Bernard Louis De Koven or DeKoven (October 15, 1941 – March 24, 2018)[2] was an American game designer, author, lecturer and fun theorist.

His role as a professional "fun coach" is emphasized, as is De Koven's involvement with the New Games Movement of the mid-1970s, and his later work with the Esalen Institute in California.

[15] De Koven has worked with major toy and game manufacturers to design and develop new products.

[17] In September 2011, De Koven was a keynote speaker at the 2011 Digital Games Research Association Conference ("Think Design Play").

[9][19][20] In spring of 2017, De Koven notified his blog followers that he had terminal cancer and only about one year left to live, asking them to spread the joy of play.