James Buckley
@jsbuckley.bsky.social
Founder of Sapper Studio - a tabletop game design and development studio. https://www.sapperstudio.com/
Interested in all things wargamey - both professional and hobby fields.
Interested in all things wargamey - both professional and hobby fields.
The shelf of opportunity, new year's day, 2026. How many will be added, how many removed, this year 🤔
January 1, 2026 at 7:28 PM
The shelf of opportunity, new year's day, 2026. How many will be added, how many removed, this year 🤔
The game finishes and the USMC has achieved an overwhelming victory with 18pts. I rolled amazingly well throughout.
This is a good solo system that I would like to adapt for a game on the liberation of Brittany in 1944. One day...
Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth by @nevawargames.bsky.social
This is a good solo system that I would like to adapt for a game on the liberation of Brittany in 1944. One day...
Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth by @nevawargames.bsky.social
January 1, 2026 at 7:13 PM
The game finishes and the USMC has achieved an overwhelming victory with 18pts. I rolled amazingly well throughout.
This is a good solo system that I would like to adapt for a game on the liberation of Brittany in 1944. One day...
Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth by @nevawargames.bsky.social
This is a good solo system that I would like to adapt for a game on the liberation of Brittany in 1944. One day...
Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth by @nevawargames.bsky.social
End of turn 1 of Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth by @nevawargames.bsky.social
The Marines seem to be making good progress, but as half the force separates off to try to take Mt Suribashi, things will get much harder me thinks. I'm having to make lots of little decisions, which I like. & great production 👏👏
The Marines seem to be making good progress, but as half the force separates off to try to take Mt Suribashi, things will get much harder me thinks. I'm having to make lots of little decisions, which I like. & great production 👏👏
December 30, 2025 at 8:16 PM
End of turn 1 of Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth by @nevawargames.bsky.social
The Marines seem to be making good progress, but as half the force separates off to try to take Mt Suribashi, things will get much harder me thinks. I'm having to make lots of little decisions, which I like. & great production 👏👏
The Marines seem to be making good progress, but as half the force separates off to try to take Mt Suribashi, things will get much harder me thinks. I'm having to make lots of little decisions, which I like. & great production 👏👏
Lots planned for Sapper Studio in 2026, including a modern naval war game by Nick, again, like Battlegroup Clash, based on a successful professional wargame.
Happy Christmas everyone! Here's a teaser for a potential future project with @sapperstudio.bsky.social - a more playable spinoff of my analytical naval wargame A Balanced Fleet.
Still a great deal of development and testing to do in the new year but the core is taking shape!
Still a great deal of development and testing to do in the new year but the core is taking shape!
December 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Lots planned for Sapper Studio in 2026, including a modern naval war game by Nick, again, like Battlegroup Clash, based on a successful professional wargame.
Really, don't delay, tickets going hotter than an Oasis concert. Just 65 remaining from the 225 that went on sale at 10 this morning.
Tickets are now on sale for PunchedCON2026. It will be from 1st to 3rd May 2026, in Coventry UK. Now in its fifth year, this is the UK's premier board wargaming con - 225 attendees over three days. Come along and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
punchedcon.com
punchedcon.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Really, don't delay, tickets going hotter than an Oasis concert. Just 65 remaining from the 225 that went on sale at 10 this morning.
Tickets are now on sale for PunchedCON2026. It will be from 1st to 3rd May 2026, in Coventry UK. Now in its fifth year, this is the UK's premier board wargaming con - 225 attendees over three days. Come along and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
punchedcon.com
punchedcon.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Tickets are now on sale for PunchedCON2026. It will be from 1st to 3rd May 2026, in Coventry UK. Now in its fifth year, this is the UK's premier board wargaming con - 225 attendees over three days. Come along and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
punchedcon.com
punchedcon.com
Hey @gmtgames.bsky.social. I just discovered this amazing set of playlists for your games by @templetonblair.bsky.social. There's a playlist for each British Way game & even every decade covered in Cross Bronx Expressway. Worth a mention in the newsletter maybe?
open.spotify.com/user/1167648...
open.spotify.com/user/1167648...
December 10, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Hey @gmtgames.bsky.social. I just discovered this amazing set of playlists for your games by @templetonblair.bsky.social. There's a playlist for each British Way game & even every decade covered in Cross Bronx Expressway. Worth a mention in the newsletter maybe?
open.spotify.com/user/1167648...
open.spotify.com/user/1167648...
I guess I was really into a French chanteuse this year 😅
December 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
I guess I was really into a French chanteuse this year 😅
Another game from the shelf of opportunity set up and ready to go. Anyone played it?
December 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Another game from the shelf of opportunity set up and ready to go. Anyone played it?
I just backed The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast 2025 on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/sec...
The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast 2025
The Cabal is bustin' loose with more of what you're lookin for - weekly tabletop gaming podcasts and other irreverent tomfoolery!
www.kickstarter.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:07 PM
I just backed The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast 2025 on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/sec...
