Alan Moon
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Alan R. Moon (born 18 November 1951) is an
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
of
board games 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 comp ...
, born in
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of
German-style board game A Eurogame, also called a German-style board game, German game, or Euro-style game, (generally just referred to as board games in Europe) is a class of tabletop games that generally has indirect player interaction and abstract physical componen ...
s. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the
travelling salesman problem The travelling salesman problem (also called the travelling salesperson problem or TSP) asks the following question: "Given a list of cities and the distances between each pair of cities, what is the shortest possible route that visits each cit ...
.


Career

Moon has worked as a game designer for
Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company' ...
,
Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...
, and Ravensburger
F.X. Schmid For over a century until 1996, F.X. Schmid was an important German manufacturer of playing cards (traditional card games and quartets), board games and puzzles. It was considered one of the major European manufacturers. In 1995, its turnover was 67 ...
USA. His first published game was '' Black Spy'' (Avalon Hill, 1981), inspired by the classic card game, '' Hearts''. But his first game that got him attention was ''
Airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...
'', published by the German company Abacus in 1990. He started his own publishing company, White Wind in 1990 and ran it until 1997. He now publishes his games through other companies, such as
Ravensburger Ravensburger AG is a German game and toy company, publishing house and market leader in the European jigsaw puzzle market. History The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier in Ravensburg, a town in Upper Swabia in southern Germany. He began ...
and
Days of Wonder Days of Wonder is a board game publisher founded in 2002 and owned by Asmodée Éditions, Asmodee Group since 2014. Days of Wonder distributes its games to 25 countries. It specializes in German-style board games and has branched out to includ ...
. Since 2000, Moon has been a full-time freelance game designer, with dozens of games to his credit. Moon has won the
Spiel des Jahres The Spiel des Jahres (, ''Game of the Year'') is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the purpose of rewarding family-friendly game design, and promoting excellent games in the German market. It is thought that the existence ...
award twice, for ''
Elfenland ''Elfenland'' is a German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published by Amigo Spiele in German and Rio Grande Games in English in 1998. ''Elfenland'' won the Spiel des Jahres award in 1998. Background The game was originally base ...
'' in 1998 and for '' Ticket to Ride'' in 2004; ''Ticket to Ride'' has won almost two dozen other awards worldwide.


Selected list of games

:''a full list is available from Moon's website in the
external links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. Hyperlinks are considered either "external" or "internal" depending on their target or destination ...
section.'' * ''
Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...
'' with
Aaron Weissblum According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
(2001,
Spiel des Jahres The Spiel des Jahres (, ''Game of the Year'') is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the purpose of rewarding family-friendly game design, and promoting excellent games in the German market. It is thought that the existence ...
nominated,
Deutscher Spiele Preis __NOTOC__ The Deutscher Spielepreis (, ''German Game Prize'') is an important award for boardgames. It was started in 1990 by the German magazine ''Die Pöppel-Revue'', which collects votes from the industry's stores, magazines, professionals ...
5th place) * ''
Das Amulett Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colombian ...
'' with
Aaron Weissblum According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
(2001, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 10th place) * ''
Diamant The Diamant rocket (French for "diamond") was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such, it has been referred to as being a key ...
'' with
Bruno Faidutti Bruno Faidutti (born 23 October 1961) is a historian and sociologist, living in France, who is best known as a board game designer. Early life and education Bruno Faidutti studied law, economics, and sociology, eventually earning a doctorate in H ...
(2005) * '' Down with the King'' with Glenn and Kenneth Rahman (1981) * ''
Elfenland ''Elfenland'' is a German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published by Amigo Spiele in German and Rio Grande Games in English in 1998. ''Elfenland'' won the Spiel des Jahres award in 1998. Background The game was originally base ...
'' (1998, Spiel des Jahres winner, Deutscher Spiele Preis 3rd place) * ''
Get the Goods Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...
'' with
Mick Ado Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...
(1990, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 4th) * ''
San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint ...
'' (2001, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 7th place) * '' Ticket to Ride'' (2004, Spiel des Jahres winner) * ''
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
'' (1999, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 3rd place)


See also

* ''
Going Cardboard ''Going Cardboard: A Board Game Documentary'' is a 2012 documentary about the American adoption of German-style board games, and includes coverage of the 2009 board game event ''Spiel'' in Essen, Germany, as well as interviews with many prominent ...
'' (Documentary)


References


External links


Alan R. Moon's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Alan R. Board game designers Living people 1951 births