Cards for Holmgang and Draw, stranger! arrived from China. Boxes and stands from Germany. So now I have six copies of both games and have started playtesting. I ran the first playtests with my kids and their friends. Playing draw stranger with full colour plastic cards is super nice. Putting the Holmgang components in a … Continue reading Playtesting Holmgang and Draw, stranger!
Author: Frederik Jensen
Thoughtful Dane
New card design for Gotlandia
I am working on a new card design for my boardgame Gotlandia, a game about the Golden Age of Gotland 1100-1400. I have play tested extensively with the current set of cards and I am happy with how the game plays now and want to introduce it to more players. As many cards are now … Continue reading New card design for Gotlandia
Dead bodies in the basement
I visited the Egyptian collection at the Mediterranean Museum in Stockholm this week. It's one of the places in Stockholm that I had not yet visited so when my oldest was going there with his school, I jumped at the opportunity. A display at the entrance asks: Where are the willies? Many ancient statues have … Continue reading Dead bodies in the basement
Photography: Best of Summer 2025
Kids are back in school. Evenings are getting dark. It's too cold for swimming in the lake. It's been a fantastic summer but it has finally ended. I had a great summer this year visiting new and old places, spending time with family and friends. In this post I look back at the best pictures. … Continue reading Photography: Best of Summer 2025
Willards Fork: Revisiting Dogs
Dogs in the Vineyard is a tabletop roleplaying game published in 2004 by Vincent Baker. Now best known for Apocalypse World who influenced a ton of other games with its concept of ‘moves’ and ‘playbooks’. Dogs in the Vineyard was a smash hit of its own in the early wave of American Indie Games. This … Continue reading Willards Fork: Revisiting Dogs
Game design update (Gotlandia, Holmgang, Draw stranger)
It’s been a while since I blogged about game design. That’s not because I haven’t been doing any game design. On the contrary. In fact, I have three games I am actively designing at the moment. It’s more that all three are steadily moving along showing good progress. So today I catch up and summarise … Continue reading Game design update (Gotlandia, Holmgang, Draw stranger)
A city with many faces
When you visit the city of Gdańsk in Poland today, the city greets you with warmth and hospitality. People are relaxed and friendly. You easily find food and drink and things to see and do all over the city. You pay with credit card almost everywhere, signs are available in English and Polish and you … Continue reading A city with many faces
Gotland: Three churches
The Swedish island of Gotland is home to a hundred medieval churches that are open to the public. Carefully maintained to display the rich decorations added over a millennium, each church has its own stories to tell. Our visit to Gotland this year gave us opportunity to explore a few more. We stayed in the … Continue reading Gotland: Three churches
Medeltidsveckan 2025: Rock and rauk
I’m at Medeltidsveckan in Visby, Gotland. It’s week 32. Every year since 1984, for one week all of Visby with its scenic city walls transforms into a gigantic playground for adults and kids who dress out and have fun immersing themselves in all things vaguely medieval. This year I’m bringing the entire family. Plus my … Continue reading Medeltidsveckan 2025: Rock and rauk
Into the Misty Vale
"Will we continue the game now?" my oldest asked, putting down the VR headset that he also got for his birthday. I gifted him the Dragonbane Starter Set for his 13 year birthday last week. My plan was for him to play it with his friends, but when he asked, I of course volunteered to … Continue reading Into the Misty Vale