A funny thing happened to Stephen Finn on his way to becoming a well-respected game designer and eponymous publisher (Dr. Finn’s Games). Born in 1967, Finn’s early pursuit of higher education began with an interest in physics. This was followed by a brief interest in psychology, and eventually led to the pursuit of multiple degrees in philosophy that culminated with his acquisition of a Ph.D. and a full-time job as a college philosophy professor.
“I had a position as an adjunct professor at Seattle University. While I was finishing my Ph.D. work I re-discovered Risk briefly,” he says. “I happened to be walking by a game store during this time and I came across this Michael Schacht game called Web of Power, an area control game like Risk but quicker. I played that game a ton and I started buying and playing a lot of games.”
Eventually, Finn got the idea of making his own games. But in one of those “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” moments, he got sidetracked. He came to the realization that one couldn’t buy a custom deck of playing cards anywhere, so he decided to learn how to make a deck of cards at a reasonable price. He made arrangements with a local print shop where he used a high-end digital printer, found really good card stock, and bought a Kluge letter press, which he used as a die-cutter to cut the pieces of large cardstock that he was having printed.
This story is from the Spring 2021 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Spring 2021 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
GAME REVIEWS
This little card game takes only a couple of minutes to teach, but is surprisingly engaging and full of fun.
Fun Is No Mystery with: Scorpion masqué
Scorpion Masqué is a Montreal-based board game publisher founded in 2006 by former literature teacher and game enthusiast Christian Lemay
PAGE TURNERS: Games Unfurl Their Majestic Pages
Have you picked up a good book lately? Perhaps you've struggled to find inspirational reading material
Josh Cappel: A Man of Many Hats
The name Josh Cappel is synonymous with variety. If you have a shelf of board games, it's likely that at least one of them has been touched by Cappel
PLAY FUNKOVERSE LIKE A PRO
Have you ever heard about the Funkoverse board game series? If not, then you are in for a real treat
PASSPORT TO FUN: This Summer's Sizzling New Casual Games
From a quaint festival in Portugal to impending doom in ancient China, or from the peaceful tranquility of a Japanese garden to the tarmac of the Montréal airport, the new casual board games of the summer of 2023 read like a captivating travel brochure
Scram! CRITTERS VS. CAMPERS
One team faces another in Bezier Games' latest card-shedding gam
Hand-to-Hand Wombat is Major Fun!
The Concept - No one knows why wombats enjoy architecture. A desire to build towers is buried deep in their bones. But there are exceptions: wicked wombats, born to make trouble.
A Part-Time Venture Creating Full-Time Fun
hawn Stankewich, along with co-founders Robb Melvin and Molly Johnson, started Seattle-based Flatout Games in 2017. Robb and Shawn lived in the same dorm in college and developed a friendship through playing board games. Molly was already into games when she met Shawn and Robb in 2013. After four years of friendship and playing games, they decided to design their own.
THE KULTURE OF GAMES:
How Board Games Continue to Reflect Growing & Emergent Communities