iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 46m

What do you think this radical dwarven mine-dweller is up to?

A dwarf miner lifting up their mask, crowbar in hand. Art by Matt Williams for Dwarf Union.

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

John du Bois (He/Him) @johndubois.bsky.social · 3h

The point of making stories about these systems - and games are a kind of story - is that they can be fixed or changed if enough people want to badly enough, and all the story does is say either that this can happen or what might happen if it doesn’t. It’s literally what speculative fiction *is*.

021

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 3h

If this is quoting a real conversation, at some point "wife" is surely going to ask "is this actually you speaking to me?"

021

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 5h

Ha, I just enjoy your posts, so there you go 😁

010

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 5h

I think it's definitely underrated. I've got more traction for my little projects on here than any other social media (although I might need to resort to Meta ads for a bigger project coming up).

100

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

Adam Stichter @puzzlekindcreative.com · 15h

I'm looking for a textbook for the Board Game Design class I'll be teaching this spring. The class will be a combo of both game design majors and students who presumably have no experience in game dev. The contenders are Building Blocks of Game Design & Game Design Workshop. Am I missing an option?

051

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 6h

Ah yes. Especially as the best setup is 50/50 renumeration too.

010

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Haha, same.. I'm wondering if it's a me thing, or I've just not been in the right headspace so far!

110

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

3. The Idealist has a great story to offer the narrative of the game, but it still needs a strong core gameplay loop. Now that I've clarified that problem, I can solve it, I think.

110

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

2. The Thane's laws are a great structure but I need to tighten up the content of them to give the player more things to offer the players in exchange for voting for the laws.

100

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The 3- and 4-player tests I had on the weekend clarified some patterns of feedback I'd been hearing: 1. The Union can be a bit frustrating to play and lacked a feeling of progress (especially compared to the Owner - thanks @flopiano.bsky.social for pointing this out among other things!)

100

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I think they felt the faction is complete, so it probably is! It now (probably) enters final development (balancing the cards and tweaking anything that knocks on from the other factions.

100

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Over the last few days I've had a series of playtests for Dwarf Union with a variety of designers. Last night's was a 2-player with my friend @miasmacorp.bsky.social and they were pleased to see the Owner/Coinkeeper has been aggressively slimmed down to a rondel of just four actions.

141

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

Erik AS 🔜 Spiel Essen @eanderssonsunden.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

When I co-design, the most important aspect is to get inspired by each other.

041

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Co-design! Do you think game designers should be more similar in their approaches OR more different/complementary in order to successfully co-design? 🎲✂️

773

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Here it is, at long last: the second edition of An Infamous Traffic. www.kickstarter.com/projects/col...

kickstarter.com

An Infamous Traffic: Second Edition

A new edition of the acclaimed game of cutthroat capitalism in the nineteenth century opium trade.

814629

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Co-design! Do you think game designers should be more similar in their approaches OR more different/complementary in order to successfully co-design? 🎲✂️

773

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

Bat Terror @mattthr.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

... games that deal with difficult historical truths remain relatively rare but I feel they should be encouraged bc it's such a powerful mechanism for encouraging empathy. You're not just reading dry facts on a page: you're immersed in it, part of it, reliving the roles of victim or perpetrator ...

111

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Genuinely, the government and a lot of elite types have a weird disdain for low culture. But also undervalue academia too. (I suspect it has a bit to do with private school culture and the pursuit of proper adult careers and interests... But that's a half-baked theory.) bsky.app/profile/po8c...

010

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Games Workshop is 0.02% of our entire economy bsky.app/profile/patr...

110

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

"Growth won't involve fish or steel, it will involve goblins" bsky.app/profile/ross...

100

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Politicsky and gamesky are having a crossover moment and it's wonderful

120

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Hmm I don't know, there's symmetry in the border that I wouldn't expect from slop.

110

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Decksember is good. I've seen it's Solotober too...

010

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Thinking positively... El Niño supercharges climate change warming effects, which shocks the population into being more serious about reversing that warming.

000

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

70% of those speaking and attending are women - but I was told that trans rights were only supported by blokes and we should listen to women? Well, if youre listening to them then there is a clear message here

5786

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Rally is as packed as anything I've been to at Conferance - with a huge range of excellent, passionate speakers. The fight back against the EHRC guidance and to rebuild trans rights starts here.

1617726

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Good thing Dwarf Union has positive player interaction 😉

000

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A. J. Brandon is the host who was opining on it (don't think he's here?). Key differentiation from him was "begrudging" versions (like in TS) compared to more fully positive ones like in Brass. Here's the link: open.spotify.com/episode/6cdj...

open.spotify.com

#106 The Problems with Victory Points – Grab Bag

Fun Problems · Episode

100

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The latest Fun Problems episode has a nice bit on positive player interaction, which got me thinking that Brass Birmingham, Twilight Struggle and Gloomhaven all have variations of it. Another thing they have in common is they have all held the top spot on boardgamegeek.

100

Reposted by Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Me and my grunge friends would’ve killed A.I. with hammers I can tell you that much

321356162

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And they're not apolitical either – see the issues itch.io ran into with banning "sexual" content.

120

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I've come across honey traps! Puzzling at first 😆

000

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You're right of course! Important to pick the right social media that I'm willing to spend the time supporting!

000

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Which game publisher has a well-structured Discord?

000

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm thinking: A section for each of my games Playtesting Intros

111

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

As someone who bounced off computer games when they went so heavily online, I am only now getting to grips with (and getting to like) Discord. Planning to set one up for Samphire Games. What sections should it have? (See I don't even know what they're called... Channels?)

200

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Interesting on creative jobs and AI. Always worth remembering that economic rewards do not always/often correlate with the value of something. Art is worthwhile activity in itself.

010

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I solved the daily #CluesBySam, Sep 27th 2026 (Brutal), in less than 16 minutes 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 cluesbysam.com

cluesbysam.com

Clues by Sam

A daily logic puzzle where you deduce who is a criminal!

010

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I am confident I've solved a big issue with one faction in Dwarf Union (the Thane's laws/lobbying system) and now it's just a case of development work to refine the content of that structure. And the fourth faction (Idealist) is starting to come together too!

020

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

As Nik said, the game comes alive the heavier it leans into the roleplay on top of the economic systems. I'll keep on working to emphasise that and bring it out.

100

Sam Francis (Samphire Games) @tzartzam.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

BRILLIANT playtest of Dwarf Union at Excelsior in Bristol today. Increased spatiality and options; law system much improved (stealing HEAVILY from Hegemony at this point 🤫); Idealist feels more coherent but needs some definite tweaks. Very happy with the progress and feedback! 🎲✂️

Dwarf Union prototype on the table for a PlaytestUK session

1120