Brooks Barber

@rollplusfun

Tabletop game designer - mostly historical but not always. Designer of Sykes-Picot from Hollandspiele. Forthcoming games Threed, Spindletop, and Painkillers. Co-founder of Hawk & Dove Games.

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Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jul 9

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jun 22

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Apr 23

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Mar 22

Chloe says hi

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Mar 11

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Mar 11

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Nov 23

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Nov 7

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Oct 14

Chilled with my gnomey at the pumpkin fest this weekend.

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

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Sep 30

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jul 16

Tiki drinks!!!

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jun 10

Seems legit

Word cloud with a bunch of my most used words in Bluesky posts. Game is real big in the middle.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· May 24

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· May 12

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.”

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· May 9

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Apr 30

Especially when contrasted with this map!

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Apr 30

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

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Apr 6

*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…”

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Mar 25

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Mar 20

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

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Mar 9

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Feb 8

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

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jan 25

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jan 18

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. :)

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jan 11

An update on volcano progress

A papier-mâché volcano painted to look super cool

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jan 11

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jan 3

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.

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Jan 1

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

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Dec 30

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!

Brooks Barber@rollplusfun· Dec 10

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