Mike Selinker

Mike Selinker
Selinker in 2014
NationalityAmerican
OccupationGame designer

Mike Selinker (/ˈsɛlɪŋkər/ SEL-ink-ər[1]) is an American game designer, puzzle maker, and the founder and president of Lone Shark Games.

Credits

Selinker's design credits include Pirates of the Spanish Main and Fightball with James Ernest, Axis & Allies Revised Edition with Larry Harris, the Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game, Risk Godstorm,[2][3] Gloria Mundi, Key Largo, Stonehenge,[4] Thornwatch,[5] and Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.[6] He was a creative director for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons and the Harry Potter Trading Card Game. As a puzzle maker, he created the fictional police officer Lt. Nodumbo for GAMES World of Puzzles. Selinker founded LIVE/WIRE with Tim Beach and the Maze of Games with Teeuwynn Woodruff. He has written poker books such as Dealer's Choice: The Complete Handbook of Saturday Night Poker, with James Ernest and Phil Foglio.[7] He has also written puzzles for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and Games magazine.[4] He has authored The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design and Puzzlecraft: The Ultimate Guide on How to Construct Every Kind of Puzzle.

Selinker and James Ernest created Titanic Games with Paizo Publishing in 2005 to add board game publishing to Paizo's already established role-playing game publications.[8]

Lone Shark Games

Selinker founded the Lone Shark Games design studio with James Ernest,[9] and is the company's president.[10] In March 2010, in conjunction with Wired magazine and Universal Pictures, the company announced plans to release a group of "Runners" to go "on the lam", as promotion for the film Repo Men.[11] The Runners were to be hunted by anyone in the United States who desired to find them. Anyone that caught a Runner would receive a US$7,500 "bounty".[11] Of the contest, Selinker said, "Our Runners are out there hiding among 300 million people. Of course, that's 300 million people who might turn them in ..."[11] After a longtime employee accused Selinker of creating an abusive and toxic work environment,[12] he took an unpaid leave of absence from Lone Shark in November 2021.[13]

Awards

Selinker won three 2004 Origins Awards for Pirates, Axis & Allies: D-Day, and Betrayal at House on the Hill.[14] His game Alpha Blitz was Games Magazine's 1998 Word Game of the Year.[citation needed]

Personal life

Selinker is a member of the National Puzzlers League under the nickname "Slik".[15]

References

  1. ^ "Mike Selinker & Friends: How to Make Your Game Funny". YouTube. December 3, 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Pirates of the Spanish Main with Mike Selinker". Ninja Vs. Pirates Podcast. 2009. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  3. ^ "Games by James". Cheapass Games. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  4. ^ a b Selinker, Mike (2007). "Bohnanza". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 31–33. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.
  5. ^ "Thornwatch". Lone Shark Games. Lone Shark Games, Inc. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. ^ "'Pathfinder' Deck-building Game". November 19, 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  7. ^ Earnest, James; Selinker, Mike; Foglio, Phil (2005). Dealer's Choice: The Complete Handbook of Saturday Night Poker. Overlook TP. pp. 156. ISBN 1-58567-654-3.
  8. ^ Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. p. 415. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  9. ^ "The Sharks". Lone Shark Games. 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  10. ^ Brodeur, Nicole (August 28, 2009). "Catch him if you can -- win $5,000". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  11. ^ a b c "Universal Pictures, Wired Magazine and Lone Shark Games Launch Nationwide Repo Men Hunt, Sending Runners On the Lam In America". Blood Weekly. March 11, 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  12. ^ Weidling, Gabrielle (2021-11-11). "You're No Good to Me If You're Slowly Killing Yourself: On Mike Selinker and Lone Shark Games". Medium. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  13. ^ selinkeradmin (2021-11-12). "Apologies and steps to be better". Selinker's Site. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  14. ^ "Origins Award Winners (2004)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  15. ^ Brodeur, Nicole (July 6, 2010). "Puzzlers fun, also a bit baffling". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2012.