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Tom Wham

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For the football player, seeTom Wham (American football).
Tom Wham
Born1944 (age 79–80)[citation needed]
Chester,Illinois,United States[citation needed]
NationalityAmerican
Known forFantasy art,Illustration
Websitetomwham

Tom Wham(born 1944) is adesignerofboard gameswho has also produced artwork, including that for his own games.

Career

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Early life and Guidon Games

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Born inChester, Illinois,[citation needed]Wham worked a variety of odd jobs during his early adult life. After serving four years in theU.S. Navy,he worked for theGuidon Gameshobby shop inMaine[1]where he got his first game, a variant on aCivil Warnaval miniatures campaign, published.[2]One of Wham's books was published in the same series of "Wargaming with Miniatures" books from Guidon Games that began in 1971 withChainmail.[3]: 6 In 1972, Wham got a job withDon Lowryat Guidon Games, in the shipping/layout department ofCampaignmagazine; there, he co-authored a set of Civil War naval miniature rules,Ironclad.[4]Afterwards he became a prison guard in his hometown, then held an office job inDenver.[2]

TSR

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In May 1977 he began working forTSR, Inc.at theirLake Geneva, Wisconsinheadquarters as a general office worker, the company's 13th employee.[4]After running the Dungeon Hobby Shop for a summer, he was moved upstairs to the company's art department.[4]Wham worked withDave Sutherlandand his brother-in-lawDave Trampieron the originalMonster Manual.[4]Wham began doing some creative work for the company, contributing a handful of illustrations for the originalAD&DMonster Manual,including the creature called thebeholder.[2]Other work included co-editing (with Timothy Jones,Mike Carr,andBrian Blume) the first edition ofGamma World.[5]He also made a deal withTim Kask,editor ofThe Dragon,to do a game in the centerfold, calledSnit Smashing;this led to other games inDragon,includingThe Awful Green Things from Outer Space.[4]These games, printed on cardstock and included in the centerfold of the magazine, usually featured artwork supplied by Wham.

Notable games published this way include:

  • Snit Smashing:Originally published inDragon#10 (October 1977). In Wham's first game forDragon,tiny creatures known as Snits run out from the sea and try to procreate while avoiding the giant blob-like Bolotomi, who smash the Snits out of boredom. Players alternate control between the Snits and the Bolotomus, attempting to make their own Snits reproduce faster than those of their opponent.
  • Snit's Revenge:Originally published inDragon#11 (December 1977). In the more famous follow-up toSnit Smashing,the Snits set out to finally kill the elephantine Bolotomi who are smashing them, by invading their bodies and shutting down all their internal organs. This was published as a separate boardgame by TSR in 1978, and is now published bySteve Jackson Games.
  • The Awful Green Things from Outer Space:Originally published inDragon#28 (August 1979). A game of green aliens invading a spaceship. This too was eventually published as a separate game by TSR and later published by Steve Jackson Games as well.
  • Search for the Emperor's Treasure:Originally published inDragon#51 (July 1981). Players take the roles of adventurers searching a fantasy empire for the emperor's scattered magical treasures. A revised edition was included in a box set called "The Best of Dragon Games", 1990.
  • File 13:Originally published inDragon#72 (April 1983). A game about designing board games. A second edition was reissued in "The Best of Dragon Games".
  • King of the Tabletop:Originally published inDragon#77 (September 1983), this is a game in which people create their own kingdom from little cardboardchitsrepresenting land, characters, and events. Also expanded and published commercially asKings and ThingsbyWest End Games,Games Workshop,and later, in a German edition, Pegasus Spiele.
  • Elefant Hunt:Originally published inDragon#88 (August 1984). Great White Hunters travel through deepest, darkest "Aferca" with the help of natives to capture as many live animals and much ivory as they can to sell for profit.

After TSR

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After TSR, Wham collaborated on books withRose Estes,and did his own novelette inChristopher Stasheff'sThe Exotic Enchanter.[4]More games followed, includingKings & Things(withRob Kuntz), theSimCitycard game, andIron Dragon.[4]Later efforts include a reprint ofSnitsandAwful Green Things from Outer SpacefromSteve Jackson Games,andPlanet BustersbyTroll Lord Games.[4]

Wham designed the board game "King of the Tabletop" withRobert J. Kuntz,which was published inDragon#77 (September 1983); the game was expanded and published separately as the Origins award-winnerKings & Things(1986) byWest End Games.[3]: 241 

Since leaving TSR, Wham has designed many more games, including collaborating withJames M. Wardon the board gameDragon Lairds,published in April 2008, andFeudalitypublished by Z-man Games Inc. in 2011.[6]

References

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  1. ^Sacco, Ciro Alessandro."The Ultimate Interview with Gary Gygax".thekyngdoms.Retrieved2008-10-24.
  2. ^abcKnorr, Bryce (August 1980). "Wham's Revenge: his games".Dragon #40.V(2).Lake Geneva, Wisconsin:TSR, Inc.: 14–17.
  3. ^abShannon Appelcline (2011).Designers & Dragons.Mongoose Publishing.ISBN978-1-907702-58-7.
  4. ^abcdefghWham, Tom (2007). "Puerto Rico".InLowder, James(ed.).Hobby Games: The 100 Best.Green Ronin Publishing.pp. 251–253.ISBN978-1-932442-96-0.
  5. ^Fewer, Greg."Gamma World: Science Fantasy Role-Playing Game (1981):: Pen & Paper RPG Database".Archived fromthe originalon 10 September 2010.Retrieved28 January2022.
  6. ^Tom Wham
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