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Nick Ferris

@nickferris.bsky.social

150 followers 71 following 360 posts

I make boardgames, take photos, and grow things in dirt. Tall, but not too tall. Favorite food: sandwiches. Connecticutie. he/him https://nickferris.carrd.co/ “It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”

nickferris.carrd.co

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Jun 9

🎲✂️I recently started working on my 50th board game design. Over 17 years, that's about 3 a year, though nearly half of them were 2013-2015, and only 11 are since 2020. To celebrate, let's do a post-a-day thread about every single one of them, even the really really bad cringe ones!

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 23h

Poker-sized cards are pretty small, but bridge-sized cards could be miles long.

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 3d

Post an image from the last episode of Star Trek you watched.

Sprocket, JR, and Roo from Star Trek Scouts jumping in the air and fist-pumping.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 5d

Let's all prove Daniel's wife right and buy some of the new games coming from New Mill... like "Fright Factor"... which would prove *my* wife right that people want to play games I make.

Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries @dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 5d

my wife keeps telling me that if i want to sell more games i should “do marketing” but like…i don’t want to…

so, like, tell your friends and stuff that i’ve got games to sell, yeah?

newmillindustries.com

New Mill Industries

newmillindustries.com

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 6d

"This event was REALLY POPULAR last year. Possibly too popular?"

"However, this will work best if people do not arrive until after the event's start time, 7PM."

The crowd at 6:45PM:

a crowd of people are watching a band perform

Alt: a crowd of people are watching a band perform

media.tenor.com

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 7d

Two players is one of my favorite ways to play it! You get this back-and-forth dynamic of needing to manipulate the monster scariness to immediately end the round right after you hit your bid while your opponent's under theirs. I especially enjoy it with the special powers.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 8d

A glowing review for Fright Factor, my upcoming trick-taker, among a tremendous slate of games that'll be popping up for pre-order on the New Mill website in less than half a day. www.newmillindustries.com

Also 100% concur that @asmeesh.bsky.social is an S-tier artist!

Board Game Animal @boardgameanimal.bsky.social · 8d

Our latest New Mill review is here!

Scarily good card games! Yonkai no Yokai, RoboKraft, Fright Factor, & Vegeterrors!

youtu.be/CyQxJe0nUao?...

#tricktaking
#cardgames
@dnlnwmn.bsky.social
@saibep.bsky.social
@nickferris.bsky.social @asmeesh.bsky.social
@thisnorthernboy.bsky.social

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 11d

💯To add to this, if you have a decent-sized playtesting group, try to have a couple of those folks not touch your game at all until way late in development. Eventually those who have played your prototype often become dull to the impact of your minor improvements and can't see the bigger picture.

Joseph Arthur Ellis @jarthurellis.bsky.social · 12d

There's just nothing like fresh eyes on a 🎲✂️ prototype. For ourselves (and the people playing with us regularly), we all have too much of what the game wants to be or has been in our heads. There just is no way to think your way out of it, you have to see what a new player sees.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 12d

I am once again asking for you to move to my town and vote for me.

A grassy yard full of election signs for our town's Democratic Party. My name is on one of them, running for Planning & Zoning.

Reposted by Nick Ferris

Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries @dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 13d

New preorders from New Mill coming on Wednesday, October 1! I'll go into a little detail about one each day for the next 4 days!

First up (in alphabetical order) is Fright Factor, by @nickferris.bsky.social with art by @asmeesh.bsky.social

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 13d

Fingers crossed for you.

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 15d

🎲✂️I've just printed a big stack of cards on cardstock. Due to thermodynamics, the printer spits out the paper all curvy.

What are some solutions for straightening these quick instead of waiting hours for weight and gravity to work?

Assume I have access to a forge or air fryer but NOT a microwave.

A bunch of printed cardstock, but it's all curvy and warpy.

Card identities have been blurred to protect the innocent.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 27d

There are too many games, too many *good* games, and even still too many *great* games for me to play all but a tiny selection more than once. That said, the average game in my collection has probably been played 0.5 times, so I'm certainly contributing to this unfortunate data point.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 27d

At first, I thought maybe Tony Danza fronted a band in the 80s, but I was pretty sure "Who's the Boss?" ran into the 90s. Then I got a text reminder for my annual physical and I felt silly for not getting it sooner.

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 28d

My upcoming trick-taker is in excellent company. Look for Fright Factor and more going up for preorder in October from New Mill Industries!

Daniel Newman // New Mill Industries @dnlnwmn.bsky.social · 28d

ok ok sneak peek. here are the covers for the games that will be up for preorder next month. will talk about each of them soon!

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 29d

Thank you for the detailed response! All of this aligns with what I've read from other indie game events. I looked closely through the photos you took and observed most items priced at around what you might see for similarly-sized traditionally published games.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 29d

Did anyone's offerings seem woefully underpriced? I get that self-manufacturing and small print runs makes it tougher to justify 5-6x markup over COGS, but if lots of folks keep selling out entirely, does that suggest vendors are pricing themselves too low?

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 29d

A terrific write-up of the indie game market at PAX West. Lots of detail and photos. Potentially very insightful for folks planning to vend at Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged in November. 🎲✂️

Joseph Z Chen 🔜 PAX Unplugged @fanfactories.bsky.social · 29d

A week ago I sold my games at the PNW Tabletop Game Market @ PAX West! Sold lots of Grunt Work & sold out of the ~20 copies of Flip Stack Burger Shack I handmade.

Check out my writeup of the experience & see some photos of the other designers there!

fantastic-factories.medium.com/selling-game...

Selling games at the PNW Tabletop Game Market

On August 30th, 2025 I was fortunate enough to be a part of 16 indie game designers selling their games at the PNW Tabletop Game Market @…

fantastic-factories.medium.com

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · 29d

Thank you for this excellent write-up. It gives me a decent idea of what to expect at PAX Unplugged's market.

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Sep 7

SuperiorPOD in Vestal, NY. Overall a good ordering experience, very solid quality, and better price than most other card PODers.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Sep 6

I've been excitedly watching progress from folks vending at the Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged 2025, but now I can share some of my own: actual printed cards! They turned out super crisp and colorful, and the stock itself is sturdy and shuffles well. 🎲✂️

Actual printed cards for A Wizardologist Most Hexasperated, fanned out in three sets of six. On top of the stacks are Wise Lee, the Doughmancer, and the Transmutician.

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Look! Look! I finally found a strange new world!"

Lieutenant Erica Ortegas on a rocky moon holding a piece of a Gorn board game that she's supposed to eat because she won. Also, why don't humans have any board games where the winner eats the piece??? Seriously, someone get on that.

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Sep 3

Competitive. Or better: back to the counter for a superior chocolate chip cookie!

Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Sep 1

I really enjoy coming back to a shelved game design and taking an axe to all the things I convinced myself needed to be in it. 🎲✂️

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Aug 31

Tube.

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Nick Ferris @nickferris.bsky.social · Aug 30

Hear me out. One giant box. Throw it all in. Loose. Stuck for an idea? Grab a fistful from the box; that's your new game.

Looking for a specific piece? It's in there somewhere, but might as well just buy it again!

This is the system I have been limping by on for 15+ years.

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