Allen Eldridge first met Stephen Cole through a game club in Amarillo, Texas, and Cole brought Eldridge into his company JP Productions a few years after he founded it in 1973.
[1]: 114 Cole and Eldridge made the decision to close JP in November 1976, and the company was shut down in spring of 1977.
[1]: 114 Cole and Eldridge co-founded Task Force Games in the fall of 1978 and chose to sell products directly to wholesalers and retailers rather than to individuals.
[1]: 114 Eldridge was able to make an arrangement for inexpensive boxes, so Task Force was able to release Star Fleet Battles in a regular-sized second edition box.
[1]: 114 Eldridge stayed with Task Force Games when Cole left in 1983 to form the new Amarillo Design Bureau company.