David Masnato
@davidmasnato.com
🎲 Game Designer - #CampCharmwood
🎨 Art/Graphic Design - #Turncoats #PaxPenning
💛 I try my best - He/Him
🎨 Art/Graphic Design - #Turncoats #PaxPenning
💛 I try my best - He/Him
Pinned
David Masnato
@davidmasnato.com
· Oct 12
Looks like pinned posts are live now so how about a re-intro?
I'm David! I make non-violent tabletop games with unconventional and thematic player dynamics. My main two projects are "Spell Week" and "Tiers of Joy". Sometimes I do graphic design for Matilda Simonsson.
I'm David! I make non-violent tabletop games with unconventional and thematic player dynamics. My main two projects are "Spell Week" and "Tiers of Joy". Sometimes I do graphic design for Matilda Simonsson.
Once again sharing my objectively correct opinion about the National Dog Show.
I have a controversial take. Some people are going to disagree. l'll probably lose followers over this, but I'm going to say it because I can't sit in silence anymore.
I deserve to pet the dogs at the National Dog Show. Let me pet the dogs.
I deserve to pet the dogs at the National Dog Show. Let me pet the dogs.
November 27, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Once again sharing my objectively correct opinion about the National Dog Show.
Reposted by David Masnato
"How do I find my art style?"
I've been a creative pro for 10 years, this is the number 1 question I get.
They want creative work to be recognizably theirs in an instant-- like Miyazaki or Wes Anderson movies.
This is the formula for art style, it's much simpler than you think.
I've been a creative pro for 10 years, this is the number 1 question I get.
They want creative work to be recognizably theirs in an instant-- like Miyazaki or Wes Anderson movies.
This is the formula for art style, it's much simpler than you think.
November 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
"How do I find my art style?"
I've been a creative pro for 10 years, this is the number 1 question I get.
They want creative work to be recognizably theirs in an instant-- like Miyazaki or Wes Anderson movies.
This is the formula for art style, it's much simpler than you think.
I've been a creative pro for 10 years, this is the number 1 question I get.
They want creative work to be recognizably theirs in an instant-- like Miyazaki or Wes Anderson movies.
This is the formula for art style, it's much simpler than you think.
It's the Monday after #PAXU and I'm feeling grateful for all the incredible people I've met.
Some of you know I've been holding quite a lot of grief over the last month. Being with you was the boost of joy I desperately needed. Thank you for all the kindness, love, and experiences you shared!
Some of you know I've been holding quite a lot of grief over the last month. Being with you was the boost of joy I desperately needed. Thank you for all the kindness, love, and experiences you shared!
November 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
It's the Monday after #PAXU and I'm feeling grateful for all the incredible people I've met.
Some of you know I've been holding quite a lot of grief over the last month. Being with you was the boost of joy I desperately needed. Thank you for all the kindness, love, and experiences you shared!
Some of you know I've been holding quite a lot of grief over the last month. Being with you was the boost of joy I desperately needed. Thank you for all the kindness, love, and experiences you shared!
A few folks have asked me when I'm playtesting the game that used to be called Roux Mates and Spell Week at #PAXU. Here's your answer!
Matthew, Xoe, and I are running #CampCharmwood at the times here!
Matthew, Xoe, and I are running #CampCharmwood at the times here!
We're running our upcoming multivictor and victorless game line-up all weekend at PAX Unplugged, including Bread by @xoe.gay, Camp Charmwood by @davidmasnato.com, Color Jam by @stickydoodler.bsky.social and Joe Kell, Cursed VHS by Maia Valdez.
The night is for playtesting. 🌙
Hope to see you there!
The night is for playtesting. 🌙
Hope to see you there!
Looking for us at PAX Unplugged?
Find us in the Unpub area!
# Friday
1:30pm - 4:20pm at table A7
# Saturday
1:30pm - 4:20pm at table A8
# Sunday
10:00am - 12:50pm at table D8
And also generally at Open Playtesting! Looking forward to seeing y'all there!
Find us in the Unpub area!
# Friday
1:30pm - 4:20pm at table A7
# Saturday
1:30pm - 4:20pm at table A8
# Sunday
10:00am - 12:50pm at table D8
And also generally at Open Playtesting! Looking forward to seeing y'all there!
November 21, 2025 at 10:50 PM
A few folks have asked me when I'm playtesting the game that used to be called Roux Mates and Spell Week at #PAXU. Here's your answer!
Matthew, Xoe, and I are running #CampCharmwood at the times here!
Matthew, Xoe, and I are running #CampCharmwood at the times here!
Pro tip from your fav community manager:
When the platform the community runs on goes down due to some kind of mass outage, you can assume I already know about it. This is my job. You don't need to send me an email "just giving me a heads up".
