Games - Allen Varney

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	Games - Allen Varney

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.

Varney has produced numerous books, board games, role-playing 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.

Roleplaying games

Varney started his career in paper roleplaying games. From 1984 to 1985 he worked as Assistant Editor at Steve Jackson Games (with Warren Spector, then Editor-in-Chief) editing Space Gamer
magazine.

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..

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

The Austin e-learning company Enspire Learning produces a computer version of Varney's multiplayer business ethics and leadership simulation, the Executive Challenge . The Wall Street Journal covered the Executive Challenge in its May 10, 2004 issue.

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.

Other work

In 1993, Varney designed an expansion set for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering
. This was not published, but the design concepts later surfaced in the web-based Vanguard format of the game, with Varney credited for the original concept.

Varney also writes articles for The Escapist
, a weekly online gaming magazine.

Trivia

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

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