@bender@twtxt.net I sound like I’m dumping on the game, but it really is alot of fun, especially with the right people. It’s just a whole different beast from D&D.

@bender@twtxt.net Apologies, I’m still working through some layout issues with TwtStrm and frequently miss mentions…

Magic: the Gathering does not use a Game Master (although professional referees are often used in sanctioned events). While the game has alot of thematic crossover with with D&D (or fantasy games in general), the system is much more of an abstract, card-dueling system involving things like “the stack” and insanely specific rules on card timing and interactions.

Like, we joke about “I’m sending my army of (goblins / elves / angels / whatever) at you,” but that’s about as far into the “role-playing” element most magic games get in my experience (and most of the “official” competitive games I’ve played at my FLGS were even more abstract and less thematic, although it’s been years since I played in one of those).

Corsair Discount Code: 50% Off on Gaming Gear in May 2026
Upgrade your gaming setup or PC build for less with these verified Corsair coupon codes, student discounts, and refurbished deals. ⌘ Read more

DXVK-NVAPI 0.9.2 Further Improves NVIDIA Integration For Steam Play Linux Gaming
DXVK-NVAPI 0.9.2 is now available for this implementation of NVIDIA’s NVAPI/NVOFAPI interfaces atop DXVK and VKD3D-Proton that is used in turn by Valve’s Steam Play (Proton) for enhanced NVIDIA Linux gaming support… ⌘ Read more

Linux Scheduler Work Helping Boost Gaming Performance On Old “Potato” Hardware
Prominent Linux kernel engineer Peter Zijlstra of Intel has been working on a set of scheduler patches to help with enhancing the behavior and delivering better results, especially for aging hardware he described as a “potato” – an Intel Sandy Bridge desktop CPU with AMD Radeon RX 580 Polaris graphics. Benchmark results are promising from this work for gaming on old hardware while other workloads may ultimately stand to benefit too… ⌘ Read more

Epson Lifestudio Grand Plus Review: Rich Colors, Gemini Support
The Lifestudio Grand Plus isn’t without quirks, but the ultrashort-throw home cinema projector delivers a rich picture quality in movies and games, up to a 150-inch screen size. ⌘ Read more

There’s an Unhinged New Video Game About Trump and the Iran War
The game, developed by the group of anonymous artists known as Secret Handshake, is available online and in person in Washington, DC. ⌘ Read more

PlayStation3 Emulator Devs Politely Ask Contributors to Stop Submitting ‘AI Slop’ Pull Requests
Open-source PS3 emulator RPCS3 “has been around since 2011,” Kotaku notes, and has made 70% of the PlayStation 3’s library fully playable, “bolstered in part by the many users who contribute to its GitHub page.” But their dev team “took to X today to very kindly and civilly request that … ⌘ Read more

FEX 2605 Brings Performance Improvements, Initial Snapdragon X2 Elite Fixes
FEX 2605 is out this weekend as the newest monthly feature release to this emulator for running Linux x86_64 binaries on ARM64 (AArch64) devices. This is the open-source project sponsored by Valve and planned for use with the upcoming Steam Frame as well as being relevant to Linux gaming on other 64-bit ARM laptops and other devices… ⌘ Read more

The Best Mobile Gaming Controllers for iPhone and Android (2026)
Your iPhone or Android phone can work overtime as a full-on gaming console with the help of these mobile controllers. Backbone makes my favorite. ⌘ Read more

D7VK 1.9 Brings Some Hefty Performance Improvements
D7VK continues advancing for this Vulkan-based implementation of Direct3D 7 that also supports D3D 6 / 5 / 3 APIs too for vintage games ultimately rendered using the modern Vulkan API… ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Gives Up On Xbox Copilot AI
Microsoft is winding down Xbox Copilot on mobile and ending development of Copilot on console, reversing plans to bring the gaming-focused AI assistant to current-generation Xbox consoles this year. “The move follows [new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s] reorganization of the Xbox platform team earlier on Tuesday, which added executives from Microsoft’s CoreAI team – where Sharma worked before taking ove … ⌘ Read more

Vivid Seats Promo Codes and Deals: Get 10% Off
Whether you are heading to a sold-out concert or a championship game, use a Vivid Seats discount code to secure your seats for less this May. ⌘ Read more

Kids Bypass Age Verification With Fake Moustaches
A new Internet Matters survey suggests the UK’s Online Safety Act age checks are easy for many children to bypass. Reported workarounds include fake birthdays, borrowed IDs, video game characters, and even drawing on a fake mustache. The Register reports: The group surveyed over 1,000 UK children and their parents, and while it did report some positive effects from changes ma … ⌘ Read more

@itsericwoodward@itsericwoodward.com is there a Gamer Master, or Dungeon Master in Magic? My kid plays DnD, and such person is decisive for many outcomes, and for the quality of the game in general.

