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Michael Gray (game Designer)
Michael Gray is an American game designer from rural Massachusetts known for his board game designs for Milton Bradley. He eventually became the Senior Director of Global Concept Acquisition for Hasbro's games division. Game reviewer Tom Vasel has called him "the wisest man in all of board gaming." Gray is credited as the designer of over 25 board games or game items including two of the most popular board game for young teenage girls, ''Mall Madness'' and Electronic Dream Phone. Games that Gray has designed or co-designed include: *1975 ''Dungeon!'', credited as a co-designer as he worked on a version of this game *1980 ''Fantasy Forest'', a TSR game with artwork by Larry Elmore *1986 ''Shogun'', also known as ''Samurai Swords'' or ''Ikusa'' (1987 Charles S. Roberts Best Pre-World War II board game nominee) *1986 '' Fortress America'' (1986 Charles S. Roberts Best Twentieth Century game winner) *1992 ''Omega Virus'', an electronic talking board game *1993 13 Dead End Drive 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Designer
Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification. Game designer and developer Robert Zubek defines game design by breaking it down into its elements, which he says are the following: * Gameplay, which is the interaction between the player and the mechanics and systems * Mechanics and systems, which are the rules and objects in the game * Player experience, which is how users feel when they're playing the game Games such as board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, video games, war games, or simulation games benefit from the principles of game design. Academically, game design is part of game studies, while game theory studies strategic decision making (primarily in non-game situations). Games have historically inspired ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Board Game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a competition between two or more players. To show a few examples: in checkers (British English name 'draughts'), a player wins by capturing all opposing pieces, while Eurogames often end with a calculation of final scores. '' Pandemic'' is a cooperative game where players all win or lose as a team, and peg solitaire is a puzzle for one person. There are many varieties of board games. Their representation of real-life situations can range from having no inherent theme, such as checkers, to having a specific theme and narrative, such as ''Cluedo''. Rules can range from the very simple, such as in snakes and ladders; to deeply complex, as in ''Advanced Squad Leader''. Play components now often include custom figures or shaped counters, and distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States. It became a division of Hasbro in 1984. History Foundation Milton Bradley found success making board games. In 1860, Milton Bradley moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and set up the state's first color lithography shop. Its graphic design of Abraham Lincoln sold very well, until Lincoln grew his beard and rendered the likeness out-of-date. Struggling to find a new way to use his lithography machine, Bradley visited his friend George Tapley. Tapley challenged him to a game, most likely an old English game. Bradley conceived the idea of making a purely American game. He created ''The Checkered Game of Life'', which had players move along a track from Infancy to Happy Old Age, in which t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. As of August 2020 over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions. Among its products are ''Transformers'', ''G.I. Joe'', ''Power Rangers'', '' Rom the Space Knight'', ''Micronauts'', ''M.A.S.K.'', ''Monopoly'', ''Furby'', ''Nerf'', ''Twister'', and '' My Little Pony'', and with the Entertainment One acquisition in 2019, franchises like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. The Hasbro brand also spawned TV shows to promote its products, such as '' Family Game Night'' on the Discovery Family network, a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery. History Hassenfeld Brothers Three Polish-Jewish brothers, Herman, Hillel, and Henry Hassenfeld, founded Hass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Vasel
Thomas J. Vasel is a podcaster, designer and reviewer of board games, and hosted ''The Dice Tower'' podcast from 2003-2022, which has more than 300,000 subscribers. Vasel began publishing board game reviews in 2002 on BoardGameGeek, followed by YouTube, and his ''Dice Tower'' website. As of 2021, he has rated over 7000 games and expansions. His first board game review was for ''The Settlers of Canaan ''Settlers of Canaan'' is a licensed adaptation of ''Catan'' that incorporates Hebrew Bible themes into its multiplayer board game play. It was published in 2002 by Cactus Game Design, based in North Carolina. Settlers of Canaan takes place in ...''. Vasel was the designer of the board game ''Vicious Fishes'' in 2010, and co-designer for the boardgame ''Nothing Personal'' in 2013. One of his children, Jack Vasel, died in 2011, resulting in Vasel establishing the ''Jack Vasel Memorial Fund'', a not-for-profit fund with the goal of raising and distributing funds to help gamers in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mall Madness
''Mall Madness'' is a shopping themed board game released by Milton Bradley in 1988. An electronic talking edition was released in 1989, followed by redesigns released in 1996, 2004, and 2020. Objective The game's objective is to be the first player to purchase six items on the player's shopping list and return to the parking lot or their final destination. This final objective varies with each new edition of the game. The original shopping list objective was increased to ten items with the release of the 1989 and 1996 editions. Gameplay The setting for the board is a two-story shopping mall. The game is designed for two to four players. Each player receives $150 from a player who is designated as the banker. The banker dispenses cash in the following manner: one $50 bill, three $20 bills, three $10 bills, and two $5 bills. In the 1989 and 1996 versions, each player receives $200 in the following manner: two $50 bills, three $20 bills, three $10 bills, and two $5 bills. The f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dungeon!