When the platform the community runs on goes down due to some kind of mass outage, you can assume I already know about it. This is my job. You don't need to send me an email "just giving me a heads up".
November 18, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Pro tip from your fav community manager:
When the platform the community runs on goes down due to some kind of mass outage, you can assume I already know about it. This is my job. You don't need to send me an email "just giving me a heads up".
When the platform the community runs on goes down due to some kind of mass outage, you can assume I already know about it. This is my job. You don't need to send me an email "just giving me a heads up".
Printing, cutting, and assembly is complete on all three prototypes for #PAXU! Ready to go!
I'll be bringing...
- The first physical iteration of the brand new board layout for #CampCharmwood
- #OarDeal, a trick taker/shedder about a canoe trip
- #Saros, an 18 card game about the sun and moon
I'll be bringing...
- The first physical iteration of the brand new board layout for #CampCharmwood
- #OarDeal, a trick taker/shedder about a canoe trip
- #Saros, an 18 card game about the sun and moon
November 12, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Printing, cutting, and assembly is complete on all three prototypes for #PAXU! Ready to go!
I'll be bringing...
- The first physical iteration of the brand new board layout for #CampCharmwood
- #OarDeal, a trick taker/shedder about a canoe trip
- #Saros, an 18 card game about the sun and moon
I'll be bringing...
- The first physical iteration of the brand new board layout for #CampCharmwood
- #OarDeal, a trick taker/shedder about a canoe trip
- #Saros, an 18 card game about the sun and moon
"LUX" by Rosalía has been on nonstop rotation for me over the last few days. Its ambition, scope, and execution is stunning. Pretty handedly the most beautiful album of 2025 and a must listen.
November 9, 2025 at 3:10 PM
"LUX" by Rosalía has been on nonstop rotation for me over the last few days. Its ambition, scope, and execution is stunning. Pretty handedly the most beautiful album of 2025 and a must listen.
Reposted by David Masnato
November 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Everything is terrible so enjoy a selection from my new favorite YouTube channel.
Most of the videos are of a cat and a lamb trying to decide who gets to sit on the big rock. Sometimes they both get to sit in the big rock.
youtu.be/O12F4HkKMg8?...
Most of the videos are of a cat and a lamb trying to decide who gets to sit on the big rock. Sometimes they both get to sit in the big rock.
youtu.be/O12F4HkKMg8?...
Lamb And Cat Decide To Share The Rock
YouTube video by Lee Walters
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Everything is terrible so enjoy a selection from my new favorite YouTube channel.
Most of the videos are of a cat and a lamb trying to decide who gets to sit on the big rock. Sometimes they both get to sit in the big rock.
youtu.be/O12F4HkKMg8?...
Most of the videos are of a cat and a lamb trying to decide who gets to sit on the big rock. Sometimes they both get to sit in the big rock.
youtu.be/O12F4HkKMg8?...
I'm feeling so good about my lil trick taker/shedder that I've decided to pitch it at #PAXU!
Oar Deal is a game about going on a canoeing trip and trying your best to not fall out of the canoe. It plays 3-5 players in about 25 mins with just 54 cards.
DMs open to anyone interested!
Oar Deal is a game about going on a canoeing trip and trying your best to not fall out of the canoe. It plays 3-5 players in about 25 mins with just 54 cards.
DMs open to anyone interested!
October 7, 2025 at 12:28 AM
I'm feeling so good about my lil trick taker/shedder that I've decided to pitch it at #PAXU!
Oar Deal is a game about going on a canoeing trip and trying your best to not fall out of the canoe. It plays 3-5 players in about 25 mins with just 54 cards.
DMs open to anyone interested!
Oar Deal is a game about going on a canoeing trip and trying your best to not fall out of the canoe. It plays 3-5 players in about 25 mins with just 54 cards.
DMs open to anyone interested!
The Shut Up & Sit Down review of The Old Kings Crown is excellent. No surprises there.
But can we talk about the cameo appearance of High Tide by @marcelineleiman.bsky.social hiding on the bookshelf? Review incoming?
But can we talk about the cameo appearance of High Tide by @marcelineleiman.bsky.social hiding on the bookshelf? Review incoming?
October 4, 2025 at 12:38 AM
The Shut Up & Sit Down review of The Old Kings Crown is excellent. No surprises there.
But can we talk about the cameo appearance of High Tide by @marcelineleiman.bsky.social hiding on the bookshelf? Review incoming?
But can we talk about the cameo appearance of High Tide by @marcelineleiman.bsky.social hiding on the bookshelf? Review incoming?
A few weeks ago, I made a comment about how I often find trick takers difficult to internalize. I figured there's no better way to learn about games you don't understand than to just jump in and see how they work from the inside out.
