A bulletin on factory and idle games: design notes, patch readings, and the occasional dispatch from the studio. Written by a working developer.
Two formats. One long-form, one curated. We don't sell, swap, or share your address, and the publication runs on a privacy-respecting platform.
A long letter and a short one. Skim either, save the rest, sit with what catches.
One long-form essay on a system, a design choice, or a quiet trick of the trade.
An eight-to-fifteen-minute essay on a single thing, taken seriously. Past topics include the math behind offline progression, why factory games keep getting their UI wrong, and what idle games can learn from chess clocks.
A curated dispatch: the few things from the week worth your attention.
Five to seven items: patch notes worth reading, posts worth thinking about, a tool, a screenshot, a one-paragraph dispatch from the studio. Skim it on the train, save what catches, leave the rest.
The most recent issues, in case you'd like to read before subscribing.
Full archive bound at blog.manugames.com.
Between issues, the same hands keep the Arcade: 117 small games, free in your browser, with no account and nothing to install.
