iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Thanks! I didn't even have to come up with it - that's just the name of the place where oil was first struck in southeast Texas! It does evoke very turn of the 20th century vibes though, I think.

black and white image of an oil derrick from circa 1902 spewing massive amounts of crude hundreds of feet into the air. Spindletop is where oil was first discovered in Texas. This derrick threw up 100,000 barrels of oil a day for 9 days before they managed to recap it for production.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Father’s Day involved Dutch “pancakes” and a nice bike ride to a local swimming area, complete with beach, zip lines, and water slides. It was a good one! @colewehrle.bsky.social couldn’t help but think of what you told me about the pancakes over here.

Two Dutch pancakes, one with powdered sugar in the shape of a pirate skull and crossbones and one with tomatoes, salami, and cheese on it. Also a half-finished glass of beer and my hands waiting to cut into my lunch while my wife takes this picture.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Could not be more pleased to receive Penitent by @danbullock.bsky.social! More games like this need to exist - small batch, biting, passionate. I can’t wait to dig into it soon.

The cover of a board game called Penitent. An image invoking 19th century aesthetics, with two intertwined snakes around the edge, a cross section of a prison in the center, and a handmade stamped eye underneath, making the viewer feel like they are being watched too.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Game #3 is Painkillers - it's a heavy historical game based on the American opioid epidemic. Players run pharmaceutical companies, trying to maximize their efficiency and bank as much personal wealth as possible without causing too much societal harm. It's a rough one, mechanically and emotionally.

An outline of the contiguous 48 states of the United States, filled in with a variety of prescription pills. The word Painkillers above it, with the "pain" part blurred for emphasis.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Here's a preview of the other five games I'm bringing to Unpub this year. Check 'em out if you want! Spindletop is the most developed. It's an economic hand management game based on Texas Hold 'Em poker mechanisms and the Texas oil boom of the early 20th century. Plus, it has Texagons!

A game prototype on a table. A large Texas made of smaller Texases tessellated (Texalated?) together to form the map. The game is called Spindletop.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Giant tubs of differently flavored popcorns. Maybe a sampler of Ferrero Rocher if you’re fancy. The popcorn is not universally observed but it’s common I think.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

When you realize on the plane to the convention that you forgot to update your cards and ask the hotel to print them for you and borrow their scissors… 🎲✂️

A smattering of papers on a computer on a table. The papers have 3x3 grids of cards for a board game prototype.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Chilled with my gnomey at the pumpkin fest this weekend.

A small gnome statue, with an acorn hat and a small wooden staff

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

As soon as I found out this game existed, I went to pre-order it. I’m fascinated by the history of urban “development” and NBS has accomplished something important and fascinating here. Can’t wait to get this one to a table soon.

A board game laying on a wooden coffee table, slightly askew. The cover shows a dilapidated build on in the South Bronx. In the bottom left corner is written “FALSAS PROMESAS” and in the bottom right “BROKEN PROMISES.” Across the middle of the cover is the title Cross Bronx Expressway. Cross and Expressway are in reserved black and white lettering and the word Bronx is in yellow, blue, and red graffiti style text.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Just finished my first game of Positano by @jeffgrisenthwaite.bsky.social - it’s a light and fun bidding and building game, that can be quite mean at times. We played at two but I can see how it would really shine at higher player counts. Nice one Jeff!!

The board game Positano on a wooden coffee table. The box shows an illustration of the eponymous Italian town, with its notable cliff side houses overlooking the sea.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Quite the feeling to hold the final product of something you created! Thanks to @amabel.bsky.social and @hollandspiele.bsky.social for taking a chance on me as a new designer. Pleased to have this be my first published game. Now back to the game design! 🎲✂️

A copy of the board game, Sykes-Picot, designed by Brooks Barber and published by Hollandspiele. A black box wrapped in a yellow cover. In the corners of the cover are red and blue marks resembling marker strokes. In the other corners are two doodles of the eponymous Sykes and Picot, drawn by Amabel Holland. The title is in the center of the box, with the designer’s name to the right and to the left the subtitle “the secret treaty to partition the Ottoman Empire.”

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Work travel is always made better by some playtesting. 🎲✂️

A laptop on a coffee table in a hotel room in Oklahoma City. A book to the left, a glass of water and a wireless mouse to the right. A television (off) in the background.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Especially when contrasted with this map!

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I played a TON of games this past weekend, at a local little con I help organize with a couple friends. We had about 100 people or so attend over four days of games. Always a blast. Here’s a sampling of the games I got to play.

The board game Arcs, set up at the beginning of a file three-game campaign.

Goa: a new expedition, designed by Rudiger Dorn

Molly House, by Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

*Ahem* That’s a fun quiz. Tough to decide on several of them.

