Women Game Designers

Over a century ago, in 1909 in New York, the Socialist Party of America held a women’s day; a year later, in 1910, the International Socialist Women’s Conference suggested holding a women’s day every year. Today is a day to celebrate women, their accomplishments, their passion, and to reflect on the movers and shakers of the world who have changed it for the better through peace and protest. Today we’re going to highlight some of the fantastic women designers in the board game world in honour of International Women’s Day.

There’s a lot of excitement surrounding one of Stonemaier’s newest publications – Wingspan, a game about birds and birdwatching, is designed by Elizabeth Hargrave. Its pre-orders are currently sold-out in anticipation of its release in March and will not be open to order until April. Wingspan is her second game to be published, though her other game Tusse-Mussie is available for print and play. We cannot wait to play and share Wingspan with our community and look forward to her future projects.

Colourful and dynamic shapes are the focus of pattern making game Qwirkle, designed by Susan McKinley Ross. Qwirkle is an engaging game of matching colours and shapes to score points. Awarded the 2011 Spiel de Jahres and Mensa Select, it has quickly become one of the go-to games for families.

If you’re into the weird and strange (and horror!) you’ve perhaps played a game by Nikki Valens, a designer of many talents and tastes. From Mansions of Madness to Eldritch Horror, Nikki has had a hand in designing and polishing some of the best games set in H.P. Lovecraft’s worlds of insanity. Leaping back from horror and embracing the cuddlier side of the board game world, they will be releasing a co-op game about cats and robots – “Quirky Circuts”. We cannot wait to get our paws on a copy as it looks to be delightful and fun.

A staff favourite here at Hexagon is Nyctophobia, a delightfully terrifying game. Designed by Catherine Stippell, Nyctophobia calls on your survival instincts as players try to survive the machinations of a maniacal predator (also a player). The trick is, the players cannot see and must feel their way to safety. A unique game built from unconventional mechanics, Nyctophobia is a lot of fun.

In Edmonton, we have a treasure trove of local talent in many areas, like beer, video games, and board games. Roberta Taylor’s game Octopus’ Garden was inspired by the thought of how an Octopus would garden, and what would it look like. The game is currently out of print but will soon be re-released under the name Starfish Kingdom. We currently have a copy of Octopus’ Garden signed by her in our library and look forward to its reimplementation.

Games are incredible, and their designers even more so. Today we celebrate the accomplishments of these women and enjoy the games they’ve brought us.