Rob Harper

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/...

Gamesters! I'm running the GAME DESIGN MASTERCLASS at Eclectic Games in Reading on Saturday 7 Nov, as part of the #BeingHuman festival and the University of Reading. It's a three-hour crash course in making and testing board games. Tickets are FREE but LIMITED www.eclecticgames.co.uk/s/being-huma...

There's a lovely review of The Game Changers up on Cards or Die. Ann is a friend & someone whose work running game events I find inspirational, but I'm actually quite annoying in real life so in a sense this is even more impressive than praise from a stranger: cardsordie.com/the-game-cha...

Dice on the Borderlands 2027 is now booked at Chepstow Castle for April 23rd-25th - back for our 4th year running. PM me if you want to play ttrpgs in a medieval Welsh castle at a small community event. Free! (£ donation only) (This year we have a second room beneath the Earl's Chamber) 🎲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏰⚔️🐲🛡🎲

"JK Rowling is already a billionaire and everyone already knows about Harry Potter, what's the point of boycotting?" Nobody thinks boycotting will bankrupt her. We know she's gonna die rich. We're just asking you to show a shred of solidarity with trans folk. Absolute low bar bare minimum shit.

@hockeyviz.com I found some beautiful data viz for you

I'm making stew for dinner and have made some suet dumplings to go into it. The recipe on the suet packet says to divide the dough into 8 balls to cook. I made double the quantity, but still 8 balls for the size of dumpling I usually make. Thinking about the implications of this makes me a bit sad.

Happy Kicked In The Head By A Horse Day, to all who celebrate. It's the 7th anniversary of this absolute banger.

UK Games Expo has banned generative AI art, text, and merchandise across all NEC exhibition halls, bringing the convention in line with broader British tabletop standards. Standholders face removal or bans if their products aren't made by humans. #UKGE

17) Oh, as an addendum: Lots of academic work is frustratingly hidden behind journal paywalls. If there's an academic article that you've found out about and want to read, but can't access, just ask the author! 99 times out of 100 we'll be delighted to send you a PDF of the piece.

1) So You're A Game Designer Who Needs Advice From a Historian? Games with historical/historically inspired settings/themes are great. Occasionally an email pops into my university inbox from someone seeking advice, feedback, consultancy, and so on. As the advice-seeker, what's the best approach?

“AI could destroy humanity, it keeps jumping from computer to computer and has escaped. The only way we can stop it is if we get another trillion dollars in investment to figure something out, because if we do the value of the company will be more than Google, Apple and Amazon combined”

So far in 2026, we raised £128.65 for @trusselluk.bsky.social, the UK food bank #charity. Thank you so much to everyone who bid on or bought a game on eBay and added to the fund. You are amazing! The auctions are still going, so please have a look and reshare: tabletopgamesblog.com/charity-auct...

Trans people are not the cause of any of your problems, and only assheads want you to believe they are.

Playtesters are the most important part of any playtesting event. I run weekly playtesting sessions which are almost exclusively attended by designers, so Playfest London is a fantastic opportunity for games to be tested by members of the public. But how do we encourage it? We make everything free.

If your Kickstarter game has AI art and an AI trailer with AI music, then there’s no way I’m going to believe the game design isn’t AI generated as well.

In 1990, an elementary school teacher won $16,500 on a game show, and used her winnings to publish a board game about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This is her story. youtu.be/r1g7C0o9Oqc

Any boardgame (current or future) friends who are in, or fancy a trip to South Wales in October? Here's a nice, chilled, play-focused convention I'll be going to. You can buy day tickets or residential self-catering. cwestcon.wordpress.com

Any boardgame (current or future) friends who are in, or fancy a trip to South Wales in October? Here's a nice, chilled, play-focused convention I'll be going to. You can buy day tickets or residential self-catering. cwestcon.wordpress.com

AI RANT Following the cancellation of three major debut book deals over AI suspicions, I decided to put my own (needless to say, 100% human-written) prose to the test. My detector of choice was Originality AI, and the results proved to be jarring, to say the least. 🧵1/5

The biggest selling comic of all time is One Piece. The second biggest is not from the US or UK. It's French. DELIGHTED to welcome @juliekalman.bsky.social onto Untitled History Pod to talk origins of Asterix the Gaul and how it made modern France. Listen below, Youtube or your pod app of choice

slow day in the office so we're starting beef with archaeologists

#TheYearInReform Look, it's very simple. Nothing to see here. Move along. Reform UK is a party - sorry - a company built around British Patriotism and being frank with the public, and it is led by straight-talking anti-elite Nigel Farage.

