George Barker
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scruffylooking.bsky.social
George Barker
@scruffylooking.bsky.social
57 followers 220 following 68 posts
Marketing @ Osprey Games

Freelance Games Writer with words for Tabletop Gaming Mag and Dicebreaker.

Editor, Bits & Pieces

He/Him

Opinions my own.
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scruffylooking.bsky.social
On lock, no question:
Twilight Imperium
Inis

Then in no particular order and subject to change:
Undaunted
Coup
Two Rooms & a Boom
War Chest
Ahoy
Tigris & Euphrates
A Game of Thrones
Memoir '44: Overlord
prozdishere.bsky.social SungWon Cho @prozdishere.bsky.social · 2d
board game enthusiasts of bluesky, what are your top 10 board games of all time
November 15, 2025 at 6:56 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Picked up a booster pack of Legion cards from the good folks at @atomicmassgames.bsky.social to add to the prize pool of my local community's next tournament.

Filmed this for the group's discord.

Reckon I'm ready to become one of those full time magic/pokemon unwrappers.
October 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
The size of Meeps' teeth is alarming but it's important not to show fear when they're close.
Man doing awkward pose next to large cat mascot thing.
October 23, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Reposted by George Barker
darrencullen.bsky.social
Did a new one
Government style ad in watercolour. Image of a burglar stealing a painting from the wall of a home. Tagline: "It's not theft... if you say you're using it to train your AI algorithm". Body text: "Theft is now legal, so we can boost the economy by eliminating jobs. If that doesn't make any sense, ask a chatbot to explain it to you." HM government logo in the corner.
August 7, 2025 at 6:46 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 6:41 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Rebels coming out as back to back Hoth champs in games this weekend after a game of Battle of Hoth followed by Rebellion.
Star Wars Rebellion board game laid out, mid game on the table. A big galactic map board covered with small plastic figures and space ships.
October 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
One fresh faced farmboy ready fight the Empire.

The detail on the new @atomicmassgames.bsky.social models for #StarWarsLegion is so good.

Even painting the eyes is a treat the way they're sculpted.
Painted miniature of Luke Skywalker holding a pistol and lightsaber while posing on a rock in a fly jacket.
October 10, 2025 at 12:48 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Watched Three Days of the Condor and now joining the long line of people convinced they need a pea coat.
October 5, 2025 at 8:48 AM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Padawan Ahsoka ready to lead some Clones in #StarWarsLegion.

Two Ahsokas down and another still to paint!
Photo - Padawan Ahsoka Tano charges forward ahead of Anakin and Rex (Three Painted Miniatures for Star Wars Legion) Photo - Padawan Ahsoka in focus, Older Ahsoka in the background (Painted Star Wars Legion Miniatures)
October 4, 2025 at 2:17 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Sorry to post HOLE on main, but I picked up this gem in the Steam sale and it's been a treat to play the last few evenings. Even liked it enough to get me writing again.

bitsandpieces.games/2025/10/04/y...
You Should Play HOLE
It was made for me! – Hole Video Game Review
bitsandpieces.games
October 4, 2025 at 10:05 AM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Tostig the Dormouse scout, joins the Silver Claws.

#BurrowsAndBadgers
September 28, 2025 at 9:35 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Playing with miniatures at work is serious business.
ospreygames.bsky.social 🎲 Osprey Games ➡️ Dragonmeet Tables E3&4 @ospreygames.bsky.social · Sep 25
🧟 ACROSS BRITAIN THE DEAD ARE RISING

💀 THE SILVER BAYONET: BRITAIN: BONES OF ALBION

📜 OUT NOW : bit.ly/4g9lHJF
September 25, 2025 at 10:05 AM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
It's a good haul
A bag of conkers
September 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
My perfect d6 table of potential Octopus names.
ospreygames.bsky.social 🎲 Osprey Games ➡️ Dragonmeet Tables E3&4 @ospreygames.bsky.social · Sep 15
▶️▶️ Learn all about character creation for our new anthro sci-fi RPG Untamed Worlds - out this week - in the author Jack Norris's design diary on our website blog: bit.ly/46JN2Ov
September 16, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by George Barker
ospreygames.bsky.social
▶️▶️ Learn all about character creation for our new anthro sci-fi RPG Untamed Worlds - out this week - in the author Jack Norris's design diary on our website blog: bit.ly/46JN2Ov
September 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
This mushroom is still wearing the rubble of the tarmac it punched its way through overnight. 🍄 💪
September 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by George Barker
ironcircuscomics.bsky.social
Happy Labor Day!

