14 years ago today–on September 10, 2012–Viticulture reached its funding goal on Kickstarter. I consider this the official day that Stonemaier Games was born, and I’m so grateful for those original backers for giving birth to that game and this company.

September 2012 is also around the time that I started posting articles on this blog about my thoughts, observations, data, mistakes, and lessons learned. That would approximately make this my 1456th article on this blog!

I don’t have a monumental topic today; rather, I have a few bite-size topics on which I’ve ruminated recently. I’d love to hear your thoughts about any of them.

• Games on ships: I recently went on a cruise around Iceland, and every evening we would end the day by playing games in some of the quieter places on the boat. I was pleasantly surprised to see that quite a few other people did the same. Lots of portable card games. The ship itself did not have many games, just a few decks of cards and a dozen copies of mahjong in the library. I’m reaching out to a few cruise lines to see if we could contribute some of our smaller games to their collections. What types of games do you see people playing when you travel?
• Mentioning a tip: During the Iceland cruise, we went on a number of excursions. Sometimes people tipped the tour guides, sometimes not. But I noticed that tips increased significantly at the end of an excursion to an isle of puffins. The difference was that at the end of the trip, the tour guide (one of several) thanked their coworkers and verbally invited people to share their loose change as a tip on the way out. Quite a few guests did that, and not just with coins. It was a reminder of the power of a clear, simple call to action. Have you recently responded to a call to action (and if so, what inspired you to actually take action)?
• Out of print: In a recent interview with a retailer on The Bits podcast, roughly around the 90-minute mark, a retailer (Kylie of Games Unlimited) says that he wishes publishers would let retailers know–specifically, retailers who have bought or consistently buy a product–if a currently-in-stock product is going out of print or will be out of stock for a while. All it takes is a mention in your retailer newsletter: Hey, X product with only 100 units remaining has been slow to sell and we’re not going to reprint it for a while, so now is the time to get it if the game has sold well in your store. I thought it was great feedback from Kylie that we will act on at Stonemaier Games. Do other retailers relate to this?
• Memorable moments: Earlier today I read an article listing common misses in Euro games (games with high agency, minimal randomness, and skewing towards perfect information). I don’t agree with some of the items on the list, but one stood out to me. I agree that some of the best Euro games include big memorable moments. Perhaps the moment when you play a difficult card requiring multiple steps (e.g., an elephant in Ark Nova), the moment when you complete a spatial goal (e.g., fill an island in A Feast for Odin), or the moment when you do something incredibly powerful (e.g., go to space in Tapestry). What’s your favorite memorable moment in a Euro game?
• The invitation of closure: Recently a friend recommended a 7-book series around the same time that someone suggested a 10-season TV show. The good news about a long-running series is that if I love it, I can immerse myself in that world for a long time. The bad news–as I often feel when I hear about a long-running series–is that I’m daunted by how much of a commitment it is. Plus, if it has existed for that long, I wonder if I’ve missed out on the peek of the series when people were the most excited to talk about it (the community aspect). I can see this happening with games with lots of expansions, and it’s one of the reasons I like aiming for a moment of closure with our games (e.g., 3 expansions for Scythe–though I later added Duel of Meloch, 1 expansion per continent for Wingspan, 3 expansions for Tapestry). Does the scope of a series of games impact your desire to try the game in the first place?

Thanks for reading and/or joining the conversation, whether it’s for this article or any of the 1455 articles that preceded it!

If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog.

I played another game of Merchant of Venus last night, and it has quietly moved up from “Once every few years” to “Two or three times a year is fine, more would probably be fine” on my list. Part of my appreciation might have come from writing an appreciation, and the 5p game I played last night was perhaps a touch too long, but I also liked that there were a variety of strategies I saw used, including the “Buy a freighter” strategy, which is rarely seen, but won.

I have little to add; but my rating is solidly a Suggest.

