Rob Beyma
First game played: U-Boat
Compass Games credits: Empires and Alliances, The War for the Union 2nd Edition, Oceans of Fire
I am a retired engineer. My other interests and hobbies include sports, history, geography, and meteorology.
Greg Blanchett
First game played: Murfreesboro
Compass Games credits: Fall Blau, Kharkov Battles
Ex-Navy Electrician currently in San Antonio, TX, and father of two daughters who also enjoy board games. I’ve been playing and now also designing hex & counter wargames for over 40 years. Also grew up with video games, and I’m an avid Steam user.
RIck Britton
First game played: Blitzkrieg
Compass Games credits: Manassas
I’m a historian specializing in 18th- and 19th-century Virginia history. One of my areas of expertise is the American Civil War. I’ve published numerous articles on the war, and I’m frequently hired as a battlefield guide. My fascination with military history led me into wargaming when I was still a teenager.
Joe Carter
First game played: Dawn Patrol
Compass Games credits: Devil Boats, Schell Boats
My hobbies and interests include wargaming, history, reading, the paranormal, watching old movies from the 1930s-1940s, and cats.
Edward Castronova
First game played: Panzerblitz
Compass Games credits: n/a
Long-time gamer, started with AH games in ’74. Fan of medium-weight military and political games about big historical events. Teaches at Indiana University.
Sean Chick
First game played: Risk
Compass Games credits: Nine Years: The War of the Grand Alliance 1688-1697, Rally ‘Round the Flag, and Cradle of Civilization
I graduated from University of New Orleans with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Communications and from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Master of Arts in History. I currently work in New Orleans, leading historic tours of my hometown. As a boardgame designer, I concentrate on the period of Western warfare from 1685-1866 and I write books on the American Civil War.
Gilbert Collins
First game played: U-Boat
Compass Games credits: War for America, The Kaiser’s High Seas Fleet
College years – Electronics Technician – Museum Technology – Authored “Guide book to the Historic Sites of the War of 1812” – Started war gaming in 1969. Went through the Avalon Hill and SPI Years. Now retired and attending games conventions.
Eric Farago
First game played: The Drive on Metz
Compass Games credits: The Third World War, Designer Signature Edition
I’ve been wargaming on and off since 1984. I’ve traveled extensively throughout North America and Europe. Some of my hobbies include coding computers using the ‘C/C++’ programming languages, cycling, hiking/backpacking, and model railroading.
Joe Fernandez
First game played: Panzer Blitz
Compass Games credits: Storm of Steel Ju-87 Stuka: Eastern Front
Joe is a retired Special Agent, a U.S. Army infantry veteran, and longtime wargamer. He lives in rural Virginia where he creates wargames in his workshop for Compass Games, DVG, and Worthington, as well as titles under his studio “Art of Wargames”. He also enjoys bow hunting, kayaking, and lake life with his family.
Raymond Fiore
First game played: Panzer Leader
Compass Games credits: Cactus Air Force
Former Marine Corps officer and law enforcement officer (patrol, training, swat). Wrote four novels, but discovered designing wargames is much more fun and interactive.
John B. Firer
First Game Played: Bismarck (TAHC) – 1963 when I was 11 years old (the first of many!)
Compass Games credits: Spartacus – Crisis in the Roman Republic, 1866 – The Struggle for Supremacy in Germany, A Pragmatic War – The War of the Austrian Succession 1741-48
John B. Firer is a wargame designer and freelance writer who is the founder and sole proprietor of Fog of War Publications, LLC specializing in CDG simulations (established in 2016). He is a retired U.S. Regular Army officer who is an Army Command and General Staff College Honor Graduate, seeing Combat service during DESERT STORM. He has a BASS in International Relations (graduated with Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa) and an MA in National Security Affairs (Middle East/North Africa Regional Concentration). He prefers operational and strategic level games and has designed 15+ simulations, 7 of which have been published.
John Gorkowski
First game played: Risk
Compass Games credits: Red Poppies Campaigns, Rising Sun Over China, and South China Sea
I’m a diplomat turned bureaucrat who has more time for gaming as retirement gets closer. Grateful for a wife and kids who tolerate my hobby.
Jack Greene
First game played: Gettysburg
Compass Games credits: MacArthur: Road to Bataan and Jutland: Fleet Admiral
Owned or worked for 6 different game companies. From California but now living on the Vicksburg Battlefield. Run a boutique game company, QUARTERDECK INTERNATIONAL mostly importing European and Asian games with English rules.
Randy Heller
First game played: Stalingrad
Compass Games credits: Bitter Woods and Operation Skorpion
Retired from USN. Began game design and development as a playtester for Avalon Hill’s Battle of the Bulge 1981. Designed the last complete game produced by Avalon Hill before company sale to Hasbro, entitled Bitter Woods The Battle of the Bulge.
