July 2, 2026: I'm Gonna Need A Bigger Cup

The other day – in a post about shuffling cards with dice – I typed "12-siders," which autocorrect "helpfully" changed to "12-spiders." And then it proceeded to make the same tweak to every die I tried to type out. Within the span of a few minutes, I was confronted with 12-spiders, six-spiders, four-spiders . . .

I'm not sure, what that is or means, exactly, but the notion of "12-spiders" has been keeping me awake for a while.

-- Steven Marsh

July 1, 2026: Our Own Little Tariff Rebate

You might recall our tariff adventure with Munchkin Big Box. To recap: Mr. Trump announced his superhigh China tariff after Big Box had left the printer and before the ship docked. There was literally nothing we could do except pay it, and we did. How much? "High five figures," as they say. It wasn't in the budget, but it had to be paid if we were going to ship your Big Box.
And there have been other tariffs since then. They added up. But that was the exciting one.
Anyway. Time passed. The courts declared some tariffs, including the big China one, to be illegal, and ordered the money to be returned.
We did not hold our breath.
But lo and behold! A partial rebate was actually received by the company that does our shipping! And they actually expect there will be more.
A lot of companies raised their . . . [more]

June 30, 2026: Liberty Con And Ring Of Fire

I'm just back from Liberty Con in Chattanooga. It was an especially great year for a great convention. Of special interest to me was the Artist GoH . . . none other than John Kovalic. Everybody loved him and he sure seemed to be having a great time.

I also spent some very enjoyable time hanging out with the 1632/Ring of Fire folks. Nice people, all of them, dedicated to keeping Eric Flint's world alive, and likewise to keeping up his commitmentto welcoming new writers. An entry point for those interested: 1632andbeyond.com. This will introduce you to the magazine for the world of 1632 and link you to Baen Books' pages for the series.

And! The BackerKit crowdfund for GURPS Ring of Fire has ended (though late support is still open). Right at the end it broke a couple of milestones, ending up at $90,078 and 1,103 backers!

-- Steve Jackson

June 29, 2026: Coding At The Club

I love discovering new music, and this may be some of the newest music around.

A few weeks ago, one of my various social media algorithms spit out a video from Switch Angel. I was instantly impressed, and as I watched more of her videos and dug a little deeper into what was happening, I became even more enthralled.

The system Switch Angel and other similar artists use is called Strudel. It is described as a "Web-based environment for live coding algorithmic patterns, incorporating a faithful port of TidalCycles to JavaScript".

Here's a great video that shows the coding process as a song is built.

Switch Angel does live shows and streams, coding the songs in the moment with a projector that shows the code in action. Here's one of my favorite examples, a live session from the New York club Elsewhere. There is a bit of NSFW language at the end, so take that into . . .

[more]

June 28, 2026: The Roll Big Or Go Home 2 Bundle Extended

The Roll Big Or Go Home 2 Bundle from Humble Bundle was supposed to end on June 25. However, demand was so overwhelming that they've extended it by a week! So now it should be ending in a few more days, on July 2.

Depending on the tier you hop onto for the Bundle, you can get up to 54 awesome RPGs . . . including our own Sleepaway (and the Uncanny expansion), In Nomine, and the awe-inspiring Wanderhome.

If you already snatched up the bundle, you know how great a deal it is. If you thought you'd missed your chance, now is your lucky time! But not too much time . . . The window of opportunity to roll big or go home is closing!

-- Steven Marsh

Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule

The sweet sex toy is explosive. July 2, 2026: I'm Gonna Need A Bigger Cup The other day – in a post about shuffling cards with dice – I typed "12-siders," which autocorrect "helpfully" changed to "12-spiders." And then it proceeded to make the same tweak to every die I tried to type out. Within the span of a few minutes, I was confronted with 12-spiders, six-spiders, four-spiders . . . I'm not sure, what that is or means, exactly, but the notion of "12-spiders" has been keeping me awake for a while. -- Steven Marsh July 1, 2026: Our Own Little Tariff Rebate You might recall our tariff adventure with Munchkin Big Box. To recap: Mr. Trump announced his superhigh China tariff after Big Box had left the printer and before the ship docked. There was literally nothing we could do except pay it, and we did. How much? "High five figures," as they say. It wasn't in the budget, but it had to be paid if we were going to ship your Big Box. And there have been other tariffs since then. They added up. But that was the exciting one. Anyway. Time passed. The courts declared some tariffs, including the big China one, to be illegal, and ordered the money to be returned. We did not hold our breath. But lo and behold! A partial rebate was actually received by the company that does our shipping! And they actually expect there will be more. A lot of companies raised their . . . [more] June 30, 2026: Liberty Con And Ring Of Fire I'm just back from Liberty Con in Chattanooga. It was an especially great year for a great convention. Of special interest to me was the Artist GoH . . . none other than John Kovalic. Everybody loved him and he sure seemed to be having a great time. I also spent some very enjoyable time hanging out with the 1632/Ring of Fire folks. Nice people, all of them, dedicated to keeping Eric Flint's world alive, and likewise to keeping up his commitmentto welcoming new writers. An entry point for those interested: 1632andbeyond.com. This will introduce you to the magazine for the world of 1632 and link you to Baen Books' pages for the series. And! The BackerKit crowdfund for GURPS Ring of Fire has ended (though late support is still open). Right at the end it broke a couple of milestones, ending up at $90,078 and 1,103 backers! -- Steve Jackson June 29, 2026: Coding At The Club I love discovering new music, and this may be some of the newest music around. A few weeks ago, one of my various social media algorithms spit out a video from Switch Angel. I was instantly impressed, and as I watched more of her videos and dug a little deeper into what was happening, I became even more enthralled. The system Switch Angel and other similar artists use is called Strudel. It is described as a "Web-based environment for live coding algorithmic patterns, incorporating a faithful port of TidalCycles to JavaScript". Here's a great video that shows the coding process as a song is built. Switch Angel does live shows and streams, coding the songs in the moment with a projector that shows the code in action. Here's one of my favorite examples, a live session from the New York club Elsewhere. There is a bit of NSFW language at the end, so take that into . . . [more] June 28, 2026: The Roll Big Or Go Home 2 Bundle Extended The Roll Big Or Go Home 2 Bundle from Humble Bundle was supposed to end on June 25. However, demand was so overwhelming that they've extended it by a week! So now it should be ending in a few more days, on July 2. Depending on the tier you hop onto for the Bundle, you can get up to 54 awesome RPGs . . . including our own Sleepaway (and the Uncanny expansion), In Nomine, and the awe-inspiring Wanderhome. If you already snatched up the bundle, you know how great a deal it is. If you thought you'd missed your chance, now is your lucky time! But not too much time . . . The window of opportunity to roll big or go home is closing! -- Steven Marsh Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 1019th superior mutant here today. (33199960 since August 1, 1995)