Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U

@peterlmcpherson

Board game designer: Tiny Towns, Wormholes, and Fit to Print. Rulebook writer. He/him - Upstate NY Upcoming releases: Lodge Antiquarians Mortar & Hustle petermcpherson.com Discord playtest server:

334 Siguiendo1223 Seguidores1191 Publicaciones

Bluesky

gamer

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y peterlmcpherson.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· 5d

Just wrapped up a great two-day design session with Cameron of @pickpocket.games. We weren't sure what would come out of this and tested 9 versions of a game that didn't work, but we ended up with a game that feels pretty special. One of the most fruitful and productive design sessions I've had!

Peter McPherson and Cameron Art sitting at a wooden table with some spare game components. Most of the table is blacked out with a digital pen with the text "SECRET GAME" covering the center of the table. Peter and Cameron are looking at the camera, and an orange cat sits on a stool behind them.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· 8d

The only picture I took at GenCon is from a midnight game of Out of Sorts by @connor.alwaysawake.games, which we all LOVED. Played two rounds back to back and both felt completely different. @kovray.bsky.social @aaronrussin.bsky.social

Five people smiling at the camera while sitting in front of the card game Out of Sorts by Connor Wake. They are in a partially empty convention hall filled with tables.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· 18d

I can finally share that a Tiny Towns sequel is in the works at @alderaceg.bsky.social, with gorgeous illustrations by @elisabethalba.bsky.social! Here's a WIP of her cover illustration: several critters selling herbs, tinctures, and crafts from a caravan on its way to a tiny town 🪻🍂🫚🌸

A caravan of apothecary carts on a road leading to a tiny town. Apothecaries sell goods from within the carts to a couple of squirrel customers. On the left side, a hedgehog is gathering armfuls of herbs. The scene is surrounded by a lush forest and a field dotted with wildflowers.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Jul 3

Update Oh yeah, leaving the chicory alone was the move. And there are still hundreds of buds waiting to bloom! I'l be enjoying these into September.

Dozens of light blue chicory blooms facing the sun

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Jun 22

Never thought I'd see Tiny Towns in People Magazine, but it's in their Prime Day toy buying guide today—thank you, @people.com !

A screenshot of People.com with an "In This Article" index next to an image of Tiny Towns and a button that reads "$45 at Amazon"

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Jun 21

A small patch of chicory has been developing in our yard for years and I've always mowed around it, but this is the first year we've had more than 3 gangly plants. It may be a weed to some, but I love this perennial and its months of abundant blooms!

A small patch of a few dozen chicory plants. There are about 7 visible flowers blooming.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 23

Inside was an absolutely gorgeous wooden box! Naturally, it's locked with a padlock that requires the solution to a Murdoku puzzle. What an incredible thing to get in the mail—thank you, Manuel!

A decorative wooden box with leather straps and brass rivets resting in soft fabric.

A brass combination lock holding shut a wooden box with leather straps and brass rivets. In the background is a printed Murdoku puzzle.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 23

Got a highly anticipated delivery from @murdoku.bsky.social — Murdoku Vol. 2! However, it was NOT packed how I expected...

An open cardboard shipping box with a printed Murdoku puzzle resting on the inside of the lid and something wrapped in soft fabric in the box itself.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 19

Our little garden isn't much yet, but I'm happy with it! This is our first time growing garlic (thanks to our neighbor giving us some bulbs last fall), and I am determined to make onions work this year. The plot in the ground is called the "Our garden store only sells bags of 45 bulbs" plot.

Two raised beds and a ground plot in a grassy yard lit by the setting sun. Behind the raised beds is a low meadow.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 13

My phone was 6 years old and showing signs of slowing, so I grabbed an open-box Moto G for $165. Despite the price it surpasses my 2019 phone in most ways, but best of all: YOU CAN PLUG HEADPHONES INTO THE **HEADPHONE JACK** AND USE THEM AS A RADIO ANTENNA 🤯

A Motorola G 2026 resting on a desk. A headphone plug is connected and the screen displays the FM Radio app.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 12

Latest bagel batch was my best yet, though they're still too chewy. Gonna keep working at them! What other baked goods or recipes are worth it to make from scratch? My to-learn list is: Veggie stock Burger buns English muffins Pizza Garlic bread Pretzels Napoleon cake Open to suggestions!

