Cult Leader

I'd like to do some supplements, but I haven't had any time to work on them. Someday, though.

Do you plan to design any other board games?

Thunder's Edge, designed by Jeff Tidball and available from Fantasy Flight Games.

When did you first become interested in board games?

I got into serious boardgaming (as opposed to games like Life and Monopoly) through role-playing and miniatures wargames. They were all sold at the same stores, after all, and most have strong genre similarities. I got into roleplaying in late elementary school, so I suppose I was buying and playing board games when I was 12 or so.

What were some of your first favorite board games?

I recall really liking Axis and Allies, Shogun, Broadsides and Boarding Parties -- all of the games in that series, really -- a lot. They were a natural extension of minatures games like Warhammer 40,000 because they were so full of shiny little bits, but they were simple (and self-contained) enough that they could be played by impoverished high school students without stupendous lead budgets. They were also normal enough that they could be played with relatives and non-gaming friends.

Another of my early favorites (one that I still love today) was Car Wars. It's a game that really crosses type boundaries, being as much a board game as a miniatures game as a role-playing game. The potential for customization there really grabbed me. Unfortunately, Car Wars now labors under an absurd load of supplementary material that frustrates even the most dedicated players. Try converting a new player to Car Wars -- it's nearly impossible.

What are some of your current favorites?

At GenCon, I got a chance to participate in a playtest of Cheapass Games' upcoming Escape from Elba, where you're Napoleon and so are all the other players. I can't wait for that to be available.

How and when did you get involved with Atlas Games?

It really is all about who you know, as it turns out. In my third year at college, some friends who knew I was freelancing recommend me to Atlas President John Nephew to fill a media-relations position at Atlas. It eventually grew into a creative (well, editorial, really) position. I basically got a call out of the blue asking for an interview.

From your perspective, what's the status of board games (and table games in general) today?

Wow, that's a toughie.

Donning my pessimistic hat, I don't forsee any major changes in popular culture that would reverse the trend of people to watch more movies, play more video games, view more television, and get off of their couches less and less. That doesn't need to spell the end of boardgaming (and other types of adventure gaming) though. Although I don't see any future where Magic: the Gathering is as big as the movies (as Wizards of the Coast Chief Peter Adkinson hopes), there's nothing to stop devoted fans from playing their favorite games and recruiting new generations of game-players at about the same rate that game-players leave the fold. In fact, one of the strengths of the Internet is that it lets otherwise marginal groups of hobbyists thrive even when they're out of physical proximity to one another.

In short, as long as we don't harbor any insane illusions, no one can stop us from having a great old time playing games.

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