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On the Toad's Desk: Sand & Sandwiches | Game Design at Terror Toad

  • 2 hours ago
  • 2 min read

AUGUST 2026


Pull up a lily pad; it's time for another wee update from the Toad table.


We're in one of those wonderfully messy stretches of game design where things are being made, tested, painted, abandoned, reconsidered, and occasionally covered in sand.


So, here's what we've been up to.


A desk at Toad HQ. there's a cutting mat, a sketchbook labelled "Whitefroth art", cans of energy drink, a cup of tea in a mug that says "I'm an artist, bitch", biscuits, paper, and the edge of an open laptop
on the Toad's desk: hydration is key

 

Whitefroth, Our Island Horror TTRPG, Is (Still) Cooking


We know, we know. We keep mentioning Whitefroth, and it's still not sitting on the shop shelf. Here's the thing: the reason it's taking a while is also the reason our excitement for the project has been growing and growing. Whitefroth has to look worth the wait, not just play well.


So instead of picking one art style and running with it, we've gone and picked about four.


Chris has been working digitally, building out the more graphic side of things. Katie has been drawing and painting by hand - brushes, ink, mess. There's photography going into it too. And, in probably the most "us" development yet, we've been pouring sand onto a scanner bed to see what happens. Apparently, that's how you make an island horror game.


It's slow. It is genuinely time-consuming to build a world out of that many different techniques, all stitched together into one coherent thing. But every time we lay a new piece next to the others, it's clicking in a way that makes the project feel worth it. This one's shaping up to be the most visually interesting thing we've made.


It's coming. We promise it's coming.


 

Meanwhile: We've Started Drawing a Lot of Sandwiches


As a palette cleanser from the heaviness of RPG writing, we've somehow ended up on a completely different tangent: sandwiches. Specifically, drawing them over and over. We’ve got them earmarked for a wee game project, so can’t say much more than that for now; just know that if you follow us and suddenly see an unreasonable number of sandwich illustrations appear, we’ve not been hacked and it’s all part of a thing.


Yes, sometimes game design is deep worldbuilding and complicated rules, but sometimes it's just drawing sandwiches. Now I’m hungry.



 two different projects, two very different art approaches



Tabletop Scotland 2026 Is Coming Up


In a few weeks we'll be packing up the car again for Tabletop Scotland, which as always, we're really looking forward to.


If you're heading along, come and say hello! We'll be the ones near a big toad banner and hopefully not looking too sleep-deprived. Speaking of which - the old Terror Toad t-shirts were looking a bit sorry for themselves, so new ones have been ordered. Small detail, but there's something nice about turning up to an event not looking like you fought a printer and lost.

 


So, what is happening at Terror Toad HQ this August?


Paint. Sand. Sand on paint. Sand on scanners. Sand everywhere, probably. Sandwiches. Cards. RPG writing. A convention on the horizon.


And as usual, a rather large number of ideas fighting for attention.

 

More soon! 🐸


Katie & Chris


Team Toad x


 

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