10 board game designers you should know about

Posted Saturday, 25-Apr-2015

These are the people that provide countless hours of family time, fun, and bonding for millions of players around the world.

Board game designers are a bit like book authors.  Their names feature prominently on their game boxes, they have a distinct personal style, and captive fans can’t wait to play their next title.

While movie stars and corrupt politicians tend to receive most of the attention in this world, board game designers deserve their time in the spotlight as well.

Here is a list of ten board game designers you should know about:

 

Reiner Knizia

 

 

 

Board game designer Reiner Knizia is one of the most famous contemporary board game designers in the world.  Famous for creating simple and elegant games, Knizia has authored more than 500 titles including Ra, Through the Desert, Tigris & Euphrates, Lost Cities and Lord of the Rings.

 

Alan R. Moon

 

 

 

American board game designer Alan R. Moon is mostly known for designing the smash hit Ticket to Ride, but he has created countless other award-winning games.  While Ticket to Ride is his most recent Spiel des Jahres-winning game, Moon also won the coveted award in 1998 for Elfenland.   Other notable games include Airlines Europe,  Incan Gold,  and the hard-to-find San Marco.

 

Isaac Vega

 

 

 

Isaac Vega is an American game designer working with Plaid Hat Games.  He was involved in the creation of the monster hit Dead of Winter as well as City of Remnants and BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia.

 

Vlaada Chavatil

 

 

 

Board game designer Vlaada Chavatil mixes humor and innovative mechanics in his games.  He has designed everything from very complex strategy brain-burners to party games, passing through cooperative and abstract titles.  He is most famous for Through the Ages, Galaxy Trucker, Mage Knight and Space Alert.

 

Carl Chudyk

 

 

Carl Chudyk has made a name for himself in the realm of strategy card games.  Among his many designs, he created Glory to Rome, a game that enjoys a cult following, as well as Innovation and Impulse.

 

Ignacy Trzewiczek

 

 

 

Ignacy Trzewiczek is a Polish board game designer working with the game publisher Portal.  He designed the critically acclaimed Neuroshima Hex! and more recently Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island & Imperial Settlers.

 

Bruno Faidutti

 

 

 

French game designer Bruno Faidutti has the uncanny ability of making games in which strategy and chaos go hand in hand.  He is the author of Citadels, Mascarade and Mission: Red Planet, whose re-release is planned for this year.

 

Antoine Bauza

 

 

 

In just the past few years, Antoine Bauza has managed to create a huge number of very successful games.  He is probably best known for Tokaido as well as for his cooperative titles such as Ghost Stories, Samurai Spirit and Hanabi, winner of the Spiel des Jahres in 2013.

 

Uwe Rosenberg

 

 

 

Uwe Roseberg created many heavy economic strategy games, including the famous Agricola, but he also designed simpler card games in the past, like Bohnanza and Babel.  His latest games are Caverna: The Cave Farmers, Fields of Arle and Glass Road.

 

Bruno Cathala

 

 

 

Bruno Cathala is an incredibly prolific French board game designer and developer.  His latest big hits are Five Tribes and Abyss.  Among his older titles you should check out Mr. Jack, Mundus Novus, and Shadows over Camelot.

Published by BoardGamePrices.com