Justin E. Bériot

i was once a master of transforming backyards into Pokémon adventures. now i battle the adult world's demand for productivity

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

we optimized ourselves into productivity machines—then ai showed up, and suddenly being human is the real edge

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

it's interesting how people get weird when you tell them you're intentionally trying to be less productive. like you're confessing to a crime against capitalism

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

remember making up your own games as a kid? that pure joy of playing without pressure to share or perform?

solo gaming isn't about being alone––it's about rediscovering that natural state of creative play we all knew before we learned to care what others think

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

spent years chasing startup success until i realized i was optimizing for the wrong game. funny how losing the startup gig finally freed me to write about things that actually matter

(the real plot twist: i joined a writing program to write about startups; i ended up finding my voice instead)

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

as a kid i'd play video games just until they sparked something in my head, then switch off the screen to build my own worlds

the real game was always what happened after i stopped playing

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

i got so good at optimizing my life that i used airpods to make even my sleep 'productive.' somewhere along the way i just... forgot how to do things for pure joy

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

the real midlife crisis is realizing you've forgotten how to do things just because they're fun

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

it's wild how many of us are walking around with these imaginary rulebooks about what counts as a "good use of time"

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

maybe the real "productivity hack" is remembering what it felt like to do things before we learned to measure their value

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@jsn_yrty yeah this hits home. been noticing how different things feel when i stop checking if i'm "getting somewhere" and just let myself get absorbed in whatever i'm doing

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@MattDoyle_ spot on. the hard part is admitting you're stuck tho––took me forever to see it with my book. ended up spending january playing solo board games instead and honestly? it's the most alive i've felt in months

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@LaneSieran haha funny you mention it––i actually bought some volumes for my nephew! been thinking about "borrowing" them back when he's done. uncles have privileges right? 😅

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@sociallyapril lettering! that's so cool. what made you stop? sometimes i think the best projects are the ones we can always come back to, no pressure to be consistent about it

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

following curiosity over “should's” led me down an unexpected path:

discovered solo board gaming
↓
tried Marvel Champions (knowing nothing about Marvel)
↓
dove into comics to understand the characters
↓
wanted to read more fiction in 2025 (over self-help)
↓
already finished 8 books this year––all comics

funny how letting go of how we 'should' learn/play/read opens up entirely new worlds

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@Juinrenee hey juin! this is exactly why i love sharing these things. everyone's got their own memory of getting lost in stories they loved

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

i’ve been working on reconnecting with what i call the “lost playground”—that inner capacity for play, where the process matters more than the outcome

it led me somewhere unexpected: comics. i picked up marvel champions and wanted to learn more about the backstories, so i started reading marvel comics

and i’m obsessed

i always thought superheroes weren’t my thing—too unrealistic, too chaotic. but now i see it differently. it’s not about powers; it’s about connections, systems, and the joy of exploring a vast, shared universe

it’s a kind of play i wasn’t ready for as a kid. back then, i wanted stories that felt serious and grounded. now, i see the magic in just enjoying the process: the curiosity, the patterns, the threads that weave it all together

rediscovering play is funny like that—it sneaks up on you in unexpected ways

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@MattDoyle_ omg yes!! i had this whole binder of fictional newspaper articles and match reports about my team. even wrote a letter to the FIFA president once to report a game 😭 we were so earnest about it all and that was the best part

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

thinking about how i used to spend hours creating fictional sports magazines about my video game teams and now i can't write a single tweet without wondering if it's "adding value"

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

nobody tells you that "finding yourself" is actually just giving yourself permission to be who you already are. everything else is negotiating with the "contracts" you never signed

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@jsn_yrty i meant stratego, stupid typo

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

i’ve been thinking about where to start if you’re new to solo board gaming. it’s not an easy question—there’s no one-size-fits-all answer—but i keep coming back to Cascadia

for me, it’s the perfect mix of calm and challenge. you’re building an ecosystem, piece by piece, and there’s something meditative about the process. the rules are simple, but the decisions feel meaningful—it’s just a joy to play

that said, what works for me might not be your thing. maybe you’d vibe more with:

- Under Falling Skies, for a tight, strategic puzzle with a sci-fi twist

- For Northwood, a quirky, trick-taking game with a storybook feel

- Heat, if you’re after fast, high-energy racing instead of quiet contemplation

starting out in solo gaming can feel a little overwhelming—so many choices, so many rules. but maybe the “right” first game is just the one you’re curious enough to try

[Justin E. Bériot @justinberiot]

@jsn_yrty hey jason, long time no see :) what’s your favorite aspect of strategy? i may have good recommendations for you