Pacesetter Ltd was a game company based in Delavan,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, founded in 1984. Company founders included CEO John Rickets, and Mark Acres,

Andria Hayday Andria Hayday is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Between 1983 and 1984, approximately 200 people left TSR as a result of multiple rounds of layoffs; as a result Andria Hayday joined CEO John Rickets, as w ...

, Gaye Goldsberry O'Keefe, Gali Sanchez,

Garry Spiegle Garry Floyd Spiegle (August 12, 1945 in Fairfield, Alabama – June 25, 2018) was a game designer who worked primarily on role-playing games. Career After the original Dragonlance group began, the Dragonlance Series Design Team was later expande ...

, Carl Smith, Stephen D. Sullivan and Michael Williams. Pacesetter produced both tabletop

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

s and

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 co ...

s. ''

Chill In computing, CHILL (an acronym for CCITT High Level Language) is a procedural programming language designed for use in telecommunication switches (the hardware used inside telephone exchanges). The language is still used for legacy systems ...

'' was possibly Pacesetter's most well-known product. It was subsequently republished in revised form by

Mayfair Games Mayfair Games was an American publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games that also licensed Euro-style board games to publish them in English. The company licensed worldwide English-language publishing rights to '' The Settlers of Catan'' s ...

after Pacesetter's demise. When the company 54°40' Orphyte was founded in 1991, they purchased many of the product rights to Pacesetter's games and all of its backstock. ''Chill'' is owned by Martin Caron. In October 2014, it was announced that Martin Caron had granted Matthew McFarland the right to create and publish "Chill" (3rd edition) ''

Star Ace ''Star Ace'' is a role-playing game published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984. Description ''Star Ace'' is a science-fiction system. The rules are simple; most actions are resolved by checking against a single multi-purpose table. Player characters ar ...

'' is owned by Phillip Reed and Christopher Shy of

Ronin Arts Ronin Arts is a role-playing game company founded as a join venture by Philip J. Reed and Christopher Shy in 2003, to some degree a successor to Shy's Studio Ronin and Reed's selling of role playing games PDFs from his blog. Ronin Arts publ ...

. ''Timemaster'' and ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

'' are owned by Daniel Proctor of Goblinoid Games (publisher of ''

Labyrinth Lord ''Labyrinth Lord'' (''LL'') is a fantasy role-playing game written and edited by Daniel Proctor and published by Goblinoid Games. It emulates the rules and feel of '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') using the Open Game License (OGL) from Wizards ...

'', among other games). Goblinoid Games also purchased the copyrights and trademarks to the Pacesetter brand and logo, thus reviving the brand and folding it into their product lines. Goblinoid Games continues to publish games using the same Pacesetter RPG house system. Historical Pacesetter product line includes: :Role-playing games ::*''

'' (1984) ::*''

Timemaster ''Timemaster'' is a role-playing game centered on traveling through time and alternate dimensions, written by Mark D. Acres, Andria Hayday and Carl Smith (game designer) and published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984. Players take on the role of Time ...

'' (Pacesetter Ltd, 1984; Goblinoid Games, 2011) ::*''

'' (Pacesetter Ltd, 1985; Goblinoid Games, 2012) :Board games ::*'' Chill: Black Morn Manor'' (1985) ::*''

Wabbit Wampage ''Wabbit Wampage'' is a 1985 board game published by Pacesetter Ltd. Gameplay ''Wabbit Wampage'' is a game in which the players are titular Wabbits who war against both a farmer and each other to control the carrot crop and farm buildings, and th ...

'' (1985) Winner of the 1985

Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "C ...

for ''Best Fantasy or Science-Fiction Board Game'' ::*''Wabbit Wevenge'' (1986) Current Pacesetter product line includes:{{cite web, url=http://www.pacesetter.us, title=Pacesetter: The official Pacesetter site, accessdate=2014-10-07 :Role-playing games ::*''Cryptworld'' (2013); The new Pacesetter horror game. ::*''Rotworld'' (2011); A zombie survival horror game. ::*''Majus'' (2012); A modern urban fantasy game. ::*''

'' (2011) ::*''Sandman'' (2012)

References

External links

Official Pacesetter home page
Board game publishing companies Role-playing game publishing companies Defunct companies based in Wisconsin