Congratulations! :-)

What soccer dads see after a game ⌘ Read more

Meta Quest Promo Codes: $50 Off | May 2026
Experience cutting-edge VR and save up to 20% with coupons for the latest games, Meta Quest 3, Ray-Ban AI glasses, and more deals. ⌘ Read more

My first game of Magic ended with a truly EPIC TURN yesterday…

It was a 5-player game, and I was running my (unpublished) Superfriends deck (mostly Planeswalkers and counter manipulators). After some ups and downs, I was able to pop the ultimate abilities on a handful of PWs all on a single turn, pumping my Bioessence Hydra to 110/110 (!) before tapping it twice to kill 2 opponents, and then following that by destroying all of the lands of a 3rd opponent and stealing all of the creatures from the 4th, at which point the survivors decided to quit. As I said, EPIC TURN!

Game 2 ran long, so I dropped out. But that first game…

Valve’s Steam Controller Now Shipping
For those eager to get their hands on Valve’s new Steam Controller, the gaming controller is now shipping… ⌘ Read more

NetHack 5.0.0 released
Version 5.0.0
of the NetHack
dungeon-exploration game, a distant relative of Rogue and
Hack, has been released. NetHack’s code is now compliant with the
C99 standard, and the release includes more than 3,100
bug fixes and changes, detailed in doc/fixes5-0-0.txt
… ⌘ Read more

Omarchy 3.7 Linux Distribution Overhauls Gaming Support, Adds Unified CLI
Omarchy as the Arch Linux based desktop distribution using the Hyprland compositor and led by David Heinemeier Hansson “DHH” is out with a big OS update… ⌘ Read more

Dating Is a Rich Person’s Game Now
The problem isn’t just the apps. People actually can’t afford to date anymore. ⌘ Read more

NetHack 5.0 Released
“So yesterday the Devteam (it is always the Devteam) released version 5.0 of legendary and venerable rogueike compuer game NetHack,” writes the Rogue-like games column @Play. “It is 39 years old…”

MilenCent (Slashdot reader #219,397) writes: In addition to play changes it’s left for players to discover, this version updates the code to compile with C99, makes it much easier to cross compile the code for other systems than the one … ⌘ Read more

Former Nintendo Executive Says Amazon Once Requested ‘Illegal’ Price Discounts
Amazon once tried to pressure Nintendo to break the law, says former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé. At a recent NYU lecture, he describes a conversation with an Amazon executive, Kotaku reports:

“Amazon was looking to get bigger into the video game space,” said Fils-Aimé. “Amazon’s mentality back then … ⌘ Read more

Many people started to become distrustful of big tech in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. I began feeling pessimistic back in 2016, when AlphaGo beat master Go player Lee Sedol four games to one. Something about that event has soured me on the future of technology ever since.

Linux 7.1 Fixes Audio For The Steam Deck OLED After Being Broken 2 Years On The Upstream Kernel
It turns out the Steam Deck OLED gaming handheld has not had working audio support with the mainline (upstream) Linux kernel since a change in late 2023 that was merged for Linux 6.8. There was an AMD ASoC audio change that inadvertently broke audio support for the Steam Deck OLED handheld but not affecting the original LCD model. Valve’s downstream Steam OS kernel has compensated for this known breakage and other dis … ⌘ Read more

Marvel, DC, Game Publishers Launch Rival Events Saturday for Free Giveaways
The once-a-year free comic book giveaway “is splitting in two,” according to a local news report.

Launched in 2002 by Diamond Comic Distributor, comic book giants like Marvel and DC have historically participated together. But things changed after Diamond Comic Distributors went bankrupt in 2025, “leaving other companies to s … ⌘ Read more

An Editor’s Picks: The Best Gifts for Bird Lovers
Whether they’re into feeders, field guides, or games, these tried-and-tested picks are sure to land perfectly. ⌘ Read more

本周赛博领鸡蛋：《霍格沃兹之遗》再次限免
本周 Epic Games 再次送出《霍格沃兹之遗》，截止日期为明日（2026年5月3日），尽快领取。这款游戏青小蛙刚玩了个开头…😂 另外的限免还有《火花奇遇记：自动化冒险》全平台、《火之石》，以及手机游戏《怒之铁拳4》。 《霍格沃茨之遗》 上次限免《霍格沃茨之遗》的时候，导致了 EPI ⌘ Read more

Newegg Promo Code: 10% Off in May 2026
Enjoy up to 10% off your entire order with today’s Newegg promo code and discount codes. Save with the latest deals for gaming PCs, laptops, and computer parts. ⌘ Read more

Steam On Linux In April Pulled Back From Its Record High Marketshare
Steam on Linux use in March had skyrocketed to 5.33%, a 3.1% boost month-over-month and easily the highest level we’ve seen Steam on Linux at since its inception more than a decade ago. This record growth came amid the ongoing success of the Steam Deck handheld and Steam Play (Proton) for enabling more Windows games to run well on Linux. The April numbers are in and the Linux gaming marketshare pulled back somewhat but still remaining healthy… ⌘ Read more

Microsoft’s Xbox Mode Is Now Available For All Windows 11 PCs
Microsoft is rolling out Xbox mode to all Windows 11 PCs, bringing a full-screen Xbox PC app interface similar to Steam’s Big Picture Mode. “Some players in select markets will be able to download the Xbox mode experience today, with availability expanding to more players in those markets over the next several weeks,” says the Xbox team. The Verge repo … ⌘ Read more

