Schrödinger's Blog

If you read part 1 and part 2 of this mini-series on changes in my life and Lone Shark’s, you know that I resigned the presidency of the company in favor of remaining its chief creative officer. It’s a good move for me. That move creates outcomes that are worth exploring. Here’s one of them now.

PART THE THIRD: It’s about to get loud in here

Me not being president means that I don’t get to unilaterally set policies. When I changed my job title, I agreed to dynamite my most cherished policy on the way out the metaphorical door. A set of online horrorshows prompted my teammates to request a company meeting to evaluate our policy of maintaining neutrality online.

Now, if you read my political blogs and follow the actions of Lone Shark’s sister organization Basket of Adorables, you might not think of us as neutral. Depending on your views, you might in fact think of us as pretty damn mouthy. Basket of Adorables was a silly thing Gaby and I thought of to stop from screaming all the time, and it’s turned into a political rallying campaign, a comic book, a game theory book, and 40+ political game theory columns.

One positive development was that nearly all the Sharks came on board. While we keep the two groups separate on a corporate level, I’ve been delighted to see Shane managing Basket’s website and store, Liz and Skylar building new prototypes for Basket, Trevor running Basket’s Kickstarter feed, and everyone rallying around us. I think having people that are too like-minded can be dangerous, but when it’s about this administration and this time, there’s only one correct response: everybody to the battlements. We’ll keep doing what we can, including a crazy thing which we’ve been working on for a couple months.

Now, I’m not going to tell you what that is yet, because you wouldn’t believe me. It will cause your jaw to drop, I expect. You also definitely wouldn’t believe it’s from Lone Shark, and that’s because it isn’t. Basket’s first game will be like nothing I’ve ever produced. And it will have a subject matter unlike any game I’ve been associated with. Just you wait.

With all that said, I want to talk about that policy of neutrality. It’s been a useful thing. We made this commitment as a team that we would not take sides when the game and entertainment industry fought amongst itself. With clients in every corner of the game and entertainment industries, we felt a Switzerland stance would help us be a friend to everyone. We worked for everyone, so everyone could always trust their friends at Lone Shark. When conflict occurs, we have a general agreement to button our lips and let it sort itself out without us.

That policy has served us well in some cases. It’s good, for example, to support our friends when they’re under attack. When we’d see something go sideways, our friends knew we weren’t going anywhere. They could count on our support even while they were dealing with the complexities of being public figures.

But that principle of neutrality failed us in many other cases. It failed our friend BJ Hensley when she reported harassment at PaizoCon. It failed our friend Jessica Price when she called out that incident and when she stood up for colleagues at ArenaNet. It failed our friend Renfamous when she took on Comicsgate, and our friends Zoë Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian when they were attacked by Gamergate, and our friend Chloe Dykstra when internet mobs attacked her over a difficult essay about a relationship. It failed our former CEO Marie Poole when she ran into an old boys’ network buzzsaw at GAMA. We expected and got our friends’ support when we stood up for what we believed, but when they did, we were often on the sidelines. Our policy meant we couldn’t move forward without all of us agreeing to do so, so if some of us wanted to speak and others didn’t, we defaulted to doing nothing.

It is not an accident that all the people mentioned in the above paragraph are women. Lone Shark’s commitment to gender diversity is one of our hallmark principles; we’re well known for having one of the most gender-diverse design teams anywhere. But when it came time to reconcile that commitment against the realities that women and transgender people face in the gamer community, we fell short. That time has come to an end.

Led by our outreach manager Trevor Kidd, we had a tension-fraught meeting where we rebuilt our policy from scratch. The main principle—that we would remain neutral when our friends disagreed—stayed in place, but would now be overridden if the situation involved a violation of one of our core values (how people of different genders and races are treated in the industry, say). In that case, every member of our team is empowered to speak out in whatever way they want, even if it is against one of our clients or colleagues. We will stand by our colleagues’ right to call out injustice wherever they see it—with the caveat that we care about getting our facts right. As long as a Shark has done the research, they’re free to speak out when their conscience demands.

This starts with me, of course. I have to teach myself to not just be willing to call out injustices when I see them committed by evil people in Washington DC. I have to train myself to speak up when my friends and people in gaming are in trouble, no matter who troubles them. Neutrality has its value. In times like these, there are higher values that need addressing.

Obviously, I hit a life milestone this week, and I’m sure it didn’t escape your notice. Of course, I am talking about making my 100,000th edit on Wikipedia. 

I can think of nothing greater of importance than … oh, right, I resigned the presidency of Lone Shark too. That was done to focus on the creative direction of the company. Here’s a reason why that happened.

Part the Second: When I promise you something, you’ll get it soon

With apologies to Kevin Wilson, Jamey Stegmaier, Isaac Childres, Rob Daviau, and many other talented designers, I don’t think this would be the age of story-based boardgames and game books without my awesome team at Lone Shark. At one time, you could have active plays of Pathfinder, Betrayal, Apocrypha, The Maze of Games, and a half dozen other projects of ours. We took a disproportionately large chunk out of this market for a company our size. If you had a weekend free to game, we staked a legit claim to it.

Somewhere in this expansion, we established a pattern, and it wasn’t a good one: We would announce a project, get money for it, and then take forever getting it done. Sometimes it was a game design issue: We finished design on The Maze of Games only a few months after we funded it, but Apocrypha took years to get 10 giant chapters right. The comparatively smaller Ninth World got done just after the second set of Apocrypha was finished, with the third barely started. Thornwatch added a full extra expansion that needed whole-cloth creation. Wrath of the Righteous went back to design twice after it was supposedly finished. We design hard, and it takes a while.

Sometimes it was an art issue: The Maze of Games campaign launched with three of its eventual 50+ pieces of art, Thornwatch with only a few, and worst of all, Apocrypha with maybe 20 of its eventual 666 pieces. First off, 666 pieces of art is a lot, and it costs a six-figure amount of money. We needed that Kickstarter to pay for it, naturally. The Ninth World and Thornwatch each relied heavily on a single artist out of the gate, until we expanded beyond such a personal approach. Conversely, Apocrypha relied on 70+ artists, and burned out two art directors in the process. Our stuff looks great, but as the result of significant effort.

Sometimes—actually, every time since Maze—it was a production issue. We were working with multiple printers and fulfillers at a time, discovering just about everything a big box game could do incorrectly. Our printers and fulfillment partners got us through most of it, but some cracks got through. If things had been locked down with printers and fulfillers before we promised the games to the customers, most of that would have been a lot easier.

