Genius: Brian Reddington-Wilde, super-genius, I like the sound of that...

Bio: Additional designs, awards, past credits, recognitions or other accomplishments? with dates if possible...

Hostile Aircraft, Miniature Wargaming Rules for Aerial Combat 1915-1920, 2nd Edition (H.A.) just won the Origins Award for Best Historical Miniatures Game of 1996. The first edition was published in 1994. Three small beta-test print runs were published in 1993-4.

H.A. supplements: Squadron Record Book (pre-printed control sheets) published 1996 and Offensive Patrol (O.P. -- 101 historical scenarios created from pilot biographies and flight reports) published 1997.

I'm also continuously developing new H.A. 1/285 miniatures and decals.

For other game designs:

Goblin Wars, Miniature Wargaming Rules for Medieval and Fantasy Battles published 1994. Beta test edition published 1990.

Laser Forward, Miniature Wargaming Rules for Grand Tactical Warfare in the Future published 1994. Beta test edition published 1990.

Both of these rules were developed before H.A. But when I actually started Goblintooth Enterprises as a company, I decided to push H.A. as the first game product since WWI dogfighting was an open niche for both rules and miniatures. Now that Goblintooth is established, I'll be polishing up Laser and Goblin Wars for full market distribution. With a solid cash flow from H.A., I can now start thinking about competing in the fantasy market against companies whose advertising budget is still bigger than my annual gross income.

Goblin World, Live-Action Role-Playing Rules published 1995 with co-author Mark Perneta. I'm very pleased with these rules, but they are not selling well. I discovered the hard way that miniature rules and live-action rules take completely different marketing techniques and I unfortunately do not have time to do both.

When I started Goblintooth in 1992, I was originally making suits of armor for live-action role-players (mostly in NERO, New England Role-playing Organization). And the anvil is still set up down in the basement. The armorsmithing provided income while developing the games for publication. Now that game production is in full swing, I've dropped the armorsmithing except for occasional special orders from friends.

And in the ancient past, "Mix And Match Battles With SPI's PRESTAGS Series" article published in Adventure Gaming magazine Vol.2 No.1, 1982.

Current job (and title): What do you do for a living?

Goblintooth Enterprises, Proprietor: I write and publish game rules, carve master figures for miniatures, and do computer artwork for decals, plus an ever increasing amount of packaging and shipping. I've gotten very good at counting to four while putting little aeroplane parts in packages.

Officially the title is Proprietor, informally its the Goblin King. I also get to supervise the Goblin Artisans -- playtesters and volunteers who help with packaging in a crunch. I provide the shrimp and beer, my wife Roxanne (the Goblin Cook, author of Spaghetti For Dinner Again, and Ph.D. Celtic Studies, Harvard University) bakes several rounds of deserts. It's a lot of work to make sure that they count to four properly and staple the packages instead of each other. Mark Perneta is the Goblin Hero, he can usually count to four pretty well and can be trusted to add plenty of horseradish and tobasco to the shrimp cocktail sauce, but he eats a lot of Scooby Snacks.

Where did you get the inspiration for Hostile Aircraft?

Way back when Snoopy first climbed up on his doghouse to fight the Red Baron. I've been collecting books on WWI dogfighting since fifth grade and started playing Avalon Hill's Richtofen's War back when it first came out when I was in Junior High.

What makes it such a cutting edge design?

Several factors.

The movement stand system is a very elegant design for allowing full 3-D movement. The planes are held onto 7.5" dowels with alligator clips that allow the planes to climb and dive. A brass wire arrangement also allows full 360 degree rotation on each axis, so the planes can loop and barrel roll. The players get a full picture of the dogfight moment by moment. At 1/285 scale, the game can be played on your kitchen table.

The rules are very realistic and also easy to learn. Some of the biggest fans of the game are real life pilots who love the feel of the game. One of these folks, Pete Aguilu, has started a club, Jasta Midwest, in the Milwaukee/Chicago area that just plays this game.

With the ease of learning the rules, I can run a game at a convention for 12 brand new players. It takes a half hour to explain the rules and then 3.5 hours after that the game is completely wrapped up. About half-way through, I can usually leave the table and the players run it on their own. Experienced players can do a big battle in 2-3 hours, or a small one in 1-2.

And a fanatical dedication to historical accuracy. The research that went into H.A. is equivalent to a Masters thesis and O.P. is equivalent to a Ph.D. thesis. (If anyone's giving out honorary degrees, I'll gladly accept.) There's a lot of new research being published right now and I've been keeping abreast with it -- reading new books as they are published and corresponding with major researchers in the field (many of whom have shared unpublished data).

The rules currently cover over 300 types of aircraft that saw frontline service during the wars. I'll be adding more because a new book has just been published on French Aircraft which will fill in gaps I knew I had on French bombers and seaplanes, but the material was unavailable till now.

