Game design is a joy. I’m so grateful that I get to spend every day doing something and engaging with people I love.
Design
Before the 2018 winter vacation, I suggested to my kids that we not spend the week looking at our phones and screens but instead, maybe we try to make a board game together?! My son was more into it than his sister, but we spent the week brainstorming, drawing maps, and simulating. Eventually, we had an actual working game. Then he went back to school, and I continued making games!
It has been a non-stop pleasure ever since. Building games is a process that combines elements from many of my passions. Inventing environments and experiences for players in games activates the creative expression I used in my music composition days. Crafting, honing, and applying strategies and tactics draws on my chess, poker, and billiards background. Iterating worlds, from pieces to boards, employs tactile skills from my model train building experience. And writing clear and concise rules makes use of my years of teaching and writing manuals and workbooks for my tutoring business.
I created my first board games when I was a kid and after a long hiatus, I’ve worked on over 80 new games in the last 5 years. I am thrilled to have had the great fortune to sign several games with publishers thus far and am actively pitching more to publishers.
In early 2023, Jonathan and Tara Gilmour-Long brought me in to help design their wedding game Würfel Wedding. We were delighted to complete the project and deliver these wedding favors to guests at their wedding. In fact, the game was so special, that we also delivered the game to backers of a Kickstarter Jon ran several years ago.
Background
In 2002, I founded a test preparation company, Pinnacle Prep, and was fortunate to see it expand to over 40 employees. Combining my tutoring experience with rigorous analysis of published tests, we developed methods and techniques to help students achieve higher scores. Knowing that motivation and engagement are key, we stress handpicking tutors not only for their impeccable academic records, but also for their excellent communication skills and dynamic personalities.
Prior to starting Pinnacle Prep, I served on the faculty at both New York University, where I earned an M.A. and was ABD for my Ph.D. in music composition, and Hofstra University. During that period of time, I founded the Look & Listen Festival, a non-profit organization that presented new music concerts in art spaces. In 2022, Look & Listen celebrated its 20th anniversary! I also served as President and now proudly serve on the Advisory Board of another non-profit, the League of Composers/ISCM, the oldest new music organization in the U.S. While President of the League/ISCM, we launched the Orchestra of the League of Composers, started Residency, Membership, and Commissioning Programs, and increased the organizational budget by over 300%.
I have also explored various other artistic media, including writing a novel entitled The Canvas and directing and editing a documentary film entitled Mitia, which aired on local television and was added to the collection of the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago.
I have had a lifelong passion for games and have been fortunate to win significant tournaments in billiards (such as the Big 10 Championships in 1991), poker (including several at top casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City), and chess (personal highlight was achieving a draw against Susan Polgar in a simul!). I’m also an avid fantasy baseball competitor and proud champion in some of the nation’s most competitive leagues :).
In my spare time, my wife Jen (the CFO of Pinnacle Prep) and I can often be found cheering on our kids in their pursuits or taking our beagles Gordon K. Gordon and Aretha for walks.
Appreciation
I have so many people to thank for supporting, helping, and tolerating me in this pursuit. First and foremost, thank you Jen, Ben, and Ari Gordon. Your patience is immeasurable, and your incredible ideas, insight, and ingenuity are consistently invaluable! You and the following people have been so helpful, bravely play testing games that often weren’t quite ready yet!
• My wonderful co-designers and friends TAM, Jonathan Gilmour-Long, Christopher Chan, Danielle Reynolds, Michael O’Connell, Ryan Reynolds, Rocco Privetera, Byron M. Huang.
• Gil Hova and the entire NYC-Playtest group, in particular TAM, Christopher Ryan Chan, Daniel Newman, Rocco Privetera, Muzzy, Ryan Rodriguez, Ryan Reynolds, Alex Mont, Orion McClelland, Scott Gratien, Catherine Stippell, Spencer McCormick, Molly Zeff, Byron M. Huang, Josh DeBonis, Andrew Carter, Jim Williams, Nick Celenza, Aaron Wilson, Zintis May-Krunins, Marni Abramowitz, Micah Heiselt.
• The online community of designer play testing groups, including Remote Playtesting, Heavy Championship Playtesting, Virtual Play Testing, and Professional Board Game Testing. Thank you for providing such helpful feedback, especially from Caitlyn Brynn Smith, Phil Amylon, Fertessa Allyse, Chris Backe, Andrea Pincombe, Ryan Horricks, Jack Rosetree, Max Seidman (and for your invaluable tech support and scripting!), Andy Juell, Evan Raitt, Josh Bowman, Andrew Stiles, so many others.
• Industry professionals who have supported my designs and provided invaluable play testing, feedback, and other insight, including and in addition to those listed above, Jamey Stegmaier, Elizabeth Hargrave, Alex Schmidt, Rikki Tahta, Daryl Andrews, Bobby West, Beneeta Kaur, Ian Moss, Andrew Lynch, Luke Peterschmidt, Bryan Bornmueller, Pat Marino, Brianna Woodward, Tanya Thompson, Jacob Way, Joe Wiggins, Naomi Brugnatelli, Ammon Anderson, Sydney Engelstein, Doug Levendowski, Roberta Taylor, John Prather, Zach Connelly, Whitney Red Loraine, Dustin Wessel.
• The Pinnacle Prep team members I’ve wrangled into testing, in particular, Megan Williams, Dhaya Ramarajan, Myles Heffernan, Dennis Corsi, Cici Ogden, Corinne Wilkinson, Sadi Mosko, Chad Small, Forrest Cardamenis, Lydia Gallant, Maggie Langhorne, Lizz Brady, Blake Zolfo, Willa Tracy.
• Friends, some of whom have endured some rough testing, Simon Ying and Emilie Deschamps, Carolyn Stallard, Pete Fulton, Joe Bisz, Emily Wong, Amanda Cooper, Amy Meckler, Josh Gaylord, Asa Swain, Aleea Dugstad, Jon Busky, Galen Sherwin, Cate Lloyd, Eric Weinstein, Natacha Arora, Owen and Rhea Breck, Jamie Kaplan, Alex Samuel, Betsy Cannon, Richard Wright, Gideon Lazarus, Adam Wersan.
• All the publishers who have signed my games (listed with the games)!
• My brother Joshua Hilson and my parents Ron Gordon, Sallie Gordon, Danielle Hilson, Doug Hilson.
• so many other friends and family.