Lone Shark had built itself up as a company that could very quickly turn around events and online games, and yet our core production of internal projects was slower than ever. All of this happened will the rest of the game world was cooking. Our friends at Exploding Kittens and Secret Hitler showed the way: announce it, fund it, make it, ship it. It seemed obvious, yet whatever it was I was doing wasn’t that.

This is about agility. Our company needs to be able to respond to changes in the market by getting its offerings out there as soon as we can. Apocrypha announced itself well before the Arkham LCG and Gloomhaven, and it would have been great to precede those to market. But it would also just have been great to be done with Apocrypha and Ninth World and Thornwatch. After a while, you just get tired of looking at the same files.

Dropping the presidency let me commit Lone Shark to a new principle: We won’t accept your money and trust until we are close to ready to manufacture something. I’ve now set standards like “75%+ of art in” and “pencils down on game design” before we’ll run a crowdfunding campaign. The Basket of Adorables campaign for Game Theory in the Age of Chaos and the Lone Shark campaign for The Maze of Games Omnibus were for projects we’d gotten close to finishing. The Trogdor Board Game was designed and illustrated when it got to us for editing and graphic design right after the Chaps’ Kickstarter. Our next campaign’s focus will be nearly ready too. When we eventually run the campaign for Hyde Society, the game we’re making with noted deadline-hound Justin Gary’s team, that game will be able to see the finish line. We’re slowly but surely building a new way of managing our products and our brand.

This approach also allows us to do the little things. Because we had these outstanding commitments, we couldn’t easily get out smaller projects we wanted to make: long-awaited games like Sausage Party, our way overdue Titan game for Calliope, and so on. So that’s a high priority now. I think you’ll like all the little puzzle projects that are about to appear on our store, for example. Basket of Adorables has another fun, weird thing coming. We made an 8-page Adventure Path for Pathfinder. I’ve got a couple revisions to books on the docket. And so on. We’re going to give you lots to play with, but maybe in smaller chunks. There isn’t a big game on the schedule after Core/Curse and Hyde Society. I’m sure we’ll make more big box games, but we might not let them dominate our lives as much as they have. We’ll see. 

So my job now is about completing what we promise, but also not promising what we haven’t completed. We’re going to like what we make, and we're going to get it to you when I say we will. I like that world.

This month marks the completion of some things I've been planning to do for a while. If you want to hear what's up with me and Lone Shark (spoiler: all good), read on. I’m pretty excited about it. I’m writing it in a few parts, with a complex story arc, exciting new characters, and deeply immersive... dammit. Don’t make it a project, Mike. Just write.

Part the First: I’m no longer the president of the company

James Ernest and I started Lone Shark in 2003. I’ve been running the company for twice as long as I spent at Wizards, even though some people think I still work there. For me, “president” is part of my identity; I run things.

Of late, the thing I’ve been running most is myself into the ground. Like, constantly. Lone Shark is healthy, but it’s healthy at the cost of me not being so. And that’s been because I’ve been doing three jobs: president (the guy who runs the company), chief creative officer (the guy who makes sure we make cool things), and lead designer (the guy who invents the cool things we make). I love the last of those, like the second, and have complex feels about the first. Regardless, I’ve come to dislike all three of them happening at the same time. I’ve become something of a bottleneck with everything direction-wise and creative-wise going through me, so that had to get changed.

So, okay, what to do about it. When talking to my amazingly talented and tolerant team, they could imagine a different president. (Whether they could imagine me accepting one was the subject of some question.) They could imagine someone else (say, one of them) coordinating the design, possibly even a lot better than I do. What they could not imagine was a Lone Shark where I stopped walking through the door saying “I think we can do this and to prove it I just spent 48 straight hours in a cave making it work.” For reasons I’ve never completely gotten, I write things that encourage other people to become wildly creative. I spark things. I’m a sparkler.

For me to keep doing that without keeling over, something had to go. But it couldn’t just go to anyone. I’d spent the last year forging a new Lone Shark back-of-house with chief business officer Sean Molley, who completely changed how we deal with the business side of the company. We empowered our long-suffering events and operations manager Shane Steed to figure out everything we needed to make it work. And we hired a marketing dude in Trevor Kidd who could write our Kickstarters and our social media and the like. But none of those people could be the company president.

Lone Shark is a creative endeavor. We get asked by everyone to help them dream out loud. That’s because our creative team is second to none. For someone to lead Lone Shark better than I could, they’d have to get that. They’d have to be a part of it. So I asked designer Keith Richmond if he wanted to take more of a leadership role. Some of you don’t know Keith. That’s cool. Keith has been quietly helming most things Pathfinder for us for a while. When we needed to write a new Core Set and a sprawling Adventure Path in Curse of the Crimson Throne (out next month!), Keith was the center of that universe.

Keith also has two other features that make him qualified for this job. The first is that is steeped deep in the well of project coordination. At Akamai—you know, the folks that hold the internet together—Keith’s title is Principal Release Engineer. I won’t pretend I know what that means. But see that word “Release”? One thing I have been wildly less good at than everyone would like is releasing things on time. Keith is a principal at that. Our train is about run a lot smoother, I think. Freeing up my time, allowing me forbidden things like weekends and vacations, will make me better. And rebuilding things so Liz, Skylar, Chad, Aviva, Gaby, Tanis, Paul, Rodney, and every other creative force here feels comfortable taking an evening off has to be good. We’re not there yet. But we’ll get there.

The second is that Keith is a family-oriented person. He values work-life balance. He puts his family first, and he transfers that commitment into the deeply supportive family at Lone Shark. I ... well, my track record is mixed here. I used the word “tolerant” before, and no one has been more tolerant than my wife Evon. I’m tough on myself, I’m tough on the team at Lone Shark, and I’m collaterally tough on Evon. That’s gotta change. As Lone Shark has expanded, I’ve spent a lot of my team just dealing with our people’s internal issues. Not always well, mind you. I’m not an empath and everyone knows it. I’m a problem solver. Keith’s pretty good at that too, but he’s also an empath. We’re creative people. We can get complicated. Keith’ll figure it out.

So I’m delighted to officially announce that I’ve transferred the responsibility to run both our staff and schedules to Keith Richmond, Lone Shark’s new company president. Me, I’m gonna make you some more cool stuff.

Maybe you’ve been angry since November 8, perhaps quite a bit before. Every day brings a new outrage, a new betrayal, a new moral low ground. It’s exhausting to think about fighting it, especially when you think you might be fighting your own like-minded friends about it. But why is that? Why aren’t you always in alignment with those who share your opinions? While hosting a JoCo Cruise panel about the 2016 election with Ted Leo, Rhea Butcher, Max Temkin, Cameron Esposito, and John Roderick called The Night Everything Broke, I drew a chart to show why this happens.

