Do you hate randomness in games?
Remember that feeling in Risk where your ridiculously strong army should totally win against your opponent's force and then he just keeps rolling sixes? Or when you clearly have the best starting position in Catan and then 9s don't get rolled the entire game? Man, that is just the worst.
I much prefer to win or lose games based on my own merit, not the whims of luck. Then, when you win, you have something to feel proud about. And when you lose, you can pinpoint the decisions you made that led to that loss and learn from the experience.
Cephalofair Games is on a quest to make super-amazing games that minimize randomness and reward player savvy.
Our big claim to fame is Gloomhaven, a massive Legacy-style dungeon-crawler with combat that features actual meaningful decisions and no dice (WHAT). We have also published Forge War, an epic, economic Euro-style game about turning mined resources into weapons used to kill big, bad fantasy monsters; and Founders of Gloomhaven, a city-building game of logistics set in the Gloomhaven world.
There are many more exciting things on the horizon, including the upcoming sequel to Gloomhaven, Frosthaven, which is going to be vastly more epic and expansive than the original, if you can believe it!
Isaac Childres
He/Him
CEO / Game Designer
Isaac loves board games. He was going to be a physicist (got his PhD and everything), but then decided it would be more fun to design and publish board games for a living. He hasn’t regretted that decision yet.
Isaac is the founder and driving force behind Cephalofair Games. He started the company back in 2014 to self-publish his first game, Forge War, and has since led a growing team that handles design, development, writing, art direction, promotion, publishing, and fulfillment for all their games ever since.
Isaac’s “magnum opus,” Gloomhaven was Cephalofair Games’ second title, published in early 2017. He could not be happier with the reception it is receiving and has since published three additional titles set in the same world: Forgotten Circles, Founders of Gloomhaven, Jaws of the Lion, and is hard at work designing the highly anticipated "sequel" Frosthaven.
He is generally a fan of heavier Euro board games like Gaia Project and 18XX, though he does have a soft spot for dungeon crawlers and RPGs. You can read all about his unhealthy love of board gaming here.
Isaac lives in Lafayette, Indiana, with his wife Kristyn and his dog Millie.
My Design Philosophy
Cephalofair Games makes epic board games that break the mold. People like to fit games into categories they can easily understand: heavy games, light games, deck-builders, dungeon-crawls. But I have no desire to fit my games into predefined holes.
My design philosophy is start a project with a strong, thematic concept, and build the game organically from there, integrating fun mechanics where they fit naturally. The end goal is to create epic game experiences that are approachable, but also reward strategy and planning over luck and randomness.
I want players to get the following from my games:
- Accessibility when playing for the first time.
- Room to expand and refine strategies over many repeated plays.
- Many opportunities for deep decision making and a minimization of randomness.
- Challenging and complex systems to explore.
If this sounds like a good time to you, I encourage you to check out some of my games.
Price Johnson
He/ Him
Chief Operating Officer
Price handles the day-to-day "behind the scenes" at Cephalofair and considers himself incredibly fortunate to work with so many talented individuals who bring the world of Gloomhaven to life for fans all over the world.
Bringing 12 years of outside experience in operations management, marketing, sales, hiring, and a passion for tabletop games, Price has been responsible for leading various efforts around Cephalofair since 2017, such as: an ever growing convention schedule, expansion of retail partners and e-commerce, and as Executive Producer on both 2020's Jaws of the Lion and Frosthaven Kickstarter campaign.
His latest projects include helping push the world of Gloomhaven into exciting new spaces such as comics, books, video games, audio, and more...
Price lives in Sacramento, California with his wife Marcie, and his kids Clarke & Liam.
Chris Kessler
He/Him
Sales and Logistics Manager
Chris is our go-to guy for everything related to Sales, Distribution, Retailer sales, event planning/coordination and has been a reliable employee from the minute he got hired into the team. Chris is not only very knowledgeable about all our games, but he has all the updates pertaining to our shipping timelines and product availability on both our current and upcoming products!
