Brooks Barber

@rollplusfun.bsky.social

898 Followers 528 Following

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. https://www.hawkanddovegames.com/

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Three giant tubs of holiday popcorns
A smattering of papers on a computer on a table. The papers have 3x3 grids of cards for a board game prototype.
A small gnome statue, with an acorn hat and a small wooden staff
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.
Close up photo of a Mai tai
Word cloud with a bunch of my most used words in Bluesky posts. Game is real big in the middle.
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.
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.”
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.
Stefan Feld’s Marrakesh
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…”
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.
A shot of the game Cascadia about four turns in.
A child’s art project. A smattering of paint smears, rhinestones, sparkles, and other fun shapes glued all over it.
Triptych prototype in a potential end game state, with a triptych of an umbrella formed across the middle of a grid of 3x3 cards.
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. :)
A papier-mâché volcano painted to look super cool
A table covered in paper with a papier-mâché volcano resting in the middle. Some paints, brushes, and containers in the background.
Screenshot of a boardgame prototype for Painkillers, a game about the American opioid epidemic.
Two board games on a desk: Striking Flint by John DuBois and [City of Six Moons] discovered by Amabel Holland.
4x4 grid of cards for Spindletop, showing a sample of the actions and regions in the game.
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.
Picture of a living room with Christmas decorations - tree, garland, dog sleeping on couch, bar in background.
Cover of the board game Operation Barclay
A table set for a party with a variety of snacks and decor, mostly themed around unicorns.
A hex grid laid over a map of the Middle East, with various colors and lines drawn on it by a young child.
Two board games standing up next to one another. String Railway on the left and My Favorite Things on the right.
Two board games next to one another, Churchill on the right and Red Dust Rebellion on the left.
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.
Scene from Double Dragon on NES.
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.
Screenshot of Weird Al Yankovic’s Wikipedia page. It shows he was born in Downey, CA but his origin is Lynwood, CA.
Game board for prototype of Spindletop. A map of Texas made up of smaller, tessellated "Texasgons", surrounded by a scoring track with associated income.
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.
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.
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 shot of Tang Gardens at end of game. Plastic and wooden bridges and pavilions with small people on them gazing at the cardboard horizon.
Front covers of games Knarr, Morí, and Rebel Princess
Screenshot of Spindletop in Screentop.gg. 4 player areas arranged around a large map of Texas, made of smaller Texagons.
Movie poster for Saturday the 14th Strikes Back
A move poster for the 1981 horror comedy movie Saturday the 14th.
AOL 3.5 inch diskette for america online services
Overhead view of Schotten Totten card game. A tableau of cards in different runs and sets, used to claim central tiles.
No face from Spirited Away
Movie poster from Double Trouble (1992) - beefed up muscle twins back to back, holding guns and looking coyly at each other. The one on the left is wearing acid-washed jeans and a cutoff Oakland Raiders sweatshirt. The one on the right is wearing an ill-fitting black suit. Both have terrible mullets.
An array of six small water guns on a counter, with a small child’s hand reaching for one of them.
Characters from the tv show Dinosaurs, which somehow ran for 4 seasons in the early 90s.