At Stonemaier Games,  our staff and contributors now include a total of my 6 full-time coworkers, 1 part-time coworker and cofounder, a number of key independent contractors and creatives (designers and artists), and another 100+ paid volunteers (proofreaders and playtesters). I am so lucky to work with such talented, passionate, and kind people every day.

I’m in the incredibly fortunate position of running a company I love. I try to value my coworkers (in both words and actions) as I’d hope someone would value me if I were in their shoes. I’m a proponent of slow, deliberate, and sustainable growth: If I make the rare decision to hire someone, it’s a commitment to support them long term through the good times and the bad.

Today also happens to be the exact day I said goodbye to my treasured cat companion, Biddy. As I’ve reflected on the 16 years he was in my life, I realized how grateful I am to have had a career at Stonemaier Games that allowed me to work from home. That is such a huge gift of time I could share with Biddy, who would often nap on my chair or desk while I worked.

Here are our updates for 2026:

• Company Retreat: The 8 of us gathered in Phoenix for a few days of playtesting, discussion, and invaluable idle time together. Several of our games–including Wingspan Pocket–are significantly better as a result of the collective feedback, and it was helpful to see the value of simply being in the same space as each other. We’re getting together again for a low-key evening before Design Day in a few weeks.
• Sales Team Meetings: A few times this year the Stonemaier sales team (different facets covered by Susannah, Alex, Erica, Dave, and me) has convened for a 1-hour call without any specific objective–we’ve just made space to talk about anything related to the present and future of our products so we can do a better job of serving our varied types of customers (retailers, localization partners, distributors, online stores, convention attendees, and webstore users).
• No Generative AI: This has been a tough year for many talented people, with companies using AI as a justification for layoffs. My heart goes out to everyone who lost their jobs. Stonemaier Games does not use, has not used, and does not plan to knowingly use generative AI for creative work (text, art, videos, etc). If we’re creating something, we want it built from the ground up by talented people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures. We believe that the process is integral to our output, and it allows human creativity to shine. Whenever AI tries to poke its tendrils into our company, we instead ask the question: Why don’t we pay a person to do this?

What are you reflecting on this Labor Day?

• Labor Day 2025: What’s New This Year
• Extreme Ownership and MrBeast
• Labor Day 2024: What’s New This Year
• How I Value My Coworkers
• Wages, Inflation, and Labor Day
• The Bear and Professional Development
• A Short Note About Wages on Labor Day
• Labor Day: Fair Wages, Volunteer Compensation, and a Job Application Update
• Perks and Principles for My Coworkers at Stonemaier Games
• Why I Prioritize Paying Freelancers
• Flatter Your Way into a New Industry
• Hiring in a World of Volunteers
• Designer Advances
• Gameosity Game Industry Job Board

If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog.

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Was habe ich gespielt?
boardgamearena.com: Carcassonne
Laser Chess – Khet 2.0
SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS
Cities

Podcast Hinweis

Bluesky – @vintersphrost.bsky.social
Mastodon – @vintersphrost@brettspiel.space
Boardgamearena.com – vintersphrost
Yucata.de – vintersphrost
tutti.ch: https://www.tutti.ch/de/seller?id=2079528265671090841
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vintersphrost/
YouTube Hörspiel Einspieler – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCER_eNjl0R-Rzev5IMG2uufJSbXt01Mp

Today I received an enlightening email from a fellow tabletop publisher–someone who has used crowdfunding successfully for multiple projects–about their struggles with certain types of marketing and advertising. I’ll explore this publisher’s struggles and share some constructive opinions.

Struggle #1: Facebook Ads Aren’t Resulting in Backers

The publisher shared data for three of their projects, on which they spent a total of around $90,000 on web ads. This expense essentially negated any profit they would have earned from these projects, with the most recent ad generating a 1% ROAS (return on ad spend).

However, they also shared some good news: BoardGameGeek ads are working well for them. That’s great. I actually haven’t posted an ad on BGG for a while, but I need to do so, and I’ll report what I find. The publisher also shared that they like Gamefound as a platform for discoverability, organic visibility, and the algorithm surfacing campaigns.

