Temples, shines, palaces, and shopping

We spent about ten days in the country – half in Tokyo and half in Kyoto. Our goal was to show Curio and my parents some of the greatest hits and to give them a sense of our life in Japan. Each day we’d aim to hit about one major activity, plus plenty of walking around neighborhoods (often from one meal or snack to the next). This was a reasonable pace for a four-year-old and Curio was generally an easy traveller.

In Tokyo, we walked around the Palace Gardens, Iidabashi, Shibuya, Azabu-Juban, Harajuku, Yoyogi Park, Ueno, Asakusa, Ginza, and more. We hit the big shrines and temples but also delighted in wandering the quiet side streets. The exchange rate was highly favorable and we took advantage of it by buying new glasses and tons of Uniqlo (for me) and a hoard of ceramics (for Avital). We also made it Teamlab Borderless (in Roppongi) which was delightful, though not nearly as interactive as Borderless in its old location. Next time we’ll check out Planets instead.

In Kyoto, we stayed in a lovely old Machiya which had two gigantic bath tubs that we enjoyed each night.

We took the family to some old favorites, including Nijo Castle and Fushimi Inari and we explored some sites that were new to us, including the Imperial Palace gardens and Kodai-ji temple.

The best food in the world

One of our favorite things about Japan is the food. This trip, we revisited some of our old favorites and found some great new restaurants, too. We shared a huge array of Japanese cuisines with the family and most were hit. Curio and my parents tried: oden, donburi, sushi, onigiri, takoyaki, imagawayaki, kaiseki, wagashi, soba, udon, kakigori, okonomiyaki, and much more. We dined at Michelin stars and bib gourmands, department stores, and konbinis and we were delighted at every turn.

Since leaving Japan in 2019 we’ve dreamed of once again eating our favorite pizza in the world: the tuna sashimi pizza at Savoy Tomato to Cheese. The pizza was as good as we remembered but we also tried the wagyu beef pizza special which was even better – maybe the best pizza in the world.

Curio was an adventurous eater, trying everything we asked and often going back for seconds. Here he is devouring octopus on a skewer:

One highlight was trying the Kakigōri at Azuki to Kōri, which elevated the shaved ice dessert to its highest form. We tried two shaved ice (blood orange and strawberry with crème brûlée) and they were amazing. Curio drank the melted remains from the bottom of the bowl.

One night in Kyoto, Avital and I snuck away for a Michelin Star meal at KOKE. We had 14 delicious courses of Okinawan food with Spanish twists, many of which had unusual combinations of sweet and savory flavors. It was a treat – the type of food we couldn’t get anywhere else.

またね Japan!

Ten days was too short but it was still incredible being back. We’re already scheming about how to return in the next few years, and maybe this time we’ll do one of the famous hikes, like the Kumano Kodo. Until then, we say またね (see you soon) and dream of great food and wonderful adventures.

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Hey friends and family. I missed the 2024 recap so here’s an extra large update covering both 2024 and 2025.

On the family front, we’re still living in SF and having a blast as Curio continues to grow. He’s nearly four years old and provides endless delight and entertainment. We play lots of storytelling games and build endless types of castles with Magna-Tiles. To no surprise, he’s also become a bit of a foodie, with some favorite dishes including salmon sashimi, ikura (fish roe), and saag paneer. He’s recently started at a Mandarin immersion pre-school and loves it there – he’s now belting out Mandarin songs at home.

Last spring we took Curio to the Loire Valley in France with the rest of my family and it was a perfect vacation: plenty of good family time, interesting castles to visit, and endless delicious food. We accidently brought Curio to a 2-hour tasting menu but he thrived there and learned the meaning of amuse bouche.

