The Workshop of James Ernest
Crab Fragment Labs is a harmless byproduct of designer James Ernest, who struggles against his better nature to create an implausible profusion of original tabletop games. Support us on Patreon!
Welcome!
You have discovered Crab Fragment Labs, an imaginary tropical paradise dedicated to the games of James Ernest. Read our latest newsletter here.
Crab Fragment Labs has tabletop games, design and travel blogs, instructional articles and videos, short fiction, and so much more. You’ll find dozens of free print-and-play games, mostly still in development, and a Shop with PDFs of historic Cheapass Games.
You’ll want to start your adventure at the Games Page or the Map Room. We have a lot of stuff, and the list is growing all the time.
If you’d like to know where James Ernest is headed next, please check the Schedule page. And for news sent directly to your electronic mailbox, please subscribe to our newsletter, using the link below.
Recent News
March 24, 2025: New Video: How to Play Cowards. The newest game for the Blossom Deck, Cowards is a two-player bluffing game that makes use of the division between Day and Night cards. Read more about it at the Island Deck Page.
March 24, 2025: Changes to the Shop. Believe it or not, we haven’t really tinkered with the Shop in a while. We added a huge swath of Cheapsss PDFs about two years ago, but somehow the newer games have not yet made it in. We are now slowly adding newer games to the shop, to make them easier to find.
March 21, 2025: Updates to Cowards and Bulldog. As we begin to tune up our Shop page, listing individual games to make them easier to find, we begin with the Blossom Deck. Both Cowards and Bulldog now have updated rules and How to Play videos.
March 12,2025: Back from the Cruise! Once again James Ernest and family have sailed the salty Caribbean aboard the JoCo Cruise, the nerdiest boat on the ocean. If you enjoy our travel recaps, you can watch the video here.
March 10, 2025: New Bread Basket Rules. We’ve finally taken the old bird out of mothballs and bent her into shape. If you own a Bread Basket deck already, don’t worry. The cards haven’t changed, but the rules are simpler and better than ever. Try the new Bread Basket rules today!
March 6, 2025: New Video: How to Play Prudh. “The Gentlemen’s Game” is a streamlined abstract on a 6x6 checkerboard, using just one color of piece! Wach James Ernest explain the details in this shiny new how-to-play vid. Or visit the Prudh game page here.
February 25, 2025: New Video: DunDraCon. Travel with James Ernest to Santa Clara CA, for a weekend of exciting game testing. James sits with the finest game designers in the Bay Area and tests Cold Comfort, Farmer’s Market, Bread Basket, and more.
February 18, 2025: New Cold Comfort: This one’s getting close. We played a lot of Cold Comfort at DunDraCon this weekend, and the changes keep getting smaller and smaller. This new draft has pretty pictures on the city cards, and a few new abilities on the citizens. Check it out and see!
February 13, 2025: New Video: How to Play Bulldog. The newest game for the newest deck, Bulldog is a gambling game for the Blossom Deck (found on the Island Deck page). Watch James Ernest get it mostly right as he teaches this new game off the cuff.
February 9, 2025: Update to Farmer’s Market: It’s still new but it’s pretty good aready, If you have a Vines or Postas deck, or any 5-suited deck, please try this new bidding game with us! Rules for Farmer’s Market are located on the Vines page.
February 4, 2025: New Insights Video. This one’s a half-and-half. A brief demonstration of making the tile cards from Cold Comfort, then a discussion of the evolution of the city-building rules.
February 2, 2025: New Design Article. A student recently wrote us asking for some basic game design advice. It has been forever since James added to the Lecture Hall, so these answers are posted there for all to enjoy.
Please Support Us on Patreon
We have a Patreon page, as you might expect, and you can help us immeasurably by joining our cadre of Hermit Crabs. If you love what we do, and you want to support our huge catalog of free content, please become a Hermit Crab today!
