Nick Ferris

@nickferris.bsky.social

187 Followers 79 Following

I make boardgames, grow things in dirt, and espouse progressivism. Tall, but not too tall. Connecticutie. he/him https://nickferris.carrd.co/ “The first duty... is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth.”

Beverly Crusher having some quality time by the candle.
The Starship Voyager with episode title "Let's Put the Bridge On Top Totally Safe Yes, More Windows I Said More Windows Mooooore Windoooooooows"
The Enterprise in orbit of planet Murderu IV with the episode title text "Nick Power Washes His House In The Rain"
A photo of me holding my CT State Convention delegate badge.
A whole pineapple with a hand written post it note declaring "Passive aggressive pineapple" seated on a small table.
A wire rack holding a number of board game boxes. Atop the boxes are plant starts in various stages of early growth, just under some LED light panels.
A sealed copy of the game Fright Factor by Nick Ferris (me) with illustrations by A. Giroux who is amazing and is going to continue to take the board game illustration world by storm into 2026 and beyond, also the game itself is great too. Published by New Mill Industries. The game is sitting on the corner of a brown table. In the background, seasonally appropriate holiday tree, a table, the back of a sofa, and part of one of those pretentious sliding barn doors.
Mail shipping diagram. Mailbird with game brings to mailbox which brings it to Rumi from K-Pop Demon Hunters which is who I'm hoping you are because that would be rad.
Cover of A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated, featuring the Parsley Sage, Apprenticist, Wizardologist, Penguin, and Spheniscographer. 3-18 players. 5 minutes. Ages 10+. By me!
The finished Doughmancer card, everyone's favorite. A cheery baker girl in a white uniform holds a baguette above her head with arms raised. In Phase 2, she must say "biscuit" aloud. At game end, she wins if anyone chose her, and anyone who chose her also wins.
The Trapscallion card in Paint.NET, complete with an obscene number of poorly labeled layers.
The Penguin's original pixel art with original blue-and-pink wizard hat.
A screenshot of GMIC running in Affinity Photo showing the use of the Cutout tool on the Archmagicker.
The basic pixel art of the Wizardologist, an older white man with a white beard and purple robes and hat, arms outstretched as if to ask "Who is my Apprenticist?"
The basic pixel art of the Apprenticist, a latina woman with black hair in her orange robes and wizard hat holding a long brown staff.
A basic 3-D humanoid figure with circles on joints standing on a circular plane, saved from JustSketchMe.
Mockup of the Wizardologist card with close-to-final art, translucent text block with 1-2-3 phases and black text, and a basic white title bar with the character's name at the top.
Final art of the Prestidigidude, a wheelchair-using man in a white t-shirt, trucker cap, and jeans holding up a hand of four aces. The wheelchair took me forever to get right, and it still looks like it was drawn by someone who's never actually seen one.
Donation confirmation page for the Trans Youth Emergency Fund showing a donation of $1085.00 with the text "Thank you for making a donation! Thank you! Your gift will have an immediate impact in supporting life-saving care for trans youth and enable us to continue to fight for the rights our communities need and deserve. A receipt was sent to the following email address:"
Game Designer and yellow shirt wearer Nick Ferris at his table at the PAX Unplugged 2025 Indie Games Night Market with A Wizardologist Most Exasperated for sale, including promotional material and a set of cards laid out. He appears almost unnaturally happy, like a good thing is about to happen.
The storefront of Ashlawn Farm Coffee in Old Saybrook, CT complete with outside seating, cute little pastoral mural, and pride flag.
A glamour shot of various physical (against a white backdrop) role cards from A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated. Pictured in full are the Wizardologist (dressed in maroon and gold), the Penguin (with a copycat of the Wizardologist's hat), the Archmagicker (in her bad-ass pink/blue/yellow armor), the Prestidigidude (with his trucker hat, white tee, and hand full of Aces), the Transmutician (in their lab coat with light blue top and pink pants, beaker in one hand, flame in the other), Doughmancer (in her off-white baker garb, baguette held high), and the Abracadabbler (hot pink wizard robe and hat plus cliched magician wand). Partially in view are the Apprenticist, Chief Hexecutive Officer, Arcano-Bureaucrat, and Pack of Screaming Cats.
Stacks of cards, rules, and package envelopes for A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated with a copy of the game splayed open in front. That weird tool is something my wife gave me to make folding rules easier. She says it is called a bone press which I think sounds rad.
Sprocket, JR, and Roo from Star Trek Scouts jumping in the air and fist-pumping.
A grassy yard full of election signs for our town's Democratic Party. My name is on one of them, running for Planning & Zoning.
A bunch of printed cardstock, but it's all curvy and warpy. Card identities have been blurred to protect the innocent.
