Introduction

I have been fascinated by games since childhood, and designed my first board game when I was nine. It was about the three wise men trying to get to Bethlehem before the baby Jesus was born, and it was utter crap. However I still aspire to rise to the level of designing something mediocre before eventually failing a survival roll. I developed my interest through board wargames, role playing games and a degree in History before stumbling across megagames, and out of curiosity I attended a Space Marine game in 1994. I was overrun by robots and brutally killed within the first hour, and that might well have been the end of my megagaming career - had not the game designer (Wallman, I think his name was) taken pity on me and given me a new role, in the control room of the spaceship, so I could watch the events unfold. This experience taught me three lessons which have informed my gaming ever since: the one thing I love about games (of all kinds) above all else is developing a shared narrative between players; proactively striving to enhance the player game experience is of paramount importance; and effective improvisation when things go wrong is an essential adjunct to good design. I have tried to apply those lessons ever since, as control in many games and also being involved in the design of a few.

Game Designs

Andrew Hadley & Bruce Walton

15th November 2018

Hands of the Many

Anerley Town Hall

Paul Hill & Bruce Walton

11th September 2010	Of Gods and Men	Anerley Town Hall
11th October 2014	Of Gods and Men 2	Royal Armouries, Leeds