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Rob Harper

@harperrob.bsky.social

320 followers 290 following 1.1K posts

Player and designer of board games, doer of some other things also. He/him

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · Apr 2

Woohoo! The game I co-designed with @mikeharrisonwood.bsky.social is now officially released. You can get it from the publisher's website, or a small but growing number of other places. Here we go...! 😁
gibsonsgames.co.uk/collections/...

Grab Bag Jungle

THE GAME Embark on a thrilling jungle adventure with friends and family in this immersive animal rescue game! Together, you'll race against the clock to save jungle animals by reaching into the Grab...

gibsonsgames.co.uk

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 5m

Can I have one left and one right because that's how my feet are?

Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 4h

A really cool little case study into a game design process...

Crownfell preorder: Nov 18 @weheart.games · 12h

I found a Reddit post about “common issues” with chess and if there were modern chess-like games without them... it got me thinking about #Crownfell and how it addresses them.

www.reddit.com/r/boardgames...

Allow me a short thread… 🎲✂️
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Which modern games offer a chess-level depth with no dependence on luck/hidden information, without any of the cons that exist in chess?

Chess has withstood the test of time due to its astounding depth to simplicity ratio - there's only a handful of rules, and yet the board states and strategic possibilities are near-infinite.
However, chess has a few major and unavoidable issues:

1. First-player advantage: There's no way to get around the fact that white always has the upper hand.

2. Limited opening strategies: Unless you're playing Chess960 (Fischer random), the number of optimal opening strategies are relatively small, and once you reach a certain level of skill, the start of a game is mostly down to memorising those openings.

3. Length of the game: At high levels of classical chess, moves can take very long, with the result being games that take anywhere between 2-7 hours, most of the time spent thinking.

4. Draws: The biggest issue, in my eyes - when two players are evenly matched, a large percentage of games end without a result, and on many occasions, the last hour is played with both players aware of that eventuality but unable to stop it.

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Dr. Jens Foell @jensfoell.de · 1d

The teacher should be fired. They've demonstrated that they are not competent as an educator.

Plus, using AI slop to try and make a point about conserving the environment is just adding insult to injury.

Luke Plunkett @lukeplunkett.com · 1d

kids teacher just sent this home as part of an assignment he's doing and i want to smash every computer at the school

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Reposted by Rob Harper

dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 1d

Some discussion in replies about cock-up vs conspiracy explanations.

So, fwiw, here is how I approach this as a law and policy commentator looking at law and policy messes.

And I have looked at many.

1.

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Matthew Dunstan @matthewdunstan.bsky.social · 8d

Today's video was a hard one for me to make - I wanted to talk about my experiences going through burnout in the last year or so as a game designer, and aspects of the wider tabletop industry that contribute to that.

youtu.be/D2rC_8F10R8

🎲✂️

The reality of being a full time game designer

YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan

youtu.be

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 8d

Congratulations! Of course, it does mean that the cabal diagram gets more complicated now 🤣

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Mx. Tiffany Leigh @tiffanyleigh.bsky.social · 8d

Great quote from a great long-read comic about + against AI art

Quote from Matthew Inman, writer and artist for The Oatmeal:

"In my experience, the people who are excited about AI art also happen to be some of the most talentless fucking people I've ever met."

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 9d

I played a prototype version of the first episode of this, and had fun. It's kinda like Unlock games, but with more of an adventure storyline (I gather later episodes lean even more into that), fun puzzles, and great art and presentation. If that sounds like it might tickle you, take a look.

Minty Noodles Ltd. @mintynoodles.bsky.social · 9d

Interstellar Adventures spans across three thrilling episodes, with a total run time of approximately 3 hours.

Episode 1: Into the Unknown

Episode 2: No Going Back

Episode 3: Seeing Double

Now live! Back Interstellar Adventures on Kickstarter. 🚀

www.kickstarter.com/projects/min...

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Minty Noodles Ltd. @mintynoodles.bsky.social · 9d

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Reposted by Rob Harper

🎃 Agent Pumpkin 🎃 @agentpumpkin.bsky.social · 10d

I've seen a few other people now comment on this, so I'm glad its not just me that see these two and think it's The Doctor and Companion. 😆
#doctorwho #taskmaster

Team Maisie and Reece with The Master's little minion in the background.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 10d

Wow - could be either way around too 😁

Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 10d

I finally got Dude to the table with the right group. Only four of us, but it was the right game at the right time and produced some good giggles. Very happy with this purchase.

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 11d

Looks pretty close to my process.

Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 13d

A chicken with ill-fitting shoes, presumably

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 13d

🤣

Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 13d

You're going on my list

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 14d

I'd read this as meaning that they are a bit smaller than the advertised size, so you should buy a bigger size.

Note: I am not a lawyer and this is not financial advice.

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Dan Thurot @danthurot.bsky.social · 15d

For today's article, I'm just griping about why "fun" is a bad word for critics. spacebiff.com/2025/09/30/a...

Anti-Fun

There’s one word I try to never use when writing about board games. The F-word. No, not that one. “Fun.” There it is. My critical curse word. Today I want to talk about why “fun” isn’t an especiall…

spacebiff.com

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 15d

Lucy Powell has warned that Labour should not wave through a devastating trans bathroom ban 👇

Ripping up trans rights would be a disaster for Labour, for business, for women, and for the wider LGBT+ community.

It's wrong. Labour needs to stop aping Trump and Farage, and protect our human rights.

Lucy Powell calls for MPs to vote on single sex space guidance

The Labour deputy leadership candidate calls for a debate and vote on guidance which is expected to say that trans people should be excluded from single sex spaces.

news.sky.com

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Reposted by Rob Harper

Jackson Pope // Eurydice Games @jacksonpope.bsky.social · 15d

My fourth roll and write game is now available to download and play from our website! Fill your boots!

Eurydice Games @eurydicegames.bsky.social · 15d

Want to save a planet full of people from an encroaching alien armada? Of course you do! And in Exodus from Reynoldsworld, our latest print at home roll and write game you can! eurydicegames.co.uk/games/roll-a...

Roll and Write Games - Eurydice Games

A collection of print at home sci-fi roll and write games that only need dice and pens to play. Download, print and play within minutes!

eurydicegames.co.uk

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Rob Harper @harperrob.bsky.social · 16d

One of my game projects, The Castle War, had a bit of an issue with fragility in a certain situation. I think I have a way to reduce the problem without removing the edge that I like about that part of the game... 🎲✂️