Today we're bringing you The First Union, as told by HBomberguy (@hbomberguy.bsky.social) and illustrated by Skutch (@skutchdraws.bsky.social) It's the dawn of the industrial revolution, and of the way many of us work...

Have you ever heard of the term "Luddite" from an elder?
Stanhill, Lancashire, 1764. Wear and carpenter James Hargreaves invents the Spinning Jenny, the first practical spinning-frame, to make the tedious task of producing cloth a little bit faster. He doesn't know it yet, but this will destroy the world. Spurred by inventions like his, the industrial revolution will transform everything -- work power, the wealth of nations. Society as we know it began here, and it wasn't great for everyone. But a group of weavers and textile workers saw this future coming. And did their best to prevent it. "Curse you spinning jenny, you ruined everything!" The standard narrative does that LUDDITES were foolish lunatics who, in fear of technology, decided progress was bad, and started hitting it with sticks. But the truth is entire ways of life were being destroyed. Previously, skilled craftsmen were respected for the time and effort it took to do their work. The entire family usit would form a cottage industry - creating something valuable, and command a decent living. But when a machine can work 10 times faster its owner can charge less for the prodcts- craftsmen couldn't compete and were left out of work almost overnight. And as factories became a fixture of the british landscape, these now unemployed labourers often ended up working the factories that had just destroyed their way of life. Britain was the most prosperous nation in history, factory owners became extremely wealthy and influential. But the people doing the actual work saw almost none of it. Factory work paid little, since "the machines" did "the real work" human labourers were deemed unimportant and replaceable. FUN FACT!: Factory owners preferred to hire ORPHANS since less people would notice if they were maimed or killed on the job! Now the owners quickly realized the workers might notice they did all the work for almost no pay. If they went on STRIKE or ARGUED FOR HGHER WAGES, this would threaten their tremendous wealth. In 1799, Parliament passed the Combination Act, which made FORMING TRADE UNIONS, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, AND GOING ON STRIKE ILLEGAL. Organizing against the rich became a crime. If you were living through it, opposing the industrial revolution wasn't techno-phobia. It was SELF-DEFENSE. The combination act forced unions underground into secret societies. And the greatest secret of all was their leader - Ned Ludd. Ned had been a folk character for years. In one version after being whipped by his master, he smashed two knitting frames in a rage. In more fanciful versions, he then escaped to the Sherwood forest, here he lived among the animals as their king. Some versions specifically call him 'Much Better Than Robin Hood'.
September 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Quite pleased with this cheeky devil, ready to swing his vibro-axe into some fascists.

#StarWarsLegion
A painted Star Wars Legion Miniature of Devaronian (A red alien with horns) pointing and holding a futuristic axe. A painted Star Wars Legion Miniature of Devaronian (A red alien with horns) pointing and holding a futuristic axe. A painted Star Wars Legion Miniature of Devaronian (A red alien with horns) pointing and holding a futuristic axe.
August 28, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by George Barker
goonhammer.com
In our first look at Competitive Innovations in Star Wars Legion, sebezra takes a look at four big competitive events from the last month of summer.
Competitive Innovations in Star Wars: Legion
In our first look at Competitive Innovations in Star Wars Legion, sebezra takes a look at four big competitive events from the last month of summer.
www.goonhammer.com
August 28, 2025 at 5:01 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
The beginnings of a new hobby project taking shape.
August 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
August 19, 2025 at 3:55 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
❌ Lightning Train
✅ Tracks of Quedlinburg
August 10, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by George Barker
hollynielsen.bsky.social
This is one of the things that really gets to me. I’ve seen so many amazing historians have funding bids shot down because games weren’t seen as viable.

But janky ethically putrid AI? Sure why not!
casusscribere.bsky.social Florida Man, PhD @casusscribere.bsky.social · Aug 8
In a discipline which has argued about whether or not videogames are amenable to the practice of professional history *for decades*, this sort of thing reads like rush-to-market business language written up by a coterie of administrators.
historians.org American Historical Association @historians.org · Aug 5
The AHA has published Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education, offering a disciplinary approach to AI that focuses on the specific needs and challenges of history educators. 🗃️
August 8, 2025 at 8:52 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Sometimes you have to abandon your friends in the pub because ice cream is calling your name through the window.
Boy at the window, holding an ice cream.
July 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
scruffylooking.bsky.social
Painting Ahsoka's white lightsabers proved tricky. I know the method is to not paint them white but not sure I quite got it right.

Love the sculpt though with the baggy trousers - any excuse to paint rough cloth. Finished just in time for a #StarWarsLegion balance update and a -30 pts drop!
Miniature painted model of Ahsoka Tano. Different angle of a miniature painted model of Ahsoka Tano.
July 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM