Do you know of a gamer with a Pulitzer Prize? As it happens, you probably do. Readers of the Space Gamer published by Steve Jackson Games incorporated, will probably recognize the cartoons from "Murphy's Rules." The cartoonist is sometime war gamer and Pulitzer Prize winner Ben Sargent. He won the Pulitzer in 1982 for his editorial cartoons which appear in The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman. Sargent's cartoons have appeared for ten years, but he has worked in the newspaper industry since he was a teenager in Amarillo. After college he worked as a reporter covering the Texas state capital for the Statesman, Long News Service and United Press International. In 1974, Sargent became an editorial cartoonist for the Statesman. "I've been drawing all my life--fell into this," he says. 'A cartoon sacrifices the subtlety of a written article, but it has a more immediate unconscious impact," says Sargent. The "Murphy Rules' cartoons are good examples of this. Try covering the cartoon with your hand, and only read the caption. Now, look at the cartoon. The picture brands the silliness into your memory its going to be very hard to think about some of the games mentioned without thinking of Sargent cartoons. To achieve that impact, Sargent "reduces the issues to black and white, then depicts them in the most direct way." Often, Sargent does this by focusing in on the person or animal most directly affected by the idea and drawing, Those cows in IRON HORSE, for example. Sargent, however, doesn't play any role-games. He produced the "Murphy Rules' from a concept he was given by the Space Gamer. He admits there were times he had no idea what was being talked about. Sargent prefers "historical simulations, Civil War games," and likes "strategy and what you can learn. You're in the guys shoes and understand his decisions." He doesn't acknowledge a favorite game, nor has he had a chance to play lately, but, says, he "would like to go back and play again:' Producing cartoons has kept Sargent busy He has two books of them published by Texas Month1y Press, Texas Statehouse Blues (1980), and Big Brotber Blues (1984), in addition to the editorial cartoons for the Statesman. He plans "to keep doing what I'm doing. I like what I'm doing now." Sargent no longer draws the "Murphy's Rules" for Space Gamer, but the page continues to be a regular feature of the magazine. Another book? "When I've collected enough cartoons." Back to Table of Contents -- Game News #1 To Game News List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Dana Lombardy. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com