Reposted by James Buckley
👀New project sneak-peak-arama👀
Who would you ally with?
Who would you ally with?
November 20, 2025 at 3:01 PM
👀New project sneak-peak-arama👀
Who would you ally with?
Who would you ally with?
I wonder which multi-domain campaign Sapper Studio will be examining in a future game release 🤫
November 20, 2025 at 8:32 AM
I wonder which multi-domain campaign Sapper Studio will be examining in a future game release 🤫
My Napoleonic gaming 'moment' is in full swing. Today'game: Reves de Gloire, a solitaire game recently published in Strategy & Tactics. Rules need interpretation but otherwise it's pretty good on the emergent narrative front, particularly if you know a bit about the period.
November 16, 2025 at 1:48 PM
My Napoleonic gaming 'moment' is in full swing. Today'game: Reves de Gloire, a solitaire game recently published in Strategy & Tactics. Rules need interpretation but otherwise it's pretty good on the emergent narrative front, particularly if you know a bit about the period.
Reposted by James Buckley
Snap sale!
Following Devil Pig Games' closure we have obtained the remaining stock of their Heroes of Normandie games & expansions.
You can buy the stock individually or bundled at EXTREMELY low prices from this dedicated website en.dpg-final.com
Don't miss out! Hours of heroic gaming await you!🪖🪖🪖
Following Devil Pig Games' closure we have obtained the remaining stock of their Heroes of Normandie games & expansions.
You can buy the stock individually or bundled at EXTREMELY low prices from this dedicated website en.dpg-final.com
Don't miss out! Hours of heroic gaming await you!🪖🪖🪖
November 12, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Snap sale!
Following Devil Pig Games' closure we have obtained the remaining stock of their Heroes of Normandie games & expansions.
You can buy the stock individually or bundled at EXTREMELY low prices from this dedicated website en.dpg-final.com
Don't miss out! Hours of heroic gaming await you!🪖🪖🪖
Following Devil Pig Games' closure we have obtained the remaining stock of their Heroes of Normandie games & expansions.
You can buy the stock individually or bundled at EXTREMELY low prices from this dedicated website en.dpg-final.com
Don't miss out! Hours of heroic gaming await you!🪖🪖🪖
In early 2023 @fredserval.bsky.social made a game we could give away at PunchedCON. I enjoyed the game, and @domhnallh.bsky.social art so much, I convinced @phalanxgames.bsky.social to publish it. And here it is. Excellent production by PHALANX as always. Can't wait to play it again!
November 3, 2025 at 12:45 PM
In early 2023 @fredserval.bsky.social made a game we could give away at PunchedCON. I enjoyed the game, and @domhnallh.bsky.social art so much, I convinced @phalanxgames.bsky.social to publish it. And here it is. Excellent production by PHALANX as always. Can't wait to play it again!
Reposted by James Buckley
October 2025 Monthly Update! Get all the details here.
https://nevawargames.com/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
¡Actualización de octubre de 2025! Obtén todos los detalles aquí.
https://nevawargames.com/es/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
https://nevawargames.com/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
¡Actualización de octubre de 2025! Obtén todos los detalles aquí.
https://nevawargames.com/es/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
October 2025 Monthly Update! Get all the details here.
https://nevawargames.com/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
¡Actualización de octubre de 2025! Obtén todos los detalles aquí.
https://nevawargames.com/es/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
https://nevawargames.com/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
¡Actualización de octubre de 2025! Obtén todos los detalles aquí.
https://nevawargames.com/es/2025/10/29/october-2025-monthly-update/
Battlegroup Clash: Baltics can be used to model new tactical doctrines, as highlighted here. As discussed @leebwood.bsky.social
RUSI just released an excellent paper on ‘Emergent Approaches to Combined Arms Manoeuvre in Ukraine’. I wanted to test if Battlegroup Clash: Baltics could model the new approach. The answer was a conditional yes. Read about it here: www.sapperstudio.com/post/testing...
October 27, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Battlegroup Clash: Baltics can be used to model new tactical doctrines, as highlighted here. As discussed @leebwood.bsky.social
Reposted by James Buckley
Essen Spiel begins! The Nuts! Publishing space is set up, and the team are all set to go.
On the agenda: The Council (Mini Rogue), Spell, Rolling Seas, Guerre Éclair, and Diluvium.
Please pop by to say hi if you are going. 👉Booth 3U210.
On the agenda: The Council (Mini Rogue), Spell, Rolling Seas, Guerre Éclair, and Diluvium.
Please pop by to say hi if you are going. 👉Booth 3U210.
October 23, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Essen Spiel begins! The Nuts! Publishing space is set up, and the team are all set to go.
On the agenda: The Council (Mini Rogue), Spell, Rolling Seas, Guerre Éclair, and Diluvium.
Please pop by to say hi if you are going. 👉Booth 3U210.
On the agenda: The Council (Mini Rogue), Spell, Rolling Seas, Guerre Éclair, and Diluvium.