The chart shows three phases of dealing with an outrage: reaction to something that has gone wrong, action to address the problem, and inaction to process what has happened. Each always follows the one next to it, as long as there are new outrages to react to. (Protip: There will be.)

The thing is, there aren’t any arrows on the chart. That’s because people go through this loop in two different ways. The Reaction-Action-Inaction loop is when people jump to respond to a problem, act, and then rest afterward. (“Let’s do something before it’s too late!”) But just as many people go the other way. The Reaction-Inaction-Action is a look-before-you-leap approach. (“Let’s figure out what to do and then make it happen.”) Both are valid approaches, but they are in conflict.

There’s no avoiding the Inaction step; no one can fight all the time. But when inaction occurs is important. Those who prefer the clockwise loop can’t understand why their friends won’t act immediately; those who prefer the counterclockwise loop can’t understand why their friends act without thinking. Fingers are wagged on Facebook and Twitter, friendships are damaged, alliances are undermined.

There’s no need for that division. Fast actors gain attention and marshal supporters. Slow actors figure out strategies and implement them fully. Without fast actors, the slow actors will never get the attention to effect longterm change; without slow actors, the fast actors will burn out and dissipate before accomplishing anything. Together we can act effectively, if not always harmoniously.

Allowing your friends to fight in different ways than you do is the first step to accepting them as allies. If we could all accept that there is no right or wrong way to fight tyranny, we might be better at fighting tyranny.

Mike

Today's a particularly grim inauguration day, so a bunch of the best puzzlemakers in the world did what puzzlemakers do in times of international turmoil: We made puzzles.

Led by the oh-so-talented editor Francis Heaney, we each made a puzzle that felt like the right puzzle to make right now. For example, since I am a ball of outrage these days, mine is basically a screed called “His Name Writ Bigly” which is not at all subtle in its view of our new Kommandant-In-Chief. But other puzzlers like Patrick Berry, Amy Goldstein, and Cox and Rathvon took different, more nuanced approaches. What you will get are 20 pages of excellent puzzles that feel like they were written for our current reality.

And you can get them for free. All you have to do is donate $10 or more to one of the charities on this page, and Francis will sent you a PDF of the puzzles and answers. Trust me, you want to do that. First, you get cool puzzles. And second, you contribute to some causes that really need your support right now. Gay rights, environmental defense, hate crime monitoring—all of this is critical work with the Alt-Right occupying the most powerful building in the world. So join with me and my puzzling kin and stand up for your right to puzzle.

Thanks for listening,

I'm not much of a celebrity, but I'm still happy I made it through 2016 alive. A lot of my heroes didn’t, and I miss them.

Last year, I had a number of work triumphs—Mummy's Mask, Widow's Walk, and the like—and put everything I had into preventing an unthinkable election outcome that happened anyway. Between The Ghastlytrump Tinies, the Ninth World and Thornwatch Kickstarters, The Humble Puzzle Bundle, the USA Today boycott, Kickstarter’s Election Issues site, the Nuisance Committee, and activities for Child's Play and Extra Life, I was raising money and attention all year. I appreciate immensely everyone who thought what we were doing was worth supporting.

This year is going to be dedicated to getting all of the things we promised into everyone's hands. It kills me that the Apocrypha Adventure Card Game—the best game we've ever made—is still months away from release. The Ninth World is also late, and The Theseus Guide to the Final Maze isn't quite done either. Now, obviously, the main reason they're not out is because we have a very high standard for our games. I'm putting everything we have into getting those out, and making sure the followup Apocrypha products and Thornwatch get to market this year as well, all at the level of quality we demand.

That's a lot to do, and it means that I'm going to be working hard through my 50th birthday in September. But that's also important. When I hit that, you might see a marked change in my behavior. I've been running like a shrew for a long time, and I hit some sort of peak output in 2016. Then, after the election, I hit a wall I've never hit in my life. I have based my career on my inexhaustible work drive, but now I see that I can and will exhaust it. Because I'd like to make it through 2017 alive too.

I don't like our democracy’s chances of getting out of the 2010s alive, though, and I'm not going to hide that. Despite the good guys winning the popular vote, the US made at least the worst mistake it has made since the 1940s, and possibly the worst ever. I won't be showing my patriotism until Trump is gone from the White House. I will do every tiny thing I can to see him hounded from office in disgrace, his fortune destroyed, and his family name in tatters. I will stand in the way of his efforts to destroy democracy and hurt people who don’t look like him. I will not let the sewer people overwhelm the areas I work in, just because they have an equally disgusting champion in the Oval Office.

But maybe more from behind the scenes this time. I was demonstrably anti-Trump this year, and it cost me and my company in a very big way. It's reasonable to acknowledge that. People spent a lot of pixels on the internet calling me very unlikable things. I can handle it. But it doesn't make me more effective in my day job. So, to the Muslims, women, disabled, African Americans, Latinos, LGBTQs, and Jews targeted by the policies of a fascist, racist, ableist, mean-spirited, tax-dodging, violent sexual predator, you can know that I'm doing things to support you in every way I can, even if you don't see me as much. I'm going to try, anyway.

All that said, I'm hopeful for a good year from Lone Shark and in my personal life. If I’m lucky enough to encounter you in the new year, I will wish the same for you. Happy 2017, y'all.

Mike

Sunday, November 6, 2016 (updated Tuesday, November 8, 2016)

We, the 376 people signing this letter, make many of the games and puzzles you play. As game creators, we call on game players all across this great nation to make the best move on Tuesday: voting for Hillary Clinton. Today there are more great games around than ever before, so we know you have options, but this Tuesday we need everyone to join in on the finals of the presidential tournament. Whether you’re a dice chucker, a card slinger, a meeple monger, a puzzle solver, a button masher, or a keyboard clicker, we need you in the game. 

Let's take a look at the players.

Hillary Clinton is the aunt who bought you your first box of Dungeons & Dragons because she heard it promoted literacy and problem solving skills. She’d rather be a healer, but she’ll be the tank when she needs to. She knows that characters of any race or gender should qualify equally for any class, without level limits or ability score penalties. She counts the pieces before you start assembling the jigsaw puzzle. She settled Catan before anyone else thought it was a good idea. She likes co-op games because she knows we’re stronger together. 

Donald Trump is the disruptive sort of player that no one wants at their game table. He tries to take your turn for you in Pandemic Legacy. He solves crosswords incorrectly in pen—in your copy of the magazine. He only wants to play Monopoly, and gets mad when you suggest a Free Parking rule. His favorite deck contains five counterfeit Moxes. To quote the Nuisance Committee, Trump mains Hanzo and complains about team comp in chat. People like him are the reason that game conventions need anti-harassment policies.  

