Huff No More (2025)

20/10/2025

This weeks’ theme for is SOLO so we thought about a slightly different take on this theme. In game design and self-publishing, don’t feel that you are having to fly solo!

When we started out on our game design journey, we had our close friends and family patiently test ideas with us. As Sakana Stack started to develop into a game we felt had the potential for us to publish, we took the step to go out to wider playtesting. First at the South London Playtest UK group and then a variety of different cons in playtest tables.

It was during this part of the journey we realised just how close the indie publishing community is. The Indie Publishers & Designers UK group have been incredible with their knowledge sharing and support, helping out with all of our questions having never done it before.

And then of course there is the group itself. We’ve been in the group from the beginning and the community that has been built of designers and publishers to share experiences and give support is just wonderful.

So don’t feel like you are on your own. No question you have is daft, they are all questions people have asked before you. The networks that you will build will be essential and you can then share your knowledge with people new to the journey too. It’s all about community!

I’ve tagged all the amazing people in the photos of the post who have all supported us on our journey. Please use the comments to shout out key people in your network!

To get involved, create an instagram post that’s linked to the theme and share it using the hashtag. If you’d like to find out more, check the pinned posts in the bio or message to join the group.

13/10/2025

This weeks’ theme for is INFLUENCE so wanted to share arguably the biggest influence on Mike’s game design - a little card game from Japan called Scout!

Mike picked up a copy of Scout! a few years ago, not long before the Oink version was released. It was influential for a couple of reasons, firstly for the immediate impact it had on our local gaming group. It was a massive hit, we played loads and other members were quickly scouting their own copies from Japan.

Secondly, it was our gateway game to the indie Japanese card game space. We continue to be wowed with the incredible amount of new ideas and versatility in design. Mike proceeded to get boxes of games imported and also discovered the wonderful .co.uk which has had a massive impact on our collection and the opportunity to find interesting and exciting new games.

So how has this influenced Mike’s designs? There are inevitable comparisons with Sakana Stack to Scout! as the ladder-climbing, shedding and point scoring have some similarities. But we’re really happy that Sakana Stack very much has its own personality and flow more reminiscent of traditional card games Mike played growing up. Bringing together these two influences is the essence of what Mike wanted to create with Sakana Stack 🐟🐡

What games have been big influences on your designs? Let us know in the comments!

To get involved, create an instagram post that’s linked to the theme and share it using the hashtag. If you’d like to find out more, check the pinned posts in the bio or message to join the group.

01/10/2025

We are you really excited to share the box art for our next release Roller Disco! 🛼🪩 And what better day than October 1st - exactly one year since we launched our Kickstarter campaign for Sakana Stack!

Joss has been working hard to bring the game to life and we’re super happy with this box mock up. The feedback for Roller Disco in playtesting has been great and we wanted to ensure that the fun and playful game mechanics shone through in the design. We’re planning to add to the fun with some shiny effects on the silver boots and text ✨

In Roller Disco players are trying to shed their hand cards in sequences while playing around a mirrorball. It is a race to empty you hand of cards first, but you must declare if you are “Movin’ on up” (playing higher) or “Gettin’ on down” (playing lower) than the card you are playing onto in the sequence. Wild Jam Cards can help you continue your sequence, or even perform a 180 degree turn.

Our plan is for Roller Disco to have a crowdfunding campaign in 2026. So keep a lookout for more details in the coming weeks and months!

Joss & Mike

21/09/2025

What a brilliant day gaming with so many lovely people at Jencon yesterday, fantastically organised by .game.family.uk !

Got to play a whole bunch of games, some new and some very familiar. Really enjoyed first plays of Feed The Kraken .games and Pergola while also getting to play Scout which haven’t played in a really long time!

The couple of Hot Streak games were ridiculously fun and so far takes the title of funnest game of the year for me. Was also great to some of my favourites to the table with Harvest, Bus & Stop , My Favourite Things and Nokosu Dice .

Thanks to everyone I got to play games with, such a fun day!
games

15/09/2025

This weeks’ theme for is RHYTHM so we thought what better week to debut some of the card art from our new game Roller Disco 🛼🪩

This is a picture of a Jam Card from Roller Disco, which is a wild card you can use in place of any other card in the game. It even lets you perform a 180 degree spin! Jam Skating is a style of roller skating which incorporates dance and freestyle so the perfect fit for our Jam Card.

