Card games are one of my favorite form factor for a game.  It is highly portable and adaptable to many game environments.

The pacing for WTF (What The Fish) mixes constant and furious play. There are no individual turns, and the game switches from all against one player to all against another throughout.   I drew all the cartoons for the game, which are humorous and slightly twisted cartoons.  At times, the development of the art drove the evolving gameplay.

Uno Hearts is a fun mix of UNO (one of the easiest card games) and Hearts (one of the most compelling card games).   I invented the game while an employee working for Mattel- so no royalties here.  

Rummikup 8 Round Rummy marries a progressive rummy style game with Rummikup, which is  a tile interpretation of Gin Rummy.  This was the first game I invented which was licensed to a company to produce.

Dice games are among the oldest games.   I recall seeing ancient Egyptian dice in the British Museum in London.Dice have a great tactile feel.  

Fishing for Words was invented to play at a bar.  Its portable, fast and fun.   Its a word game where I am competitive.   Surprisingly, I am better at inventing games than actually winning at them.

  Family games are unique in our culture, in that its really one of the only activities that everyone can compete.   Young children, and grand parents and everyone in between.  

Rubik's Battle is a great family game.  The key was creating a new way to experience  the classic Rubik's Cube  color square patterns.   This pattern matching game is multiplayer, and much easier then the original Rubik's Battle.  I included the original package I resented to University Games which my wife and daughter put together. a in a new way.   My family helps me tremendously with all my inventions. 

UNO STACKO is another great family game, combining the color matching and commands of UNO with a stacking game format.

Adult games are all about player interaction, adults having fun together.   Guiding conversation and giving the party a central focus.  

For  Rotten Apples, I explore how risque a game can be and not be over the top offensive. This was acheived by extensive use double entendres.  I like to say, the dirt is in your mind, not on the card

"All In" was born by combining two games I had been working on for a while; one game focused on telling stories about your past experience, and the other a very clever visual voting mechanism/ timer.   

"You Bet Your Ass", came after "All In" and is virtually the exact same gameplay except with much more edgy content.  

Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty's Web is a game that I launched as a kickstarter with my daughters and wife.   One daughter designed the game and wrote the rules while another did all the art and graphic design.  We have taken on all the roles of a game company.  Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales, PR, everything!     Its quite and undertaking, but very rewarding.  The game will be featured at Barnes & Noble in 2018.

So heres the story:

London is flooded with unsolvable crimes. In this cooperative game, play as Holmes, Watson, Mycroft, Irene Adler, Inspector Lestrade or Mrs. Hudson to trace them back to the wicked Professor Moriarty. But be careful! Moriarty is ruthless and brilliant, and unless you’re very, very careful you yourself will find yourself caught in Moriarty’s Web.

GAMEPLAY

You start the game with disconnected Clue Tiles, and have to arrange them into a case linking the Moriarty Tile in the center to the Crime tiles around the edges. On your turn, you add a new Witness, Clue or Location Tile to the board by moving your marker, re-arranging the tiles, and matching patterns. But after you move you have to count up the number of unsolved crimes, and draw that many Moriarty Cards.

Moriarty takes his turn, kidnapping witnesses and players, stealing clues, putting more crimes on the table and doing everything he can to destroy your case. The game ends either when all the crimes on the table are ‘solved’ (connected back to Moriarty), or Moriarty has all his Crime tiles on the table. 

Kids games tend to be more toylike by nature and Donut Disaster is no exception.   At the time I invented this game, I was a designer at Parker Brothers also working on the NERF line.   So I had lots of foam in my office and I asked,  "what kind of game could I make the shoots a bunch of foam in the air you try to catch?"  Donut Disaster was born.

Crash Canyon combines mini die cast cars, which were very popular in the late 80's early 90's with a pre printed vacuum form board.   Fun race game and you could even fill the "lakes" with water.   Fun note, my wife painted the art for the game board.  She also hand painted all the toy fair samples which where all over our home.