This Tuesday, join us in voting for the highest-level candidate for president we’ve ever seen, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Let's win this thing for her.

The game creators of the world 

#gamers4her

Signed:

Teos Abadia, game designer (Dungeons & Dragons, Kobold Press)

Peter Adkison, founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, owner of Gen Con and Chaldea

Dave Allsop, creator and artist (SLA Industries)

Shannon Appelcline, game author and historian (Designers & Dragons)

Elizabeth Argall, science fiction author, cartoonist, and game designer (Onyx Path, 13th Age)

Martin Ashwood-Smith, crossword constructor, New York Times and Washington Post

Christopher Badell, game designer (Sentinels of the Multiverse, Deck-Building: The Deck-Building Game)

Keith Baker, game designer (Gloom, Eberron, Illimat, Phoenix: Dawn Command)

Richard T. Balsley, writer (Gary Gygax's Cosmos Builder, Interface Zero Republic of Texas)

Cam Banks, game designer (Leverage, Smallville, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Feng Shui 2, Unknown Armies 3)

Jess Banks, editor, art director, and translator (Ars Magica 5th Edition, Polaris, Storium)

Charles Andrew Bates, author, game designer, and illustrator (I Can't Even with These Monsters, Job Hunt)

Chris Battey, puzzle designer (Microsoft and Amazon Puzzle Hunts)

Wolfgang Baur, game designer and publisher (Midgard, Dark*Matter, Planescape)

Tim Beach, game designer, writer, and editor (D&D, Deadlands, The Dark Eye)

Jason Bender, game designer (Command and Conquer, Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, Diablo III)

Scott Bennie, game designer (Champions, Dungeons & Dragons, Mutants & Masterminds)

Alexander Bevier, game researcher, New York University

Greg Bilsland, senior producer (Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition)

Ian Birdsall, organized play coordinator, Asmodee North America

Alan Blaine, game designer (Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto 5)

Dan Blanchett, game designer (Infamous: The Pirate Wars)

Patrick Blindauer, puzzle designer at patrickspuzzles.com

Joe Blomquist, game designer (Dime Stories)

Bill Bodden, game designer (Achtung! Cthulhu, Leverage)

Logan Bonner, game designer (Pathfinder RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, Refuge in Audacity)

Sean Bonney, game designer (Devastation)

Michael Borys, game designer (The Curious Histories of The 49 Boxes), vice president at 42 Entertainment

Emily Care Boss, game designer (Romance Trilogy, Dread House, Bubblegumshoe)

Jeb Boyt, writer, Green Ronin and Modiphius

Timothy Brannan, writer, Elf Lair Games and Other Side Publishing

Ian Brody, game designer (Quartermaster General, Celestial Rainbows)

Chad Brown, game designer (Pathfinder ACG, Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk)

Jason Brown, puzzle designer (Mensa Puzzle Hunt)

Joseph Browning, owner of Expeditious Retreat Press (Advanced Adventures)

Benjamin Bruck, author (Pathfinder RPG)

Foggy Brume, creator (P&A Puzzle Magazine)

Katherine Bryant, puzzle editor (The Enigma)

Jason Bulmahn, lead designer (Pathfinder RPG)

Joe Cabrera, graphic artist and puzzle designer (National Puzzlers' League)

Noah Callaway, game programmer (Picturiffic, Hot Routes)

T Campbell, puzzle designer (Ubercross C-Spot, Crossworlds, Horror Crosswords)

Jason Carl, CEO of By Night Studios

Richard Dale Carlson, game designer (American McGee's Alice, Thief 2: The Metal Age, Brainpipe)

Joseph Carriker, game developer (Chronicle of Darkness, Exalted, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying)

Mark Carroll, writer (Conan RPG, John Carter)

Michele Carter, game editor (Dungeons & Dragons)

Dr. Cat, game designer and programmer (Furcadia, Ultima)

John P. Cataldo, game designer (Dungeons & Dragons: Online, Empire Earth)

Dave Chalker, game designer (Get Bit!)

Chris Cieslik, owner of Asmadi Games (Innovation, Penny Press, Win Lose or Banana)

Jeff Cisneros, writer (Celestial Chorus, Mage: The Ascension, Shadows of Selastos, Bloodshadows)

Yesenia Cisneros, online marketer at The Pokémon Company International

Daniel Lovat Clark, game developer (Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition)

Bill Coffin, author (Septimus, Century Station, Systems Failure)

Adam Cohen, puzzle writer and editor

Anthony Coleman, game designer and developer (Bejeweled Blitz, Unpleasant Horse, Space Tyrant)

Andy Collins, game designer (State of Decay 2, Dungeons & Dragons)

Bruce Cordell, game designer and author (Dungeons & Dragons, Numenera, The Strange, Gods of the Fall)

Jeff Cornelius, co-owner of Cosmic Wombat Games

Torah Cottrill, game editor and author (Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, Gamma World)

Liz Courts, author and developer (Pathfinder, Kobold Press)

Alexandra Cox, producer (Cards Against Humanity)

Tim Cox, writer and developer (Star Wars Roleplaying, Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, The End of the World)

Luke Crane, game designer (Burning Wheel, Mouse Guard) and head of games at Kickstarter

Mike Cressy, artist (Sierra Hoyle, EA Need for Speed)

Robert "Doc" Cross, game writer (Tooniversal Tour Guide, Toon Munchkin, Toon Tales, Toon Ace Catalog)

Pavel Curtis, puzzle designer (Pavel’s Puzzles, Ada’s Adalogical Ænigmas)

Liz Danforth, artist (Magic: The Gathering) and game designer (Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls, Wasteland 1 and 2)

Lane Daughtry, president of TinkerHouse Games (Dwarven Descent)

Rob Daviau, game designer (Pandemic Legacy, Seafall, Risk Legacy)

Steve Dee, game designer (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Shadow of the Demon Lord)

Chas deLong, production manager (Dungeons & Dragons)

Paul DeStefano, game designer (Nin-Gonost, Dungeon Clash, Aapep, Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game)

Dennis Detwiller, game creator (Delta Green, Godlike, Magic: The Gathering)

Roberto Di Meglio, game designer (War of the Ring, Rattlesnake, Age of Conan, Battle of Five Armies)

Ben Dobyns, co-founder, Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (The Gamers films)

Glenn Drover, game designer (Age of Empires III, Railroad Tycoon, WarQuest, Attack!)

