Discussants and Workshop Leaders

Cole Wehrle

Creative Director at Leder Games and co-founder of Wehrlegig Games, Cole is an award-winning designer whose work has been translated into over ten languages. His designs cover a wide range of subjects, from science fiction to state formation in nineteenth-century Afghanistan. Cole is interested in the limits of emergent narrative in tabletop games and how we can use play to understand difficult historical pasts. Cole joins us as discussant and workshop leader.

Mary Flanagan

Professor of Film and Media Studies at Dartmouth College and Director at Tiltfactor Research Laboratory, Mary's work in critical play extends into the virtual, the analog, the comparative, and the communal. Designer, author, and critic, she shapes how we understand the intersecting affordances of agency and habitation in gaming spaces. Mary joins us as discussant and workshop leader.

Patrick Jagoda

Chair of Cinema and Media Studies and Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago, Patrick is a leading author in critical game studies, transmedia designer of ludic experiences, and celebrated educator. His work traces the ways games experiment with the experience of reality itself. Patrick joins us as discussant.

Ashlyn Sparrow

Senior Research Associate in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago and independent game designer, Ash thinks games on their own terms as works capable of expression in their own chosen media. Her games offer opportunities for expression, interaction, and the formation and interrogation of present communities. Ash joins us as workshop leader.

Ben Rosset

Ben is an award-winning board game designer with over 20 published titles to his credit. Ben models real-world systems in the games he designs. Topics of his games include making cheese, running a brewery, the invention of the airplane, searching for new planets, and building cities. From 2015-2025 he was a Sr. Project Manager and then HR Director at Panda Game Manufacturing, and he is currently the COO of Bamboo Design Studio. He also founded and directed a board game convention in Washington, DC, and serves as a mentor to new designers.

Thomas C. Sawyer

Lecturer in Writing at the University of Chicago, Tom is a medievalist by training and board game designer by passion. He aims in his scholarship and his game designs alike to represent the complexities of medieval cultures in terms accessible to contemporary thought. Tom serves as organizer of Medievalists Design Games and earnest supporter of all participants.

And More!

We are actively seeking further workshop leaders at this time. If you are in the Chicago area (or want to be, this December) and have passion and experience in game design, please email tsawyer at uchicago dot edu.

Sponsors

We are grateful to our generous sponsors for supporting Medievalists Design Games: the Medieval Academy of America, the New York Medieval Society, the University of Chicago Libraries, Stonemaier Games, The Franke Institute, and the Weston Game Lab at the University of Chicago.

Organizers are currently seeking additional sponsors to reduce travel costs for participating medievalists who may not have access to designated funding. If your institution, society, or corporation can offer financial support, please email tsawyer at uchicago dot edu.