Six puffy and golden bagels in a plastic bin

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 12

We're now up to 130 buildings in Tiny Towns between 3 main expansions, 2 micro expansions, and 5 promo sets! I'm far from out of ideas...

A tall stack of building cards from Tiny Towns

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· May 12

My copies of Tiny Towns: Underground have arrived! @sirjoshwood.bsky.social really enjoyed working on this micro expansion and are excited about the twist it introduces: buildings that can share a space with resource cubes. This is a "mix it in" expansion that plays well with all of Tiny Towns!

The 12 building cards included in Tiny Towns: Underground splayed out next to the cover card

The Tiny Towns: Underground micro expansion in a plastic packet. The cover image shows a mouse and a bat walking through a tunnel; the bat is walking on the ceiling.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Apr 28

Pizza loaf! My latest new-to-me bake, from the amazing book Beard on Bread (by James Beard, of course). The dough started out horribly. Added flour a bit at a time and kept kneading until it was workable. I had low expectations but it was pretty tasty and fluffy!

A squat, fluffy loaf of bread cut to reveal a swirl of tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. It's sitting on a large wooden cutting board on a stovetop.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Apr 25

Spent the morning baking orange buns for the first time because our local bakery stopped making them. Lots of fun and they lived up to expectations!

A toddler holding a cup of juice in front of a counter covered in orange halves, some juiced, some not. A jar of orange juice sits in the foreground.

Peter McPherson holding the camera for a selfie in front of himself and his toddler, who is rolling out dough.

A glass baking pan filled with 12 glazed orange buns, just slightly golden on top.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Apr 16

Two recent failed bakes: Banana bread and tortillas. The banana bread came out great, I just did a comically bad job getting it out of the pan. The tortillas... well, this is mine and my friend Michelle's 7th batch and none of them have been great. Do I know anyone with some tortilla tips?

A loaf of homemade banana bread that has half fallen out of the pan in a crumbly mess.

A stack of homemade tortillas in a floral tea towel. The tortillas are misshapen and unevenly cooked.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 31

Rather than searching craft stores for wooden pieces, I opted for polymer clay, which I baked in my oven. Took less than two hours to sculpt and bake these, and I think they came out great. Might do this for custom pieces again sometime.

Several polymer clay shapes on a piece of parchment paper. Shapes include boxes of different sizes, square rings, cylinders, flat rectangles, and a pyramid.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 31

I recently had a chance to play @ianzang.bsky.social's Roads With No Name for the third time, and it's still great. This was my first experience GMing a game, and though I have a lot to learn we had a wonderful time. Can't wait to play this again!

A piece of paper with a 5x5 grid containing several clay blocks, cylinders, and other shapes. Painted wooden "road" pieces lay between some squares, and a hand-drawn image of a fish on a cylinder sits near the edge of the board. All of this rests on a wooden table.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 28

Missing Pieces is looking for your game design questions! Our pile is low right now, so your questions has a good chance of being answered in an upcoming @ttgda.bsky.social newsletter. Here are some of my favorite recent questions we've received. Submit yours here: forms.gle/53QtYWvZqJvA...

Three text boxes reading:

Cube Pusher:
I think a fun challenge I’d like to try is to make a Eurogame that’s as simple as possible, but I’m having a hard time pinning down a solid definition of what a Eurogame actually is. What elements would you say must be present in a game in order for it to be considered a Euro game?

Humor Hawker:
I’m working on a card game with humor at its core but with strategic gameplay. I imagine most of the cards having jokes and illustrations in the finished version. How do I go about playtesting and prototyping? Should I just test the core mechanisms, or should I create some of the jokes from the start?