John duBois, game designer (Avignon)

Chris Dupuis, game designer (Risk Legacy, Kaijudo, Heroscape)

Jason Durall, writer, editor, and designer (Basic Role-Playing, Conan, The Laundry, Lords of Gossamer & Shadow)

Jared Earle, writer and designer (SLA Industries)

Chandana Ekanayake, game director (Wayward Sky)

Mike Elliott, game designer (Thunderstone, Dice Masters, Quarriors, Duel Masters)

Scott Elliott, game designer (DragonStone Mine) and vice president at Gen Con

Jenn Ellis, game creator (Phoenix: Dawn Command)

Geoff Engelstein, game designer (Space Cadets series, Ludology podcast)

Brian Engard, game designer (Bulldogs!, Shadow of the Century)

James Ernest, president and lead designer, Cheapass Games (Kill Doctor Lucky, Pairs, Tak)

Steve Ewoldt, game designer (4 the Birds)

Sean Patrick Fannon, game designer (Savage Rifts, Shaintar, The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible)

Matt Fantastic, owner of Prettiest Princess Games and Elm City Games Cafe

Kiva Fecteau, executive producer, designer, and game analyst at Shadowsong Industries

Mike Fehlauer, vice president at Penny Arcade and project manager (Thornwatch)

Sean “Fletch” Fletcher, game designer (Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle, Magic the Gathering: Shadowmoor)

David Flor, game designer, software architect, and president of Darklight Interactive

Matt Forbeck, author and game designer (Dungeonology, Marvel Encyclopedia)

Holly Forbis, owner of Games Plus

Aaron Forsythe, senior director for R&D, Magic: The Gathering

Crystal Frasier, game developer (Pathfinder RPG)

Robert Fuhrer, founder of KenKen Puzzle Co.

Javier Garavito, game designer (Lord of the Rings, Spec Ops, Nanovor, Pixar Rush)

Richard Garfield, creator (Magic: The Gathering)

Trin Garritano, events manager (Cards Against Humanity), Friendshipping podcast

Lee Garvin, game designer (Tales from the Floating Vagabond, The Noble Wild, Badass Zombie Killers)

Justin Gary, founder of Stone Blade Entertainment and game designer (Ascension Deckbuilding Game, SolForge)

Sean Geraghty, president of Pope Productions

Shanna Germain, game designer, editor, and writer (Numenera, No Thank You, Evil!, Predation)

Dean Gilbert, game designer (Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Firefly RPG, Torg: Eternity)

Jonathan Gilmour, game designer (Dead of Winter, Vault Wars, Wasteland Express Delivery Service)

Mitch Gitelman, president and co-founder, Harebrained Schemes (Shadowrun, BattleTech, MechWarrior)

Max Gladstone, game writer (Choice of the Deathless, The City's Thirst)

Bruce Glassco, game designer (Betrayal at House on the Hill, Mystery! Motive for Murder)

Amy Goldstein, puzzle writer and editor (Puzzability, Wall Street Journal)

Mark L. Gottlieb, design team manager for Magic: The Gathering

Patric Götz, founder at Uhrwerk Verlag

Scott Fitzgerald Gray, editor and designer (Dungeons & Dragons)

Andrew Marc Greene, puzzle and game designer (Sevendeck)

Justine Greene, owner, artist, and designer at Charming Geeks 'n Goths

Clayton Grey, game designer and owner, Laboratory

Jim Groves, author and developer (Pathfinder, Kobold Press)

Jeff Grubb, game designer and author (Marvel Super Heroes RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, Guild Wars)

Julie Haehn, producer and project manager (Xbox, Hololens, Cheapass Games, WizKids)

August Hahn, game designer and author (Glory and Greed, Lone Wolf Adventure Game, Judge Dredd)

Marty Hale-Evans, game designer (Relativity, Wormholes)

Ron Hale-Evans, author and game designer (Piecepack, Letterbox, Relativity)

Mark Halpin, puzzle designer (Labor Day Extravaganzas)

Scott Haring, game designer (Car Wars, Autoduel Quarterly, Pyramid, GURPS)

Pat Harrigan, writer and editor (1st Person, 2nd Person, 3rd Person, Zones of Control)

Chris Harris, game designer (Kobold Press, Adventure-A-Week, Zombie Sky Press, Frog God Games)

Ken Hart, editor and writer (Dungeon Crawl Classics, Etherscope, D&D Adventurers League)

Francis Heaney, puzzle designer and editor at Puzzlewright Press

Rob Heinsoo, game designer (Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, 13th Age, Epic Spell Wars)

Nate Heiss, game designer (Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, Paradise Bay, Rumpelstiltskin)

Elsa S. Henry, game designer (Dead Scare, Fate Accessibility Toolkit)

Cory J. Herndon, author (Ravnica: City of Guilds) and writer (Guild Wars, Pirates of the Burning Sea, WildStar)

Fred Hicks, game designer (Don’t Rest Your Head, Fate)

Risto "Nordic" Hieta, game designer (Amoeba, Acirema, Miekka ja Magia, and other Finnish RPGs)

Will Hindmarch, game designer (Always/Never/Now, Storium, Project Dark)

Erin Hoffman-John, CEO of Sense of Wonder

Jeremy Holcomb, game designer (The Duke, Toboggans of Doom, Anachronism)

Brent Holman, puzzle designer at Shinteki and creative lead on ClueKeeper

JR Honeycutt, game designer and Legacy game developer (Seafall)

Joshua Howard, co-owner of BoneGames and videogame industry executive

Sarah Hood, writer (Eclipse Phase, Aethera)

Heather Hudson, artist (Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons)

Tim Huie, game convention organizer

Robert Huss, game designer (The Shadow Over Westminster)

Michael Iachini, game designer and publisher (Chaos & Alchemy, Otters)

Thomas Idzikowski, puzzle designer and hunt organizer (American Cancer Society, Red Cross)

Shane Ivey, game designer (Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game)

Mike Janney, puzzle designer and game engineer (Plants vs. Zombies 2)

Jennell Jaquays, game designer (Dark Tower, Caverns of Thracia, Griffin Mountain)

Samson Jinks, immersive experience developer (Epic Team Adventures)

L. Scott Johnson, game designer (Vampire: The Eternal Struggle)

Seth Johnson, game designer (HeroClix, Double Double Dominoes)

Olivia Johnston, contributor and editor (Rolemaster, Catan)

Tom Jolly, game and puzzle designer (Wiz-War, Drakon, Cavetroll)

Jett Jones, puzzle designer (World Henchmen Organization)

Matt Jones, puzzle designer (Jonesin' Crosswords)

Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie, game writer (Torment: Tides of Numenera, Diablo III, Wasteland 3, Horizon: Zero Dawn)

Alex Karaczun, president of Mischief, Inc. and author (A Forgotten Evil, The Tomb of Rakoss the Undying)

John D. Kennedy, writer and game designer (Infinity Tabletop Role Playing Game, Ninja Crusade)

Darla Kennerud, author and editor (Magic: The Gathering, World of Warcraft TCG, Warmachine)

Steve Kenson, game designer (Mutants & Masterminds, Icons)

Eric Knight, sales operations analyst, Asmodee North America

Ann Koi, illustrator and content writer (Wizards of the Coast, Eos, Strix)

Raph Koster, game designer and author (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, The Theory of Fun)

John Kovalic, cartoonist, illustrator, and game designer (Munchkin, Chez Geek, ROFL!)