Results of a quiz about my game design creative soul twin. It reads:

“Top Match: Elizabeth Hargrave
Congratulations, you are a kindred spirit of Elizabeth Hargrave! With a 72% match, you're all about infusing beauty and meaning into your designs, just like the acclaimed creator of Wingspan. Your passion for emotional connections and educational gameplay shines through, making your games not only fun but also deeply resonant experiences.
But wait, there's more! With a sprinkle of Vital Lacerda’s complexity at 17%, you embrace intricate mechanics and strategic depth, giving your creations a robust layer that players will love to explore. And with a dash of Jamey Stegmaier’s harmonious approach at 11%, you ensure that…”

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

One of my favorite parts of historical design is starting the research for a new idea. I love the process of going to get books at a library. Now I have to read them (and many others)… 🎲✂️

A set of books on game design and historical topics lined up in a windowsill. Most of them have to do with the political, economic, and cultural struggle over the American West in the 19th century.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

A little gaming with the 4 year old foot spring break.

A shot of the game Cascadia about four turns in.

Kabuto Sumo from above, a small hand pushing a disc onto the board

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

My kid is super into multimedia art right now.

A child’s art project. A smattering of paint smears, rhinestones, sparkles, and other fun shapes glued all over it.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Since I know everyone has been sitting around waiting for the thrilling conclusion, we finally exploded the volcano today!

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Triptych is back! I’ve been tinkering with this one off and on for about a year or so now. It’s the first design I ever play tested. Had a new idea for it last week that may take it where I want it to be. It’s trick taking with a slide puzzle where you and a partner complete a three panel image. 🎲✂️

Triptych prototype in a potential end game state, with a triptych of an umbrella formed across the middle of a grid of 3x3 cards.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

At @protospielo.bsky.social this weekend, and getting in some good testing! Spindletop is almost exactly a year in the making, and it's very close to where I need it to be for pitching to publishers. But that's February work - back to testing! #boardgames 🎲✂️ #texagons

A game of Spindletop after playtesting. A map of Texas made up of Texagons, an oil market, four player boards, basically a big mess of Euro stuff that is really pretty fun. :)

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Time to make a volcano, y’all!

A table covered in paper with a papier-mâché volcano resting in the middle. Some paints, brushes, and containers in the background.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

New version of Painkillers got a brief stress test this evening. It's an obvious upgrade from previous versions. It still has lots of kinks to work out, but the core loop is snappier, smoother, and better integrated overall. Looking forward to developing this iteration further. 🎲✂️

Screenshot of a boardgame prototype for Painkillers, a game about the American opioid epidemic.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Final stats for 2024, not counting BGA plays. A good year of #boardgames

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

For Christmas, we got my four year old a set of glow in the dark planets and stars for his room. He’s not feeling well today so I put them up to see if it might help him feel better. We had to wait all day for it to be dark enough. It’s better than I could have imagined!

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Happy Hollandays to me! Striking Flint and [City of Six Moons] by @hollandspiele.bsky.social

Two board games on a desk: Striking Flint by John DuBois and [City of Six Moons] discovered by Amabel Holland.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

The action selection system uses a deck of cards. On your turn you can move people on map, then discard a card for its action. Four suits correspond to four regions of the map, where you can act. At end of round, your final 2 cards are used for a Texas Hold 'Em style poker resolution for bonuses.

4x4 grid of cards for Spindletop, showing a sample of the actions and regions in the game.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

I haven’t talked about it in a while but Spindletop is very much still in development, Texagons and all. In the most recent iteration, the poker has taken a back seat to the economic Euro part of the game, although you can still win useful rewards from having the best hand each round. 🎲✂️

Game board for the prototype of Spindletop. A map of Texas made up of smaller Texas shaped tiles. A scoring track around the edge, with an income track nestled inside of it. And an action selection track in the top left.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

I look forward to diving into this one when I get the chance! @writegameread.bsky.social any tips?

Cover of the board game Operation Barclay

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

No way this is real but I’m not fucking around with it. Blocked!

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

His party was this weekend and he requested a unicorns and rainbows themed birthday and my wife absolutely killed it with the decorations and cake. Plus he got to wear a rainbow unicorn skirt and could not have been happier. It was a day of pure joy. Our hearts were full.

A table set for a party with a variety of snacks and decor, mostly themed around unicorns.

A unicorn birthday cake. Fucking amazing.

A sign with a sparkly gold unicorn on it that reads, “it’s important to remember that we all have a little magic inside us.”

A close up of a unicorn cupcake with closed eyes, long lashes, rainbow icing, and a tiny little paper unicorn horn. Adorable.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Got in a play of Sykes-Picot with my four year old today. Pretty strong understanding of what European imperialism has done to the Middle East, if you ask me.

