The Ohio State University Department of Design recently hosted game designer Ammon Anderson. Ammon is the creator of the highly-anticipated board games Gnome Hollow (coming August 2024) and Twinkle Twinkle (2025). Ammon came at the invitation of Professor Scott Swearingen as part of the Green Acres interdisciplinary research project on land management and games.

On his visit, Ammon worked with the Green Acres team, including researchers from the Department of Design, College of Engineering, and faculty and students from UC San Diego, to refine the gameplay of a cooperative board game about managing watersheds in the Lake Erie Basin. He also provided art direction for the game.

Ammon also stopped by sections of the Department of Design’s Introduction to Game Design class, where he playtested student games, gave feedback, and answered student questions. He also presented to students and faculty at the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design about the design process behind his new game, Gnome Hollow, and the board game industry. He wrapped up his day with a visit to the Positive Futures exhibit at the Hopkins Hall Gallery.