Preschool games need to be very simple and very compelling.   In fact, it needs to be played with like a toy before the child is capable of playing the game with rules, and then usually with mom.  

Fish & Chips started as a cool package and name.  What little kid doesn't want a gold fish bowl?  What mom doesn't recognize the familiar term "Fish and Chips"?   Its a collection game with the slightest amount of decision making.

The game also really stands out at retail.

I created Picturiffic originally as a new way to present my cartoons on-line.  However, I quickly discovered that this gameplay was adaptable to all sorts of pictures and accompanying phrases.   The game has been a top performer on Shockwave.com and Slingo.com and is now available as an App.  The daily puzzles are created by my good friend David Hoyt.

Even the toys I invent tend to have some game aspect to them.  Blast Bands are collectable stretchy figures you can shoot at targets.  They can also be worn as bracelets and can be licensed as virtually any property.   Below are samples of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blast Bands.

These are just a small sample of games where I directed or lead the design and development .   There are literally hundreds of games I could include spanning my 25 year design management career.

Toy  design is pure visual joy!  Start with a pen and start sketching and imagining on paper.   Designing for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an exercise in silliness.  I always loved the Samurai Scooter and the Toilet Taxi!

In 1992 i was working for Parker Brothers, the creators of the Nerf brand. The  Nerf gun I designed that shoots a glider and a ball was revolutionary.  I took the play pattern from Skeet Shooting, which I had just tried for the first time up in Maine.  I hit 9 of 10!  In the end, the gun became known as the Master Blaster and shot balls through two barrels

Design for Robotix, a construction system based on hexagonal connectors was lots of fine.  I added lots of surface texture (called Gribles) to the pieces to give it that "Star Wars" feel.

I started cartooning in college for the student newspaper.   I find it easier to express my particular view of the world with pictures and words, than just.

I invented Picturiffic, my daily puzzle game as a new way to present my cartoons.  Most of these cartoons eventually made it into the published on-line game.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I think by drawing. I never know for sure what I’m saying until I’ve got something physical down in front of me. That’s how I design games, that’s how I solve problems. Cartooning and painting where a very logical next step for me. It turns out when I’m not thinking about anything special, what comes out are empathetic twists of fate and humor.

All of my game inventions begin as thumbnail sketches...so I'm constantly drawing.  

For my game WTF (What The Fish),  I illustrated every cand for the prototype.  The off beat illustrations so define the tone and content of the game, the publisher ended up using  all of my original drawings in the game that went to print.

I've include some sci-fi parady cartoons that will illustrate a new card game I am working on.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I think by drawing. I never know for sure what I’m saying until I’ve got something physical down in front of me. That’s how I design games, that’s how I solve problems. Cartooning and painting where a very logical next step for me. It turns out when I’m not thinking about anything special, what comes out are empathetic twists of fate and humor.

All my work tends to tun in on itself.   My "Puffer Fish" painting began as a single panel comic, which I then painted.  That painting is now on exhibit in Art Space Warehouse gallery in Los Angeles.  That very painting became the inspiration for my card game called WTF (What The Fish).  In fact the original line drawing was used as the cover of the game.   So for me, my invention, design and art projects all intersect... eventually

EXHIBITIONS

Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles CA

Coast Gallery, Laguna Beach CA

Coda Gallery, Palm Desert CA

Center Square Gallery, Redondo Beach CA

Gallery Catalyst, Toronto Canada

Liss Gallery, Toronto Canada

Riley Fine Arts, Manhattan Beach CA

Pop Gallery, Santa Fe NM

ARTIST STATEMENT

I think by drawing. I never know for sure what I’m saying until I’ve got something physical down in front of me. That’s how I design games, that’s how I solve problems. Cartooning and painting where a very logical next step for me. It turns out when I’m not thinking about anything special, what comes out are empathetic twists of fate and humor.