Dan Kramarsky, author (The Official RPGA Tournament Handbook)

Elliot Kravitz, game tester (WizKids, SPI, Yaquinto)

Debbie Manber Kupfer, author and puzzle designer (Paws 4 Logic)

Calye Lacefield, creator of Gamer Badges and CEO at JBM Press

Phil Lacefield, Jr., graphic designer and chief engineer at JBM Press

Eric Lang, game designer (Blood Rage, Dice Masters, X-COM: The Board Game)

Sage LaTorra, co-creator (Dungeon World)

Luke Laurie, game designer (Stones of Fate, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire)

Jennifer Lawrence, author (Scion, Vampire: The Requiem, Changeling: The Lost)

Dan Layman-Kennedy, game designer (Tome of Beasts, DMs Guild)

Frank Lazar, contributing writer (GURPS)

Matt Leacock, game designer (Pandemic, Forbidden Island)

Bruce Leban, puzzle designer (Jumping to Conclusions) and editor (The Enigma)

Roy Leban, game and puzzle designer (WIM, The Librarian's Almanaq, The Year of Puzzles)

Peter Lee, game designer (Lords of Waterdeep, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition)

Rich Lescouflair, game designer and writer (Esper Genesis, Curse of the Demon Stone, In Volo's Wake)

Devin Lewis, game developer (Munchkin CCG)

Ian Liddle, owner and publisher of Applied Vectors

Malika Lim, game designer (Max Axe) and Twitch host, Hyper RPG

Nicole Lindroos, co-owner, Green Ronin Publishing (Fantasy AGE, Dragon Age RPG)

Jonathan H. Liu, game designer (Emperor's New Clothes)

Stacy Longstreet Heath, senior art director (Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition) and creative producer (PikPok)

Andrew Looney, game designer (Pyramid Arcade, Loonacy, Fluxx, Chrononauts)

Michael Long, writer and managing Editor of Tribality Publishing

Joe Louie, infrastructure project manager, Xbox Live

Matt Lovell, author and puzzle designer (Puzzle Safari, The Game)

James Lowder, author and editor (Hobby Games: The 100 Best, Knight of the Black Rose, The Ring of Winter)

Alexandra M. Lucas, content writer, Microsoft Cortana

Michelle Lyons-McFarland, game designer, editor, and co-owner of Growling Door Games

WJ MacGuffin, game designer (Paranoia, The Laundry, Unknown Armies)

Kenn Mahan, writer, The Adventurer's Mercantile

Jizin Maher, Programmer, Barrel Games

Richard Malena, game theorist and developer (Widow's Walk, Phoenix: Dawn Command)

David Malki !, author and game designer (Wondermark, Machine of Death)

Hal Mangold, graphic designer and art director (Dragon Age RPG, Mutants and Masterminds)

Maurie Manning, illustrator and hidden picture designer (Highlights magazine, SSI, Mindscape)

Tommy Maranges, game designer (Secret Hitler)

Pat Marino, game designer at Guilderland Games

Gregory Marques, game designer (Shadowrun Crossfire, Magic: The Gathering, D&D Tiny Adventures)

Timothy Mattes, game reviewer and playtester, SMIF Networks

Karyn McCollough, UI Designer (Poker Heroes, Super Sock Monsters)

Colin McComb, game designer (Torment: Tides of Numenera, Planescape: Torment)

Matt M McElroy, editor and designer (Vampire: The Masquerade, Hunter: The Vigil)

Michael McFarland, game designer (Pests!)

Jesse McGatha, developer (Giza: The Great Pyramid, Sun & Scale) and creative director at Epic Team Adventures

Jean McGuire, owner of Wintertree Software (TableMaster)

Guy McLimore, game designer and publisher (GrailQuest, Star Trek: The Role Playing Game, Simply Roleplaying)

Craig McRoberts, community overlord of Greater Than Games

Mike Mearls, game designer (Dungeons & Dragons)

Alli Medwin, editor and game designer (Magic: The Gathering, Magic: The Gathering Online)

Nick Meenachan, host of the YouTube channel Board Game Brawl

Sheldon Menery, Magic: The Gathering Judge Hall of Fame

Galen Michael, game designer (Atlantis Rising)

Sonia Michaels, senior lecturer, DigiPen Institute of Technology

Casey Middaugh, interactive game designer (Schooner or Later, 10 Minutes in the Forest)

Levi Miles, writer (Pathfinder RPG) and blogger at GaymerMaster

David Millar, puzzle author and developer (The Griddle, Dave's Mapper)

Tony Miller, host of the Breaking into Board Games podcast

John Mischo, playtest and QA (WotC, Cheapass Games, Disney Interactive)

Malachi Mojica, creator (The Past Beyond)

Christopher Moody, press relations manager at Dreamfab (Saving Yello, Chasing Yello)

Mark Moreland, game developer (Pathfinder RPG)

David Moskowitz, game designer (Gary Gygax's Hunters of Ralk, Rabbit Match, Rolling for Bunnies)

Levi Mote, game designer (Ruse) and publishing partner at Daily Magic Games

Sara Mox, associate community manager, Wizards of the Coast

Kevin Andrew Murphy, author (Mage, Pathfinder, George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards)

Matthew Lee Myers, game designer (Star Wars Saga Edition)

John Nephew, co-publisher of Atlas Games (Gloom, Once Upon a Time, Lunch Money, Lost in R’lyeh)

Michelle Nephew, co-publisher of Atlas Games (Gloom, Once Upon a Time, Lunch Money, Lost in R’lyeh)

Wes Nicholson, author (Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition supplements, d20 supplements)

Myles Nye, game designer at Wise Guys Events and challenge consultant for Survivor

Michael “MOB” O'Brien, vice president, Chaosium (Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Glorantha)

Kevin O'Hara, director of game design at Big Fish Games (Fairway Solitaire)

Chris O'Neill, game designer (Kobolds Ate My Baby!, Schrodinger's Cat) at 9th Level Games

Ethan Pasternack, game designer (Star Trek Fleet Captains, Star Wars PocketModel TCG, Arcane Legions)

Dave Paul, writer and editor (101 Spells, Pathways magazine)

Karl Alex Pauls, engineer (Overwatch, StarCraft II, Diablo 3, Hearthstone)

