Sam Francis (Samphire Games)

@tzartzam.bsky.social

526 Followers 965 Following

Editor, father, feminist, writer, capoeira, boardgame designer (Samphire Games: Dwarf Union, Poll & Write) (he/him). I believe in letting people flourish. Bristol, UK. https://linktr.ee/samphiregames

Wikipedia page for Andy Burnham which shows his middle name is Murray
Word Dungeon daily challenge solution
Dwarf Union suits icons (stylised in a rough rune shape, crown, axe, diamond, beard)
Kickstarter arrival: Neon 80s style box cover of Last Week of Summer by Shawn Holt, Allies or Enemies
Arctangent 2026 festival lineup poster Sikth, Cardiacs, Svalbard, Chelsea Wolfe, Igorrr Alcest, Maruja, Agent Fresco, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, primus, perturbator, napalm death, arcane roots, cult of Luna. Julie Christmas, eivør, high on fire, oathreaker, Jamie Lenman, TTNG
A circular black token along with 5 hexagonal worker pieces, on a map of octagonal spaces (the location name Master Forge is obscured, but the other locations include Picket, Workshop and Mint)
two cards ('Pensions' and 'Pension Restructuring') with axe icons aligned (crowns on one card and beards on the other are also highlighted but aren't matched by a highlighted icon on the other card).
A rough prototype of Dwarf Union. Six octagonal mine tiles are laid out in a pyramid
Cards laid on a table with four suit symbols on their left-hand sides, which when played from opposing sides match up. The highlighted suits that match on either side represent agreement between the owner and the union and each side gets their respective benefits.
Dwarf Union 4-player prototype set-up
BG Stats 25 May 2026 - 31 May 2026 Plays: 17 H-index: 1 Games: 17 New: 13 Players: 16 Locations: 2 Boutique Rivals Butt Radio Cabanga! Daytime Minutes Escape the Dark Sector: The Collector's Box Hanabi Harvest I am the chump The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Trick-Taking Game 20 designers: Mike Petchey: 11% Alex Crispin: 5% Alex Hague: 5% Antoine Bauza: 5% Bryan Bornmueller: 5%.
One for Sorrow, solo card game, won with all magpie cards in order 1-13
My bearded face
4 factions set up for Dwarf Union. The union faction is in the foreground
Pax Pamir pieces next to fairly abstract dwarf worker pieces. They replace dice which I had been using as workers – these are more satisfying to increment!
Octagon mine tiles in my dwarf game
Councillor tokens from my dwarf game with stickers being attached with runes (suits) on.
Villagers with Joe and Jake
Playtesting Hall B demo zone Sunday 10:30am to 1:30pm
5 minions swarm the Palace Square where the radical has just attempted Propaganda of the Deed.
Dining Hall in Dwarf Union with 9 unionised workers represented by dice.
Dwarven Union, Magical Athlete, Cursed Words, FUSE, Get the Vote Out, Lortyforty, Mino Dice (aka Mythical Dice), Molly House, Neighbour Hoodies
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: The Trick-taking game
People also ask Is Wolverhampton a nice place to live? Why is Wolverhampton called a Black Country? Does Wolverhampton come under Birmingham? What is Wolverhampton most famous for? Where to avoid at night in Wolverhampton? Is Wolverhampton a white area? What is a person from Wolverhampton called? How many Muslims live in Wolverhampton? Which UK city is the most ethnically diverse? Where is the Black County in England? What's the difference between Birmingham and Black Country? What city in the UK has the most black people? Which UK city has the least white population?
Poll & Write 2024 about the UK general election. 7 detailed player sheets!
Radical (black and red die) making a speech on the picket line. 2 unionised workers and one unionised (blue) look on. "Dwarves of the Undervault, cast of your chains!"
Red dice in the Dining Hall, representing unionised workers. This is the "idle" space for workers. The die values represent the age/skill of the workers and are linked to what wages they earn.
Four-player setup for Dwarf Union - owner, union, radical, Thane
Spreadsheet of components for the dwarven politics game
Screenshot of someone's AI generated image with gobbledegook text. Interesting that it puts (c) 2015 Phexation first
Player board for Dwarf Union Journal faction (print and edit actions are visible)
The 2 of Rings set aside as a lost card
State of the parties before Jenrick's exile. Conservatives have 119 (2nd), Lib Dems 72.
Pan Book of Card Games by Hubert Phillips open(ish) on the Black Maria chapter
Amplifier from Rock Hard showing the cut-out of the dual layer is being used as punchboard for the tokens. Also my youngest is punching out some of it in the background 😍
BG Stats 2025 Plays: 121 H-index: 5 Games: 70 New: 38 Players: 73 Locations: 22 Hanabi: 8 Mino Dice: 6 Sea Salt & Paper: 6 Emberleaf: 5 Sprawlopolis: 5 Dwarven Union: 4 Eternal Decks: 4 Pax Pamir: Second Edition: 4 Wendybuxxx: 4 91 designers: Reiner Knizia: 5% Cole Wehrle: 2% Michael Kiesling: 2% Abe Nathanson: 1% Akihisa Okui: 1%.
My grandad Douglas Francis served in World War 2. Injured and rescued from Dunkirk. Completely shattered by his experience. (Caption from my sister)
Propaganda of the Deed card. Place Radical at the Palace Square. Draw tokens to attempt assassination.
Sam in Gojira t-shirt looking at the Emberleaf boardgame
Election results for East Wiltshire at 2024 General Election. Conservatives (Danny Kruger) are first with 35.7%, then Labour, Lib Dems (combined 43%), then Reform with 17%.
Land and Freedom boardgame by Alex Knight
Shot of the owl, rat, rabbit and frog meeples on the Emberleaf board
Mine with a full pocket line above it (dice represent workers, red tokens represent fires)
Sign on a trans flag background showing Obi Wan Kenobi saying "only a Sith deals in absolutes"
Poll & Write Türkiye New single player game Arrest the opposition Suppress protests The 2028 presidential election
Poll & Write Russia New single-player game Navalny's Russia is the Future [party] rolls a single die :( Murder your opponents! The 2024 presidential election
Poll & Write USA 2028?! Rewrite the rules as you go Feeling fascistic? Delay the game for a national emergency Flip the table if you lose The 2028 presidential election
Cost of living marker showing 4 levels which correspond to wage levels. Higher ones reduce demand and give points, lowest level adds "grumbles" (now "solidarity")
Eternal Decks
"It would be impossible for me, for instance, to debate the rights and wrongs of the Barcelona fighting with a Communist Party member... there can be no argument; the necessary minimum of agreement cannot be reached"
Playtest UK coming to Bristol Friday 21st February 2025 Left-handed Giant Brewpub BS1 6EU 12:00-17:00
Shot of Eternal Decks in play. Black cloth "board" with bold contrasting cards.
Bridge over the M32 motorway with a US flag hanging upside down. This is one of the main road arteries into Bristol on a Monday morning.
Part of a map for Poll & Write USA showing Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and the "to win" track. Design is intended for two players playing on opposite sides, hence the rotation of some elements.
A stack of hexagonal seaside tokens in High Tide
Latest crop of followers all called "alexxx"
Dwarven Union prototype boards with cards and tokens
I am standing in a Gojira t-shirt looking up at a pile of boardgames much taller than me
Molly House form Wehrlegig all set up, with designer Jo Kelly
The word 'colour' is spelt 'color' "They're eating the pets?!" Change a die color (only affects you) Typo 'effects' will be corrected!