Michael Bennighof is a

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 ...

who has worked primarily on

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

Early life and education

Mike Bennighof is a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

, and holds a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in history from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

. He has played and coached semi-pro football, taught college, worked as a newspaper reporter, and shoveled gravel professionally.

Career

Bennighof has been designing games since the early 1980s, working on over 100 titles as a designer or developer. Bennighof is president of

Avalanche Press Avalanche Press is an American company that publishes board wargames and has published some role-playing game supplements. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Irondale, Alabama. They have produced '' The Great War at Sea'' and ...

, Ltd., a publisher of traditional

board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board game, board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military ...

s. He has won

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 ...

s both for wargame design (''

U.S. Navy Plan Orange The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

'') and

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

design (''

Celtic Age Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

''). He scripted the '' Panzer General II'' (for which he also designed the maps) and '' Destroyer Commander'' computer games, among others; designed such games as ''

Survival of the Witless ''Survival of the Witless'' is a card game produced by Avalanche Press about tenure. Released in 1997, the game was created due to Avalanche Press founder Mike Bennighof's anger at being fired from his teaching job at the University of Alabama at ...

'', '' Panzer Grenadier'', and '' Great War at Sea''; and was the author of the infamous book, '' Black Flags''. ''Great War at Sea'' received awards at the

Origins Awards 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 ...

in 1998 and 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennighof, Michael American board game designers Emory University alumni Living people Wargame designers Year of birth missing (living people)