Grunge no Hamster
@bbupton.bsky.social
Game Designer and Play Theorist / Designer of Rainbow Six & Ghost Recon / Author of The Aesthetic of Play & Situational Game Design
For fun I make board games and watch anime!
For fun I make board games and watch anime!
Working out a modular map system for my tiny kriegspiel.
November 5, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Working out a modular map system for my tiny kriegspiel.
The prototype for Time Squad! I’m going to hold the first playtest in a couple of days. You play time agent cards on pivot points in history to alter the timeline. If you mess with Deep Time you can wind up with dinosaurs ruling the earth.
October 29, 2025 at 12:51 AM
The prototype for Time Squad! I’m going to hold the first playtest in a couple of days. You play time agent cards on pivot points in history to alter the timeline. If you mess with Deep Time you can wind up with dinosaurs ruling the earth.
I’ve recently discovered Irresponsible Captain Tylor.
Episode after episode of Tylor averting impending disaster by being stupidly decent. The smart schemers all get their comeuppance.
Episode after episode of Tylor averting impending disaster by being stupidly decent. The smart schemers all get their comeuppance.
September 29, 2025 at 1:28 AM
I’ve recently discovered Irresponsible Captain Tylor.
Episode after episode of Tylor averting impending disaster by being stupidly decent. The smart schemers all get their comeuppance.
Episode after episode of Tylor averting impending disaster by being stupidly decent. The smart schemers all get their comeuppance.
Doctor I trust more than RFK Jr.
September 7, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Doctor I trust more than RFK Jr.
There was also an action romance where the two heroes spend their first date breaking up a drug deal on a casino train.
September 6, 2025 at 6:09 AM
There was also an action romance where the two heroes spend their first date breaking up a drug deal on a casino train.
The Cincinnati train station did have a nice cameo in the new Superman movie.
September 1, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The Cincinnati train station did have a nice cameo in the new Superman movie.
Gen-X retail pleasures.
August 25, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Gen-X retail pleasures.
So this happened last night around midnight, sending our puppy into a frenzy. (Not our car BTW, just an unlucky neighbor).
August 10, 2025 at 4:52 PM
So this happened last night around midnight, sending our puppy into a frenzy. (Not our car BTW, just an unlucky neighbor).
Add one book to your reading list. It will change your thinking about the relationship between the designer and the player.
August 2, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Add one book to your reading list. It will change your thinking about the relationship between the designer and the player.
Final round of today’s Box Office Gold playtest. The first movie in the legendary “wine wizard” action trilogy. The wine wizard and his identical twin battle an evil bartender aboard a luxury submarine.
July 27, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Final round of today’s Box Office Gold playtest. The first movie in the legendary “wine wizard” action trilogy. The wine wizard and his identical twin battle an evil bartender aboard a luxury submarine.
New prototype for Box Office Gold. 432 cards this time. Oof!
July 27, 2025 at 9:19 PM
New prototype for Box Office Gold. 432 cards this time. Oof!
Spray-mounted all the Situation cards for Box Office Gold from Alien Invasion to Zombie Apocalypse. I only need to do Characters, Locations & Props, and then I’ll have the full prototype deck!
July 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Spray-mounted all the Situation cards for Box Office Gold from Alien Invasion to Zombie Apocalypse. I only need to do Characters, Locations & Props, and then I’ll have the full prototype deck!
I had a playtest of my train game over the weekend.
The destination mechanic was was too cumbersome, so today I mocked up new city cards as an alternative.
They were initially really sparse--just a city and a region--so I added a brand new VIP/bonus mechanic too!
The destination mechanic was was too cumbersome, so today I mocked up new city cards as an alternative.
They were initially really sparse--just a city and a region--so I added a brand new VIP/bonus mechanic too!
July 23, 2025 at 1:33 AM
I had a playtest of my train game over the weekend.
The destination mechanic was was too cumbersome, so today I mocked up new city cards as an alternative.
They were initially really sparse--just a city and a region--so I added a brand new VIP/bonus mechanic too!
The destination mechanic was was too cumbersome, so today I mocked up new city cards as an alternative.
They were initially really sparse--just a city and a region--so I added a brand new VIP/bonus mechanic too!
I’m very curious about your book now. What you’re saying mirrors my own thoughts.
From my 2015 book The Aesthetic of Play:
From my 2015 book The Aesthetic of Play:
July 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I’m very curious about your book now. What you’re saying mirrors my own thoughts.
From my 2015 book The Aesthetic of Play:
From my 2015 book The Aesthetic of Play:
Fathers Day game of Hamster Quest. I won on a mulligan when my son noticed I’d accidentally knocked a card on the floor which would have allowed me to win before he did. So a double win!
June 16, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Fathers Day game of Hamster Quest. I won on a mulligan when my son noticed I’d accidentally knocked a card on the floor which would have allowed me to win before he did. So a double win!
#TacoTuesday! It’s a beautiful day in LA. Perfect for walking to your neighborhood taqueria!
June 10, 2025 at 7:44 PM
#TacoTuesday! It’s a beautiful day in LA. Perfect for walking to your neighborhood taqueria!
Above the K Line train as it enters the new LAX transit center.
June 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Above the K Line train as it enters the new LAX transit center.
Train departing LAX transit center.
June 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Train departing LAX transit center.
Tracks into the LAX transit center.
June 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Tracks into the LAX transit center.