Aaron Pavao, game designer (Let’s Kill, Leverage RPG)

Trip Payne, editor, Daily Celebrity Crossword

Ed Pegg Jr, puzzle designer (mathpuzzle.com, Numb3rs)

Paul Peterson, game designer (Guillotine, Smash Up, Plants Vs. Zombies Heroes)

Steve Peterson, game designer (Champions)

Wes Platt, writer/designer (Knee Deep, Fallen Earth, OtherSpace)

Greg Pliska, puzzle writer (NPR)

Greg Poehlein, game designer (Star Trek: The RPG, Plainlabel Role Playing System, Budget Battlefield)

Brian Poel, game designer (Golem Arcana) and director of operations of Harebrained Schemes

Marie Poole, CEO of Lone Shark Games (Apocrypha, The Ninth World, Thornwatch)

Adam Porroni, designer and owner at Hikari Games (Phoenix Covenant Tactics Card Game)

Steve Port, president of Legion Supplies

Chris Pramas, publisher at Green Ronin Publishing and game designer (Fantasy AGE, Dragon Age RPG)

Jessica Price, writer, editor, and producer (Microsoft Kinect launch portfolio, Pathfinder RPG, State of Decay 2)

Steve Pritchard, executive producer at Sumo Games

Anthony Pryor, game designer and writer for White Wolf, Paizo, Frog God, and Green Ronin products

Boyan Radakovich, game designer and producer (TableTop, The Ninth World, Wordoku)

Sheri Graner Ray, game designer (Star Wars Galaxies, Wizards 101, Ultima)

Rich Redman, game designer (Dark*Matter, Dungeons & Dragons, Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game)

Sean K Reynolds, designer and community manager, Monte Cook Games (Numenera, The Strange)

Keith Richmond, game designer (Pathfinder ACG, Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk)

Matt Riggsby, author (GURPS publications)

Michael Rios, puzzle designer and author (Cranium-Training Logic Puzzles, Mensa Math and Logic Puzzles)

Roderick Robertson, writer and graphic artist (Pendragon, Hero Wars, Ars Magica)

Wade Rockett, game designer and editor (13th Age, Pathfinder RPG, Dungeons & Dragons)

Eddie Rodriguez, creator and host of Zero Budget Geek.

Scott Rogers, game designer (God of War, Pac-Man World, Maximo)

Melissa Rogerson, board game researcher and game designer (Agricola X and Z)

Marcus Ross, game designer (Discount Salmon, BEEEEES!)

Aaron Roudabush, game designer (13th Age, Nocturne)

Brander "Badger" Roullett, game designer (Dice of Crowns)

Richard Thames Rowan, puzzle and game designer (Epic Team Adventures, Microsoft, Wizards of the Coast)

Dan Rowen, president of Playroom Entertainment (Killer Bunnies, Unspeakable Words)

Tammie Webb Ryan, editor (d20 Future, d20 Apocalypse)

Brady Sadler, game designer (Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game, The Walking Dead: No Sanctuary)

Beverly Marshall Saling, game editor and writer (Magic: The Gathering, MLB Showdown, Bella Sara)

Adrian Sandoval, game designer (Orion's Odyssey, Fast Flip, Super Obnoxious Ball)

Gary M. Sarli, game developer and editor (Star Wars RPG Saga Edition)

Evan Sass, editor at Green Ronin Publishing and game designer (Walk the Plank)

Michael Satran, author (Hero System)

Paul Saxberg, developer for Roxley Games and game designer (Coven)

Isaac Shalev, game designer (Ravenous River, ChronoSphere, Retreat to Dartmoor)

Max Schaefer, designer and art director (Diablo, Diablo II, Torchlight, Torchlight II, Hob)

Ryan Schapals, writer (Open Legend RPG) and production manager at Hyper RPG              

Jesse Shepherd, co-founder, Seattle MegaGames

F. Wesley Schneider, author and co-creator (Pathfinder RPG)

Ryan Schoon, writer and game designer (Edara, Fragged Empire, Gears of Defiance)

Robert Schuster, game designer (Magic: The Gathering)

Dave Schwimmer, organized play developer

Jesse Scoble, narrative designer (Wizard101, Ubisoft, Game of Thrones d20)

Douglas Seacat, continuity and senior writer (Warmachine, Hordes, Iron Kingdoms, Unleashed)

Coray Seifert, producer and game designer (Experiment 7, Autodesk, THQ)

Mike Selinker, puzzle and game designer (Pathfinder ACG, The Maze of Games, The Ghastlytrump Tinies)

Gareth-Michael Skarka, writer and game designer (Thrilling Tales, Hong Kong Action Theatre, Far West)

Stan Shaw, illustrator (Star Wars, Pokémon TCG, DC Comics, Transformers)

Mike Shea, creator of Sly Flourish and author (The Lazy Dungeon Master)

Janna Silverstein, game editor and writer (Aion, Kobold Guides, MechWarrior)

Jason Slingerland, game designer (Unreal Estate, Water Balloon Washout)

Ben Smith, puzzle hunt organizer and constructor (BAPHL)

Lester Smith, game designer (Dark Conspiracy RPG, Dragon Dice, D6xD6 RPG)

Daniel Solis, game designer (Kodama: The Tree Spirits)

Paul Sottosanti, game designer (Magic, D&D: Tiny Adventures, Penny Arcade: Gamers vs Evil, Darkspore)

Stan!, game designer and cartoonist (Dragonlance, The Littlest Shoggoth, Pokémon Jr. Adventure Game)

Bryan CP Steele, game designer, miniature lines producer, and writer at Cool Mini or Not

Fenner Stevens, game designer (Pongo)

Matt Stevens, game designer (Two-Fisted Tales)

Greg Stolze, game designer (ORE, World of Darkness, Unknown Armies)

Stephanie Straw, board game media content creator (Meeples Included, Nerd Nighters, Board Game Geek)

Matt Tabak, editor and game designer (Magic: The Gathering, Duel Masters)

Damon Tabb, game designer (KerFlip!, PickleLetter) and owner of Creative Foundry Games

Howard Tayler, game designer (XDM, Capital Offensive, Planet Mercenary)

Nate Taylor, artist and cartoonist (Pairs, The Princess and Mr. Whiffle)

Russ Taylor, author and programmer (Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, MUDs)

Elisa Teague, game and puzzle designer (Geek Out!, Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow's Walk)

Max Temkin, game designer (Cards Against Humanity, Slap .45, Secret Hitler)

Jake Theis, senior marketing manager at Gen Con LLC

Susan Theodore Sr., product manager at USAopoly

Matt Thomason, game designer and author (Babylon 5: The Athena Strain)

