Monthly Round-up

I'm feeling pretty good going into month two of 2026. Most days I feel soooo behind and incredibly slow with everything. But on those rare occasions when I take a moment to pause and reflect, I realize I am making progress on all fronts. How's that expression go?... "Kickin' It Creative wasn't built in a day"??...yeah, something like that. The point is, small wins make a difference, and it's cool to celebrate them every once in a while.

For example, my good friend Nate helped me get my website updated with my new KIC logo art, which I'm beyond stoked about. Thanks, Nate!

...and it was awesome (as usual) to work with my friend Radek on my logo art! I'm stoked with how it turned out and how much it captures my vibe. I chuckle to myself whenever I think about the wacky jungle of ideas I threw at Radek to steer the direction of this amazing piece of art he cooked up. Thank you, Radek!!...for crushing it...and for your patience and willingness to to bring my off-beat, trippy ideas to life.

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Content Highlights 🎥 🎙️

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Baltic Empires - Art Showcase Video I'm enjoying working with the team at GMT Games on new video ideas for their YouTube channel. Even though I'm working part-time on a freelance basis, they've welcomed me as if I've been part of the family since day one. It's refreshing how much they value and support my creativity...which is tends to be driven by curiosity. In the case of the very first "Art Showcase" video, I wanted to show off the art and components for a game that was barely on my radar, but after seeing it, I had to know what went into creating this style of art. I had to know how it connects with the history portrayed in the the board game. I really appreciate the amazing insight the artist, Nils Johansson, shared with me. It's incredible how much goes into creating art and graphic design for board games, and it's rarely highlighted. So let's fix that!

26x5 Solo Gaming Challenge?!?! In my first podcast episode of 2026, my friend Ken and I get each other hype for our 26x5 solo gaming challenge. I'm not introverted by any means, but I have been sooo jazzed about exploring more solo games, especially the ones I've had for a while and have been itchin' to dig into. We'll be posting progress videos throughout the year too, so stay tuned for that. ​Link​

Abracadabra! Discover the Magic of Multi-Use Cards Ever since I got sucked back into playing and loving Combat Commander at the tail end of last year, I've been wanting to talk about how much I love games with multi-use cards ...and as fast as that topic idea spawned, I knew Cole Wehrle would be the perfect person for this discussion. Cole is one of my favorite designers. I walk away from just about every conversation with him feeling enlightened. ​Link​

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Game of the Month 🎲

Arkwright There's a bunch of recency bias baked into this choice since I just played Arkwright last week for the first time in a while. After fumbling through a lengthy, refresher game with the beautiful new anniversary edition (review copy provided by publisher)...I can' stop thinking about it. Arkwright is a HEAVY economic strategy game set in the Industrial Revolution time period. The game is played over a number of decades, where 2-4 players (investors/entrepreneurs) operate companies with the goal of having the most valuable stock portfolio at the end of the game – simply shares x share price. Piece of cake, right? You basically just open some factories (bread, shirt, cutlery, lamp) and hire people to help you produce the corresponding goods, which you can (hopefully) sell, depending on the demand and your competition. You also need to set the prices of your goods and adjust them often to manage the appeal level of your shirts or bread or whatever you are producing/selling, so you can (hopefully) make a profit after paying wages for your employees, and maintenance fees on any machines you build to operate more efficiently. I haven't even mentioned the major wrinkles your opponents throw into the mix as they're running their companies, directly competing with you to sell their goods. You're probably getting it by now, but Arkwright is not simple at all...but it is such an impressive game design that sucks you into feeling like you're actually running a business. To play it well, you need to constantly evaluate your finances (MATH-alert!) and monitor what your opponents' companies are doing (and the neutral company!), because just about everything you and others do, impacts the economy, which in turn, impacts everyone's companies. It is an absolute table hog, but the new version definitely makes it easier to understand the impacts of supply and demand for the different goods. There are all sorts of cool abilities you can gain during the game, which you'll also be competing over. Timing is everything! You can get boats and strategize to ship off goods for bigger profits, but then your share price might take a dip...and so much more. There's soooo much to think about and it's soooo complex. However, once you understand the core flow, the rules aren't too bad at all. Most of the complexity stems from the math. It will keep you on your toes and make you feel a wee bit smarter every time you play it. I'm excited to play more Arkwright and work up to trying some of the new variants included in the anniversary edition. Plus, there's a solo mode which I'm pumped to try for my solo variety challenge. I'm hoping that'll be fun, but also serve as a means to "practice" so my company comes out on top next time I play with friends. ​BGG Link​

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Track of the Month 🎧

Anesthetize Porcupine Tree PREVIEW   ​

Porcupine Tree

I was recently (freeeeeeezing) in Indiana visiting my good friends Val and Drew. Drew is a drummer and a huge fan of Porcupine Tree, so when I suggested it'd be cool to check out a concert with their bumpin' home theater setup, one of the DVDs he reached for was the tour from this particular PT album. It was pretty late, but I insisted on one more song, Anesthetize. Thankfully they went along with it considering Anesthetize clocks in around 18 minutes. But it's such an amazing journey for your ears. I swear Gavin (the drummer) puts butter on his sticks, because he plays the smoothest, tastiest grooves and fills. I highly recommend popping on some headphones, closing your eyes, and letting his drumming melt your ears in the best way possible. The other guys are great too, of course. ...but it's kinda like what Travis Barker does for Blink-182 – Gavin elevates Porcupine Tree's music with his drumming.

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Time to jump into my first game of Fire in the Lake! Stay safe, enjoy some good music, and good games.

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