And I keep adding new wars, opponents, and lists of their aircraft as I discover them. The rules cover the time period 1915-1920. World War One ran from 1914-1918, but they didn't start installing machine guns on planes until 1915. When the Armistice was signed to end the "war to end all wars", the fighting and the air wars continued throughout the whole length of Eastern Europe and across Russia. The Russian Revolutions, the Polish- Russian War, the Battle on the Baltics, the Finnish Revolution, and battles to create new countries in Serbia, Czechoslovakia and Rumania out of the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire raged for years. This is pretty well hidden history that takes a lot of digging to unearth.

O.P. sets a new standard for historical games. Each of the 101 scenarios is footnoted with reference to the original source material from which the game scenario was created. Players who wish to check the sources can see where I had to make extrapolations to fill in missing data to fill out the scenario. Pilots' flight reports and biographies don't always provide all the info a game designer wants. And of course I already have notes to tweak some of the scenarios as I have since found additional material from more sources. Its always exciting to find multiple reports on the same dogfight from other pilots and from opposing sides!

What do you believe is the greatest success of the design? The most noticeable flaw?

The greatest success is definitely the combination of playability and realism.

The most noticeable flaw pops up in one-on-one fighting. One deliberate design feature is tailored for multiple plane dogfights. Planes with the greater advantage (highest speed, modified by altitude, tailing, and pilot quality) may choose to move before or after other planes in each movement phase.

This allows a plane with good advantage to move twice before its target plane moves at all. The advantaged plane chooses to move last in one phase and then first in the next one. This design feature captures the flavor that is in all of the pilots' biographies: you never see the plane coming that suddenly gets on your tail and starts firing. This mechanism works great in multiple plane fights, but in one-on-one fights it seems a little odd when a tailing plane suddenly leaps forward to close the range before firing.

Jasta Midwest has created some house rules to avoid this quirk and their ideas will probably be incorporated as an optional rule in the next scenario book published.

In creating Hostile Aircraft, how did your design philosophy evolve? Did something trigger the proverbial lightbulb to light up over your head during design and testing?

The game started when I got hold of some aeroplane miniatures from England. To start using them in a game, I took Richtofen's War, added the phase movement system from Car Wars, and started patching together rules for 3-D maneuvers. Over time it evolved into a full system in its own right. It was quite a prolonged series of light bulbs. Just the stand system itself went through three major lightbulb shifts before hitting on the final solution which in the end seems so obvious. There are significant design changes in each of the three beta-test print runs and then the first and second editions.

What were some other influences as you developed the system?

The 3-D system was definitely inspired by the old game Mustangs & Messerschmitts. That game dates back to the 70's. It uses 1/72 scale models and huge wheeled stands that role across the floor. It makes for a spectacular convention game (and can be seen at cons even now), but I wanted something I could play at home instead of needing a basketball court.

Talking with the pilots who fly the rebuilt planes at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome helped shape the game tremendously.

How long did Hostile Aircraft take from inspiration to final product? Did you get any faster as you continued?

I first started scribbling notes and playing the game in 1988 or 89, and then came back to the game after writing Goblin Wars and Laser Forward. Speed of work definitely picked up when I decided H.A. would be the first game I would try to market. It was two and a half years of solid research in 1992-94. (I thought I knew WWI planes when I started the project, I found differently when I dove into the serious research.) Then the pace really picked up when I decided in February '94 to make the commitment to buy a dealer table at GenCon for August '94 and borrowed $3,000 to cover the GenCon expenses and initial printing. Then the race was on to have a polished product by August.

Making the gears change from hobbyist to professional distinctly changed the pace.

When in design mode, what's your favorite snack food?

There are several types of design mode and accompanying snacks:

For grand conceptualizing, its Glen Fiddich (or other single malt Scotch).

For typing up first drafts on the computer, its crackers and cheese (extra sharp Vermont cheddar).

For playtesting, its shrimp cocktails.

For all-nighters doing page layout, its peanut butter, cheese and mustard sandwiches.

And for cooking up the marketing scheme of the week in the middle of conventions, its Scooby Snacks (baked by Roxanne).

Do you play computer games?

I sample them once in a great while on other people's machines. I need to limit my vices though since I need to put a lot of time on my computer writing rules, doing decal art, packaging layout, ads, etc. etc. etc. Computer games would be too deadly a time sink for me.

The favorite one I've tried was Lemmings.

What type of computer system do you have?

At the moment a Mac Quadra 610. I'm currently setting up a new Power Mac 8600.

What piece of hardware--real or imaginary--would you add to it?

I think I'm going to break down and get a digital camera. I was hoping to hold that off for a couple of years for the prices to drop but its looking more and more practical to get one this fall.

In general, do you think board or miniatures wargames make the leap to computer screens effectively? Why or why not?

Haven't tried enough to judge.

How would you like to see Hostile Aircraft presented on a computer screen, if at all?

I don't think H.A. would translate well as a regular computer game. The big advantage is that H.A. gives a full 3-D picture of the dogfight. On a computer, players would have to spend to much time toggling keys to get that view which would mean taking the hands off of the aeroplane controls. A multi-player virtual reality system with headsets so players just need to turn their heads to look out of the cockpit would work.

If you were going to be represented on a computer screen by an icon, what would it be?

A happy Goblin King.

