BoarBeard
Blog

Notes from the workshop

Game design, prototyping, and what went into building Word Wash, Iterary and Gamers Paper.

Space Alert Mission Generator 3.6

The Space Alert mission app is updated for Android 17, drops permissions it never needed, and is still free, open source and ad-free.

  • Space Alert
  • Board Games
  • Android

Work in Progress: October 2026

Three games on the workbench: Vegas Boom Boom, a casino strip builder; Pocket Paleo, a roll and write game about paleontology; and the new Daily Wash in Word Wash.

  • Work in Progress
  • Games
  • Word Wash

Introducing BBQ Iterary

A new side project about iterating on BBQ and cooking techniques from real cookbooks. First up: chicken wings from The Japanese Grill.

  • BBQ
  • Cooking
  • Side Project

Iterary v1.6 — Board Crates, Gallery, and CSV Import

Iterary v1.6 adds board crates for grid-based piece placement, a gallery of ready-made prototypes, CSV import for bulk data, and a polished new toolbar — all free in the browser.

  • Game Design
  • Board Games
  • Iterary

Introducing Gamers Paper — A Board Game Companion

Gamers Paper is a free web app that gives board game players dynamic rules references, player aids, and score counters — all tailored to your player count and expansions.

  • Game Design
  • Board Games
  • Gamers Paper

Iterary Mobile 1.3.x Release

Iterary Mobile 1.3 adds compact menus, quick editing, and multi-page board game designs. Free on Android for tabletop prototyping.

Cattle Crashers

Play Cattle Crashers in your browser. A chaotic stampede game originally released on Xbox Live Indie Games. Playable demo included.

  • Game Design
  • Programming

Digital Plains - John's New Job

A short sci-fi story set in the Digital Plains universe. John's first day on the job takes a dangerous turn underground.

  • writing
  • Digital Plains

Game Design with Kotlin DSL

How I used Kotlin DSL to generate and layout game levels for Word Wash. A practical guide to domain-specific languages for game development.

  • Game Design
  • Game
  • Kotlin

Fitting to the Form Factor

Designing Word Wash for mobile. Lessons on fitting game UI, pixel art, and controls to small screens without losing the fun.

  • Game Design
  • Game
  • Pixel Art

Break it down, for the designs

Breaking down core game mechanics like turns, risk, and decision flow to build better board and video game designs from the ground up.

  • Game Design

Starting Word Wash 2.0!

Word Wash 2.0 reimagines the fast-paced word puzzle game with a racing mini-game twist. See how the redesign went from concept to prototype.

  • Design
  • Game

Iterary For Mobile

Iterary brings board game prototyping to mobile. Design cards, boards, and game components on the go with a free Flutter-powered app.

  • Iterary
  • Flutter
  • Mobile