Brooke Thompson, experience designer (Eldritch Errors, Quirk, Board2Street)

Graeme Thomson, game designer (Word Winder, GO mental)

Robert W. Thomson, founder of 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming

Brian Tinsman, author (The Game Inventor's Guidebook) and game designer (Magic: The Gathering, Duelmasters)

Cat Tobin, managing director and co-owner, Pelgrane Press

Stephen “Stepto” Toulouse, former Xbox Director, writer, and humorist

G. Kelly Toyama, lead designer (Titans Tactics)

Tess Treadwell, producer and designer (Fallout New Vegas, South Park: Stick of Truth, Cityville)

Jonathan Tweet, game designer and author (Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, Grandmother Fish, Clades)

D.J. Trindle, editor (Legend of the Five Rings)

Clark Valentine, game designer (Fate Accelerated Edition)

Monica Valentinelli, writer, editor, and developer (Firefly RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade, Court of Shadows)

Ray Vallese, game editor (Dungeons & Dragons, Numenera, The Strange, Torment)

Ivan van Norman, host and author (Game the Game, The ABCs of RPGs)

Allen Varney, writer and game designer (Paranoia)

Peter Vaughan, director of development at Breaking Games

Rachel Ventura, writer and business director for Legendary Games

Gavin Verhey, game designer (Magic: The Gathering)

C. Joshua Villines, editor (Skull Island eXpeditions, Gun Kingdoms)

Wendy Wade, senior producer (Magic: The Gathering, Age of Empires: Mythologies DS, Project Spark)

D. Daniel Wagner, game designer (Manual of Aurania)

Jill Waller, game developer (games for Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, LeapFrog)

Rob Watkins, game designer (Shadowrun: Crossfire, Star Wars Miniatures)

Angela M. Webber, The Doubleclicks singer (“This Fantasy World (Dungeons & Dragons),” “Tabletop Games”)

Amy Weber, artist (Magic: The Gathering)

Lisa Weeks, chief marketing officer of Hashbang Games (Gravi, Obslashin, Beat The Dummy)

Gaby Weidling, puzzle and game designer (Pathfinder ACG, The Maze of Games, Epic Team Adventures)

Dave Weinstein, network engineer and network gameplay designer (Rainbow Six)

Scott Weiss, puzzle designer (Crypto-Lists)

Aaron Weissblum, game and puzzle designer (Celestia, San Marco, 10 Days series. Smarty Party)

Sandor Weisz, puzzle designer and commissioner of The Mystery League

Michael Wenman, owner and lead designer at Vulpinoid Studios (FUBAR, The Goblin Tarot)

Christopher West, cartographer (Maps of Mastery)

Wil Wheaton, co-creator, host, and writer of the shows TableTop and Titansgrave

Tarah M. Wheeler, simulation programmer, crypto puzzle designer, and author (Women in Tech)

Gavin White, founder of Special Snowflake Games

Peter Whitley, art director at Avalon Hill Games and Dragon Magazine

Rob Wieland, author and game designer (Firefly RPG, Camelot Trigger, Shadowrun)

David Williams, game designer (Legend of the Five Rings, Doomtown, 7th Sea)

Skip Williams, game designer and Sage (Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, Dragonlance 5th Age, Chainmail)

John E. Williamson, designer and producer (Hawken, SuperNova, Spec Ops, America's Army, Rainbow Six)

Heather Wilson, game designer and editor (Schrödinger's Cats)

Ray Winninger, game designer (Underground, DC Heroes, Torg)

David Wise, creative director and brand manager (Dungeons & Dragons)

Peter Wocken, graphic designer (Dead of Winter, Xia, Sagrada)

Sam Wood, artist (Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering)

Scott Woodard, writer and game designer (The Sixth Gun, Flash Gordon)

James Wyatt, game designer and author (Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, The Draconic Prophecies)

Linda Yaw, editor (The Primal Order)

Wil Zambole, puzzle and game designer, founder of Cardhalla

Ian Zang, game developer (Xtronaut, Expedition: Roleplaying Card Game)

David Zuckman, game designer (Overlords of Infamy) and CEO of Obscure Reference Games

For ONE MORE DAY, you can get The Ghastlytrump Tinies for one cent plus shipping with a receipt for a new $25+ donation to the Clinton campaign. Now, for the very last poem from the completely free PDF The Annotated Ghastlytrump Tinies.

Whatever I’ve said, you can call lies or truth As you weigh the choices in your voting booth. Vote for Trump or for Clinton or Johnson or Stein Or anyone else that you find on that line. Vote down-ballot too for your reps and your senators. Value your rights as did all your progenitors. What matters is caring. There’s something at stake. Our republic’s important. We can’t see it break. Maybe this booklet will serve as a relic Of turbulent times that’ll seem psychedelic. Did a bird land near Sanders?  Did Hillary shimmy? Did Cruz make that speech? Was Trump’s hair mussed by Jimmy? Was that Gary’s tongue? Did Trump fight with the Pope? All our descendants will probably say, “Nope.” I thank you for wading through all of this doggerel. I hope to see you at Clinton’s inaugural.

About the publisher: Basket of Adorables is a Seattle-based advocacy group founded by executive director Mike Selinker and directive executor Gaby Weidling. The Ghastlytrump Tinies is their first effort at rabble-rousing. They can be found @mikeselinker and @ermahgerdgerby. 

If you like this piece from The Ghastlytrump Tinies, you can get the book for a penny (plus shipping) with your $25+ donation to the Clinton campaign or the Southern Poverty Law Center. You can get a free PDF of The Annotated Ghastlytrump Tinies from our Election Issues page on Kickstarter.

So what if Trump wins? Will he start World War III? Will he bring in the Klan to his presidency? Will we come to the end of the American Dream? Will we all end up slaves up the Putin regime? None of this is that likely. Probably all in our heads. But the fact we don’t know is the part we should dread. Every nominee has understood their enfranchisement Meant country trumps all of their self-aggrandizement. Obama feels Trump hasn’t tainted our zeitgeist. (Maybe not for us all, but he sure hits with white guys.) We must be alert to prevent this occurring When a demagogue sees there’s a pot that needs stirring. Then again, we’ll be different if Clinton wins too. A woman as president’s long overdue. We might not be so split. We might find common ground a bit. That might be naive, but I do like the sound of it.

About the artist: Tony Steele is a Michigan-based illustrator whose work includes the book Stranded on Earth and the original version of the game Unspeakable Words.

If you like this piece from The Ghastlytrump Tinies, you can get the book for a penny (plus shipping) with your $25+ donation to the Clinton campaign or the Southern Poverty Law Center. You can get a free PDF of The Annotated Ghastlytrump Tinies from our Election Issues page on Kickstarter.