Play can and should be serious business.
Barrel Roll Games is an unconventional card and board game studio focused on thoughtful, story-driven tabletop experiences.
Born from personal passion projects and collaborative builds, every game starts with curiosity and ends at the table.
Why games?
Games are one of the few creative mediums where rules and emotion coexist in an obvious way. They create shared moments, reveal how people think, and turn abstract ideas into lived experiences.
For me, designing games is about building frameworks where story emerges naturally through play.
Featured project: A Stellar Journey
The heart of the page. And where my thought process should become clear.
A Stellar Journey
What began as a question a simple question from a friend:“Could you design a board game I could propose with?”
Developed into one of the most meaningful creative projects I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on.
Concept & Origins
- The ask
- The emotional goal (proposal, not “win condition”)
- Design constraints (time, secrecy, meaning)
Design & Prototyping
- Index cards, marbles, meeples
- Iteration photos
- Systems evolving alongside story
Components & Production
- Dice, cards, packaging, rulebook
- Physical artifact becoming “real”
In-Play: The Proposal
- The final objective card
- The moment
- The outcome (YES)
Some games are meant to be played once. This one was meant to be remembered.
Collaboration matters.
Built with others.
Games aren’t made in isolation. Every project I’ve worked on has been shaped by playtesters, collaborators, and people willing to engage honestly with ideas in progress.
- Stephen McLean (partner)
- Custom projects like for Debbie Nguyen & Chris Murphy
- Contract work for businesses
- Playtesting our own designs
- Iteration moments
What I bring to game design.
My role in these projects:
- Concept development & systems design
- Narrative framing & emotional objectives
- Prototyping & iteration
- Facilitation, playtesting, and refinement
- Turning abstract ideas into playable experiences
Beyond that one game.
So what’s next?
Barrel Role Games isn’t intended to be a mass production studio. Yet. It’s a space for intentional game design and one where we get to focus on custom projects, experimental systms, and collaborative builds that often start with either a question or a statement, and end up with something meaningful on the table.
Stephen and I are currently working on an original origin story game, and I hope to share more of that vision as we move out of prototyping in the coming months into a workable model to playtest. Our first real production after a few custom ones.
Let’s build something meaningful.
If you’re building something new – or refining something that already exists, it doesn’t matter. You’ll need creative direction, clarity or a fresh set of eyes, and I’d love to help.