TerrorBull Games

TerrorBull Games is an independent games studio and publisher based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins founded the company in October 2005 to self-publish War on Terror, the boardgame, after approaching established publishers and finding that the concept was not accepted. The decision to publish independently became central to the company’s identity: TerrorBull developed a model in which games could address difficult political, economic, ethical, and social subjects while remaining playable, humorous, and provocative. The studio’s stated mission is to grapple with unpleasant or difficult issues through board games. Its work therefore sits between commercial tabletop publishing, political satire, public education, and campaign communication. TerrorBull’s games generally use familiar game structures—cards, negotiation, role-playing, word assembly, competition, or classroom simulation—to make complex subjects accessible and to encourage players to debate the systems represented in the game. Rather than presenting games as neutral entertainment, the company treats play as a way of examining institutions, ideologies, incentives, and public controversies. The company’s first major release, War on Terror, the boardgame, appeared in 2006. Its subject matter and deliberately confrontational presentation attracted substantial controversy in the United Kingdom. Several Members of Parliament criticized the idea of treating terrorism and war as a board-game theme, while opponents argued that the subject was not suitable for playful treatment. The controversy nevertheless established TerrorBull as a distinctive publisher willing to use satire to engage with contemporary politics. The game was later exhibited in Berlin as part of the 2009 Embedded Art exhibition and became the best-known example of the studio’s approach. In 2009, TerrorBull released Crunch, the game for utter bankers, a card game built around the credit crunch and the incentives of senior banking executives. Players take the role of bank chief executives and seek to build the largest retirement fund rather than simply the richest bank. The game’s mechanisms involve practices such as hiding assets, bonuses, and event cards, turning the financial crisis into a satirical model of institutional risk and personal gain. The Hen Commandments followed in 2015 with support from a successful Kickstarter campaign. It is a linguistic party game for three to eight players, although the publisher has also described it as suitable for larger classroom settings. Players collaboratively create commandments issued by a holy chicken, combining words and phrases into grammatically correct but frequently absurd or inappropriate statements. Much of the play comes from debating what the generated commandments mean and how they should be interpreted. Alongside its own catalogue, TerrorBull Games develops commissioned games for charities, educational institutions, cultural organizations, and campaigners. Publicly identified clients include Greenpeace, Amnesty International, SOAS, CAFOD, Headway, and the British Film Institute. These commissions have included campaign games, educational games, classroom simulations, and event-based activities. This work broadens the company’s role from publisher of provocative tabletop products to designer of persuasive and participatory communication tools. TerrorBull’s work has received cultural and academic attention. The studio was featured in the second episode of Games Britannia, a BBC documentary series about the history of games in Britain, where its combination of satire and gameplay was presented as an example of a possible future for British game design. Its work is held in permanent collections including the Imperial War Museum, the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Peace Museum in Bradford, and the Bodleian Library’s John Johnson Collection of culturally valuable printed ephemera. Academic writers have also discussed TerrorBull’s games in relation to ethics, politics, and play; games ethicist Miguel Sicart notably described the company’s Metakettle as an especially interesting political game. Available reference material does not establish a complete current product catalogue, corporate structure, or later operating status, so those details remain unspecified.

TerrorBull Games was founded in Cambridge in October 2005 by Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins. The founders created the studio after trying to interest established publishers in War on Terror, a board game dealing satirically with terrorism, war, and political conflict. Their reported difficulty finding a publisher led them to adopt self-publishing as the practical route to market. This origin shaped the company’s later profile as an independent designer-publisher rather than a conventional mass-market games house. War on Terror, the boardgame was released in 2006. Its subject matter and tone produced a strong public reaction in the United Kingdom. Critics, including several Members of Parliament, argued that terrorism and war were inappropriate subjects for a board game. Supporters and observers instead treated the game as an example of political satire using play to expose attitudes and systems surrounding the “war on terror.” Regardless of the divided response, the controversy gave TerrorBull visibility and established its willingness to address sensitive contemporary subjects. The company expanded its catalogue in 2009 with Crunch, the game for utter bankers. The card game transformed the credit crunch into a competitive simulation of banking incentives. Players assume the role of bank chief executives and seek to maximize their retirement funds, using mechanisms involving hidden assets, bonuses, and events. The game’s design uses humor to criticize the separation between institutional performance and individual financial reward during a period of intense public scrutiny of the banking sector. TerrorBull also developed a reputation for commissioned work. Its stated activities include campaign games, educational games, classroom simulations, and games for public events. Clients named in reference material include Greenpeace, Amnesty International, SOAS, CAFOD, Headway, and the British Film Institute. These projects demonstrate an extension of the studio’s method: game systems are used not only to entertain but also to communicate arguments, teach concepts, or involve audiences in an organization’s subject area. The studio’s cultural profile grew through broadcast, exhibition, collecting, and academic discussion. In 2009, War on Terror was shown at the Berlin Kunstakademie as part of Embedded Art. TerrorBull was also featured in Games Britannia, a BBC series on the history of games in Britain. The program presented the studio’s use of satire and gameplay as unusually distinctive and potentially significant for the future of British board-game design. TerrorBull’s work entered permanent collections at the Imperial War Museum, the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Peace Museum in Bradford, and the Bodleian Library’s John Johnson Collection. In 2015, the studio released The Hen Commandments following a successful Kickstarter campaign. This game moved away from direct political simulation toward language, group interpretation, and absurdist party play. Participants assemble grammatically correct but often nonsensical commandments from word and phrase cards, then debate their meaning. The game retained the company’s interest in social interaction and unconventional subject matter while offering a more broadly accessible format. Academic engagement has been another part of TerrorBull’s legacy. Its games have been referenced in academic writing and university teaching concerning play, ethics, politics, and game design. Miguel Sicart discussed the company’s Metakettle in Play Matters, identifying it as a particularly interesting example of a political game. The available historical record confirms TerrorBull’s founding, principal releases, commissioned work, and cultural recognition, but does not provide sufficient information here to document a complete later release schedule, current leadership, ownership structure, or present commercial scale.