Actual printed cards for A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated, fanned out in three sets of six. On top of the stacks are Wise Lee, the Doughmancer, and the Transmutician.
Lieutenant Erica Ortegas on a rocky moon holding a piece of a Gorn board game that she's supposed to eat because she won. Also, why don't humans have any board games where the winner eats the piece??? Seriously, someone get on that.
Maracaibo board with lots of colorful spaces.
Apprenticist: Minoring in Resigned Sighs Do not reveal! (If only the Wizardologist could remember who you are...) You win if the Wizardologist chose you, in which case the Wizardologist also wins. Image: A vectory graphic of a young black woman in red-orange wizard robes holding a branch-like staff with a magical tome at her side.
Dozens of VHS tapes of Star Trek: Voyager episodes, the official Columbia House release. Mid-to-late series absolute banger episodes like Dark Frontier, Bride of Chaotica, Latent Image, Counterpoint. This was at our town's transfer station swap shed.
The draft "cover" for A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated." 3-18 players, 5 minutes, Ages 10+, by me! Shows the Wizardologist, Apprenticist, Penguin, Parsley Sage, and Speniscographer.
The five factions in the game, each with their own goals. Each player is secretly in one faction, you don't know how many of which faction are in any given game, and some goals vary depending on the number of players in the game in your faction. Continuum goal: At least 2 + (BigTeammates) chronological orderings in (Primary Timeline) Anachrons goal: "Continuum does not win AND EITHER: No Cataclysms in (Primary Timeline) OR Discoveries (if any) are in chronological order" Redactors goal: "Continuum does not win AND EITHER: No Awakenings in (Primary Timeline) OR Discoveries > Cataclysms > Awakenings" Myriadi goal: "Continuum does not win AND At least 2 + (Teammates) chronological misordersin (Primary Timeline)" Erashorn goal: "No other faction achieves its goal OR At least 3 + (Teammates) Cataclysms in (Primary Timeline)"
Father Christmas card, in his classic blue suit. "Move a card from one end of the TABLEAU to the other. Then take another action." Goals: 3 Envelopes in a row, or Envelope > Gift. Surrounded by icons like gifts and snowflakes.
The cast of Wormhole X-Treme, the parody of Stargate that exists within the Stargate universe. Two white dudes, a lady, and... I guess the fourth guy is silver? Why don't I remember this? Time for a rewatch, I guess. Oh, and they're all in ghastly grey-and-greyer fatigues and against a cheap tropical planet backdrop.
A card depicting a five-square geometric shape like a sideways W with dinosaur icons in red and blue in diagonally opposite corners.
Card setups for this untitled forging game. Three modular knife construction setups: Canister Damascus Crusader Dagger, San Mai Bowie, and a Serrated Seax. They'll be put through two tests: a shield strike, and an apple slice.
A card from MicroOrchestra depicting four musical instrument quadrants: Conductor 5, Violin 1, Contrabassoon 2, Trombone 1. I honestly don't remember what these meant, and my notes are spotty.
Cards from MicroFeis. Use some cards (bottom) to determine everyone's scoring rubric for the round, then place overlapping and rotating backsides to create colorful step routines that follow the rountine well. A solid game for just 18 cards.
Composer Bach as a white bantam chicken.
The modular board design for Orchestra, with snaking boards in lines representing different musical eras. I sure do love modular boards.
A giant board depicting a rondelle and various action spaces superimposed over a seaside town. There's also a tech tree board populated with cards and bits. To the side is a player board with various level-up tracks and a figure of an Irish dancer along with some stacks of cards and a triquetra starting player disc.
Me and Jennie, dressed for our wedding in outfits she made. I'm in a blue double-breasted overcoat with black trim and pants. She's in this gorgeous lacey gold-trim white dress with cap holding a bouquet of paper flowers.
Background: Elegant beige and gold, vintage wallpaper style Portrait: A smiling woman with dark hair, framed in a golden ornate oval Banner: Gold ribbon at the bottom with the name “Jennie” Typography: Classic serif font in black Card Text: At the start of the game, place Jennie this side up. Instead of taking a normal turn, the Jennie player may either search the deck and make any one card an attendant (shuffle the deck after) or seat an attendant as a guest in her section. Then flip this card to the reverse side.