Leveraged Play

It’s been a busy couple years for my serious games consulting firm Leveraged Play – here are some highlights:

• We launched Trust and Safety: Armed Conflict – a browser game exploring how social media platforms can navigate armed conflict situations. We designed it in collaboration with the International Committee for the Red Cross and it  was great working with their experts.
• I collaborated with the Intelligence Rising team to help them make a game about the future of science, government policy, and artificial intelligence.
• I joined a Popshift retreat called Futures Basecamp, where they brought together foresight experts with Hollywood showrunners and screenwriters. The event was a blast and I ran a game called The Movement in which players create the story of future social movements.
• I made a lighter futures game with Sidney Icarus, called Posting Through It. It’s played out over a fake social media network and is very silly.
• We translated our content moderation game Moderator Mayhem into Dutch and German and it appeared at events in the EU.
• And I participated in a few other projects that I can’t discuss, due to client confidentiality.

Diegetic Games

My consumer games practice has generally taken a backseat to my serious games work but I still find time to noodle on games and occasionally publish them. Some of what I’ve been up to:

• I Kickstarted a physical version of Behind the Magic, which you can buy print-on-demand via Mixam.
• I published the digital version of Working the Case with themed playsets for Fantasy, Space Station, and Cyberpunk mysteries. I love this game and still plan to make a physical version at some point.
• I designed and playtested Seizing the Crown, which uses Working the Case style mechanics to tell stories like Game of Thrones. It’s in open playtesting so check it out and let me know what you think!
• I collaborated with Sam Dunnewold to make Three Generations: The Rise and Fall of the Eternal Empire. It’s a prompt driven map making game where you build a network of cities and tell stories of the folks who travel between them.
• Jason Morningstar and I adapted Honor Bound for Sinking Ship Creations. They ran it for a public audience near the site of the Hamilton-Burr duel.
• I also worked on a number of prototypes including several on themes of city building and revolutions. We’ll see if any of them enter public playtesting this year!

Avital’s work

Avital has a wild two years for both of her businesses:

• She grew Avital Experiences to over 12 cities, with plenty of growth coming from the interactive meal product line for teambuilding and client entertainment
• She launched Edible Architecture, a consumer foods brand that sells Charcuterie Chalets and Charcu-trees. She did a phenomenal job of going from founding to Costco shelves in just two years. Also, she aired on Shark Tank last month and delivered a fantastic pitch!

Hobbies

I published a short story called The Caucus, commissioned by Summer of Protocols. They’ve recently commissioned another story which I’m hoping to publish in the next few weeks.

I’ve continued playing piano, guitar, and ukulele, often with Curio jamming with me and singing along. I’m trying to pick up a bit of jazz improv and we’ll see how that goes.

We’re also trying to hike more often and, closer to home, Curio has developed an enthusiasm for weekend climbs up to the top of Bernal Heights.

Catch up with us!

We haven’t been great about proactively scheduling calls but we always get excited when old friends reach out to chat. Shoot us an email and we’ll get something on the calendar!

Hey family and friends – here’s a recap of what we were up to in 2023 Family We had lots of excellent family time this year and we’ve loved watching Curio grow from baby to toddler. It’s hard to believe that he’s almost two years old but we’re loving every step of the way. We took two trips to visit family on the east coast and we’ve loved seeing Curio develop relationships with his extended family.

In 2023 he started walking and talking; we love hearing what he has to say. He’s an incredibly social baby and says hello to every person and dog we pass on the street. Other hobbies include dancing, making “music” with our piano and guitars, and helping cook.

Unfortunately, I also caught covid for the first time in the fall and it led to long covid. I’m about three months in and I’m continuing to improve, albeit slowly. Hopefully I’ll be back to 100% before too long.

Leveraged Play

I had a big year at my studio Leveraged Play – we released three major games, helped with others, and continued to grow the Foresight Games community.

Futurecast

In the spring, we launched Futurecast which we codesigned with the United Nations. It’s an in-person workshop game where players explore opportunities and threats by collaboratively answering prompts and building on each other’s answers. The game was originally designed for exploring upcoming elections but you can easily adapt it to other contexts. FutureCast includes a toolkit for customizing the game to meet your own goals.

The game just won an IF Award from the Association for Professional Futurists under the Ingenuity category. We’re hoping to see more teams adopt and remix Futurecast to inform their decision making. You check out the FutureCast kit here.