Meanwhile, whenever we launch a new product, we work with ad manager Andrew Cook to post two sets of ads on Facebook: One before launch to draw people in, and one during the launch to invite them to check out the webstore. For both the ads and Andrew’s time, I aim to spend around $2,000 total per launch. For every dollar we spend, we generate around 3x that much in revenue (but I think that multiplier would greatly decrease if we significantly increased our ad spend). So perhaps part of the key here is to find the right person to run your ad campaigns.

Struggle #2: Paid Previews Aren’t Working

The publisher shared that paid previews (often on YouTube) aren’t working well, both because they require an extremely polished product before any funding has been received and in terms of only a handful of new backers coming to the project from the previews.

That said, as the publisher also pointed out, attribution from a video is difficult to quantify. “People watch it, follow you, watch another, read your rules and then a week later they pledge.” I agree that there is high value in seeing multiple content creators talk about a game over the span of 1-2 weeks.

I’ll ask this: What if the goal is to inform instead of to convert? You can’t control how many people will back your project after watching a video, but you can try to be of service to people so they can spend their limited budgets on the games that will bring them the most joy. Preview content is one way to do this.

Struggle #3: Prelaunch Followers Aren’t Converting into Backers

The publisher shared that around 7% of prelaunch followers became backers for their most recent project, while they’ve seen other projects get close to 20%.

They did add a few caveats to these numbers (they’ve made some mistakes with pricing and shipping fees). No project is perfect, and it’s more important than ever to have a great game at a great value when you’re trying to create something new.

Creators can reduce the chances of encountering these issues during the campaign by having a variety of people look at their project page before launch.

As for the game itself, I think it’s increasingly helpful to share with backers how it’s different than existing games (while also sharing a few comparisons: If you like X and Y, we think you’ll enjoy Z). Also, sometimes it is a matter of getting just one game that elevates itself over all of your other games–that one special game can make a huge difference for a publisher.

Struggle #4: Climbing into the BGG Hotness Is Very Difficult

The publisher shared this: “We still haven’t cracked BGG organic traffic. I just don’t know how to drive traffic to my BGG page without paying to do that. Designer diaries, etc – they work, but it’s very small traffic, and time I could spend on a game.”

As long as it’s for the right reasons, having your game appear on the BGG Hotness list can have a multiplicative effect, as even more people discover it, which solidifies the game’s presence on the list.

I wrote this a while ago, but I think these tips for helping your game appear on the Hotness still apply: “Find ways to get people talking about your game on BGG. Post images on a regular basis. Encourage conversation as a moderator and a participant. Drive external traffic to your BGG page.”

In my opinion, the best target audience to invite to participation on BGG are the people who are already following your company or your project. This isn’t the reason why I focus on community building, but it is one of the serendipitous results.

I love that we have deeply engaged customers at Stonemaier Games, whether they’re participating on BoardGameGeek or our Facebook groups, Discord, YouTube Channel, Instagram, Bluesky, this blog, etc–I try to hang out with our followers on their platform of choice. In the rare occasions when we have something new to share with them, they’re likely to see it.

I truly feel for every creator who has struggled to connect an external or internal audience with their newest creation. It’s hard–I’ve experienced that too. Whenever I’m discouraged by the uphill battle of finding newcomers to invite to our games, I try to focus on how grateful I am for those who already choose to follow us.

Thanks to the publisher who shared this information with me. They asked to remain anonymous but said it was perfectly fine if I publicly post my thoughts on these topics.