Wine 11.8 Improves VBScript Compatibility, Finally Fixes Microsoft Golf 1999
Wine 11.8 delivers the latest and greatest support for running Windows applications and games under Linux and other platforms. This newest bi-weekly development release brings several more enhancements in working toward Wine 12.0 stable due out in early 2027… ⌘ Read more

Linux Support Coming For The ASUS ROG RAIKIRI II: A $160 High-End Gaming Controller
The ASUS ROG RAIKIRI II is a recently-launched wireless gaming controller for both PC and Xbox gaming. This is a premium controller priced at $160 USD and has been receiving positive reviews under Windows while now it will soon be seeing mainline Linux support… ⌘ Read more

AerynOS Updated With Linux 7.0, Gaming Optimized Kernel Flavor
AerynOS, the Linux distribution formerly known as Serpent OS, is out with a new monthly ISO refresh and details on other recent improvements to this original, from-scratch Linux distribution… ⌘ Read more

GitHub ‘No Longer a Place For Serious Work’, Says Hashicorp Co-Founder
Hashicorp co-founder Mitchell Hashimoto says GitHub’s frequent outages have made it “no longer a place for serious work,” prompting him to move his Ghostty terminal emulator project elsewhere after 18 years on the platform. The Register reports: “I’ve been angry about it. I’ve hurt people’s feelings. I’ve been lashing out. Because GitHub … ⌘ Read more

Valve Updates GameNetworkingSockets After Nearly Four Year Hiatus
Back in 2018, Valve open-sourced their Steam networking sockets library as a basic network transport layer for games. This library is used by games from Counter-Strike to Dota 2 and since its public open-source drop has been picked up elsewhere. Finally after going nearly four years without a new version, GameNetworkingSockets v1.5 dropped today… ⌘ Read more

Sony Rolls Out 30-Day Online DRM Check-In For PlayStation Digital Games
Sony is reportedly rolling out a 30-day online check-in requirement for some digital PS4 and PS5 games, meaning players could temporarily lose access if their console does not reconnect to renew the license. Tom’s Hardware reports: In the info page of an affected game, you’d see a new validity period and a “remaining time” deadline … ⌘ Read more

Tetris Plus, level 84 (Game Boy version) ⌘ Read more

@bender@twtxt.net Well I’m open to ideas of course 😅 My goal here was to build something like a Civ-1 inspired game that’s playable online and multiplayer. Do you remember this old bad boy that was played on PC(s) on MS-DOS ?! 😅

@prologic@twtxt.net I am going to give it a more serious spin (meaning I am going to go read the help page). I’ve got to tell you though, most successful games do not need a help. But I am fully aware that there is a subset of gamers that would not mind—if not appreciate—a game with help, manual, and the likes.

@bender@twtxt.net Anything I can do to help with getting started with the game? Help page not enougH/ Some “Getting Started” guide? Walk-through? 🤔

@bender@twtxt.net Yeah !

Maybe put a notice when on mobile stating that the game is for desktop, or bigger screens (tablets), only?

I’ll do this for sure!

Fans Angry Over Pokemon Go Champion’s Disqualification For Allegedly Shaking the Table
It’s “the curious case of… the Pokémon Go pro who celebrated too hard,” reports the gaming news site Aftermath. It all started on the first weekend in April…

Firestar73, a competitive Pokémon Go player who placed seventh at last year’s world championships, managed to narrowly cinch a game-five fin … ⌘ Read more

@prologic@twtxt.net I am fairly bad, or have a very poor understanding of the game, so I can’t figure out what to do. Tried a few times. 😅 Also, I am sure you know by now, but it is not mobile friendly at all. Maybe put a notice when on mobile stating that the game is for desktop, or bigger screens (tablets), only?

Congratulations!

California Engineer Identified in Suspected Shooting at White House Correspondents Dinner
The 31-year-old engineer and self-described indie game developer is suspected of firing shots at the annual event attended by President Donald Trump, high-profile media figures, and US government officials. ⌘ Read more

Godot 4.7 Reaches Beta With HDR Output, Ray-Tracing Improvements & Editor Enhancements
Godot 4.7 reached its beta milestone on Friday for this leading open-source, cross-platform game engine… ⌘ Read more

‘Saros’ Shows Off the PS5’s DualSense Tricks
The new game from the creators of Returnal goes all-in on the PlayStation’s haptics and 3D audio. Maybe it will catch on with other game developers. ⌘ Read more

@kiwu@twtxt.net Working on my game Frontier Crown – Going to push a new version today hopefully that includes much improved graphics, expanded ruleset and scope.

本周赛博领鸡蛋：4.24~4.30
本周 Epic Games 送出 1 款电脑游戏《DOOMBLADE》，以及 1 款手机游戏《911 Operator》。好评率颇高。 《DOOMBLADE》 《DOOMBLADE》是一款 2D 类银河战士恶魔城动作游戏。 在地下深处，幽影少女发现了厄运之刃。这件有自我意识的武器遭到多年封印，迫切渴 ⌘ Read more