Bart de Jong
@bartgamedesign.bsky.social
Father. Primary school teacher. Game designer. Designer of Bable (2024) and L'Oaf (2025).
This weekend I'll be at Spellenspektakel, the biggest Dutch tabletop game convention. Come play a game of L'Oaf at booth 41, Hall 11!
November 7, 2025 at 7:53 PM
This weekend I'll be at Spellenspektakel, the biggest Dutch tabletop game convention. Come play a game of L'Oaf at booth 41, Hall 11!
Jason Gamber, the artist for L'oaf, just launched his new game on kickstarter. It's a game about zodiac signs but not about horoscopes. It's also a trick taker but kinda not. It's hard to explain. Anyway, just go check it out because Jason always does cool stuff.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/red...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/red...
Orbit Master
Restore and rule the Zodiac celestial orbit in this interactive card game before the 13th sign creates a black hole.
www.kickstarter.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Jason Gamber, the artist for L'oaf, just launched his new game on kickstarter. It's a game about zodiac signs but not about horoscopes. It's also a trick taker but kinda not. It's hard to explain. Anyway, just go check it out because Jason always does cool stuff.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/red...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/red...
Anyone across the pond going to Pax Unplugged this year? My Game L'Oaf will be playable at their First Look section.
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/366...
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/366...
PAX Unplugged 2025 First Look Showcase
PAX's First Look area is the "hot games" section of our event! Read on to learn about what games we're featuring this year, and how you can play them.
How Were These Games Chosen?
First Look games ar...
boardgamegeek.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Anyone across the pond going to Pax Unplugged this year? My Game L'Oaf will be playable at their First Look section.
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/366...
boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/366...
I wrote a thing (I was planning to write this before Essen, but only managed after, like a true loaf): boardgamegeek.com/thread/36030...
L'Oaf design diary | L'oaf
We put a piece of ourselves in everything we create. Sometimes on purpose, often subconsciously. It was late in the development of L'Oaf that I realized which part of myself I had baked into this desi...
boardgamegeek.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I wrote a thing (I was planning to write this before Essen, but only managed after, like a true loaf): boardgamegeek.com/thread/36030...
My top Spiel moments:
- Meeting @semicoop.bsky.social and demo'ing L'Oaf for them
- Getting interviewed by @thehungrymeeple.bsky.social for their excellent podcast about food and games
- Chatting with @petewiss.bsky.social about games, losing our voices, and the @decisionspace.bsky.social podcast
- Meeting @semicoop.bsky.social and demo'ing L'Oaf for them
- Getting interviewed by @thehungrymeeple.bsky.social for their excellent podcast about food and games
- Chatting with @petewiss.bsky.social about games, losing our voices, and the @decisionspace.bsky.social podcast
October 28, 2025 at 8:43 PM
My top Spiel moments:
- Meeting @semicoop.bsky.social and demo'ing L'Oaf for them
- Getting interviewed by @thehungrymeeple.bsky.social for their excellent podcast about food and games
- Chatting with @petewiss.bsky.social about games, losing our voices, and the @decisionspace.bsky.social podcast
- Meeting @semicoop.bsky.social and demo'ing L'Oaf for them
- Getting interviewed by @thehungrymeeple.bsky.social for their excellent podcast about food and games
- Chatting with @petewiss.bsky.social about games, losing our voices, and the @decisionspace.bsky.social podcast
Becoming a father has changed my shopping behaviour at Essen Spiel considerably. This baby boar from @lookoutgames.bsky.social was my biggest purchase.
October 27, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Becoming a father has changed my shopping behaviour at Essen Spiel considerably. This baby boar from @lookoutgames.bsky.social was my biggest purchase.
Reposted by Bart de Jong
We went to Wulfhorn Games where @bartgamedesign.bsky.social demo'ed his game L'oaf. Who knew playing a bunch of lazy bakers who do just enough work to get not get in trouble is such a good time!
We also talked briefly with @zhoekstra.bsky.social about his game Canal Houses (Foreshadowed!)
We also talked briefly with @zhoekstra.bsky.social about his game Canal Houses (Foreshadowed!)
October 26, 2025 at 8:20 AM
We went to Wulfhorn Games where @bartgamedesign.bsky.social demo'ed his game L'oaf. Who knew playing a bunch of lazy bakers who do just enough work to get not get in trouble is such a good time!
We also talked briefly with @zhoekstra.bsky.social about his game Canal Houses (Foreshadowed!)
We also talked briefly with @zhoekstra.bsky.social about his game Canal Houses (Foreshadowed!)
Finally arrived at Essen! Come say hi in Hall 3 at booth U130, if you want to see me try to explain L'Oaf while totally overwhelmed by all the noise and probably also slowly losing my voice
October 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Finally arrived at Essen! Come say hi in Hall 3 at booth U130, if you want to see me try to explain L'Oaf while totally overwhelmed by all the noise and probably also slowly losing my voice
Me reading all the Essen posts, knowing that I'll only be there Saturday and Sunday:
a little girl is laying on the ground with the words `` not jealous at all '' written above her .