Monica Paprocki
She/Her
Marketing Manager
Monica started out as the company’s cosplayer in conventions, so you might have seen her at the booth during events. She now handles all marketing needs of the company- from game releases, blog posts, press and media inquiries, and social media posts. Find out what Cephalofair Games has in store this year!
Arch Anderson
He/Him
Art & Graphic Design Manager
Arch reports from the state of Maine to help Cephalofair’s world-wide team of creators bring fun and adventure to your gaming table. He’s a graphic designer by trade with a history in marketing. Arch has been heavily involved in directing art and graphic design for games such as Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs, Gloomhaven Second Edition, and many more.
Aaron Hoyt
He/Him
Community Support Specialist
Aaron is a great addition to our team at Cephalofair.
He not only oversees all community support at Cephalofair Games, but he also has been a part of our convention team at the numerous shows that we attend each year. He is knowledgeable about all of our games and he does great demos for each of them.
Cephalofair would also be nowhere without the talent of so many additional sculptors, artists, and editors who have helped shape our worlds
Gloomhaven 2nd Ed - Project Lead
Drew Penn (He/Him), typically known as “Gripeaway”, was a developer of Jaws of the Lion and Frosthaven and a project lead on Gloomhaven: Second Edition. He lives in Paris, France with his partner Jessica and cat Hakata. Prior to working directly with Cephalofair, Drew was creating community class guides for Gloomhaven classes.
Buttons & Bugs - Co-Designer
Nikki Valens (They/Them) is a co-designer for Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs. Their previous designs include Mansions of Madness Second Edition, Legacy of Dragonholt, Artisans of Splendent Vale, and many more compelling story heavy games.
ASSISTANT DESIGNER
Misty Burgess (She/Her) is an assisting designer and developer on Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs as well as an upcoming, unannounced project. Outside of Cephalofair, she is a music composer and tutor.
RPG LEAD
Danielle Lauzon (She/They) is a freelance game designer, writer, developer, and gamer living in Austin, TX with her husband, two dogs, and three cats. When she isn't writing, developing, designing, or otherwise occupied in getting games organized, she is playing games instead. She has been working in the ttrpg industry for over a decade and has over 50 credits to her name from companies such as Onyx Path Publishing, Magpie Games, and Green Ronin. She’s excited to be working with Cephalofair on the Gloomhaven RPG.
Gloomhaven RPG Lore, Writer and Designer
B (He/They) has been involved with Cephalofair Games since 2019, beginning his Gloomhaven life playtesting products like Jaws of the Lion and Frosthaven before eventually being given the lofty and wonderfully arcane sounding title of 'Lore Master'. B cares deeply about developing and showcasing the sometimes strange, sometimes irreverent, always gloomy world of Gloomhaven with more focus than we've been previously able. Now a writer and designer for the RPG, you can usually find B talking about why harrower language is basically eldritch magic and elements are just echoes of emotions to anyone that will listen.
- ART OF GLOOMHAVEN -
Gloomhaven 1st Edition, Jaws of the Lion, Frosthaven,
Gloomhaven Second Edition
Buttons & Bugs
- CARTOGRAPHY -
- SCULPTING -
Gloomhaven
James van Shaik; Detective City of Angles, Cthulhu Wars
Jaws of the Lion / Frosthaven
Chris Lewis : Reaper, MERCS, CRY H.A.V.I.C.
Andrew Cothill : Fireaxis Games, WizKids, Reaper, GCT
Chad Hoverter : Mice & Mystics, Spector Ops, Heroes of Land, Air & Sea
Forgotten Circles / Frosthaven
Tom Mason : Reaper, WizKids, MERCS, DGS
- RULEBOOK EDITING -
Mathew G. Somers : Gloomhaven, Forgotten Circles, Jaws of the Lion, Frosthaven
Jim Spivey : Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, WizKids, HarperCollins
- RULEBOOK DESIGN -
Jason D. Kingsley : Lanterns, Spy Club, Machi Koro, Wasteland Express Delivery Service
- PHOTOGRAPHY / GRAPHIC DESIGN -
Cat & David Bock : Ravensburger, Eagle Gryphon, Grandpa Beck’s Games
- COSPLAY -
Monika Paprocki : Geeks A Gogo