Michael O. Varhola (born September 24, 1966) is an author, publisher, and lecturer. He has written numerous books, games, and articles, and founded game development company and manufacturer

Skirmisher Publishing LLC Skirmisher Publishing LLC is a publisher of wargames, roleplaying games and historic reprints based in Spring Branch, Texas, USA. It was founded by the author, editor and game designer Michael J. Varhola and is co-owned by Robert "Mac" McLaughlin ...

. He also served as the assistant editor o
''The Hilltop Reporter''
a weekly newspaper located in Texas Hill Country. In 1997, he married Diane Varhola. In 2003, he changed his middle name from James to Odysseus, but did not start using it publicly until 2011. Varhola is a 1993 graduate of

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

, from which he received a B.S. in journalism. Other schools he attended include the

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, and the

American University of Paris The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the fir ...

. He graduated from high school at

Carson Long Military Institute Carson Long Military Academy in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania was the oldest continually operating college preparatory boarding school and military academy in the United States with mandatory military training for boys in grades 6-12. Maximum e ...

in New Bloomfield,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Varhola has authored or co-authored the non-fiction books ''Everyday Life During the Civil War'' (1999), ''Fire and Ice: The Korean War, 1950-1953'' (2000), ''D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944'' (2001), ''Shipwrecks and Lost Treasure of the Great Lakes'' (2007), ''Ghosthunting Virginia'' (2008), ''Ghosthunting Maryland'' (2009), ''Life in Civil War America'' (2011), ''Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State'' (2011). He also wrote the fiction title ''Swords of Kos: Necropolis'' (2012). Varhola is the co-author of several gaming books, including ''Experts'' (2002), ''Warriors'' (2003), ''Tests of Skill'' (2004), ''Nuisances'' (2005), ''Experts v.3.5'' (2005), ''Nation Builder'' (2005), ''Gary Gygax's Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds Volume 6: Nation Builder'' (2006), ''H.G. Wells' Little Orc Wars'' (2007), ''Nuisances: Director's Cut'' (2007), and ''City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities'' (2011). Varhola published and wrote introductions to editions of H.G. Wells' ''

Little Wars ''Little Wars'' is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by English novelist H. G. Wells in 1913. The book, which had a full title of ''Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for t ...

'' (2004) and ''

Floor Games ''Floor Games'' is a book published in 1911 by H. G. Wells. This light-hearted volume argues in a humorously dictatorial tone that "The jolliest indoor games for boys and girls demand a floor." Illustrated with photographs and drawings, it brief ...

'' (2006) and

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's ''Stevenson at Play''.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

*''Everyday Life During the Civil War.'' Cincinnati: Writers Digest, 1999. *''D-Day.'' El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas, 2000. (with Randy Holderfield) *''Fire and Ice: The Korean War, 1950-1953.'' El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas, 2000. *''Armchair Reader: Civil War.'' Chicago: Publications International, 2007. (with the Editors of Publications International) *''Shipwrecks and Lost Treasure of the Great Lakes.'' Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2007. (with Frederick Stonehouse and Paul G. Hoffman) *''Ghosthunting Virginia.'' Cincinnati: Clerisy Press, 2008. , *''Ghosthunting Maryland.'' Cincinnati: Clerisy Press, 2009. , (with Michael H. Varhola)

Gaming books

*''Experts.'' Skirmisher, 2002. (with Paul O. Knorr) *''Warriors.'' Skirmisher, 2003. (with Paul O. Knorr, Sharon Daugherty, and David L. Thomas) *''Tests of Skill.'' Skirmisher, 2004. (with Paul O. Knorr) *''Nuisances.'' Skirmisher Publishing, 2005. (with Sharon Daugherty) *''Experts v.3.5.'' Skirmisher, 2005. (with Paul O. Knorr and Perry Frix) *''Nation Builder.'' Little Rock, AR:Troll Lord Games, 2005. (with

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

) *''H.G. Wells' Little Orc Wars Quick-Play Rules.'' Skirmisher Publishing, 2007. (with H.G. Wells)

References

External links

Skirmisher Publishing LLC

Facebook Page

Michael O. Varhola's TravelBlogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varhola, Michael O. Living people Role-playing game designers 1966 births American University of Paris alumni