Steve Jackson Games

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Steve Jackson Games
Company typePrivate
IndustryGame publisher
Founded1980
FounderSteve Jackson
Headquarters,
United States
Key people
Steve Jackson
ProductsMunchkin, Chez Geek, Car Wars, Ogre, GURPS
RevenueUS$6.6 million gross[1] (2015)
OwnerSteve Jackson
Number of employees
43 full time (2015)[1]
Websitewww.sjgames.com/

Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine Pyramid.

History

Founded in 1980, six years after the creation of

Pocket Box.[3] Games such as Ogre, Car Wars, and G.E.V (an Ogre spin-off) were popular during SJ Games' early years. Game designers such as Loren Wiseman and Jonathan Leistiko have worked for Steve Jackson Games.[4]

Today SJ Games publishes a variety of games, such as

sci-fi, and gothic horror. They also published the book Principia Discordia, the sacred text of the Discordian
religion.

Raid by the Secret Service

On March 1, 1990, the

9-1-1 systems onto Steve Jackson Games's public bulletin board system and/or another board known as Phoenix which he also administered;[7] and, furthermore, that GURPS Cyberpunk would help others commit computer crimes.[8] During their investigation, the Secret Service also read (and deleted) private emails on one of the computers.[9]
Though the materials were later returned in June, Steve Jackson Games filed suit in federal court, winning at trial.

The raid led to the formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which was founded in July 1990.[2][10]

Kickstarter project

In April–May 2012, Steve Jackson Games ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for a new "Designer's Edition" of Ogre.[11][12] The final game was planned to weigh 14 pounds or more, partly because the high level of extra funding achieved in the Kickstarter enabled significant game additions.[13]

Games published

Steve Jackson Games' main product line, in terms of sales, is the Munchkin card game, followed by the role-playing system GURPS.[14]

Card games

Board games

  • The Awful Green Things from Outer Space, designed by Tom Wham and originally published by TSR.
  • Car Wars, futuristic battles between automobiles.
  • Dork Tower, a fantasy game that takes place in the world the Dork Tower characters play their games in.
  • Frag, "a first-person shooter without a computer".
  • Globbo, a black comedy game about a murderous alien babysitter.
  • GreedQuest, a light, randomized romp through a simple dungeon to gain loot.
  • Knightmare Chess, a chess variant played with cards. Translation of the French Tempête sur l'Echiquier published by Ludodelire.
  • Kung Fu 2100, a simple game of hand-to-hand combat where players use martial arts to smash their way into the CloneMaster's fortress.
  • Munchkin Quest, a boardgame variation of the Munchkin card games
  • Nanuk, a boardgame of bidding and bluffing, centered on Inuit hunters.
  • Necromancer, a fantasy game for two players, in which each player becomes a powerful wizard controlling the forces of the Undead.
  • Ogre, the classic simulation of future war involving a cybernetic armored juggernaut firing nuclear weapons. Designed by Jackson, and originally published by Metagaming Concepts.
    • Battlesuit, a spin-off of Ogre and G.E.V. featuring infantry using powered armor inspired by Starship Troopers.
    • G.E.V., a spin-off of Ogre focusing on futuristic but "conventional" infantry, artillery, and armor units.
    • Shockwave, an Ogre/G.E.V. expansion set with new units and a new map.
    • Ogre Reinforcements Pack, an Ogre/G.E.V. expansion set with new rules and replacement pieces and maps.
    • Battlefields, an Ogre/G.E.V. expansion set with new rules, pieces, and maps.
  • One Page Bulge, a simulation of the German Ardennes Offensive in 1944, with the rules printed on a single page.
  • Proteus, a chess variant using dice to represent normal chess pieces.
  • Revolution, a blind-bidding area-majority game.
  • Snits, two classic Tom Wham games, Snit's Revenge and Snit Smashing, both originally published by TSR.
  • Star Traders, a game where players race through space to deliver cargoes.
  • The Stars Are Right, a boardgame where players attempt to change a 5×5 tileboard through the use of cards, and gaining victory points based on certain constellations of symbols.
  • Strange Synergy, a game where teams of warriors battle with a different set of powers each game.
  • Tile Chess, a multiplayer chess variant played without a chess board.
  • X-Bugs, a combat game where futuristic bugs are represented by colorful tiddly winks.

Role-playing games

Miniatures

Computer games

  • Origin Systems, Inc.
  • Ogre A computer version of the Ogre board game. Published by Origin Systems, Inc.
  • Ultracorps
    An online space strategy game originally developed by VR-1.

Dice games

Magazines

Publication history

Gaming magazines produced by Steve Jackson Games have included:[15]

  • The Space Gamer (1980-1985) – Steve Jackson took over the magazine from Metagaming Concepts with issue #27, and transferred the magazine to Steve Jackson Games in 1982; the final issue from Steve Jackson Games was #76 in 1985, and the rights were sold to Diverse Talents Inc.
  • Fire & Movement (1982-1985) - a wargaming magazine purchased from Baron Publishing - sold to Diverse Talents in 1985
  • Autoduel Quarterly (1983-1992) - home for Car Wars material moved from The Space Gamer
  • Fantasy Gamer (1983-1984) - short-lived magazine split from Space Gamer
  • Roleplayer (1986-1993) - replaced The Space Gamer as the company's periodical for their fan base until SJGames started the new generalist magazine Pyramid
  • Pyramid (1993-1998) - published for 30 issues as a print magazine
  • Pyramid, volume 2 (1998-2008) – published weekly as a subscription-based online magazine
  • Journal of the Travellers Aid Society (starting 2000) - SJGames resurrected Game Designers' Workshop's earlier periodical as an online magazine
  • d20 Weekly (2002-2003) – an online magazine devoted to the d20 market
  • Pyramid, volume 3 (starting 2008) - a PDF-only version of the magazine

Mentions in third-party media

In

computer hacking simulation game by British software company Introversion Software
, there is a company named Steve Jackson Games. While this company may occasionally offer hacking contracts to the player, its main feature is a Public Access Server which, if accessed, displays the following information:

Steve Jackson Games

Public Access Server

ATTENTION

This computer system has been seized
by the United States Secret Service
in the interests of National Security.

Your IP has been logged.

This jokingly refers to the 1990 raid by the US Secret Service. As noted in the Ultimate Uplink Guide, this was "put into the game because of the Secret Service Raid on the company, for supposedly making a 'Hacking Guide'. This guide was actually a work of total fiction for a game the company was making, and contained technology that didn't even exist".[16]

References

External links