Moderator Mayhem

In May we launched Moderator Mayhem, a browser and mobile game where players explore the challenges of content moderation. It was commissioned by Engine to help technologists, policy makers, and journalists have nuanced conversations about related legislation. Go play it or read more about it.

We’ve had over 30,000 players and the game received great buzz on social media and in the press. We also adapted the game for TrustCon, the main trust and safety conference, and added a high scores list.

Trust & Safety Tycoon

In October we launched Trust & Safety Tycoon, another game on the same topic, which we created in association with the Atlantic Council and with support from the Hewlett Foundation. This game focuses on running and scaling the entire trust and safety organization at a fast growing social media company. It was also a hit with over 50,000 players and press coverage in the Washington Post and TechCrunch. Go play it or read more about it.

It’s the most complex game we’ve made so far, with mechanics for choosing site policies, investing in team capabilities, and managing a variety of key game states. It runs on a new game engine that we purpose built for this type of game and which we hope to open source in 2024.

Other collaborations and activities

We also advised a client on their adaptation of a cybersecurity game from in-person to digital and ended up running it over Discord. We created some Discord bot automations to make it easy to facilitate and I’m looking forward to making more games on Discord.

I also advised California 100 on their youth summit and helped them design a lightweight game in which participants negotiate policies that shape the future of California. The event was a success and I had a great time working with their team.

Mid-year I ran a few playtests of This Changes Everything, a quick game about exploring new innovations and emerging technologies. The game plays well and I just need to find the time to refine it and share it for public use.

Consumer Games

With all the focus on foresight games, I didn’t have too much time or energy for my consumer games. I spent the most time refining Working the Case, which now has a physical version. I brought it to Big Bad Con where I ran it six times and the players had a blast. I’m hoping to publish it in 2024, either through a publisher or self-published.

I’ve also continued cohosting the annual “Gaming Like It’s 192X” game jam. Check out the 2023 winners or join the ongoing 2024 jam.

Avital Experiences

Avital had a big year in which she rebranded her company to Avital Food & Drink Experiences and launched a new website. Some highlights included:

• Growing her interactive meal product nationwide, launching in 12 cities
• Running a charcuterie chalet competition at the Fancy Food Show in NYC
• Hosting a water tasting event in Napa

Hobbies

I published a new short story through the Peaceful Futures collection: Memes and Mayhem in New Maldives City. I’m happy with how it turned out but it was constrained by their word count limit. I might revise it at some point to be a bit longer.

I also outlined several stories in a shared near-future setting which I hope to publish in 2024 – I just need to make the time!

Beyond writing, I’ve continued playing piano, guitar, and ukulele, often with Curio as my audience. I’m excited to jam with him and Avital once he learns to play an instrument.

Catch up with us

We haven’t been great about proactively scheduling calls but we always get excited when old friends reach out to chat. Shoot us an email and we’ll get something on the calendar!

First up was The Isabel, a new game by Jason Morningstar, where we told the tale of a doomed cod fishing expedition. The game had a nice mechanic where we would draw an action and then decide which character carried it out, which worked well. The prompts were all evocative and it was fun to match them to characters.

Second up was Villagesong, by Vee Hendro, in which we explored three villages and their leaders as they grappled with change and tensions. The setup and prompts guided us through a satisfying arc about the island coming together.

So far I’ve been giving each location a description, an opportunity, a tension, and a character. I’ve already missed some days but I’m not going to be too strict about it. Even a little bit of flash fiction writing is a treat and I think this will be super helpful when it comes to writing the stories.

Here’s one of mine:

2022 was a huge year for us – all three of us! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Family

Curio Rav Lubin was born in March – he’s almost ten months old now – and we’ve loved growing with him over the past year. He’s incredibly happy most of the time and quick to smile and giggle. His face is deeply expressive, especially his eyebrows, and we love seeing a small window into his mind. In the last few weeks he’s gotten very quick at crawling and climbing (on us, on furniture, on toys). It’s wild to see friends’ kids who are only a year older and think about how much more will change in the very near future.

