February 2026 Update – Paper Dice Games

~ Editorial Team

This blog post is a repost from this month’s newsletter. If you would like to join the newsletter to receive these monthly updates and receive discounts to games, you can do so at any of the links below:

Well, 2026 has started in one of the worst ways possible. Below I cover what’s going on, how it impacts Paper Dice Games, and how I hope to get back to designing fun games for all of you.

RIP Roxy

Last week, my family and I got a new kitten – Roxy.

On Wednesday of last week she developed a cough. On Friday she was hospitalized because she was struggling to breathe. On Sunday, we had to say goodbye, as her condition with pneumonia had gotten much worse.

I don’t exactly know why I’m sharing this in my newsletter. I guess just to say it has been a tough few days (and a tough month – read below). Having to explain to my kids what and why this is happening, being with them to say goodbye to Roxy…it hit us all hard.

RIP Roxy.

Minnesota and ICE

On January 13th, I wrote a short blog post talking about how I need to step away from Paper Dice Games for a bit, as there were more important things going on. You can read the post here.

I wanted to expand a bit on what is happening in Minnesota for this month’s newsletter. The purpose of this explanation is to highlight how challenging it is, right now in Minnesota, to lead a regular life. In the next section, I’ll highlight how this is impacting my ability to run this part-time game design business.

If you haven’t heard, federal ICE agents have been all over Minnesota since January (really before then, but their presence massively increased in January). There has been national level news due to ICE presence, like the shooting of Renee Good and the shooting of Alex Pretti (content warning on both links). But every single day, there is tragic and crazy local level news like when ICE showed up to a local high school.

Right now, if I were to go to the store and encounter an ICE agent, there is a chance that I would be arrested and detained – perhaps for not having proof of citizenship, perhaps for being a perceived threat, or perhaps just for being there. For weeks, agents have been arresting and detaining anyone and everyone, regardless of citizenship or documented status.

This obviously impacts the life of me and my family. If you haven’t checked out my Youtube Channel, it’s important that I point out I am a white guy. So the effects I am feeling are significantly less than someone with black or brown skin, or someone with an accent. I can’t imagine the fear my neighbors live with.

So, having briefly covered the environment my family and I are currently living in, I now want to cover how this is impacting my ability to run Paper Dice Games.

Impact on Paper Dice Games

In 2025, I spent 217 hours on Paper Dice Games. This averages just over 4 hours a week. I spend this time designing games, playtesting and publishing games, managing my website and Youtube channel, writing newsletters like these, and marketing my games.

In addition to that work, I am a dad to two kids, I coach sports, I volunteer for charity events through the school, and I have hobbies of my own like gaming, hiking, and birding.

Due to ICE’s presence in Minnesota I’ve additionally been volunteering time at my kids’ school during arrival and dismissal times, to make sure they and their classmates feel safe going to school. This time alone averages 10 hours a week. It looks like this volunteer time will continue through February as well.

Given I now have 10 additional hours a week volunteering, I needed to find time to make everything else fit. The volunteer work I am doing for my kids’ school happens during my work day, which means I am often spending my evenings or weekends working my day job to make sure I stay employed. 

The unfortunate result of all this, is that I just simply don’t have meaningful time to spend on Paper Dice Games at the moment.

Paper Dice Games in 2026

Before you close out this newsletter in frustration, I want to make this next point clear:

I am still planning on an amazing year of games and other fun things for Paper Dice Games in 2026.

The problem, of course being, that I’ve been able to spend only 4 hours on Paper Dice Games so far in 2026.

If things were “normal”, by now I would have announced my roadmap for the year, released my Stakeholder’s Report, updated everything to my new logo, ran a sale, and be close to releasing my first game of the year. Instead, I’ve been able to write my newsletters, and that’s about it.

The good news is I am collaborating with a game designer on a game for the first time this year. So I do anticipate a release occurring in the first half of this year still. I don’t want to say more, because this is a really exciting project, and it deserves a full, fun announcement.

I just want to make it clear that Paper Dice Games isn’t going anywhere – I still plan on designing games, recording for my Youtube channel, and writing for my website and newsletter. Right now I just need to spend my time and attention on more important things.

Here’s to hoping I can write a traditional newsletter in March, and have some fun announcements for all of you.

Until then, feel free to reach out if you have questions or want clarification on anything I shared.

I greatly appreciate you all. Thank you for being a fan of games!

-James Hron

2 thoughts on “February 2026 Update – Paper Dice Games”

  1. I am so sorry to hear about Roxy. I can’t imagine losing my little fur babies so young. And dealing with that on top of the ICE invasion. Take care of yourself, your family, and your community. We can wait for new games.

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