Martin Wallace (game designer)

Martin Wallace is an English board game designer from Manchester.

Martin Wallace
a man wearing rectangular glass facing right
Wallace in 2012
Born
United Kingdom
OccupationGame designer

Early life and education

Martin Wallace was born and raised in the U.K., and has been resident in Manchester for most of those years.[1] He began gaming in his teens, starting with titles from SPI and Avalon Hill, and as a student he got into Dungeons & Dragons.[1]

Career

Wallace worked for a while at Games Workshop, then started designing games in earnest in the early 1990s, his first DTP game being Lords of Creation.[1] Eventually German companies picked up a few of his games, such as Und Tschüss, Volldampf, and Tempus.[1] He has also published a number of games through his own company, Warfrog.[1] These include such titles as Struggle of Empires and Princes of the Renaissance.

Wallace is the founder and chief designer of Treefrog (former Warfrog) Games. Wallace is known for designing complex strategy games that depict a variety of historical settings. Two themes he has frequently used are the construction and operation of railroads, and the rise and fall of ancient civilizations. He has developed a reputation for blending elegant European style game mechanics with the strong themes that are more typical of American style games.[2] Many of his games feature economic systems, incorporating rules for income, taxation, and debt. In 2016, Wallace announced the closure of Treefrog Games[3] and focussing on being a full-time game designer.

Notable games
  • Empires of the Ancient World (2000)
  • Liberté (2001)
  • Volldampf (2001)
  • Tyros (2002)
  • Princes of the Renaissance (2003)
  • Secrets of the Tombs (2003)
  • Runebound (2004)
  • Struggle of Empires (2004)
  • Byzantium (2005)
  • Railroad Tycoon (2005)
  • Tempus (2006)
  • Perikles (2006)
  • Brass (2007)
  • Tinners' Trail (2008)
  • After The Flood (2008)
  • Steel Driver (2008)
  • Steam: Rails to Riches (2009)
  • Waterloo (2009)
  • Automobile (2009)
  • Rise of Empires (2009)
  • Last Train to Wensleydale (2009)
  • God's Playground (2009)
  • Moongha Invaders (2010)
  • Age of Industry (2010)
  • London (2010)
  • First Train to Nuremberg (2010)
  • Gettysburg (2010)
  • A Few Acres of Snow (2011)
  • Discworld: Ankh-Morpork (2011)
  • Aeroplanes: Aviation Ascendant (2012)
  • Doctor Who: The Card Game (2012)
  • Discworld: The Witches (2013)
  • A Study in Emerald (2013) based on Neil Gaiman’s short story A Study in Emerald
  • Onwards to Venus (2014) based on Greg Broadmore’s Dr Grordbort
  • Mythotopia (2014)
  • Ships (2015)
  • A Study in Emerald Second Edition (2015)
  • Via Nebula (2016)
  • Hit Z Road (2016)
  • A Handful of Stars (2017)
  • AuZtralia (2018)
  • Judge Dredd Helter Skelter (2019)
  • Milito (2019)
  • Nanty Narking (2019)
  • Anno 1800 (2020)
  • Tinners' Trail (2021) (new, reworked edition)
  • Rocketmen (2021)
  • Bloodstones (2023)

References
  1. Wallace, Martin (2007). "Power Grid". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 247–250. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.
  2. The Games Journal Article on Martin Wallace Retrieved October 24, 2008.
  3. "Treefrog Games". 2016-12-04. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
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