• 2015

  The Hen Commandments released

  [1]TerrorBull Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The studio released its collaborative word-based party game after a successful Kickstarter campaign.

• 2009

  Crunch released

  [1]TerrorBull Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  TerrorBull launched a card game satirizing the credit crunch and banking incentives.

• 2009

  War on Terror shown in Embedded Art

  [1]TerrorBull Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  War on Terror was exhibited at the Berlin Kunstakademie as part of Embedded Art.

• 2006

  War on Terror released

  [1]TerrorBull Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The studio published its first board game, a controversial satire of terrorism and war.

• 2005

  TerrorBull Games founded

  [1]TerrorBull Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins founded the Cambridge-based studio to self-publish War on Terror.

Independent, politically engaged tabletop game design combining satire, education, social commentary, and participatory play.

• Political satire board game · 2006

  War on Terror, the boardgame

  TerrorBull’s debut title, released in 2006, uses board-game play to address terrorism, war, political power, and the public discourse surrounding the war on terror. Its provocative subject and presentation generated criticism in the United Kingdom, including negative comments from several Members of Parliament. The game became the company’s signature work and was later exhibited in Berlin as part of the Embedded Art exhibition.

• Financial satire card game · 2009

  Crunch, the game for utter bankers

  Released in 2009, Crunch turns the credit crunch into a card-game system centered on banking executives. Players take the role of a bank CEO and compete to create the largest retirement fund rather than simply the wealthiest bank. The design uses hidden assets, bonuses, and event cards to satirize the incentives and behavior associated with the financial crisis.

• Linguistic party game · 2015

  The Hen Commandments

  The Hen Commandments is a collaborative word and language game for three to eight players, released in 2015 with support from Kickstarter. Players create commandments attributed to a holy chicken by combining words and phrases from card decks. The resulting statements are grammatically correct but often absurd or inappropriate, and players debate their possible meanings. The publisher has also presented the game as adaptable to larger classroom groups.

• Political game

  Metakettle

  Metakettle is a TerrorBull work discussed in academic writing about political and ethical games. Available reference material identifies it as an example of the studio’s politically engaged design, but does not provide enough detail here to describe its complete rules, release date, or distribution history.

• 2006

  Controversy over War on Terror

  War on Terror attracted substantial opposition in the United Kingdom. Several Members of Parliament expressed negative opinions, and critics argued that terrorism and war should not be treated as board-game subject matter. The dispute concerned the appropriateness of satire and play when dealing with politically charged violence.

  Source

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• Commissioned campaign and educational games

  United Kingdom

  TerrorBull regularly develops persuasive games, educational games, classroom simulations, and event games for charities, educational institutions, and cultural organizations. Identified clients include Greenpeace, Amnesty International, SOAS, CAFOD, Headway, and the British Film Institute.

  Outcome. The commissioned work expanded the studio’s role beyond publishing its own catalogue and positioned games as tools for advocacy, teaching, and public engagement.

  Source

• 2015

  Kickstarter-backed launch of The Hen CommandmentsProduct launch

  Background

  After developing a language-centered party game about commandments issued by a holy chicken, the studio sought community support for production.

  Action taken

  TerrorBull used a successful Kickstarter campaign to support the release of The Hen Commandments.

  Aftermath

  The game added a more broadly social and linguistic format to the company’s catalogue while retaining its interest in absurdity and collaborative interpretation.

  Source

• 2005

  Self-publishing after rejection by established publishersStrategy

  Background

  The founders sought a publisher for War on Terror but reported that existing publishers rejected or ridiculed the concept.

  Action taken

  Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins founded TerrorBull Games to design and publish the game themselves.

  Aftermath

  The decision established the studio’s independent identity and enabled it to pursue politically provocative tabletop projects outside conventional publishing preferences.

  Source

1. 1TerrorBull Gamesen.wikipedia.org