Crate Digging: July 2027
6 Things I’m Watching, Playing, Reading or Thinking About
🎵 “Ring of Fire,” Wall of Voodoo
Sitting on the same set where they shot the video for “Mexican Radio,” Wall of Voodoo keeps the stage and covers Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” A haunting interpretation, with its precise application of synth, percussion, guitar, and lead man Stan Ridgway’s cerebral playfulness. One-hit wonder? Not in my house. 1982’s Call of the West was a masterpiece.
🎲 Nate Tyler’s Family Board Game Vignettes
Hey, remember Lunch Money? How about GolfMania? Dad, copywriter, and Midwestern expat Nate Tyler narrates a four-generation family game table epic. The section where his Dad invents a baseball league manager game they can play together because young Nate had cabin fever got me right between the eyes. Hire this guy if you can.
📕 The Earthsea Trilogy, Ursula K. Le Guin
Le Guin’s original Earthsea trilogy didn’t have the best chance with eighth-grade me; I’d just finished The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Earthsea’s more contemplative approach to the fantasy epic suffered in LotR’s shadow. Now I revisit it in my 50s, grateful for a chance to break the wrestling matches with litfic, sink into a yarn, enjoy the beauty and generosity of Le Guin’s approach. I didn’t realize what Sparrowhawk was trying to teach me the first time.
🎲 Cardboard Commons
Graphic artist, web developer and small game designer/publisher Jason Katzwinkel (The Seahorse and The Hummingbird) runs a supportive and well-tended gathering place where first-time and published designers alike provide support, feedback and bonhomie for every stage of the game design process. As Katz himself says, “Feel free to come have a look, see if you vibe. We'd love to see your games!” Here’s your Discord invite.
🎲 Master of Coin from Postmark Games
Time’s almost up if you want to back the Postmark posse’s latest print-and-play. This time it’s money: Flipping coins has a bearing on which action spaces you can use to build out your own fantasy kingdom. Heads or tails will constrain your infrastructure, research, and military choices. Like everything they do, it looks tight as hell. Postmark’s 52 Realms Adventures was my buddy’s solo gateway drug. True story.