To those who see this and wonder if a better life is even possible. I promise you it is. And it starts with you. Step into your own light, glow as bright as you ever can, and share it widely. It might be all we have.

Last day of work before gig season aw yeah! It starts with a busy weekend with lots of driving: Friday 7th - Redeemon - Bloodstock Saturday 8th - The Dreadnoughts - Brakrock Then a 3 day mini tour around Europe with The Dreadnoughts. I fucking love tour!

I think "AI" plumpers should be happy I'm focusing mostly on the nonsense it's doing to my field, rather than how it's very clearly designed as a tool for the capture of wealth and capital by a bunch of accelerationist weirdos enthusiastically huffing their own farts from the depth of their K-holes

In this week's video I reflect on the last 5 years of being a full time game designer, how I made the decision to go full time, and the various pros and cons of that career choice! youtu.be/1G_jXgo7CKQ Thanks to @eanderssonsunden.bsky.social and @connievdc.bsky.social for inspiration :) 🎲✂️

This has really pissed me off, if you're in the area and can afford it go and give the cafe owner some money to help fund the kids meals. And if he refuses buy yourself a nice coffee and tip him as much as you can. Fuck Reform taking food from kids in need. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Excited to share the trailer for our next Kickstarter, launching in six days! youtu.be/pHlE1ONVGWE

Really like this... though I don't know why JJ made a song about my brain 😱

You put down a bowl of soft food, and moments later, there she is. As her pet dad, you just ⁠Take Cat⁠ by Gareth Edwards from ⁠Gibsons⁠ with art by Juliana Eigner. Written: tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/07/25/t... Audio: open.spotify.com/episode/5qW8... (Photo courtesy of Gibsons) #boardgames #reviews

By the power of the horse, shoe, and crab, we are HORSESHOE CRAB! danielsolis.threadless.com/designs/hors... #crab #marine #biology #weeklytshirt #horse

Whenever I get asked 'what are some of the big mistakes writers need to avoid?' my sincere answer is 'focusing on avoiding mistakes'. All my favourite books have obvious & grave flaws, but they lean into what they do well. They commit. They minmax, decide what's important & swing for the fences.

One final ping, Vasily. 🫡

I'm doing a #charity #auction for @trusselluk.bsky.social, the UK anti-poverty charity and community of food banks. The games being auctioned are free review copies that I have played a few times, and a couple of brand new copies. More here: tabletopgamesblog.com/charity-auct... Please reshare.

The morning mist hangs beneath a canopy of dark green leaves. So off you go into the Grab Bag: Jungle by Rob M Harper and Mike Harrison-Wood from Gibsons with art by Lauren Heywood-Law. Written: tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/07/11/g... Audio: open.spotify.com/episode/1DWl... #boardgames #reviews

I've been hearing about TG Jones struggling as a brand (they are the low-effort rebrand/takeover of WH Smiths high street shops), and I feel that their attitude to pricing might be a contributing factor...

Over the last few weeks, @tabletopgamesblog.com has been running a really interesting series of articles about the Spiel des Jahres awards, including their motivation and cultural context. Here's the first of the articles (also in audio format)... tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/06/09/s...

I had to check but this is genuine. What a way to trigger a by-election.

"I've resigned from parliament by mistake. Are you the farmer?"

Amused by this display at our local Lidl store: vegan sauces, one for veal and pork, and one for chicken and meatballs.

PSA from Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq, and an anthem for our age... youtu.be/dVVLPF_-Ckk?...

We make FlickFleet on a laser-cutter in Paul’s garage. And we’ve been doing so for 8 years! It’s got an average of 7.9 on BGG and is ‘Must-Play’ according to Tabletop Gaming Magazine 🎉 eurydicegames.co.uk/games/flickf...

Had a great trip to Bristol today for a @playtestuk.bsky.social meetup. Aside from playing a game about lobsters and a press-your-luck exploration game (which I really liked), we got a 4-player test of Magical Artifacts, which left me with plenty to think about and had a nice meeple stack built.

Interesting game design lens... 🎲✂️