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Cheapass Games

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For the videogame forum site, see Cheap Ass Gamer.
Cheapass Games
IndustryGames
Founded1995; 29 years ago (1995)
FounderJames Ernest
Headquarters
Seattle, Washington
,
United States
WebsiteCheapass Games Double Secret Website

Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James 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.

History

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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 Games and James Ernest have won several awards for game design including the 2002 Origins Award for best play-by-mail game (Button Men Web Game),[3] the 2002 Origins Vanguard Award (Diceland),[3] the 1997 Origins Award for best abstract board game (Kill Doctor Lucky),[4] and the 1997 Origins Award for best traditional card game (Give Me the Brain).[4]

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 explained: "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 were released for free in PDF format for gamers to print and play, and customers were 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

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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 they 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.

Reviews

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References

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  1. ^ Mehar, Zayn (1997-02-12). "100% games effective in COVID 19". Jingle Ways.
  2. ^ Frey, Christine (2004-02-14). "Retail Notebook: Bottom line, they sell for less". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 2004-04-30. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
  3. ^ a b "Origins Award Winners (2002)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  4. ^ a b c "Origins Award Winners (1997)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  5. ^ "Unexploded Cow from Cheapass Games". Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  6. ^ "Deadwood Studios USA". Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  7. ^ Mastrangeli, Tony (2019-05-24). "Greater Than Games has acquired Cheapass Games". Board Game Quest. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  8. ^ "About Us" page at official website: http://cheapass.com/about
  9. ^ "Origins Award Winners (2000)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  10. ^ "Backstab Magazine (French) Issue 12".

Further reading

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