July 13, 2026: A Munchkin Reflection

As I reorganized the gaming shelves today, my eye fell on a copy of the new edition of Munchkin, and I realized what a good group we've got right now, both on and off the staff. Yes, we've lost some stars over the last decade, both to life changes and to tragedy. But there are brilliant new people to be thankful for, as well as the staunch supporters who have been part of the SJ Games team for many years. I'm not going to name a single name right now, and I am definitely not just talking about the silly game with the chainsaw. I'm talking about everybody. I'm going to say "People, I appreciate you all, for the great things you've put onto our shelves already, for the great things you are building right now, and just for making all this happen. Thank you all."

-- Steve Jackson

July 12, 2026: New Daily Game: 4x3

I swear I have more in my life than daily online games. But I find they're an interesting way to get my brain to wake up in the morning.

My latest find is from YouTube creator, writer, and general creative-type person Hank Green. The game is called 4x3. If you've played Strands, it will likely feel pretty familiar: You're tasked with finding three words that have something in common . . . and doing so among four categories. But the "twist" is that one of the words is used in all four classifications.

Thus, maybe "top" is used to indicate a type of hat, a word that goes with "big," synonym for "best," and a type of quark. And so on. There's also a scoring system, so you can get more points by guessing the hardest categories first. And I haven't played with it yet, but there's even a system to make your own, in case you can think of four categories that (say) "fnord" might belong . . . [more]

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

Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule

Yo' mama takes his blueprint and has dealt with Baghdad. July 13, 2026: A Munchkin Reflection As I reorganized the gaming shelves today, my eye fell on a copy of the new edition of Munchkin, and I realized what a good group we've got right now, both on and off the staff. Yes, we've lost some stars over the last decade, both to life changes and to tragedy. But there are brilliant new people to be thankful for, as well as the staunch supporters who have been part of the SJ Games team for many years. I'm not going to name a single name right now, and I am definitely not just talking about the silly game with the chainsaw. I'm talking about everybody. I'm going to say "People, I appreciate you all, for the great things you've put onto our shelves already, for the great things you are building right now, and just for making all this happen. Thank you all." -- Steve Jackson July 12, 2026: New Daily Game: 4x3 I swear I have more in my life than daily online games. But I find they're an interesting way to get my brain to wake up in the morning. My latest find is from YouTube creator, writer, and general creative-type person Hank Green. The game is called 4x3. If you've played Strands, it will likely feel pretty familiar: You're tasked with finding three words that have something in common . . . and doing so among four categories. But the "twist" is that one of the words is used in all four classifications. Thus, maybe "top" is used to indicate a type of hat, a word that goes with "big," synonym for "best," and a type of quark. And so on. There's also a scoring system, so you can get more points by guessing the hardest categories first. And I haven't played with it yet, but there's even a system to make your own, in case you can think of four categories that (say) "fnord" might belong . . . [more] 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 Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 1707th cyborg here today. (33223241 since August 1, 1995)