Also read:

• Paid Advertising and How Backers Find Your Project
• Which Banner Ad Message Gets the Most Clicks?
• Everything Crowdfunders Need to Know About Advertising
• 10 Million Views: The Results of an Advertising Experiment
• Rick and Morty, Revisionist History, and Ads I’m Happy to Consume
• 10 Marketing Methods Used at Stonemaier Games

Read more →

Was habe ich gespielt?
boardgamearena.com: Agricola
Dino Racer
Light Speed Arena
Krakel Orakel

Podcast Hinweis

Bluesky – @vintersphrost.bsky.social
Mastodon – @vintersphrost@brettspiel.space
Boardgamearena.com – vintersphrost
Yucata.de – vintersphrost
tutti.ch: https://www.tutti.ch/de/seller?id=2079528265671090841
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vintersphrost/
YouTube Hörspiel Einspieler – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCER_eNjl0R-Rzev5IMG2uufJSbXt01Mp

We always try to make games that are easy to get to the table, but this is absurd: Just one month after customers started receiving copies of Wingspan Pocket, the game already has over 1,000 ratings on BoardGameGeek. People are getting the game and actually playing it right away–this is a publisher’s dream!

What makes Wingspan Pocket so immediately playable? Can these characteristics be replicated in other games? Here’s my take:

• Context of Wingspan: I can’t overlook that a person’s knowledge of Wingspan makes it easier to play Wingspan Pocket. Similarly, it was easier for me to play Duel for Middle-earth the first time because I had already played 7 Wonders Duel. I think this asset extends beyond game brands to game mechanisms: If I’m drawn to a new deckbuilding game, I come to it with the experience of having played other deckbuilding games.
• Fast initial setup and per-game setup: I don’t mind punching and sorting a new game, but it’s really nice when that process only takes a few minutes. With Wingspan Pocket, you literally just remove the paper bands that secure the decks of cards, and the game is ready to be played. The per-game setup takes another 2 minutes, which not only makes it easier to play the game for the first time, but also every other time.
• Streamlined core rules with engine building: No matter how complex a game is, I love when the core action system can be described in a single sentence or infographic. In Wingspan Pocket, you activate bird powers from left to right, starting with the Nest action. That’s it–that’s your turn. A brilliant part of Elizabeth’s design is that you immediately have a sense of progress, because if you play a bird on your first turn, you also get to activate that bird.
• Game length: Wingspan Pocket plays in around 30 minutes, making it easy to fit into a busy schedule. Most of our other games are longer–some significantly longer–which is right for those games, but it’s neat to see how quick-to-table a shorter game is.
• Solo play: All of our games include Automa solo modes, so you can play them without having to schedule around other players. This removes a huge barrier to entry. Wingspan Pocket is playable from 1-5 players, so when you’re ready to share it with other players, there’s a higher-than-average player count cap.
• Shared excitement: When I have the sense that many other people are playing a specific game, I’m excited to play it too. Perhaps it’s just the algorithm, but I’ve noticed a higher density of Instagram posts about Wingspan Pocket than other new games we’ve released in the past. Some of the above factors impact these posts, along with the beautiful bird art by Natalia and Ana–it’s a photogenic game.
• Reference cards for each player: I believe that the #1 asset to making a game friendly to those who teach games is the inclusion of reference cards for each player. Wingspan Pocket’s reference card has the core gameplay, setup, and card anatomy on one side and icons on the other.

I’m so happy to see people playing Wingspan Pocket, and I’m looking to learn from this experience for our other games (including Wyrmspan Pocket, which Connie is actively working on).

What inspires you to play a game soon after adding it to your collection?

Also read: The Formula for Wingspan’s Longevity, Replayability, and Success

If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog. 

A huge part of my job at Stonemaier Games is communicating information via this website, our newsletters, Facebook groups, the weekly YouTube livecast, etc. I’ve tried to hone my communication skills through lots of practice, plus the consumption of other creators’ newsletters, crowdfunding updates, videos, and more.

I’m always fascinated by how someone handles communication when things don’t go as planned, and we had a few such situations arise during our recent Iceland trip. Here’s what happened, how the communication was handled, and what I learned from it as a creator.