In Roller Disco you are playing cards in sequence higher or lower than the card in play. If you are playing higher you declare you are “Movin’ on up” and if playing lower you declare you are “Gettin’ on down”. In playtesting almost every time players round the table end up singing a tune! It’s a fun way we’ve brought some rhythm into Roller Disco 🎶

What other games have you played that get songs in your head or get you singing along? Let us know in the comments!

To get involved, create an instagram post that’s linked to the theme and share it using the hashtag. If you’d like to find out more, check the pinned posts in the bio or message to join the group.

09/09/2025

The raffle prizes for Playfest grows! Which would you most like to win? 👀

Playtesters at Playfest London get entered into the raffle for each game they play, with these prizes kindly donated by members and supporters of Playtest UK, with more to be announced.

Thanks to Atikin Games Card Noir CuriousCats.uk Dissent Games Dranda Games Huff No More Naylor Games Roc Nest Games Table For Two Games Unfringed and more for their donations!

Tickets and more info at: minervatabletop.co.uk/playfest

01/09/2025

This weeks’ theme for is TENSION so we wanted to talk about how we try to ensure tension in our new game, Roller Disco 🛼🪩

The main mechanic in Roller Disco is card shedding and rather than having any scoring elements, we decided to make the game a straight race to empty your hard of cards. Whoever achieves this first wins the round.

For a race to be tense it needs to be close, with the opportunity for players to feel like they have a chance to win right up to the finish.

But as Roller Disco is a card game, there is an element of what cards you are dealt could give one player an advantage over another. So we have introduced a small draft at the beginning where players can swap a card from their hand with one of the starting ones on the table. From when we introduced this change, the games immediately got closer and helped to really ramp up the tension as players approach the finish!

Have you played any games that have a racing element which have really tense finishes? Let us know in the comments!

Just a note this is the rough and ready prototype - new artwork to be revealed very soon!

To get involved, create an instagram post that’s linked to the theme and share it using the hashtag. If you’d like to find out more, check the pinned posts in the bio or message to join the group.

27/08/2025

We’re delighted to confirm we have partnered with as a distributor for Sakana Stack 🐟🐡

To partner with such a fantastic team and business is simply brilliant and a great opportunity for Sakana Stack to be more widely available. We couldn’t be more excited with this announcement!

23/08/2025

We’re all set up at and ready for a day of demos with Sakana Stack and Flower Cards!

We’ll also have our rough and ready prototype of Roller Disco if you’d like to give it a try 🛼🪩

12/08/2025

Not long now until Norwich Games Con and are so excited to get back in an exhibition hall!

We had such a fun time last year when we were running demos of Sakana Stack in the build up to the Kickstarter campaign. This time round we’ll have Sakana Stack and Flower Cards available to buy.

We’re also hoping to have an early rough and ready prototype of Roller Disco ready! So if you want to come and give it a go pop by to the stand and let us know 🛼🪩

Who else is going to ? Let us know in the comments!

04/08/2025

This weeks’ theme for is COLOUR and we wanted to share the colour scheme for our next release, Roller Disco 🛼🪩

It’s been a while since we’ve shared a weekly post as we’ve been super busy, but it’s great to be back and sharing some of the early design detail.

The colour palette chosen for Roller Disco has been carefully researched by Joss, looking into the history and subculture of roller disco rinks. We wanted to have something bright and engaging, evoking the disco colours of the early 1980s. The neon colours help to create the tone we want to set for Roller Disco; bold, fun and vibrant! Tones we feel match the mechanics and gameplay of Roller Disco.

When talking about colour, it is also crucial to mention the importance of accessibility in design to support colour blind players. We are looking at ways to build iconography into the card design to ensure colour blind players will be able differentiate the card suits easily.

What do you think of the colour palette we have chosen? Let us know in the comments!

To get involved, create an instagram post that’s linked to the theme and share it using the hashtag. If you’d like to find out more, check the pinned posts in the bio or message to join the group.

Huff No More

20/10/2025

13/10/2025

01/10/2025

21/09/2025

15/09/2025

09/09/2025

01/09/2025

27/08/2025

23/08/2025

12/08/2025

04/08/2025

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