by Alexandre Correia

Day 3281. December 25, 2025. Offline...

I know by the time you're reading this, you'll be celebrating the new year, 2026. But in Browsing Games, time runs on its own peculiar clock.

Here, it's still Christmas, a quiet day. The kind made for slow games and slower thoughts, nothing grand or elaborate. And as I write, I'm aware that this tiny moment will soon be yet another memory, another post, lost in the busyness of January's drafts and scheduled posts. But right now, it's enough.

Xmas @ home.

Traditional dioramas.

Hometown lights.
Merry Christmas, Dear Reader. Merry Christmas.

⭐⭐⭐
One year ago: ...the portentous opera...One year later: N/A

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by Rachel

I did some things today, well, lots of things:

2026 Friday on Friday: Play Friday EVERY Friday of 2026
2026 Challenge: 26 un(der)played in 26
2026 Extreme Numerology Challenge

I also added them to the 2026 Gaming Challenge Overview list and added the Friday Challenges to the 2026 Solo Challenge Geeklist. Whew. Still behind on correspondence and blog comments, but at least I got the new challenges up and running.

Also, due to some changes with the Two-Player Contest, it looks like [WIP] Unlucky Spirits, Original Edition (1-3 players, 60-90 min, Ages 16+, cooperative game) - 2025 Two-Player Game Design Contest entry (Contest Complete) is getting a 2nd chance sooner and in a different arena than I expected. Note that I've already changed the label to Original Edition... That's because a Revised Edition will be appearing in the 2026 Contest. Lots of changes, all for the better. Because while I really wanted to try this one's luck in 2026 Cardboard Edison... I just think it needs more playtesting and more eyes on first. So, the Revised Edition will be posted... soon.

Here's the update I shared on the Original Edition's thread:

Okay, everyone. Given the changes to the Two-Player Print and Play Game Design Contest... I've made a decision. I am officially launching Unlucky Spirits, Revised Edition and will be entered it in the 2026 Contest. There will be plenty of changes. I've already re-labeled this current thread as Unlucky Spirits, Original Edition. You will recognize the logo, the board, and the cards. However, expect the Revised Edition to be smaller, more PNP friendly, emphasize 2-player player, while at the same time making it easier for those looking to play with 3-4 players to figure out what components they need to build. Yes, I said it, the game will now support 1-4 players instead of 1-3 players. Again, the emphasis is on 2-player play as the game has been 2-player from the get-go and I still feel it shines best as a 2-player co-op HOWEVER, if I'm going to get Unlucky Spirits to take flight, I need to be flexible and concentrate about making the game as easy to play for as many potential players as possible. Right now, I'm planning a base PNP file with instructions that will suffice for 1-2 players. There will be a separate file to "add a player". Print and make 1 copy to introduce a 3rd player. Print and make 2 copies to play with 4 players. The original TTS will remain available... for now; however, given that the graphics for the Tarot Cards, Household Omens, and Household Omen Effect Cards are all getting redone/finished, the TTS will eventually be updated. There is also going to be a 13-game campaign. It will work for any player count. The change that I least like, but is most needed to make the process of printing and playing the game easier, is the odd card sizes. The board is transitioning from a modular oversize board of about 40 x 40 inches to a slightly more reasonable unified game board of 30 x 30 inches. Still big. But much smaller, and I promise much easier to build. Hopefully, I can get all of the changes made and launch the new thread by the end of the week, though the campaign may take a bit longer. Still, I wanted to post my intentions here. I was going to try and put this in the 2026 Cardboard Edison competition... but I don't think it's ready yet to be completely honest with myself. I need more playtesters. More feedback. I need to know what's working for you and what isn't. I've got my Mom playing this with me and she HATES co-ops and doesn't really get my solo game designs. Trust me, she may be my mother, but as far as games go, she's a hard critic to please. She likes it. And can follow it. BUT, I need to test Unlucky Spirits with a much wider audience. Full stop. I really think this is a great game, but I know that it could be better. There's something here. And I really do think that this could be a redemption of classic roll-and-move games. Something that casual gamers and more hardcore gamers could both enjoy. And so that's why I'm going to try this again. Stay tuned, everybody!
-Rachel

That said, I'm still planning on entering Composer's Cat in this year's Cardboard Edison contest. Which means I've got 30 days to get that done...

Also, I'm still working on getting The Game Crafter Edition of Charge the Circle off the ground. I want it available on The Game Crafter by March 1st. Seems reasonable.

As for [WIP] Monk's Cat: The Book of [Pawprints] (1p, 25-30 min, adjustable difficulty, in-hand, deck management game)- 2026 In-Hand Game Design Contest entry (Components Ready!), the art is coming along swimmingly. Especially now that I've settled on a parchment/old papery looking background. I played with some of my old antiqueing inks today. Amazingly, they still had ink. Pretty sure I haven't used them in at least 5 years...

Anyway, no games with Mom today, but we did play lots of Fireworks last night :D.

Session reports rolling out later this week.

Hitting the ground running and starting 2026 off busy busy :D.

Game Over On borrowed time...

Happy New Year, Happy Thursday and happy playing!
-Rachel

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