Attraction Cards from Park Runners Card Game 1. Olde Time Fyrewerks Cost: 2 🎟️ Type: 🎠 🎇 Value: 4 💰 Ability: 🏆 Worth 1 VP per Visitor in your park. 2. Hitchhiking Hobo Railroad Cost: 1 🎟️ Type: 🚂 🏞️ Value: 4 💰 Bonus: +6 🧲 Ability: 🛠️ Take the Build Attraction action. If Attraction costs 3+, pay 1 less. 3. Prince Guillaume’s Chateau de Fun Cost: 5 🎟️ Type: 🏰 🎠 🎇 Value: 4 💰 Bonus: 3 🧲 Ability: 🌸 Gain 💰. 4. City Squirrel Rap Battle Cost: 1 🎟️ Type: 🎠 🎤 🧲 🐿️ Value: 4 💰 Bonus: 4 🧲 Ability: 🧍 Draw 1 Attraction Card per player. Keep 1. Give 1 of your choice to each player. 5. Dragoncopters Cost: 4 🎟️ Type: 🚁 🎠 🧲 Value: 2 💰 Ability: 🧍 Draw 1 Attraction Card. 6. Gutter Joe Tells Stories Cost: 2 🎟️ Type: 🎠 🧲 Value: 2 💰 Bonus: 3 🧲 Ability: 🧍 Take the Hire Worker action. 7. Koala Conversation Cost: 3 🎟️ Type: 🎠 🧲 🐨 Value: 3 💰 Bonus: 3 🧲 Ability: 🛠️ Take the Upgrade Attraction action. 8. Mausoleum of Governors Cost: 5 🎟️ Type: 🏚️ 🎠 🧲 Value: 3 💰 Bonus: 8 🧲 Ability: 🧍 Draw 4 Attraction Cards. 9. Ghostly Gallery Cost: 4 🎟️ Type: 👻 🖼️ 🎠 Value: 3 💰 Bonus: 3 🧲 Ability: 🧍 Discard any number of Attraction Cards from hand and draw an equal number of replacements.
An event card from Queenmaker: Nothing But the Reign. Invitation To A Fancy Ball The Velutians invite you to their annual Masquerade Ball. Only the hoitiest of the toitiest will be there. Make a grand, graceful entrance. (+GRA) Be the life of the party. (-LED) Majority Benefit (+GRA) Minority Benefit (-ANY)(-ROY) Event: Highest (GRA): (+ANY). Least (GRA): (-ANY).
Two game prototypes in progress in a packed house at Back Again Board Game Cafe in Middletown, Connecticut. Near: Vaduceus Dice, a dice-based version of a board game prototype about running a vet clinic. Far: Monsters of Myth, a set-collection, variable-powers game with a growing pantheon of mythological creatures, designed by our youngest member.
Rondelle board for Space Is Up! This part spins around and repositions players on the outer ring for action selection priority. Supports up to 10 players with super-fast simultaneously resolving actions.
Another from the new Trekified prototype, an LCARS layout mentor card for Lt. Cmdr. Worf with a picture of him assembled from basic shapes. In this version, you're a cadet in a training mission, and you can call upon mentors to assist. Here, Worf lets you pulverize an enemy target with strength 6+. Flavor quote: "Death to the opposition!"
Here's the published box for Robotech: Brace For Impact. One officer yells orders to the others on the bridge of the SDF-1. Very exciting and dynamic. I love it.
Original prototype card with statuses "Shields weakening!" and "We're taking hits to the Reactor system!" and command "Let's get those hull breaches sealed off!"
A status card in LCARS layout with one Shield icon that reads "We are losing dorsal shields!" This is from a newer unpublished Trekified version.
A builder player's amusement park laid out from dodecagon attractions, cut-out-corner triangle rides, and rectangular pathways. Visit "Ghostly Gallery" or "Bullet Train to Hell" (anyone get the reference?) or ride the "Death Spiral". Little visitor tokens traverse the park and visit spots.
Jean Valjean in card form. He earns you points if Marius and/or Cosette are in the SAVE pile. As a larger goal, he wants to eliminate the cards with Crown symbols. He can give cards in the pile of bodies a second chance.
A card named Chloe. It has some fruits and berries on it, and a chair, and a Star with a number 4 in it and a bigger star with a 6.
This card asks, "Is there a coffee shop directly adjacent to an office?"
A single page filled with 336 custom squares for stickering six-sided dice. Most squares contain a playing card rank (2 through Ace) and a suit (star, sword, pagoda... jade, I think?) stylized same as Tichu cards. There are extra squares for the Dog, Phoenix, Mah Jong, and Dragon. There are tiny numbers or letters in the corners of most squares. I think these are meant to indicate what the most powerful side on that particular die is, or how many Aces are on the die if there are multiple.
The Guesser card. Their mission? Guess the Secret Phrase on the first or second try; reward: one victory cube. Got it right on the first try and you can find the hidden Saboteur? That's another victory cube.
Nine grocery tiles depicting potatoes, fruits, veggies, and assorted meats at various dollar values.
If a projection map of Earth were human, this would be a drop-dead sexy human. It accurately represents area in all regions of the sphere, but it does not accurately represent angles. In this case, it's centered on 0 N 0 E, so Africa is near the middle and looks normal, and most of the other continents are spread around the outside of the circle. Australia kinda looks like a duck.