Unlikely Customer:
When testing someone's game, for which you are not a likely customer, should you approach it the way YOU would typically play such a game or should you take on the persona of "someone who would probably like this kind of game" and try to do what THAT person would likely do?

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 27

My first attempt at naan turned out pretty great! We enjoyed it with some (not homemade) masoor daal. That's two from-scratch bakes I've learned this year. Next up are tortillas!

A stack of freshly baked naan on a tea towel

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 26

I added a "games looking for homes" section to my site with links to rulebooks, sell sheets, and digital prototypes. If you're a publisher and any of these look like a good fit, please reach out! petermcpherson.com/games-looking-for-homes

A web page titled "Games Looking for Homes." Beneath the title are images of three games with titles and descriptions: The Resource Game (image is a grid of about a hundred resource icons), Memento Mori (image is a physical prototype—a foam core "graveyard" with cardboard tombstones and monuments sticking out of it, and Syncronyms (image is of 3 illustrated cards next to a dry erase board with the first letter of an acronym.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 14

Roads with No Name by @ianzang.bsky.social at Unpub It was 1:30AM. For hours, 5 archaeologists of different fields had discussed, analyzed, and unearthed a lost civilization. No one mentioned game mechanisms the whole time. We were just immersed. One of the best gaming experiences I've had.

A paper grid with several wooden blocks of different shapes representing an ancient ruin. Dry erase boards with simple drawing surround the main board

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 13

If you're at Unpub, check Leaf Blowers during my 5–9pm slot tonight! Spatial puzzle about using one of the worst inventions ever to keep your board free of leaves while overwhelming your neighbor's yard.

A paper board with a hexagonal grid containing cubes in different colors. Below the grid are several patterns of cubes.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 13

Not many flowers, but we spotted daffodils, some white flowers that haven't bloomed yet, and the remains of mill. Felt good to get outside!

The remains of an old mill with two stone structures on either side of a creek

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 10

Hey #Unpub friends—anyone want to go on a wildflower walk Friday morning at the nearby Cascade Falls trail? I'm thinking around 11 a.m. I'll bring the flower guides!

A copy of Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America, and the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers Eastern Region on a wooden table

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Mar 5

I also found myself looking for a mindless hobby a couple of years ago and took up cross stitch. All of my other hobbies are mentally or physically active but this lets me zone out or watch a show at the same time. Not for everyone but I love it.

Four cross stitch bookmarks showing scenes from Lord of the Rings: Gandalf standing beside a tree looking at the Shire; The Doors of Durin; Sauron's Tower and Mount Doom looming over three figures; A hobbit home beneath a large tree.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Feb 26

A playtest of "I Spirate" the other night. Not sure there's enough there to pursue it, but it was a fun, goofy activity.

Three men standing beside each other in a board game cafe. One is pointing, another is thinking, and the third is looking through a plastic "spyglass" and wearing an eye patch.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Feb 23

I present: "I Spirate." All the components are pictured here. You just need an area with lots of hiding spots for small objects. The "crew" hides the treasure behind an object, then a saboteur secretly hides the curse token. A "captain" player uses spyglass to describe what they see...

A plastic tube with a small hole in one end, an eye patch, a tiny sparkly gold cube, and a small wooden moose token.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Feb 22

Anyone interested in playtesting a Tiny-Towns-style game tomorrow at 8:30pm ET? Online playtests take about 2 hours start to finish. Join my Discord if you want to help playtest! Invite code: hvSuTk3XJF

A screenshot of a Screentop mod showing a collection of herbal resources and goods next to a vector art worktable with a 2x3 grid of squares.

Peter McPherson ⏭️ PAX U@peterlmcpherson· Feb 20

Small note on this step: I picked up Illustrated Signs and Symbols Sourcebook by Adele Nozedar from a local library for inspiration and research. Factored this into my time calculation here. I think I'll lose the "Runes" theme at some point but this was a good starting point.