Please Get Off the Plane

We boarded the plane for our Baltimore to Reykjavik flight late in the evening, and then we sat on the plane for around an hour while mechanics came and went. The captain kept us informed during this time that there was a minor mechanical issue that would be fixed soon. When the issue was resolved, the plane continued to sit at the gate for around 20 minutes before the pilot shared that the airport runways were now undergoing scheduled maintenance, and we would need to get off the plane and wait until the next day at 2:00 to reboard.

It was a rough way to start the trip, because we missed an entire day in Iceland as a result. In this case, I think the communication between the plane and the passengers was fine, but I have to think that better communication between the airline and the airport could have gotten us out of Baltimore without disrupting the runway maintenance.

In publishing, communication about timing in the short-term can have big implications. For example, we have a game we’re trying to launch on our webstore right before Essen Spiel (and then have copies at the convention), but to make that possible, we needed to work with our manufacturer to split the print run into two halves.

The Eclipse Is Cancelled

A small part of the reason we chose this particular week to go to Iceland is that they were in the path of totality for a solar eclipse due to happen on August 12. The weather was sunny and clear the entire trip…until the afternoon of the eclipse, when the boat was surrounded by a thick layer of fog.

Throughout the day, the communications officer on board gave updates and set expectations for the eclipse viewing. She told us that the captain was doing his best to find a clear area, but the chances of finding one were increasingly low. While I’m sure some people were disappointed that they missed a clear view of the sun, these updates ensured that no one was completely caught off guard by the lack of visibility.

I appreciate this approach to crowdfunding updates. Even if things aren’t going as planned, I’d rather know (and to hear what the creator is working on) than be kept in the dark.

We Now Live on This Bus

After a fun visit to an Icelandic horse ranch, our excursion bus struggled to pull out of a steep driveway. The driver kept trying, time after time, and each time the bus drifted a little further down the hill. This went on for around 20 minutes without a word of communication from the driver or tour guide.

Did we need progress updates? I don’t think so. We could all hear what was happening, and we knew the driver was doing his best. No one complained, and when the driver finally got it to work, we all cheered.

However, I think there was probably an opportunity for one update 10 minutes in to ease any future concerns. Something along the lines of, “If we’re still here in 20 minutes, we’ll call for a backup bus and everyone can wander around the ranch in the meantime.”

Sometimes people just need to hear that everything will be okay (and how it will be okay). It’s why we send a shipping update and post in a game’s Facebook group about a week into the shipping process–we want to assure people that it’s normal for some orders to have shipped but not others, and that we’ll take care of them if their order doesn’t arrive exactly as they’d hoped.

There Is No Line (Until There’s a Line)

We went on a few excursions, and we found the lack of signage at port to be a bit bewildering. For example, when we arrived to go see puffins in the wild, there were several lines, but the only guidance anyone had from the excursion coordinator was to either wait in a specific line (as directed by her) or to wait literally anywhere else until further instructions were provided. It was confusing for the hundreds of people who had excursions at different times, and probably frustrating for the coordinator to get the same questions over and over.

Similarly, for any future product, I think it’s helpful for customers to have a place to “wait” (i.e., a prelaunch signup page or a game-specific launch notification newsletter). That way they don’t have to wonder if they’ll miss out–they’ll get a notification when the product launches.

Have you learned anything about communication recently from travels, crowdfunding, or other experiences?

If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog. 

Was habe ich gespielt?
boardgamearena.com:
Dino Racer
Light Speed Arena
Geisterfalle
Scheibenwelt: Ankh-Morpork
WTF is this?!

Podcast Hinweis

Bluesky – @vintersphrost.bsky.social
Mastodon – @vintersphrost@brettspiel.space
Boardgamearena.com – vintersphrost
Yucata.de – vintersphrost
tutti.ch: https://www.tutti.ch/de/seller?id=2079528265671090841
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vintersphrost/
YouTube Hörspiel Einspieler – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCER_eNjl0R-Rzev5IMG2uufJSbXt01Mp

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A little under 2 weeks ago, we arrived as part of a group of 7 at port in Reykjavik to check into our cruise. This process is very similar to checking into a flight, except at the final step before boarding, there was a surprise: The attendant informed Megan and me that we had VIP status. We were swiftly shepherded into a lounge where we would wait for the ship (instead of standing in line).