A hex grid laid over a map of the Middle East, with various colors and lines drawn on it by a young child.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Not all my boardgames are heavy. Received this double banger today. Both look like lots of fun.

Two board games standing up next to one another. String Railway on the left and My Favorite Things on the right.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

My boardgames haul from #SDHistCon24 - one timeless classic and one new hotness. Can’t wait to check them both out!

Two board games next to one another, Churchill on the right and Red Dust Rebellion on the left.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

Two plays of Sykes-Picot yesterday at SDHistCon. The game gives players latitude to choose - work together or be aggressive in pursuing your own goals. Some players lean into this and others feel constrained by the game’s limitations. Always a fascinating demo for me as designer. 🎲✂️

Two very pleased diplomats playing a prototype of Sykes-Picot, sitting across a table from one another with a laminated map, three dry erase markers, and a deck of cards between them.

A finished map in a game of Sykes-Picot. In this game, players were aggressive and it resulted in a loss, which means neither player achieved any of their objectives.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

#boardgames night last night! Played Unconscious Mind, a game about Freudian psychiatrists “curing” patients by interpreting their dreams. It’s big and intimidating but relatively straightforward once play starts. I’ll have to explore this one some more before forming final thoughts on it.

The action board and map for Unconscious Mind. Place your speech bubbles/ideas to take actions that get resources. One action is to journey around Vienna to get resources and position yourself for bonuses when you rest.

Your personal office in the game. Ink pot moves when you take an action and provides additional bonuses. Grid of tiles gets to the insights you need to interpret dreams. Coffee and heart shaped boxes are extra resources you can use to do various things in the game.

Insight wheel. Develop expertise in one of three areas (growth, freedom, passion) and spend those insights to interpret dreams to treat patients.

Your patients. Each patient starts covered with a grief layer that must be removed through achieving catharsis. Spend insights on dreams to get the hearts and other bonuses shown. Reach catharsis on the heart tracks to remove grief and gain access to the patient’s special ability. “Cure” the patient by treating them again to score their points.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 29/10/2024

I love Weird Al Yankovic. Have since I was a kid. I went to his Wikipedia page to see where he’s from. His birthplace and “origin” are two different places. What does this mean? Theories?

Screenshot of Weird Al Yankovic’s Wikipedia page. It shows he was born in Downey, CA but his origin is Lynwood, CA.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 27/10/2024

Sorry, one more flashback to a year ago. Just look at how different this game is now! It looks and plays a lot cleaner these days. Still not where I want it to be, but it's been a fulfilling journey of discovery on my first "heavy" game. 🎲✂️

Game board for prototype of Spindletop. A map of Texas made up of smaller, tessellated "Texasgons", surrounded by a scoring track with associated income.

Spindletop's oil market, based on supply and demand tables. Trust me, it's not as convoluted as it looks, and it's pretty cool when in action.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 21/10/2024

Delivery! Very excited to have this one in the collection. What a great game and @downtowntbrown.bsky.social is such a delight!

Cover of Votes for Women board game, showing The Awakening. A large stylized lady liberty, holding a torch high above her head, marched across the United States, as women reach up out of darkness toward her.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 19/10/2024

Played several new to me #boardgames this week! Meltwater was particularly interesting - a punishing tactical tug of war. My opponent chose violence and doomed all of us to death instead of allowing me to eke out a meager existence. Also won Twilight Struggle for the first time ever!

Images of 8 board game covers from games I played this week. Concordia Venus, Five Tribes, The King is Dead, Lords of Vegas, Medici, Meltwater, Sandbag, and Twilight Struggle.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 15/10/2024

I attended the ATX Protospiel event this weekend and got in 2 playtests of Spindletop while there! The game is better than it’s ever been, but still has a long way to go. The oil market is now solid, and the card play is still strong. Now to dial in the economic balance. Making progress! 🎲✂️

Top down view of Spindletop, a table hog. A large map of Texas made up of Texagons, surrounded by various bits and bobs and cards.

A direct view of Spindletop with players’ oil derricks on the map.

The supply and demand table Spindletop uses as an oil market to track the dynamic price of oil.

Top down view of Spindletop from second Playtest - changed the map and board to a square, with a separate board for the oil market.

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 09/10/2024

A little prototyping for in person testing this weekend. Nice to use my 3D printer occasionally and it’s cheaper than buying bits online! These are the prospectors for Spindletop. I’m also printing derricks, refineries, and train tracks. Fun! 🎲✂️

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Brooks Barber @rollplusfun.bsky.social · 09/10/2024

Another #boardgames night last night! We played three games of Tang Garden Seasons. The winter scenario was most interesting but also swingiest. Overall the game feels overproduced for what you get from the gameplay.

A shot of Tang Gardens at end of game. Plastic and wooden bridges and pavilions with small people on them gazing at the cardboard horizon.

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