Parenting has been a blast – especially since I get to do it with Avital. We’re having nonstop fun and it just keeps getting better. One surprise for me, shortly after Curio was born, was that I kept bursting into improvised song about his day. I’m not particularly into musicals but making up songs was a way to connect with Curio and to embrace the omnipresent repetition of those early months. It turns out that I’m not alone in this and our friend Kathryn Hymes ended up writing an article for the Atlantic on the topic (featuring me and Curio!): What Babies Hear When You Sing to Them.

We’ve had tons of great family time beyond Curio too, with my parents flying in once a month and Avital’s parents visiting at least once a week. It’s super fun to see them spending time with their grandchild!

We aren’t posting much about Curio on social media but you can follow our newsletter, The Lubin Letters, for updates.

Work

Leveraged Play

I had a very busy year on the serious game front, mostly focused on “foresight games” that explore the future.

Startup Trail

In April, we (Leveraged Play, Copia Institute, Engine) launched Startup Trail (blog) a browser based game that explores the intersection of startups and tech policy. Players face a series of dilemmas as they grow their company from founding to exit (or bankruptcy). The game was warmly received, with 10,000s of folks playing the game; we also got covered in The Verge. I’m thrilled with how the game turned out and we’ll be making more browser-based games in 2023.

United Nations Election Game

I’ve also spent most of the year working with the United Nations (in collaboration with Mike Masnick) on a foresight game to explore threats and opportunities around elections. We ran pilot sessions in Southeast Asia in late spring and then created a generalized guide for how to adapt the game for other national contexts – the guide should launch early this year and I’ll post about it when it’s live. Working with the United Nations was a great opportunity – it’s important that my games are impactful (not just fun) and the UN is a strong vector for affecting positive change.

Minigames, Talks, Workshops, and More

While I’ve worked on a few other bigger games over the course of the year, I can’t talk about them publicly yet. I can share two smaller games though: Coastalia Refugee Crisis and Hindsight 2030.

I created Coastalia Refugee Crisis for a VZOR and SOIF’s series on Peaceful Futures. Players explored how institutions might respond to a fraught situation that threatens to descend into violent conflict. The short crisis game format has potential and I look forward to making more designs like it in 2023.

I also collaborated with The Copia Institute to launch a remixable version of Hindsight 2030, our lightweight game that explore the future through a timeline of headlines (earlier post). I love the idea of easily remixable foresight games and hope to release a few more this year.

Talks and more

I gave a handful of talks and workshops throughout 2022 (e.g. for California 100 and SOIF) and I’ve enjoyed honing my “Why Foresight Games?” pitch and seeing what resonates with different audiences. I was also interviewed on the Amble Podcast where we had a lovely conversation about applications for foresight games.

Launching the Foresight Games Community

In June I officially launched the Foresight Games Community with a Discord and mailing list (already up to ~150 people each). I’d been seeing different folks bridging foresight and games work around the world but there wasn’t a central place for sharing and discussing the (still emerging) field. Since the launch we’ve held 7 meetups where we’ve given lightning talks or played games. We’ll keep having monthly events this year – if you’re making games about the future or just curious, sign-up and join us!

Avital Tours / Edible Architecture

Avital created a new brand this fall, Edible Architecture, which sells the first commercially available Charcuterie Chalet Kit. I’ve enjoyed watching her prototype and launch this new business line and seeing her go from concept to reality in just a few, quick months – her kits have even gone viral on social media!

Consumer Games and Story Synth

Working the Case

Much of my game designer energy was focused on foresight games but I still found time to design and playtest consumer games. Most of time here was spent on Working the Case – my 30-minute mystery game where you collectively create and solve a murder. I playtested the game 20 times, with several different playsets (e.g. space station, fantasy) and I am very happy with how it’s shaping up. This year I’ll look to publish it in digital form (new Story Synth format?) or as a physical card version.