Alt: a little girl is laying on the ground with the words `` not jealous at all '' written above her .
media.tenor.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Me reading all the Essen posts, knowing that I'll only be there Saturday and Sunday:
Reposted by Bart de Jong
New comic! ⏳ Ever wonder why a ‘60-minute game’ takes all evening? 😅 Based on careful observation of our last few game nights, we present our findings! What would you add (or remove) from it?
You can read this week's blog post at
semicoop.com/comic/game-time-breakdown/ #gamenight
You can read this week's blog post at
semicoop.com/comic/game-time-breakdown/ #gamenight
October 20, 2025 at 4:25 PM
New comic! ⏳ Ever wonder why a ‘60-minute game’ takes all evening? 😅 Based on careful observation of our last few game nights, we present our findings! What would you add (or remove) from it?
You can read this week's blog post at
semicoop.com/comic/game-time-breakdown/ #gamenight
You can read this week's blog post at
semicoop.com/comic/game-time-breakdown/ #gamenight
I've had the chance to play several itterations of PACT over the last few years. it was a unique experience the first time around, and it has only improved since then. So excited for the 2026 release. I highly recommend checking it out!
🎲✂️ Join me at #essenspiel for a sneak peak at a game about big politics in a tiny kingdom! Play the prototype, and give your feedback for the final release!
Booth #3U310
Thursday 10:00am - 1:30pm
Friday 1:30pm - 6:00 pm
Booth #3U310
Thursday 10:00am - 1:30pm
Friday 1:30pm - 6:00 pm
October 18, 2025 at 7:04 AM
I've had the chance to play several itterations of PACT over the last few years. it was a unique experience the first time around, and it has only improved since then. So excited for the 2026 release. I highly recommend checking it out!
I spotted L'Oaf in the wild for the first time yesterday! Always a magical moment when an idea I've worked on for years is suddenly an actual thing people can buy and play. Goblin Laundromat and Medievallons are awesome games as well, definitely worth checking out at Wulfhorn Games' Essen booth!
October 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I spotted L'Oaf in the wild for the first time yesterday! Always a magical moment when an idea I've worked on for years is suddenly an actual thing people can buy and play. Goblin Laundromat and Medievallons are awesome games as well, definitely worth checking out at Wulfhorn Games' Essen booth!
Excited that the news is finally out on Rattlesnake. I got to playtest it a couple of times with Michael during its development, it's a tense 1vs1 shootout with exceptional art by @rolandsrevenge.bsky.social. Definitely worth checking out at Essen!
📢📢 NEW BOARD GAMES IN 2026...
Threaded 🧵 a crafty worker placement game: https://bit.ly/4nOJ9iz
Rattlesnake 🤠 a riotous wild west shootout: https://bit.ly/3J8NKwH
Find out more on @boardgamegeek.com or our website blog. Get an exclusive preview at SPIEL Essen Stand 3.M600!
Threaded 🧵 a crafty worker placement game: https://bit.ly/4nOJ9iz
Rattlesnake 🤠 a riotous wild west shootout: https://bit.ly/3J8NKwH
Find out more on @boardgamegeek.com or our website blog. Get an exclusive preview at SPIEL Essen Stand 3.M600!
October 14, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Excited that the news is finally out on Rattlesnake. I got to playtest it a couple of times with Michael during its development, it's a tense 1vs1 shootout with exceptional art by @rolandsrevenge.bsky.social. Definitely worth checking out at Essen!
Reposted by Bart de Jong
New comic! Every year, we tell ourselves we're going to SPIEL just to “see friends.” Every year, our suitcase says otherwise. 😅
What board games are you most excited to check out at #SPIEL this year? 🎲
You can read this week's blog post at semicoop.com/comic/be-honest/ #boardgames
What board games are you most excited to check out at #SPIEL this year? 🎲
You can read this week's blog post at semicoop.com/comic/be-honest/ #boardgames
October 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
New comic! Every year, we tell ourselves we're going to SPIEL just to “see friends.” Every year, our suitcase says otherwise. 😅
What board games are you most excited to check out at #SPIEL this year? 🎲
You can read this week's blog post at semicoop.com/comic/be-honest/ #boardgames
What board games are you most excited to check out at #SPIEL this year? 🎲
You can read this week's blog post at semicoop.com/comic/be-honest/ #boardgames
Today I GM'ed a simplified TTRPG for my twenty 4th and 5th graders (between 7 and 9 years old). This week is the Dutch "Week of the Children's Book", and the theme is "full of adventure". So naturally I decided to design a simple adventure game we could play in class. It was an absolute blast!
October 3, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Today I GM'ed a simplified TTRPG for my twenty 4th and 5th graders (between 7 and 9 years old). This week is the Dutch "Week of the Children's Book", and the theme is "full of adventure". So naturally I decided to design a simple adventure game we could play in class. It was an absolute blast!
