Sam Kabo Ashwell
SeattleTop 25 Reviewer
Member since October 21, 2007
Last visited February 17, 2021
Profile ID (TUID): 3edajdozpgy9u1a
I fail to write anything consequential, frequently; more often, I write about other people's writing, which is easier. Sometimes I betatest, which is similar but more polite.
I prefer prose strong as fuck, puzzles generous, settings rich and genres acutely self-aware. I am fine with gratuitous self-indulgence as long as I'm invited. I am comfortable about being an awful snob.
News about games authored by Sam Kabo AshwellAdd a comment on this profile
Interactive Fiction by Sam Kabo Ashwell
Cragne Manor, by Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna et al.Show other authorsAdam Whybray, Adri, Andrew Plotkin, Andy Holloway, Austin Auclair, Baldur Brückner, Ben Collins-Sussman, Bill Maya, Brian Rushton, Buster Hudson, Caleb Wilson, Carl Muckenhoupt, Chandler Groover, Chris Jones, Christopher Conley, Damon L. Wakes, Daniel Ravipinto, Daniel Stelzer, David Jose, David Petrocco, David Sturgis, Drew Mochak, Edward B, Emily Short, Erica Newman, Feneric, Finn Rosenløv, Gary Butterfield, Gavin Inglis, Greg Frost, Hanon Ondricek, Harkness Munt, Harrison Gerard, Ian Holmes, Ivan Roth, Jack Welch, Jacqueline Ashwell, James Eagle, Jason Dyer, Jason Lautzenheiser, Jason Love, Jeremy Freese, Joey Jones, Joshua Porch, Justin de Vesine, Justin Melvin, Katherine Morayati, Kenneth Pedersen, Lane Puetz, Llew Mason, Lucian Smith, Marco Innocenti, Marius Müller, Mark Britton, Mark Sample, Marshal Tenner Winter, Matt Schneider, Matt Weiner, Matthew Korson, Michael Fessler, Michael Gentry, Michael Hilborn, Michael Lin, Mike Spivey, Molly Ying, Monique Padelis, Naomi Hinchen, Nate Edwards, Petter Sjölund, Q Pheevr, Rachel Spitler, Reed Lockwood, Reina Adair, Riff Conner, Roberto Colnaghi, Rowan Lipkovits, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Scott Hammack, Sean M. Shore, Shin, Wade Clarke, Zach Hodgens, Zack Johnson (23 ratings)A tribute to Anchorhead. |
| Invisible Parties, by Sam Kabo Ashwell (as Psychopup) (2014) (20 ratings) You are a walker of the ways between the worlds. It is not an arrangement conducive to straightforward relationships. The Three Rebeccas have created a tangle, a temporary artifice woven from parts... |
| Olivia's Orphanorium, by Sam Kabo Ashwell (2012) (23 ratings) Sparky young entrepreneur Olivia sets out to fulfil her dream of running an orphanage. The beatings will continue until morale improves. |
| Scents & Semiosis, by Sam Kabo Ashwell, Cat Manning, Caleb Wilson, Yoon Ha Lee (2020) (8 ratings) A perfumer keeps a private collection of scents, each tied to a memory. Decide what they mean. Scents & Semiosis makes heavy use of procedural generation to create strange perfumes, full lives, and... |
| Yellow Dog Running, by Sam Kabo Ashwell (2002) (9 ratings) |
Recommended Lists by Sam Kabo Ashwell
Distinctive Puzzle Style - 10 items October 30, 2007
One of the most powerful techniques for rendering a game memorable is to build it around a unusual, interesting and consistent way of...
Polls by Sam Kabo Ashwell
The Squick Squad - 12 votes for 10 games; created July 21, 2015
NPCs Made Easy - 33 votes for 19 games; created February 9, 2015
For Your Consideration - XYZZY-eligible puzzles of 2013 - 12 votes for 9 games; created April 23, 2013
For Your Consideration - XYZZY-eligible NPCs of 2013 - 19 votes for 16 games; created April 23, 2013
For Your Consideration: XYZZY-eligible PCs of 2013 - 17 votes for 15 games; created April 23, 2013
A list of games with a heavy emphasis on disgusting, gross-out subject-matter, whether in service to some higher goal, or just because...
NPCs Made Easy - 33 votes for 19 games; created February 9, 2015
A list of games which notably use elision, sleight-of-hand, cleverly framed premises, or other fiendish implementor tricks in order to...
For Your Consideration - XYZZY-eligible puzzles of 2013 - 12 votes for 9 games; created April 23, 2013
This poll is a place to suggest individual puzzles from games released in 2013, which you think might be worth considering for Best...
For Your Consideration - XYZZY-eligible NPCs of 2013 - 19 votes for 16 games; created April 23, 2013
This poll is a place to suggest non-player characters from games released in 2013, who you think might be worth considering for Best...
For Your Consideration: XYZZY-eligible PCs of 2013 - 17 votes for 15 games; created April 23, 2013
This poll is a place to suggest player characters from games released in 2013, who you think might be worth considering for Best...
Reviews by Sam Kabo Ashwell
Samhain, by Marc Valhara December 30, 2016
Mountains of Ket, by R. A. McCormack August 26, 2016
"An old-school cave-crawl; part of an unfortunate trend, predominantly in the UK, of games which offered a prize to the first player to..." - See the full review
Inside the Japanese American Internment, by tfickle March 22, 2015
"A school-project-feeling piece about an important topic; incomplete. At least in the early game, the writing has a tone of terse, bored..." - See the full review
♥Magical Makeover♥, by S. Woodson March 22, 2015
"A familiar tack of Twine advocacy pieces: take some problematic social issue, particularly as expressed through games, and make it..." - See the full review
dirty words in the dictionary, by hcgoldsmith March 22, 2015
"This does (almost) precisely what it says on the tin: it is a linkified version of a sex and gender-related subset of Johnson's..." - See the full review
"A goofy, frenetic lampoon of slasher-horror. Take the genre-consciousness of Scream, turn up the wackiness to 11, and put it in the hands..." - See the full review
Mountains of Ket, by R. A. McCormack August 26, 2016
"An old-school cave-crawl; part of an unfortunate trend, predominantly in the UK, of games which offered a prize to the first player to..." - See the full reviewInside the Japanese American Internment, by tfickle March 22, 2015
"A school-project-feeling piece about an important topic; incomplete. At least in the early game, the writing has a tone of terse, bored..." - See the full review♥Magical Makeover♥, by S. Woodson March 22, 2015
"A familiar tack of Twine advocacy pieces: take some problematic social issue, particularly as expressed through games, and make it..." - See the full reviewdirty words in the dictionary, by hcgoldsmith March 22, 2015
"This does (almost) precisely what it says on the tin: it is a linkified version of a sex and gender-related subset of Johnson's..." - See the full reviewSee all 89 reviews by Sam Kabo Ashwell
See all ratings and reviews by Sam Kabo Ashwell
Sam Kabo Ashwell's Wish List
Noirbilis, by Geostatonary
Worldsmith, by Ade McT
City of Dead Leaves, by Felix Pleşoianu
Open Sorcery, by Abigail Corfman
Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian
Worldsmith, by Ade McT
City of Dead Leaves, by Felix Pleşoianu
Open Sorcery, by Abigail Corfman
Superluminal Vagrant Twin, by C.E.J. Pacian