The always incredible Jeff Stormer had me on his podcast Party of One where we played the game and told a twisted tale of murder on Vacation Station – give it a listen!

Behind the Magic released in Germany

The folks at System Matters translated Behind the Magic, my fantasy mockumentary game, into German (my first international game translation) and I love their new illustrations. You can send your German-speaking gamer friends to their online store and it’s also being sold in German game shops.

Story Synth: Microgrants and Hexmaps

2022 was a huge year for Story Synth, my free web platform for storytelling games. Based on my rough analytics, more than 10,000 folks came to the site and over 100 new games were created.

I teamed up with Big Bad Con to run a microgrant program, with financial support from the wonderful folks at Grant for the Web. We distributed $30,000 as 100 microgrants of $300 to designers of marginalized identities, many of whom were first time designers. I love helping this cohort make games and they inspired me to add many extra features to the Story Synth platform. You can check out some of their games in the Microgrant Gallery.

Early in the year, I launched a visual refresh for Story Synth, with significant help from Raph D’Amico and I think the new design is working well. Check it out yourself at storysynth.org.

Finally, on December 31st, I launched the new Hexmap Format (also with Raph’s advice – thanks Raph!) which makes it easy for designers to create maps of various sizes with plenty of room for customization. I’m excited to see what folks build with it!

Speaking of Raph, I also wrote a “twist” expansion called “The Glitch” for Raph’s game The Zone (Kickstarter), which will be released later this year.

Gaming Like It’s 1926/7

Last year was the fourth year of our annual public domain game jam. Check out the winners on the 1926 page or join us this month for the 1927 jam. I really love this annual tradition.

Hobbies

Music

I’ve been expanding my musical dabbling on two fronts. I’ve been playing a lot of ukulele for Curio and have been leaving the instrument upstairs where I can easily pick it up for a minute and strum – I highly recommend it for anyone who is curious. I’ve also been learning piano and just upgraded from my small 2-octave midi controller to a 61 key keyboard. I’m looking forward to learning basic jazz improvisation and am enjoying it a lot so far!

Writing

I spent a bit of time outlining short stories but didn’t make much progress on actually writing. I’m hoping to change that this year and get a few stories out in the same shared setting. I’ll share more info soon and hope to do a bit more working in public on this front.

Also - my story Joan Henry vs the Algorithm was translated into Italian (my first fiction writing translation) and it’s included in the Internetwork anthology as Joan Henry Contro l’Algoritmo.

2023 and Catch-up!

We just finished our first round of planning for 2023 and it’s going to be an excited and jam packed year.

Also - we haven’t been great about proactively scheduling calls but we always get excited when old friends reach out to chat. Shoot us an email and we’ll get something on the calendar!

It’s a new year and that means a new round of works entering the public domain!

For the fifth year in a row, Mike Masnick, Leigh Beadon and I are teaming up to host a game jam to celebrate this new content. Come join us at: Gaming Like It’s 1927.

Works from 1927 entering the public domain include:

Written work by: Agatha Christie, Baroness Orczy, Hermann Hesse, Marcel Proust, Upton Sinclair, and Virginia Woolf

Art by: Ansel Adams, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, and Tamara de Lempicka

Films including The Jazz Singer, Metropolis, Napoléon, and Trolley Troubles

Music by Béla Bartók, Ira and George Gershwin, Igor Stravinsky, Irving Berlin, Louis Armstrong, Ruth Etting, and Sophie Tucker

The Amble crew is wonderful and Hailey and Jason are amazing podcast hosts. The conversation covered a lot of ground, including:

• Examples of foresight games
• How to make the games approachable, safe, and productive for the players
• How to include models in the games
• How to design using a stagegate approach
• …and much more!

This game was developed as a collaboration between Leveraged Play, Copia Institute, and Engine, as a playful way to explore the issues in Engine’s report Startup Agenda.

We had a blast making this game and we hope you enjoy playing it (and learning something, too).

If you’re interested in commissioning a similar-style game, definitely reach out: randy@leveragedplay.com