Please pop by to say hi if you are going. 👉Booth 3U210.
Bell of Treason by @gmtgames.bsky.social at CzechConSimCon. It's less expansive, there's less 'to do', than Red Flag Over Paris. It's more set piece. But that's not a criticism. Rather you feel the pressure placed on the president, and the whim and nefarious impact of outside powers. Very tight.
October 17, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Bell of Treason by @gmtgames.bsky.social at CzechConSimCon. It's less expansive, there's less 'to do', than Red Flag Over Paris. It's more set piece. But that's not a criticism. Rather you feel the pressure placed on the president, and the whim and nefarious impact of outside powers. Very tight.
I've agreed with Avalon Digital to design a new digital wargame for them with the working title of Estonia 2028. It will use their SGS system, and I'm going to go big on multi domain effects.
In the meantime I can recommend another SGS game I've been enjoying: Winter War share.google/bR5dazTVXGMk...
In the meantime I can recommend another SGS game I've been enjoying: Winter War share.google/bR5dazTVXGMk...
SGS Winter War on Steam
Winter War is the story of the Soviet onslaught on tiny Finland from November 1939 to March 1940, at the beginning of WW2. Can the Finns hold beyond the reasonable and receive the long awaited Allied ...
share.google
October 15, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I've agreed with Avalon Digital to design a new digital wargame for them with the working title of Estonia 2028. It will use their SGS system, and I'm going to go big on multi domain effects.
In the meantime I can recommend another SGS game I've been enjoying: Winter War share.google/bR5dazTVXGMk...
In the meantime I can recommend another SGS game I've been enjoying: Winter War share.google/bR5dazTVXGMk...
Enthused by Andor I now want to buy a Star Wars RPG to add to my collection of RPGs that I'll never play 😅
What do people recommend?!
What do people recommend?!
peter griffin is wearing headphones and holding a cup of coffee while sitting in front of a record player
ALT: peter griffin is wearing headphones and holding a cup of coffee while sitting in front of a record player
media.tenor.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Enthused by Andor I now want to buy a Star Wars RPG to add to my collection of RPGs that I'll never play 😅
What do people recommend?!
What do people recommend?!
Take a bow @domhnallh.bsky.social 👏
The Rococo of Unhappy King Charles
The exuberant beauty of the design for Unhappy King Charles is an aesthetic triumph
UKC succeeds brilliantly as a marriage of game design and artistry that is rare in the world of boardgaming. Frankly, I am at a loss to think of any peers
wp.me/pae4WL-cSV
The exuberant beauty of the design for Unhappy King Charles is an aesthetic triumph
UKC succeeds brilliantly as a marriage of game design and artistry that is rare in the world of boardgaming. Frankly, I am at a loss to think of any peers
wp.me/pae4WL-cSV
October 10, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Take a bow @domhnallh.bsky.social 👏
I'm trying to see if/how I can use an LLM to reduce time lost on mundane aspects of development. Today, I'm looking for a quicker way to create and upload prototype counters for TTS mods. I've tried using Claude but it's failed. Is there an LLM which is particularly good at visual stuff like this?
October 8, 2025 at 9:36 AM
I'm trying to see if/how I can use an LLM to reduce time lost on mundane aspects of development. Today, I'm looking for a quicker way to create and upload prototype counters for TTS mods. I've tried using Claude but it's failed. Is there an LLM which is particularly good at visual stuff like this?
Reposted by James Buckley
Heading to Essen SPIEL later this month? Come to booth 3U210 to demo some of our new games:
* The Council (Mini Rogue)
* Spell
* Rolling Seas
* Guerre Éclair
* Diluvium
We'll also be running demos of Paolo Mori's acclaimed new game - Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
So pop by and say hi!
* The Council (Mini Rogue)
* Spell
* Rolling Seas
* Guerre Éclair
* Diluvium
We'll also be running demos of Paolo Mori's acclaimed new game - Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
So pop by and say hi!
October 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Heading to Essen SPIEL later this month? Come to booth 3U210 to demo some of our new games:
* The Council (Mini Rogue)
* Spell
* Rolling Seas
* Guerre Éclair
* Diluvium
We'll also be running demos of Paolo Mori's acclaimed new game - Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
So pop by and say hi!
* The Council (Mini Rogue)
* Spell
* Rolling Seas
* Guerre Éclair
* Diluvium
We'll also be running demos of Paolo Mori's acclaimed new game - Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.
So pop by and say hi!
Check it out!!
New video is up about Battlegroup Clash: Baltics where I chat and play with designer @jsbuckley.bsky.social - a very interesting professional/hobby hybrid wargame currently on pre-order (poke @etagereslivres.bsky.social et @abrgll.bsky.social - petite ref à Duel Tactique)
youtu.be/Ox1Lj9tRR2A
youtu.be/Ox1Lj9tRR2A
Battlegroup Clash Baltics - Interview and Game Preview with designer James Buckley
YouTube video by Homo Ludens
youtu.be
October 4, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Check it out!!