Computer games are becoming an extension of Hollywood-- games based on movies or movie characters. Do you believe the "Hollywoodized" games to be better, worse, or about equal to ones created from original material? Why?

Haven't tried enough to judge.

What was the last movie (theater) you watched? Last videotape rental?

Last movie was East Side Story, a montage of Communist Russian musical comedies. Last rental was Stonewall.

Is there a movie you'd like to do a game of?

Actually it would be Stonewall. For a few years I've been tantalized by the idea of doing a game, not just of the Stonewall riot, but of all the world wide street riots of the late '60s and early '70s. I've already done some research into the social history and riot theory, but haven't had the light bulb yet of an elegant system for gamers to try to achieve their objectives while retaining very little control over their "troops" whether they be civilian rioters or police rioters. I have some key ideas, but not enough yet.

Given unlimited resources but present day technology, what would you design and why would it be cool?

The afore-mentioned H.A. virtual reality game. I'd also have the system generate a record of the dogfight on CD, so players could take it home to watch the dogfight from different visual perspectives. This way players could learn the skills of combat flying from the cockpit and later get the bigger tactical picture to help improve their skills all around. The coolest part would be the definitive bragging rights of having the movie of great victories and the agony of defeat (without any real pain).

They say everyone needs a hobby. How do you decompress outside of game designing/playing?

Going to Pagan festivals and invoking Sex Goddesses.

Where was the last place you visited on vacation? What's your next vacation spot?

Just went camping in Vermont after GenCon, and will head down to Cape Cod sometime in September after the tourist season is over.

If not bound by time or space, where would you go...and why?

I actually do this pretty regularly -- ecstatic trance journeys to the Otherworld because its a good way to keep in touch with the assorted deities I work with.

Excluding your own creations, what three games (of any type) would you take with you to the proverbial desert island? What three books?

For games, it would be chess (I haven't played in ages but it would be good to catch up), a deck of cards (if there's other people on the island we could make a cribbage board while we're there), and a candlepin bowling alley.

For books, it would be The Joy Of Cooking, How Things Work, and Stage Scene And Lighting Design.

We see the emergence of online gaming as putting the social aspect (and the smarts of a real-live opponent) into gaming on a world-wide scale. Good or bad? Why?

Wahoo. Anything that brings people together to extend social contacts and exchange of knowledge sounds good to me.

Do you have a favorite poster or cartoon hanging by your desk? What is it and what makes it your favorite?

No, but I do have a small white rubber mouse that sits on top of my computer monitor. In technologies long past, it used to sit on top of my typewriter. I'm not sure where it came from, but it moved in back when I was in college.

What epitaph would you want encoded on your (hopefully far in the future) digital tombstone?

Eternal life through composting: Glad to be taking my part in the cycle of life.

What question did we leave out that you would like to answer?

You didn't ask me about the H.A. Aces Tournament. It's a blast! The tourney is the last weekend in September out in Kingston, NY. We do the gaming in the evenings and mornings, and then in the afternoon head over to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome & Museum to watch the air shows. They do great mock dogfights with rebuilt planes.

I'm also very pleased with the atmosphere at the tourney. The quality of play is high, but not at all cut-throat. I expect a number of couples and families, mothers, fathers and teenagers, to participate. Its a very fun social event with good gaming thrown in and fresh baked muffins by Roxanne.

And the winner gets to pick the next aeroplane miniature that I make. They'll receive a free package of the figure once its in production.

Any last omniscient thoughts for MagWeb members?

Another aspect of the game that pleases me very much is that there are a number of women and families that enjoy playing the game. This is unusual for historical miniatures games. Its a playing atmosphere that I've helped develop by running a convention scenario called "Women of the Sky" which features five women that actually served as combat pilots with the Imperial Russian Air Service during WWI and the Revolutions. Featuring the contribution of women in history has been an attraction for bringing new players to the game that might not otherwise play.

This is approach can be used for games in any time period. For instance, hundreds of women disguised themselves as men to fight in the American Civil War. It would be a simple matter to feature these women in the write-up of a game scenario at a convention.

The hobby can only benefit by bringing in new gamers and also increasing the number of social circumstance in which folks are likely to invite friends over to play a game.

Short Bio of accomplishments outside game design:

B.A., Independent Scholar, Middlebury College 1983 (I created my own program of study in Theatre, Dance and Music. My thesis project involved composing a short ballet suite on a digital synthesizer plus doing choreography and scene design. I couldn't imagine a better course of study to help with running my own creative business.)

Dance performance work includes the Edinburgh Theatre Festival and Boston Ballet.

For the last twelve years, I've run an improvisational light show every other week at Dance Freedom in Harvard Square, an improv dance happening that's been running for about thirty years now.

Ordained minister, Church of the Sacred Earth 1988. Highlights of my ministerial work are doing the wedding and funeral rituals which bring communities together in the cycle of their lives, and also helping with inter-religious services to bring divergent communities together.

New England regional religion coordinator for Earth Day 1990.

Helped to found Ecospirit New England, a non-profit organization for inter-religious environmental education, and also the Seventh Principle Project, a Unitarian Universalist environmental network.

Currently an active member of the Boston Clergy Breakfast Group.