract) district maps to favor different voting groups. Can you win more districts than anyone else even though you have just 38% of the vote? What if you only have 10 percent of the vote?! It's easy with a map, a few clicks of a mouse, and one weird trick.

It's entertaining, it's informative, it's downright sad – you'll [EMOTE] until you [EMOTE]! (On the positive side, it uses hexes . . . which are pretty fun all by themselves.)

-- Steven Marsh

July 8, 2026: I'm Going To Worldcon With The Chaos Machine!

I think I just put the whole post into the headline.

I first ran the Chaos Machine more than 20 years ago! It has not been out in public for several years, more's the pity. But it was very well received at the previous LAcon in 2006, and they asked if it could come back. Well, yes. Yes, it can. I really enjoy playing with this toy; the way you play with it is by introducing others to it and watching what they build! To quote an old description: "a giant communal build-it-yourself project that's a cross between an Erector set, model trains, a pachinko machine, and a jungle gym . . . " We will get a starter frame set up on Wednesday, and people will add to it all weekend. This is what you get when you buy a number of "Chaos Toy" sets, put them together, and invite people to get hands-on. (I just tried to link to the Chaos Toy company and they are no longer at their old . . . [more]

July 7, 2026: Please Pass The Greeblies

You may not be familiar with the word greeblie, but if you've seen a sci-fi spaceship, you've likely seen greeblies in action. They're the small details used to add complexity to a shape.

Adam Savage was a professional model maker for Star Wars movies, so he has a lot of experience adding greeblies to projects. He has a great deep-dive video. There are greeblies in that video too, but he speeds through adding them without the deeper insights of the first video.

Handmaking is the traditional way to make these kinds of models (and is a lot of fun), but digital tools have expanded what's possible. Digital sculpting tools and 3d sculpting get better every day, and a perfect example of what has become possible recently is this video from Tabletop Time. They built a diorama of the Death Star trench run with a combination of digital sculpting and traditional greebling. There's . . .

[more]

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Captain Kirk takes his French light bulb and takes blame for you-know-where. July 11, 2026: Take The Retailer Survey . . . And Win! If you own a local game store, we want to hear from you! The goal is to learn more about our retail partners so we can find more ways to improve their experience. As a thank you for completing the survey, we will randomly draw two winners. Each will receive a $50 credit to use on our online store, Warehouse 23. Winners will be notified shortly after the survey closes. Please submit your response by Sunday, July 26. -- Michelle Richardson July 10, 2026: Happy National Kitten Day! It's National Kitten Day! That's right! Today is a day to celebrate those cute, little, furry-purry balls of fluff that melt our hearts. Hopefully . . . I don't know that there's a specific way to celebrate National Kitten Day, but here's some ideas: • If you have a cat-ear headband, you could go out and about showing your support for our feline friends. (Note from editor: Bridget does this!) • If you have a cat or kitten, give them a special treat and extra skritches. • You could go to your local shelter and adopt a kitten or an older cat. (Full disclosure: I have a 7-year-old cat, Agnes, that I still call "kitten." I called my last cat, Artie, "kitten" for all of her 14 years.) • You could volunteer at your local animal shelter. Cats and kittens in shelters need plenty of care and attention, and most shelters always need volunteers. • You could become a pet foster parent . . . [more] July 9, 2026: The Most Depressing Fun Game You'll Play Today . . . Or is it the most fun depressing game you'll play today? Gerrymandle is an online game that challenges you to draw fake (abstract) district maps to favor different voting groups. Can you win more districts than anyone else even though you have just 38% of the vote? What if you only have 10 percent of the vote?! It's easy with a map, a few clicks of a mouse, and one weird trick. It's entertaining, it's informative, it's downright sad – you'll [EMOTE] until you [EMOTE]! (On the positive side, it uses hexes . . . which are pretty fun all by themselves.) -- Steven Marsh July 8, 2026: I'm Going To Worldcon With The Chaos Machine! I think I just put the whole post into the headline. I first ran the Chaos Machine more than 20 years ago! It has not been out in public for several years, more's the pity. But it was very well received at the previous LAcon in 2006, and they asked if it could come back. Well, yes. Yes, it can. I really enjoy playing with this toy; the way you play with it is by introducing others to it and watching what they build! To quote an old description: "a giant communal build-it-yourself project that's a cross between an Erector set, model trains, a pachinko machine, and a jungle gym . . . " We will get a starter frame set up on Wednesday, and people will add to it all weekend. This is what you get when you buy a number of "Chaos Toy" sets, put them together, and invite people to get hands-on. (I just tried to link to the Chaos Toy company and they are no longer at their old . . . [more] July 7, 2026: Please Pass The Greeblies You may not be familiar with the word greeblie, but if you've seen a sci-fi spaceship, you've likely seen greeblies in action. They're the small details used to add complexity to a shape. Adam Savage was a professional model maker for Star Wars movies, so he has a lot of experience adding greeblies to projects. He has a great deep-dive video. There are greeblies in that video too, but he speeds through adding them without the deeper insights of the first video. Handmaking is the traditional way to make these kinds of models (and is a lot of fun), but digital tools have expanded what's possible. Digital sculpting tools and 3d sculpting get better every day, and a perfect example of what has become possible recently is this video from Tabletop Time. They built a diorama of the Death Star trench run with a combination of digital sculpting and traditional greebling. There's . . . [more] Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 776th tool of the Conspiracy here today. (33218095 since August 1, 1995)