''Dungeon!'' is an adventure board game designed by David R. Megarry and first released by TSR, Inc. in 1975. Additional contributions through multiple editions were made by Gary Gygax, Steve Winter, Jeff Grubb, Chris Dupuis and Michael Gray. ''Dungeon!'' simulates some aspects of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') role-playing game, which was released in 1974, although Megarry had a prototype of ''Dungeon!'' ready as early as 1972. ''Dungeon!'' features a map of a simple six-level dungeon with hallways, rooms, and chambers. Players move around the board seeking to defeat monsters and claim treasure. Greater treasures are located in deeper levels of the dungeon, along with tougher monsters. Players choose different character classes with different abilities. The object of the game is to be the first to return to the beginning chamber with a set value of treasure. Original edition David M. Ewalt, in his book ''Of Dice and Men'', described Megarry's original edition of the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TSR (company)
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been unable to find a publisher for ''D&D'', a new type of game he and Dave Arneson were co-developing, so founded the new company with Kaye to self-publish their products. Needing financing to bring their new game to market, Gygax and Kaye brought in Brian Blume in December as an equal partner. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' is generally considered the first tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), and established the genre. When Kaye died suddenly in 1975, the Tactical Studies Rules partnership restructured into TSR Hobbies, Inc. and accepted investment from Blume's father Melvin. With the popular ''D&D'' as its main product, TSR Hobbies became a major force in the games industry by the late 1970s. Melvin Blume eventually transferred his shares to his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Elmore
Larry Elmore (born August 5, 1948) is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines, and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Dragonlance'', and his own comic strip series ''SnarfQuest''. He is author of the book ''Reflections of Myth''. Early life and education Elmore was born August 5, 1948, in Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up in Grayson County in midwestern Kentucky. Elmore described his school days by saying, "The rural school I attended didn't have any art program, so I spent my time drawing - and daydreaming. I was a pretty bad student ... I was always getting into trouble for drawing in class. I wish I had a quarter for every drawing of mine a teacher destroyed." He majored in art at Western Kentucky University. Career A month after graduating from college, Elmore was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany. After leaving the service, Elmore worked as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shogun (1986 Board Game)
''Shogun'' is a board wargame set in feudal Japan, first released in 1986 by game maker Milton Bradley. Publication history ''Shogun'', designed by Michael Gray, was first released in 1986 by Milton Bradley as part of their Gamemaster series. It was renamed to ''Samurai Swords'' in its first re-release (1995) to disambiguate it from other games with the same name (in particular, ''James Clavell's Shogun'', a wargame with a similar theme, released in 1983), and renamed again to ''Ikusa'' in its 2011 re-release under Hasbro's Avalon Hill banner. Gameplay Set in feudal Japan, two to five players take control of a fictional warlord and pit their armies against one another in hopes of winning the title Shogun. Each player controls a number of daimyō, or generals, who command an army. Other forces on the board represent militia and garrisons. Players have the option of hiring ronin (mercenaries). There is a ninja, principally used as an assassin against enemy daimyō. Units include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortress America (board Game)
''Fortress America'' is a strategic board wargame designed by Michael Gray and published in 1986 by Milton Bradley. The game depicts a 21st Century United States being invaded on three sides by three world powers. ''Fortress America'' was the fourth of five games in the '' Gamemaster'' series. Overview Set in the 21st century, the board game begins with the premise that during the Cold War, nuclear terrorists destroyed much of the Middle East's supply of oil. In response, the United States launched into orbit a satellite based solar-power system to solve the energy crisis. At the same time, the U.S. had perfected the so-called "Star Wars" technology and incorporated a satellite-based laser system into the solar satellites. This system was capable of destroying intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) before impact. Thus, the USA was completely safe from nuclear threat, ending the era of Mutual Assured Destruction. This creates a great deal of political turmoil - the USS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omega Virus
This is a list of products produced by the Milton Bradley Company. Board games * 13 Dead End Drive (1993) * The Adventures of Superman (1940) ** Superman and Superboy Game (1967) ** Superman II (1981) * Aggravation (1962) * The American Dream Game (1979) * The '' American Heritage'' historical war-game series: ** Battle Cry, American Civil War (1961) ** Broadside, War of 1812 naval (1962) ** Dogfight, World War I aerial (1963) ** Hit the Beach, World War II amphibious (1965) ** Skirmish, American Revolution (1975) * The Amazing Spider-Man Game with the Fantastic Four! (1967) ** Spider-Man game (1995) * Animorphs: The Invasion Game (1998) * Annie Oakley Game (1950) * Ants in the Pants (1969) * Ask Me Another (1984) * Axis & Allies (1981) * The Baby-Sitters Club Game (1989) * Back Off! Buzzard (1990) * Backgammon Tutor (1975) * Bali (1978) * Baretta (1976) * Bargain Hunter (1981) * The Barnabas Collins Dark Shadows Game (1969) * Barrel of Monkeys (1965) * Bash! (1965) * Baseb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