🎲✂️ Exactly five years ago, I playtested a very first version of what was going to be Soap Box Race. This might be the longest I've worked on one design, though much of that time I spent going around in circles because I was a novice designer. What's the design you've been working on longest?
October 3, 2025 at 1:37 PM
🎲✂️ Exactly five years ago, I playtested a very first version of what was going to be Soap Box Race. This might be the longest I've worked on one design, though much of that time I spent going around in circles because I was a novice designer. What's the design you've been working on longest?
The publisher received the first copies of L'Oaf today, and it's getting very real now. I can't wait for the release at Essen, but at the same time my impostor syndrome is acting up like crazy. Its telling me all these nice things like 'what if people will hate it?',
September 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
The publisher received the first copies of L'Oaf today, and it's getting very real now. I can't wait for the release at Essen, but at the same time my impostor syndrome is acting up like crazy. Its telling me all these nice things like 'what if people will hate it?',
🎲✂️ So I decided to join this years Hippodice competition with my design Soap Box Race. It's a game that tries to capture the childhood excitement and imagination of building the awesomest soap box car and racing it down a hill (and probably crashing it in the process)
September 22, 2025 at 1:10 PM
🎲✂️ So I decided to join this years Hippodice competition with my design Soap Box Race. It's a game that tries to capture the childhood excitement and imagination of building the awesomest soap box car and racing it down a hill (and probably crashing it in the process)
The most liberating part of my ADHD diagnosis was realising that I didn't have to listen to all the 'good advice' that wasn't working for me. I can have my own way to do things, and if people comment on it I can just say "my brain is weird and this is what works for it so sod off."
I've thought for a while now that a lot of the writing advice I heard for decades - & still hear - is not just non applicable for ADHD/autistic people but ruinously destructive. I'm still working on undoing the damage it's done to my own sense of self as a writer, especially the productivity 'tips'
September 13, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The most liberating part of my ADHD diagnosis was realising that I didn't have to listen to all the 'good advice' that wasn't working for me. I can have my own way to do things, and if people comment on it I can just say "my brain is weird and this is what works for it so sod off."
Reposted by Bart de Jong
The level design in Silksong is terrible: platforms too high to reach, inaccessible levers behind closed doors, resources hidden in corners where the casual player could easily miss them. Incredibly sloppy stuff
September 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
The level design in Silksong is terrible: platforms too high to reach, inaccessible levers behind closed doors, resources hidden in corners where the casual player could easily miss them. Incredibly sloppy stuff
Reposted by Bart de Jong
For what it's worth, a tabletop writer who talks about game components or mechanics or strategy is engaging just as deeply with the game as someone who writes about theme or history or uses a game as a jumping off point for a personal essay. Tactility *is* the game. Colour is the game. Sound. Smell.
August 28, 2025 at 6:11 PM
For what it's worth, a tabletop writer who talks about game components or mechanics or strategy is engaging just as deeply with the game as someone who writes about theme or history or uses a game as a jumping off point for a personal essay. Tactility *is* the game. Colour is the game. Sound. Smell.
I talked a bit with Keith about how I use board games in my classroom. So interesting to read how educators in different fields and at different levels of education use games as a teaching tool!
for @endlessmode.bsky.social I spoke to a number of educators about how and why they're using off-the-shelf board games in the classroom, and what games they've used successfully with students from primary school to college: www.endlessmode.com/article/how-...
How Board Games Are Used in the Classroom
There's a long history of educational games, but how are board games used in the classroom today? We talk to eight educators to find out.
www.endlessmode.com
August 27, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I talked a bit with Keith about how I use board games in my classroom. So interesting to read how educators in different fields and at different levels of education use games as a teaching tool!
Toilet thought: making art is quite like going to the toilet. Sometimes you're pushing hard and very little comes out, other times you sit down and it just starts flowing effortlessly. Regardless of how it went though, when you look at what you produced, it's all shit
August 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Toilet thought: making art is quite like going to the toilet. Sometimes you're pushing hard and very little comes out, other times you sit down and it just starts flowing effortlessly. Regardless of how it went though, when you look at what you produced, it's all shit
Random 🎲 thought: sports, just like board games, can be divided into abstracts and thematics. Tennis is an abstract, while fencing is thematic.
August 19, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Random 🎲 thought: sports, just like board games, can be divided into abstracts and thematics. Tennis is an abstract, while fencing is thematic.
🎲✂️ Question: What are lessons you've learned to keep a healthy work ethic? I'm working on a game about sentient robots with ADD, who struggle with the work they have to do. Their goal is to achieve a healthy work ethic through new insights. interested in all answers, not just for dealing with ADD.
August 13, 2025 at 7:19 AM
🎲✂️ Question: What are lessons you've learned to keep a healthy work ethic? I'm working on a game about sentient robots with ADD, who struggle with the work they have to do. Their goal is to achieve a healthy work ethic through new insights. interested in all answers, not just for dealing with ADD.