Allen Varney (b. April 1959) is an American writer and game designer born in St. Louis, Missouri. He is married to writer Beth Fischi and currently lives in Austin, Texas. He has a dual B.A. in English and History from the University of Nevada, Reno. The Gateway Arch, shown here behind the Old Courthouse, is the most recognizable part of the St. ... Nickname: Live Music Capital of the World Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: www. ... The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR or Nevada) is a university that is located in Reno, Nevada and is known for its programs in agricultural research, animal biotechnology, and mining-related natural sciences. ...

Varney has produced numerous books, boardgames, roleplaying game supplements, technical manuals, articles, reviews, columns, and stories, as well as the fantasy novel Cast of Fate (TSR, 1996). Since the 1990s, he has worked primarily in computer games. TSR has a number of meanings. ...

Roleplaying Games

Varney started his career in paper roleplaying games. From April 1984 to September 1985 he worked as Assistant Editor at Steve Jackson Games (with Warren Spector, then Editor-in-Chief) editing Space Gamer magazine. Steve Jackson Games (SJG) is a game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. ... Warren Spector is one of the more respected game designers, having worked to merge elements of RPGs and first-person shooters. ...

In 1986, he left Steve Jackson Games to freelance. From this time onward, he wrote a large body of game supplements for companies like TSR, Inc., FASA, West End Games, and White Wolf, Inc.. TSR was a company formed as Tactical Studies Rules in 1972 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye (and others later) to publish the rule set for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game (RPG). ... This article is about the role-playing game company. ... West End Games is a company that makes role playing games. ... The logo of White Wolf Publishing, one of White Wolf, Inc. ...

His latest paper game project is an update of the classic 1980s roleplaying game PARANOIA, published in 2004. He currently edits and packages the game's support line for Mongoose Publishing.

Computer Games

Austin e-learning company Enspire Learning produces the computer version of his multiplayer business ethics and leadership simulation, the Executive Challenge. The Wall Street Journal covered the Executive Challenge in its May 10, 2004 issue. The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with a worldwide average daily circulation of more than 2. ...

Varney has long been involved in the game design and documentation for companies such as Origin Systems, Interplay, Prodigy, Acclaim Entertainment, Looking Glass Technologies, Microprose, and Sony Online Entertainment. Origin Systems, Inc. ... Interplay Entertainment Corporation was an American video game and computer game publisher and developer. ... Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. ... Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s. ... MicroProse Software, Inc. ... Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is a computer game development division of Sony that mostly creates massively multiplayer online games. ...

Other Work

In 1993, Varney designed an expansion set for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast ultimately did not published the expansion set, but the design concepts later surfaced in Vanguard [1]. Varney is credited for the original concept. Magic: The Gathering (colloq. ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ...

He writes articles for the weekly online gaming magazine The Escapist. The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and the elusive gaming culture. ...

Trivia

Allen Varney has been a member of the Texas Juggling Society [2] for over a decade. At the society's annual Jugglefest, he helps teach novices how to juggle balls and clubs.