James Ernest facts for kids

James Ernest (born October, 1968) is a talented American game designer and juggler. He is most famous for owning and leading Cheapass Games, a company that creates many popular board and card games.

Who is James Ernest?

James Ernest was born in October 1968. He is known for his creative mind, which he uses to design games and even juggle! He has made a big impact in the world of board games.

His Early Work

Before starting Cheapass Games, James Ernest had a varied career. He worked as a juggler at different places, like Camlann Medieval Village. He also worked as a freelance designer for Wizards of the Coast, a well-known company that makes games like Magic: The Gathering. He also spent some time working for Carbonated Games.

Creating Fun Games

James Ernest is best known for the many games he has designed. Some of his popular games include Unexploded Cow, Kill Doctor Lucky, and The Big Idea. He also created a game originally called Before I Kill You, Mr. Bond, which was later renamed.

He has also designed games for other companies, such as Rio Grande Games and WizKids. In 2005, a company called Paizo Publishing started a new game company called Titanic Games with James Ernest and another designer, Mike Selinker.

Crowdfunding Success

James Ernest has found great success using Kickstarter. This is a way for people to help fund projects they like. Through Kickstarter, he has successfully funded new versions of games like Unexploded Cow. He also funded Get Lucky, which is a card game based on the ideas from Kill Doctor Lucky.

Other Creative Projects

Beyond game design, James Ernest has worked on other creative projects. He wrote, produced, directed, edited, and even created music for a short film called The Man Between in 2003. He also wrote a book about playing poker called Dealer's Choice: The Complete Handbook of Saturday Night Poker. His very first published work was a book about Contact Juggling in 1990.

Big Collaborations

In 2014, James Ernest started working with author Patrick Rothfuss. Together, they created an abstract strategy game called Tak. This game was inspired by a game described in Rothfuss's 2011 book, The Wise Man's Fear. In April 2016, they launched a Kickstarter campaign for Tak. The campaign was very successful, raising over $1.3 million from more than 12,000 supporters by May 20, 2016.

In 2018, James Ernest teamed up with The Brothers Chaps. They are the creators of the popular cartoon Homestar Runner. They worked together to create a cooperative board game called Trogdor!! The Board Game. This game also had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $1.4 million from more than 23,000 supporters.