Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designerJames Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, and other common board game accessories, so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that requires them. Cheapass games thus come packaged in white envelopes, small boxes, or plastic resealable bags containing only those components unique to the game - typically a rules sheet, a playing board printed on card stock, and game cards banded by magazine-cutout "sleeves".[1] This allows the company to produce games for prices well below the market average. Later, Cheapass started offering some higher-quality, full color games under the "James Ernest Games" brand.
Ernest originally developed the idea for selling basic games without all the common components while freelancing at Wizards of the Coast during the 1990s. However, Wizards rejected the idea, and in 1995, Ernest quit and started up the company. Creating the games by hand, he initially showed the games at tradeshows and conventions, resulting in sales demand from game stores. The company creates and assembles each game pack by hand, with most games only being made in runs of up to 5,000 copies.[2]
Cheapass' game Pennywise was awarded the parodic 2003 "Spud des Jahres" award for most overpriced game by the website Spielboy (see Spiel des Jahres).
In 2004, the indie band Beatnik Turtle released The Cheapass Album, an album inspired by games from Cheapass Games.
In October 2007, Cheapass Games stopped updating their web site; a message on the homepage explains: "Cheapass Games is in the process of hibernating, which means we can be a bit sluggish and hard to reach. Most of us have moved on to better careers, and James Ernest is slumbering peacefully in a warm hole in the ground."
In 2009, Cheapass created a Button Men app for the iPhone. Paizo Publishing is selling some Cheapass games on its website.
In 2011, Cheapass Games resumed updating their website with a new business model: Games are being released for free in PDF format for gamers to print and play, and customers are asked to donate a dollar or two if they like the game. James Ernest says, in the game rules, "I've decided to try a different gamble. I'm giving my games away for free. This way, you can read the rules, make a copy, and even play the thing, before you decide what it's worth. If you do like my games, I hope you will send me some money. But I'm also hoping you will share this experiment with your friends. You are my sales force, my marketing department, my demo team." New games are usually accompanied by the Ransomometer, where potential customers are encouraged to donate a certain dollar amount before a game is released to the public.
In 2012, Cheapass Games offered their first Kickstarter project, a deluxe reprint of their previous game Unexploded Cow.[5] This was followed in 2013 by another Kickstarter project for a deluxe version of their earlier Deadwood game, called Deadwood Studios USA.[6]
In 2019, it was announced that Greater Than Games had acquired Cheapass Games.[7] They have since opened a website with many free PDF offerings of older Cheapass Games titles.
List of Cheapass Games
Several of the older games are out of print but are offered for free by Cheapass: the cards, rules, or other game materials may be downloaded for free, and Cheapass requests that if the recipient likes the game he or she should make a voluntary payment. Cheapass Games provides a chart of suggested donations based on the recipient's profession/income level at their website.[8]
The board and pieces for Devil Bunny Hates the Earth, a popular Cheapass games title.
Before I Kill You, Mr. Bond (a game of attracting interesting people to your lair, then killing them. Reissued in 2004 as James Ernest's Totally Renamed Spy Game)
Ben Hurt (An out of print game involving betting and chariot races)
The Big Idea (A game involving venture capitalism and marketing)
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 the gaming magazine Pyramid.
Kill Doctor Lucky is a humorous board game designed by James Ernest and released in 1996 by Cheapass Games. In 1998, Kill Doctor Lucky won the Origins Award for Best Abstract Board Game of 1997.
Fluxx is a card game, played with a specially designed deck published by Looney Labs. It is different from most other card games, in that the rules and the conditions for winning are altered throughout the game, via cards played by the players.
Give Me the Brain is a discard-style card game designed by James Ernest and released in 1996 by Cheapass Games. In the game, players assume the role of zombies attempting to complete their tasks for the day at Friedey's, "the fast food restaurant of the damned", yet they only have one brain to share between them. The game inspired several sequels, all set at Friedey's.
Button Men is a two-player dice game invented by James Ernest of Cheapass Games, first released in 1999.
Zombies!!! is a tile-based strategy board game for two to six players. Zombies!!! won the 2001 Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game, and Zombies!!! 3: Mall Walkers won 2003's Origins Award for Best Board Game Expansion.
Brawl is a real-time card game designed by James Ernest and released in 1999 by Cheapass Games.
The Great Brain Robbery is a board game designed by James Ernest and released in 2000 by Cheapass Games.
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and tabletop role-playing games published in 2002. For video games, see 2002 in video gaming.
Before I Kill You, Mr. Bond is a card game designed by James Ernest and published by Cheapass Games. Players take the roles of supervillains in a spy movie, capturing superspies and taunting them. Other players can foil the taunts by playing another taunt with a letter that corresponds to the first taunt. If this happens, the superspy escapes and destroys the fortress of the player attempting to kill him.
Freeloader is a game published by Cheapass Games. The object of the game is to mooch as much free stuff as possible off of your friends and neighbours.
Deadwood is a board game for 3–8 players produced by Cheapass Games. In it, players assume the roles of bit actors working for a B-Movie Studio who try to make as much money as possible. This is done by taking on roles such as "man on fire," "woman in black dress," and "falls off roof." Players are represented by dice, which denote what "level" actor each player is. The original version of the game was available through various game outlets. The rules, boards, and cards for a revised edition are now available for free download from the company's website, and are being developed into a deluxe edition via Kickstarter.
James Ernest is an American game designer and juggler, best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games.
Mike Selinker is an American game designer, puzzle maker, and the founder and president of Lone Shark Games.
Devil Bunny Needs a Ham is a board game by Cheapass Games for 2-4 players. In the game, sous-chefs try to climb up a building while Devil Bunny attempts to knock them off in the mistaken belief that doing so will get him a ham.
Unexploded Cow is a card game by Cheapass Games in which the objective is to blow up unexploded bombs in France with mad cows from Britain, earning money in the process. The winner is the person who collects the most money.
Girl Genius: The Works is a card game announced in March 2001 as scheduled for an April 2001 release, and was out by summer as it was reviewed in July 2001. It is played with a specially designed deck of 108 cards. The game, designed by Phil Foglio and James Ernest, takes its theme from the "gaslamp fantasy" of the Girl Genius comic book series. The goal is to be the first player to reach 100 points by "popping" cards out of a two-dimensional layout.
Diceland is a tabletop game played with collectible sets of dice designed by Toivo Rovainen and James Ernest and released in 2002 by Cheapass Games. Players roll paper cut-out octahedral dice into a combat arena. The dice are then used in the same way as miniatures - they can be moved around the arena and attack other dice.
Jonathan Leistiko is a prolific board game designer from Pflugerville, Texas, who grew up in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Leistiko is credited as the designer of over 100 board games or game items since the year 2000 and is credited with more board game and card game designs than just about any living American-born game designer outside of the wargaming field other than fellow Texan Steve Jackson and James Ernest, owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games.
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