As it turns out, the travel agent who arranged the trip for our group (the sister of a friend with whom we were traveling) had received a free VIP upgrade, and she was very nice to apply it to our room. It mostly meant that when the cruise ship docked at various ports around Iceland, we could skip the line to get off and on the boat.

When I heard this from the concierge in the lounge, while I appreciated the ability to save some time, I didn’t want to leave behind the rest of our group. But the concierge continued with the following: Those with VIP status could include other members of their party when skipping lines.

Oh. I see. That felt different. Yes, there was a still a little unease about going to the front of a long queue (which only happened once during the trip), but if we could use the VIP status to help our friends and family… well, yes please. I love positive player interaction!

So as we enjoyed this perk during the trip, I wondered if there were other forms of VIP status that avoided the feeling of exclusion, gatekeeping, or elitism. Here’s a list of some examples, many of which were shared during yesterday’s livecast:

1. Stonemaier Champion program: For $15/year, Champions support this blog and our YouTube channel while receiving a 20% discount on every Stonemaier webstore purchase and prioritized shipping before non-Champion orders. This has proven to be a good value for over 15,000 Champions without hurting the experience of everyone else.
2. Convention early access: Various conventions offer early access to the expo hall or hotel blocks for volunteers and those with special ties to the industry (e.g., FLGS owners). Accessing the expo hall an hour early feels great but isn’t so much time that you’ve cleared the shelves.
3. Theme parks: I went to Universal Studios last year and stayed in a hotel connected to the new Epic Universe, so we could enter the park an hour early early (time we used to have a quiet breakfast). We didn’t pay to jump to the front of the lines for rides, but in hindsight I regret that decision, as we spent hours waiting for our turn.
4. Birthday perks: Everyone should feel like a VIP on their birthday! Many coffee shops and bakeries will reach out to customers with a birthday treat, which seems like a win-win for the shop and the customer.
5. Speakeasies: Modern speakeasies (like NOTA in St. Louis) make you feel “in the know” with their hard-to-find doors and passwords to enter, but really anyone is welcome.
6. Loyalty systems: Some companies offer points to those who purchase products from them, and over time those points can result in some special privileges. The Lego Insider program is an example of this.
7. Backstage passes at concerts: Some people pay for backstage access while others gain it by knowing the right person. I don’t mind this mild form of gatekeeping because the backstage has an actual capacity limit (unlike an most early bird crowdfunding rewards).
8. Restaurant regulars: Have you ever been to a restaurant so many times that they know your favorite dish or sometimes serve you a special off-the-menu item? I haven’t, but it sounds amazing. I like that this is an organic, personalized version of a loyalty program.
9. Corporate perks: Some companies make their employees feel like VIPs by giving them access to suites at sporting venues (and invite friends and family to join them, like the cruise VIP status).
10. Airport lounges: My credit card gives me access to some airport lounges, and it was really nice to relax in one of them during a trip earlier this year. I wouldn’t say this fully qualifies for the list, as the other way to access them is to pay for expensive plane tickets, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

I want our customers to feel like very important people (even if they aren’t Stonemaier Champions), so I appreciate the variety of these VIP techniques.

Is there a VIP status or perk you’ve experienced that avoids the feeling of exclusion, gatekeeping, or elitism?

I spent the last 9+ days in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which I briefly touched upon in last week’s post and will continue to revisit in articles over the next few weeks. I had minimal internet access on the trip and fell behind in highlighting links that content creators sent to me (as I typically do each Friday on Facebook), so today I’ll catch up via this post.

I hope you discover some great reviewers from this post!

