World Without Games

For the latest issue of The Escapist, game designer Allen Varney posits the question: “If you were legally enjoined from creating games, what would you do instead?” He quizzed a number of game designers (both of the computer and tabletop varieties), including Steve Jackson, Raph Koster, Sandy Petersen, Don Perrin, and me. Their answers are a ball of fun. For myself, I said:

Given how such prohibitions often increase the demand and the prices paid for the illicit materials, I’d set myself up as the Al Capone of the gaming industry, supplying that demand through black market means. I’d ruthlessly wipe out rivals who tried to smuggle in Canadian games.

Must come from living too close to Chicago. (I’ll cut off Ken Hite here by admitting there’s no such thing as too close to Chicago–only too far.)