So now I've made a trick taker and I think it's pretty fun!
So now I've made a trick taker and I think it's pretty fun!
September 27, 2025 at 3:15 PM
A few weeks ago, I made a comment about how I often find trick takers difficult to internalize. I figured there's no better way to learn about games you don't understand than to just jump in and see how they work from the inside out.
So now I've made a trick taker and I think it's pretty fun!
So now I've made a trick taker and I think it's pretty fun!
Reposted by David Masnato
🫨 We announced it in our September newsletter:
Unpub Festival Badge sales and reserved tables will open on October 1st at 12pm ET!
More info:
https://www.unpub.org/upcoming-events/unpub-festival-2026
Unpub Festival Badge sales and reserved tables will open on October 1st at 12pm ET!
More info:
https://www.unpub.org/upcoming-events/unpub-festival-2026
September 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
🫨 We announced it in our September newsletter:
Unpub Festival Badge sales and reserved tables will open on October 1st at 12pm ET!
More info:
https://www.unpub.org/upcoming-events/unpub-festival-2026
Unpub Festival Badge sales and reserved tables will open on October 1st at 12pm ET!
More info:
https://www.unpub.org/upcoming-events/unpub-festival-2026
Once sentence. Six words. Three proper nouns, each one a plot twist.
September 14, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Once sentence. Six words. Three proper nouns, each one a plot twist.
Reposted by David Masnato
good morning, i wrote a manifesto about a new direction for game design / play
possumcreek.medium.com/the-expressi...
possumcreek.medium.com/the-expressi...
The Expressionist Games Manifesto
“Work! Intoxication! Brain-racking! Chewing, eating, gorging, rooting up! Rapturous birth pangs! Jabbing of the brush, preferably right…
possumcreek.medium.com
September 8, 2025 at 12:41 PM
good morning, i wrote a manifesto about a new direction for game design / play
possumcreek.medium.com/the-expressi...
possumcreek.medium.com/the-expressi...
Reposted by David Masnato
I put down some thoughts about game design, what it’s good for, and what it isn’t good for in this zine!
Plus, a short guide to help get you started making a game if you’ve never done that before: gregisonthego.itch.io/rulebooks-fo...
✂️ 🎲 ✊ 🔥
Plus, a short guide to help get you started making a game if you’ve never done that before: gregisonthego.itch.io/rulebooks-fo...
✂️ 🎲 ✊ 🔥
June 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I put down some thoughts about game design, what it’s good for, and what it isn’t good for in this zine!
Plus, a short guide to help get you started making a game if you’ve never done that before: gregisonthego.itch.io/rulebooks-fo...
✂️ 🎲 ✊ 🔥
Plus, a short guide to help get you started making a game if you’ve never done that before: gregisonthego.itch.io/rulebooks-fo...
✂️ 🎲 ✊ 🔥
Reposted by David Masnato
Update to this chart that I share a lot. Not breaking news: Game design teams are still OVERWHELMINGLY all men. About 7% of the top 500 games have a woman or non-binary person credited as a designer. A 🧵of related charts: (1/6)
🎲✂️
🎲✂️
September 4, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Update to this chart that I share a lot. Not breaking news: Game design teams are still OVERWHELMINGLY all men. About 7% of the top 500 games have a woman or non-binary person credited as a designer. A 🧵of related charts: (1/6)
🎲✂️
🎲✂️
If you're following along with today's board game/TTRPG discourse, the "genuinely cool stuff brewing behind the scenes" quote posted here is the incredible variety of games in development right now that blur the boundaries of RPGs and board games.
How about a thread of some of my favorites?
How about a thread of some of my favorites?
As much as the last few weeks of board game and tabletop events have sucked (with sprinklings of wins scattered between), there's genuinely cool stuff brewing behind the scenes!
I know it's hard to get excited when the news is terrible, but good things are happening as well! I promise!
I know it's hard to get excited when the news is terrible, but good things are happening as well! I promise!
August 28, 2025 at 5:59 PM
If you're following along with today's board game/TTRPG discourse, the "genuinely cool stuff brewing behind the scenes" quote posted here is the incredible variety of games in development right now that blur the boundaries of RPGs and board games.
How about a thread of some of my favorites?
How about a thread of some of my favorites?
Reposted by David Masnato
If you want to explore design territory that moves away from this focus on colonialist domination or capitalist productivity, start at the end: the game's outcome. What are players trying to accomplish and why? Do they really need to have the most, or is it reasonable to have enough?
Hey, if you found me because of the recent discourse about board games and their place in political/artistic expression, check out my video about how competitive games and victory points funnel the human experience through a colonialist/capitalist lens.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTKf...
🎲✂️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTKf...