Dave LeLacheur
First game played: War at Sea
Compass Games credits: Blitz!, Lightning Strikes
For 25 years I have run online assessment businesses, including engaging in detailed personality research. First was with CareerLeader, helping individuals find their best fit career in business work. Latest is with CraftMetrics helping companies to identify and to help train / empower high potential employees (especially sales personnel).
Christopher Moeller
First game played: War at Sea (Avalon Hill)
Compass Games credits: Napoleon’s Eagles: Storm in the East, Napoleon’s Eagles: The Hundred Days, Brothers at War: 1862, Burning Banners: Rage of the Witch Queen.
I began work as a professional writer/illustrator in 1990, in comics and gaming, retiring in 2017. My first game design, Napoleon’s Eagles, was published with Compass Games in 2020. Since then, I’ve published three additional designs with Compass, with a fourth nearing production.
Kevin McPartland
First game played: Napoleon at Waterloo
Compass Games credits: Maori: Warriors of the Long White Cloud
I have been playing wargames since middle school – answering an ad in Boy’s Life magazine for a subscription to Strategy & Tactics. Designing my own started almost right after! I am a retired project architect who now teaches architecture at the local community college. Married with two daughters – and my first grandchild on the way!
Hugh O’Donnell
First game played: ASL Starter Kit
Compass Games credits: The Troubles
Secondary English Teacher interested in narrative-based simulations and serious games for learning.
Andrew Rader
First game played: Axis & Allies
Compass Games credits: Fatal Alliances, Stellar Horizons
Andrew Rader is a mission manger at SpaceX launching NASA science spacecraft into the solar system. He holds a PhD in long-duration spaceflight from MIT, and, in addition to game design, has a series of children’s books teaching the science of spaceflight and two non-fiction books about history and our spacefaring future, including Beyond the Known, a history of exploration from humanity’s beginnings into the far future. As a game player and designer, he’s focused on historical wargaming and space exploration.
Ken Repel
First game played: Panzerblitz
Compass Games credits: 1812! War on the Great Lakes Frontier
I am a mathematics instructor with a particular interest in black powder era wargaming.
Jose Rivero
First game played: The Spanish Civil War
Compass Games credits: Granada, Last Stand of the Moors
I live in the Canary Islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I have lived 6 years in several countries of Europe. I have studied Hotel Management in Switzerland. I like History and Art and one of my hobbies is designing boardgames-wargames. After reading military books or documents I try to design games to represent what I hjave read on the board.
Jon Southard
First game played: Blitzkrieg
Compass Games credits: Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea and The Conquistadors
Lifelong wargamer (both board and miniatures), professional software engineer and now teacher of computer science (community college), avid bicyclist, proud dad of two college-age sons, both of whom like history and games. Am interested in many areas of history and military history, but the Civil War and World War II Pacific theater seem to have ‘chosen’ me as the focus for most of my design efforts.
Andrew Rowland
First game played: Risk
Compass Games credits: Napoleon’s Imperium
I am Andrew Rowland, 57, married with 3 children. As a career I manage Community Services and Facilities for a large local government in Australia and have been involved with managing community services for over three decades. Recently, my career managing Community Services was interrupted by a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome-positive (ALL PH+). However, after a bone marrow transplant in Nov 2023, I am winning those battles and returning to work in April 2024! I love people, travel, artistic expression, and my great love, History!!
Gregory M. Smith
First game played: Blitzkrieg
Compass Games credits: Nightfighter Ace / Interceptor Ace / Amerika Bomber / Defending America / Western Front Ace / American Tank Ace / Pacific Tide / Imperial Tide / Ostkrieg / Atlantic Sentinels / Zeppelin Raider
Retired Army officer with combat tours in the Gulf War and Iraq War. Wargaming since 1972
Petros Sorilos
First game played:
Compass Games credits: Bismarck : The Last Battle
Driving Instructor, a quite happy personality and huge love for vintage motorcycles and cars.
Brian Train
First game played: Tactics II
Compass Games credits: Finnish Civil War, Brief Border Wars
I have been designing conflict simulation games for the civilian market for over 30 years, with over 60 published designs to date. My articles and games have been published by a wide range of large and small firms. My special interests in game design are irregular warfare, “pol-mil” games, concepts of political influence in games, and asymmetry in games generally.
Michael Vitale
First game played: Afrika Korps
Compass Games credits: Desert Blitzkrieg
Former VP Nova Game Designs. Mostly in operations, but designed Timelag, Bounty Hunter, and several Lost Worlds books for Nova. Was responsible for ‘computerizing’ the Ace of Aces maneuver system so that any new planes could be simulated. I was an HS Math/Programming teacher for a few years, then moved to the private sector as a Programming and Data Analyst.
Greg Warren
First game played: Afrika Korps
Compass Games credits: The Third World War, Designer Signature Edition
I have been a wargamer for almost my entire life. I started playing games with a couple of older neighbors when I was in elementary school, and my love for wargames just grew from there. As far as other interests, I’m an avid HO-scale model railroader and enjoy IndyCar racing (we try to get to at least two races per year).