Jervis Johnson (born 12 June 1959) is an English

tabletop Tabletop may refer to: Common use * The top of a table Games * TableTop, an Internet-based show about board games * Tabletop games, encompassing several classes of games that can also be referred to individually as "Tabletop", including: ** Ta ...

game designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

. He worked as a designer and manager for

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer (game), Warhammer'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake ...

for over 38 years, and was the head of its Specialist Games studio. In addition to his work on Warhammer Fantasy Battles and

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987 ...

, he created the fantasy football game

Blood Bowl ''Blood Bowl'' is a miniatures board game created by Jervis Johnson for the British games company Games Workshop as a parody of American football. The game was first released in 1986 and has been re-released in new editions since. ''Blood ...

, and co-created Epic 40,000,

Necromunda ''Necromunda'' is a skirmish tabletop war game originally produced by Games Workshop in 1995. It has been relaunched as ''Necromunda: Underhive'' in 2017. In ''Necromunda'', players control rival gangs battling each other in the Underhive, ...

, and Age of Sigmar.

Career

Johnson joined Games Workshop as a Trade Sales Assistant in 1982. In 1986, he began writing rules for the company's own games, writing the first edition of

in his spare time. He was a playtester for Rogue Trader, the first version of

. In 1988 Johnson co-created Games Workshop's first 6mm miniature game,

Adeptus Titanicus ''Adeptus Titanicus'' is a tabletop science fiction mecha game first published by Games Workshop (GW) in 1988 based on the ''Warhammer 40,000'' setting but at a different scale to the Warhammer tabletop games. The particular setting is a peri ...

and its spinoff Space Marine - the beginnings of the Epic 40,000 system. In 1989 he developed

Advanced Heroquest ''Advanced HeroQuest'' is a board game published by Games Workshop in 1989, a sequel to ''HeroQuest''. Description The original ''HeroQuest'' was an adventure board game created in 1989 by Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company ...

, a new version of Milton Bradley's

HeroQuest ''HeroQuest'', is an adventure board game created by Milton Bradley Company, Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company Games Workshop in 1989, and re-released in 2021. The game is loosely based around archetypes of fantasy role-pl ...

board game. In the 1990s, Johnson helped develop Advanced

Space Crusade ''Space Crusade'' is an adventure board game produced by Milton Bradley together with Games Workshop and was first made in 1990. It was produced in the UK and available in some other countries including Finland, Ireland, France, Spain, Denma ...

, and was one of the Games Workshop staff who designed games for the first iteration of

The Crystal Maze ''The Crystal Maze'' is a British game show devised by Jacques Antoine, based upon his format for the French game show '' Fort Boyard'', and produced for Channel 4. The programme focuses on teams of contestants, a mixed group of men and women, ...

. He began working on Warhammer Fantasy Battles in 1992, as a developer for the 4th edition rules, and began writing army books for the game's various factions. In 1993 he did the same for Warhammer, 40,000's 2nd edition. Johnson continued to work on Blood Bowl in addition to his new responsibilities, and the third edition of the game won the 1994

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

for ''Best Miniatures Rules''. In 1995 he also co-created Necromunda with

Andy Chambers Andy Chambers (born 20 October 1966) is an English author and game designer best known for his work on over 30 Games Workshop rulebooks and sourcebooks. Personal life In 2003, he married Jessica Chambers after they met at KublaCon 2002. Care ...

. In 1995, Johnson organised Games Workshop's first worldwide community campaign, the Battle for Ichar IV, as well as hosting the first International Warhammer Tournament at

Nottingham University The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. In 1996 he began his first column in Games Workshop's magazine

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

, 'The J Files'. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s he continued to write for White Dwarf, as well as working on Epic 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000. By 2003 he was the head fanatic of Games Workshop's Specialist Games studio, overseeing the development of new versions of Necromunda and Space Hulk. In 2006, 'The J Files' was replaced by his new column 'Standard Bearer', which was in turn replaced with a semi-regular column in 2012. Johnson was a key developer of Age of Sigmar, the replacement for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, the first edition of which was released in 2015. He continued to design Specialist Games, including 2017's Shadows Over Hammerhal and 2018's Blackstone Fortress, as well as designing new editions of Age of Sigmar. In July 2021, Johnson announced his retirement from Games Workshop after more than 38 years.

Personal life

Johnson is the son of actor

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

and his first wife Sheila Sweet. His younger sister is actress Sorel Johnson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jervis 1959 births Living people British game designers Games Workshop