Lists and Variety

• Bapter’s favorite Stonemaier games
• Keith Law’s Gen Con wrap-up

Duel of Meloch

• Board Game Hot Takes
• Gaming Caravan
• Let’s Game More
• Board Game Gumbo
• The Mill

Wingspan Pocket

• Headlines from a Solo Player
• Sam Solo
• TerreDice Games
• IGN
• The Rulebook
• Board Game Quest
• Board Game Hot Takes
• Frankie Plays Games
• The Hungry Gamer

Origin Story: Heroes & Villains

• Allies or Enemies
• Nox Spellenzolder
• The Mill

Finspan: Sharks & Reefs

• There Will Be Games
• Never Bored of Board Games
• Magic and Meeples
• Stidjen Plays Solo

Viticulture: Bordeaux

• The Meeple Guys

Wingspan Americas

• exploring_boardgames

Vantage

• Board Game Maniac
• We’re Not Wizards
• Above Board

Rolling Realms Redux

• Lounge Lizard Games
• Frankie Plays Games

Smitten

• Cooperative Operative

Expeditions: Gears of Corruption

• Allies or Enemies

Also, thanks to Erik Thein for working with us to create this video about the Stonemaier Games experience at Gen Con:

Print and Play Bastelecke

Was habe ich gespielt?
boardgamearena.com:
Gigamon
Splendor Duel

Podcast Hinweis

Bluesky – @vintersphrost.bsky.social
Mastodon – @vintersphrost@brettspiel.space
Boardgamearena.com – vintersphrost
Yucata.de – vintersphrost
tutti.ch: https://www.tutti.ch/de/seller?id=2079528265671090841
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vintersphrost/
YouTube Hörspiel Einspieler – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCER_eNjl0R-Rzev5IMG2uufJSbXt01Mp

Read more →

I’m traveling in Iceland right now, and I despite doing lots of touristy things (while trying to be a respectful tourist), I’ve had nothing but amazing experiences with every Icelander. This ranges from tours to cafes to shopkeepers, among many others.

One of the best all-around experiences I had was at the Blue Lagoon hotel springs outside Reykjavik. My good impressions started at the entrance, a winding walkway lined by piles of volcano rock. It created a literal passage between the rest of the world and this relaxing escape.

At check in, we’re were each given a multi-use wristband. It gave us access to the faculty, it unlocked and linked to any available locker (as well as a panel that would remind you of your locker number if you forgot), and a quick scan informed the bartender of any drinks for which you prepaid (it also created a frictionless checkout if you wanted to add anything extra).

The hot spring area itself was essentially a massive wading pool through otherworldly milky blue warm water. I’m someone who greatly prefers land to water, but this felt really nice just to walk around in. There were a few interconnected pools, saunas, and other areas, as well as mud mask stations (another part of some prepaid packages; a quick wristband scan was all it took). The sheer volume of compatriots whose faces were also covered in green paste made the made for a delightfully silly shared experience.

At the end, there were swimsuit drying machines in the locker area and of course a gift shop to walk through on the way out (in case we wanted to buy more fancy mud). It was well positioned but not pushy.

I’ve heard there are many variations of this type of geothermal spring experience in Iceland, and I went to something similar (but much smaller) at a ryokan in Shibu Onsen in Japan a few years ago. I’m curious if you’ve tried anything designed to relax and rejuvenate while traveling—what stood out the most?

Print and Play Bastelecke

Was habe ich gespielt?
boardgamearena.com:
WTF is this?!
Schummel Hummel
Catan – Das Kartenspiel (Catan – On the Road)

Podcast Hinweis

Bluesky – @vintersphrost.bsky.social
Mastodon – @vintersphrost@brettspiel.space
Boardgamearena.com – vintersphrost
Yucata.de – vintersphrost
tutti.ch: https://www.tutti.ch/de/seller?id=2079528265671090841
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vintersphrost/
YouTube Hörspiel Einspieler – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCER_eNjl0R-Rzev5IMG2uufJSbXt01Mp