Famous Game Designer Trading Cards

Famous Game Designer Trading Cards are a series of trading cards first published by Flying Buffalo in 1992 that feature well-known game designers.

In 1992, Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo put together a deck of low-budget trading cards featuring seven contemporary game designers who had been inducted into the GAMA Hall of Fame: When asked how he had chosen the seven designers, Loomis replied, "This first batch was selected by taking the first seven who sent me a photo!

"[1] The 2½" x 3½" cards were originally printed in black and white and packaged in a ziplock bag.

[2] The first batch of card were released at the combined Gen Con/Origins game convention in 1992, but Loomis admitted profit was not the main motivation of the designers involved: "We don’t expect to make any money on these cards; we’re doing it mostly so we can show our parents that we really are 'famous.

[2] In the November 1992 edition of Dragon (Issue #187), Allen Varney, himself a game designer, called the idea "fun", and said, "Here is one more honor to which the rest of us can aspire.