About Game & Word

Welcome! My name is Jay, and I’m a lifelong gamer, professional writer, on-and-off game developer, and the publisher of Game & Word: the newsletter where virtual worlds and the “real” world collide.

So, what’s the deal here?

In every issue of Game & Word, I take you (yes, you: the reader) on a deep dive into the hobby and medium we all know and love: video games (occasionally tabletop games, too!). This is not a review publication; instead, I pull on all the myriad threads that connect games to the wider human experience:

• History

• Art

• Literature

• Economics

• Physics

• Psychology

• Philosophy

• Mythology

• Theology

• <Insert “-ology” of your choice here>

Basically… if it shapes the way we play, or the way we think about play, it’s fair game (pun intended... pun always intended).

And we’ve covered a lot of ground over the years! Just for starters, we’ve:

• Traced the religious architecture of Diablo‘s Hell,

• Explored how Carl Jung’s archetypes live inside your favorite RPGs,

• Asked why pirates keep showing up in everything,

• And interrogated what all of that says about us.

In each piece, I serve as the Virgil to your Dante, taking you on a fun, insightful, and accessible guided tour through the latest weird and wonderful rabbit hole I’ve stumbled into… one you didn’t even know you wanted to fall down into until you’re already halfway to Wonderland.

Think of it as a gaming magazine and university seminar’s overexcitable love child, raised by someone who swears in footnotes.

My goal in all this? To demonstrate to the world what every gamer already knows: that far from being a childish time-waster, a good game can be as creative, powerful, and worthy of recognition as a good book, painting, song, or movie. To elevate the discourse around gaming by going beyond hot takes and culture war slop, and peeling back the layers of meaning enveloping the world’s newest and most dynamic art form. And to remind us all that by looking closer, we don’t just appreciate games more… we understand ourselves more.

That’s ultimately what Game & Word is all about.

What You Get (For Free!)

Every Game & Word subscriber gets access to new feature essays, series installments, and 5k–10k word deep dives delivered straight to your inbox. No algorithms or doomscrolling here! Just thoughtful, funny, meticulously researched, more than a bit “out there,” and unapologetically longform writing about the medium we love.

Free subscribers get the full experience of every mainline issue. No bait-and-switch, and no “pay me to read the rest.” If you’re here to read, you’re covered.

Why Go Paid?

Look, I’m not going to guilt trip you. Free is free, and I mean it.

And I value each and every one of my readers, whether or not they’ve ever given a dime, or ever intend to. I mean that, too.

But if Game & Word has ever made you think differently about a game, or kept you reading when you should’ve been doing literally anything else, a paid subscription is the single best way to keep this thing alive and growing.

Here’s what paid subscribers get:

• Full archive access. Every essay from every series, every quick bite, and every deep dive Game & Word has ever published, going all the way back to the beginning. That’s several hundreds of thousands of words of unique and esoteric gaming analysis, history, and cultural criticism that you won’t find anywhere else, all unlocked and waiting for you to devour.

• Exclusive Bonus Quests. Occasional paid-only articles that go even deeper into the weird, niche, and wonderfully obscure side tangents I touch on in the main pieces.

• The warm and unquantifiable glow of supporting an independent writer doing this solely for the love of the game (pun intended on multiple levels). No corporate sponsors, no ad revenue. Just a guy, a controller, a keyboard, and an ungodly amount of open browser tabs (that have made my wife’s heart skip a beat on more than one occasion).

If you’re already subscribed, you can upgrade your subscription here, or in your subscription settings:

Don’t Take My Word for It

“There’s something undeniably special about the way Jay writes. Whether he’s geeking out about video games, exploring the science behind our fascination with technology, or sharing heartfelt stories about being a father, he knows exactly how to draw you into a world of his own making, one that you can’t help getting lost in. His passion and (dare I say) almost child-like sense of wonder are infectious, and his authenticity comes across with every word he writes. He’s simply a pleasure to read.“

~Nico Ryan | Copywriter, Consultant, Writing Coach, and Philosopher

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“Game & Word elevates the discourse around gaming, uncovering the medium’s artistic, storytelling, and educational merits.”

~Substack, Inc. (Featured Publication Blurb)

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“It’s quickly become the highlight of my week. Thoughtful and insightful gaming newsletter that has stopped me hating checking my emails.”

~@andrewvalentine

Want more? Check out the full Accolades & Praise page.

Say Hi

Got a question? A game you think deserves the Game & Word treatment? A strongly worded opinion about turn-based combat? Collab request? Just a quick “hi, how’s it going?” or “love/hate your work”? I always love hearing from my readers, so drop me a line anytime via DM or at gameandword@substack.com

Thank you for being here. Whether you’re a longtime subscriber or just wandered in from the internet’s vast wilderness, I’m glad you found this little slice of Substack real estate.

Now, stay a while, and listen. And if you’re truly curious (and more than a little brave), come fall down a rabbit hole with me.

Cheers,

~Jay
Publisher & Lead Author, Game & Word