🎲✂️
The Emperor's High Score
YouTube video by Knife Bunny
www.youtube.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:34 PM
If you want to explore design territory that moves away from this focus on colonialist domination or capitalist productivity, start at the end: the game's outcome. What are players trying to accomplish and why? Do they really need to have the most, or is it reasonable to have enough?
Reposted by David Masnato
this is about how some ttrpg designers see board game designers but is also, depressingly, about how many board game designers see board game designers
it's changing, albeit slowly, and gosh I'm glad for that
it's changing, albeit slowly, and gosh I'm glad for that
i have a lot of empathy for my sisters in board games who struggle to have their artistic vision appreciated in a substantially more publisher-strangled world while simultaneously being dismissed by other designers who dont engage w the scope of their creative practixe
August 28, 2025 at 10:01 AM
this is about how some ttrpg designers see board game designers but is also, depressingly, about how many board game designers see board game designers
it's changing, albeit slowly, and gosh I'm glad for that
it's changing, albeit slowly, and gosh I'm glad for that
Sometimes a rulebook read through is all you need to know a game is going to be special.
High Tide packs so much puzzle into a delightful and compact package. It's every bit as good as you've heard.
High Tide packs so much puzzle into a delightful and compact package. It's every bit as good as you've heard.
August 26, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Sometimes a rulebook read through is all you need to know a game is going to be special.
High Tide packs so much puzzle into a delightful and compact package. It's every bit as good as you've heard.
High Tide packs so much puzzle into a delightful and compact package. It's every bit as good as you've heard.
Reposted by David Masnato
So in October I’ll be launching my first ks! It’s a bundle of two spooky card games: Club Spooky and That’s the Spirit. I’ve talked about them before, but I wanted to finally do a proper introduction and talk about my goal for all this. 🧵1/6 www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...
Coming soon: Club Spooky & That's the Spirit
The Ghost Party Bundle: A bundle of 2 spooky card games
www.kickstarter.com
August 20, 2025 at 4:14 PM
So in October I’ll be launching my first ks! It’s a bundle of two spooky card games: Club Spooky and That’s the Spirit. I’ve talked about them before, but I wanted to finally do a proper introduction and talk about my goal for all this. 🧵1/6 www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...
I just finished Amabel Holland's book "Cardboard Ghosts." Anyone interested in game design should read it. It's wonderful.
The final chapter in particular nearly brought me to tears as validation of why the games I make and the games I'm inspired by are valid art. Moving and inspiring work.
The final chapter in particular nearly brought me to tears as validation of why the games I make and the games I'm inspired by are valid art. Moving and inspiring work.
August 18, 2025 at 1:04 AM
I just finished Amabel Holland's book "Cardboard Ghosts." Anyone interested in game design should read it. It's wonderful.
The final chapter in particular nearly brought me to tears as validation of why the games I make and the games I'm inspired by are valid art. Moving and inspiring work.
The final chapter in particular nearly brought me to tears as validation of why the games I make and the games I'm inspired by are valid art. Moving and inspiring work.
Reposted by David Masnato
This is such a supreme disappointment.
🎲✂️
Ultimate Guard, known for their popular game sleeves and deck boxes, are making a new line of Harry Potter themed products.
Only through collective, direct action can we start to see change.
Let them know of your discontent:
[email protected]
🎲✂️
Ultimate Guard, known for their popular game sleeves and deck boxes, are making a new line of Harry Potter themed products.
Only through collective, direct action can we start to see change.
Let them know of your discontent:
[email protected]
i really like ultimate guard boulders and katana sleeves. too bad i'm never buying any of them ever again.
August 14, 2025 at 3:39 PM
This is such a supreme disappointment.
🎲✂️
Ultimate Guard, known for their popular game sleeves and deck boxes, are making a new line of Harry Potter themed products.
Only through collective, direct action can we start to see change.
Let them know of your discontent:
[email protected]
🎲✂️
Ultimate Guard, known for their popular game sleeves and deck boxes, are making a new line of Harry Potter themed products.
Only through collective, direct action can we start to see change.
Let them know of your discontent:
[email protected]
Reposted by David Masnato
Looking for tabletop gaming orgs that accept donations that benefit BIPOC in the industry.
@rosegauntlet.bsky.social does the foundation take donations?
@ttgda.bsky.social you have a grant program, right?
@rosegauntlet.bsky.social does the foundation take donations?
@ttgda.bsky.social you have a grant program, right?
August 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Looking for tabletop gaming orgs that accept donations that benefit BIPOC in the industry.
@rosegauntlet.bsky.social does the foundation take donations?
@ttgda.bsky.social you have a grant program, right?
@rosegauntlet.bsky.social does the foundation take donations?
@ttgda.bsky.social you have a grant program, right?