The best games from James Ernest 🇺🇸👨 2024
Looking for a really good game from game designer James Ernest 👨? Then we have just the thing: the list with the best James Ernest games 2024.
Who is James Ernest anyway?
James Ernest has been designing dice, card & board games since 1993. The game designer hails from USA🇺🇸, was born in and currently lives in Seattle, Washington, USA.
Ernest's first game "Tötet Doktor Lucky" he developed in 1993 at the age of 1993 - so he has been designing games for over 31 years. Famous Ernest games are for example Tötet Doktor Lucky, Lords of Vegas oder Piraten der Spanischen Meere.
From juggler to game developer
Before founding Cheapass Games, Ernest worked as a juggler at various places, including Camlann Medieval Village, and as a freelancer at Wizards of the Coast. He also worked for Carbonated Games. Ernest has also developed games for other publishers, including Rio Grande Games and WizKids. In 2005, Paizo Publishing co-founded Titanic Games with Ernest and Mike Selinker.
Kickstarter experience
He has had success with Kickstarter, where he has successfully crowdfunded games including a new version of Unexploded Cow and Get Lucky (which takes the concept and core mechanics of Kill Doctor Lucky and adapts it as a card game).
In 2014, James began collaborating with Patrick Rothfuss to create an abstract strategy game called Tak, based on a game described in Rothfuss' 2011 book The Wise Man's Fear. In April 2016, they launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the game to actual release. The campaign ended on May 20, 2016 with great success and 12,187 backers donating $1,351,142.
How good are "James Ernest" games?
There are 2 games by James Ernest in our Top1000 games list, making Ernest the #147 best game author out of a total of 708 authors in our database.
More information about Ernest
More information about Ernest can be found on:
- Ernest's BGG profile
- Ernest's Twitter feed
- James Ernest's Facebook page
- Tumbler page of Ernest
- official James Ernest website
- english Wikipedia entry for James Ernest
List of best games by James Ernest 2024
In this list we have listed the best board games that James Ernest either designed himself - or was involved in designing.
Unfortunately, not all of James Ernest's games are currently available. In the following list you can find all dice, board & card games by James Ernest that you can buy 2024:
Lords of Vegas
Lords of Vegas is a dynamic board game where players take on the roles of developers in a growing Nevada city, aiming to build the most profitable casinos along "The Strip." Starting with mere parking lots, players strategize to expand, reorganize, and gamble their way to success, aiming to score the most points by owning the most lucrative casinos and appointing the best bosses.
Nominated for 2 awards.
More details for Lords of Vegas- 2 - 4 Players
- 60 - 90 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Video reviews for Lords of Vegas
12 Days
- 3 - 5 Players
- 15 Minutes
- 8+ years old
- Immediately playable
Pairs
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for Pairs- 2 - 8 Players
- 15 Minutes
- Immediately playable
Tak
Tak is a beautifully simple yet strategically deep two-player game, originally conceived by Pat Rothfuss in his novel The Wise Man's Fear and brought to life by game designer James Ernest. In Tak, players aim to build a continuous path of their pieces across the board, connecting two opposite sides. The game's elegance lies in its minimalistic ruleset which belies the rich tactical decisions it demands.
Nominated for 4 awards.
More details for Tak- 2 Players
- 20 - 60 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Video reviews for Tak
Unspeakable Words: Deluxe Edition
- 2 - 8 Players
- 30 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Stellar Conflict
- 2 - 4 Players
- 10 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
The Big Idea
- 3 - 6 Players
- 25 Minutes
- 8+ years old
- Immediately playable
Brawl
Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.
More details for Brawl- 2 - 7 Players
- 15 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Stuff and Nonsense
- 2 - 6 Players
- 60 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Immediately playable
Fish Cook
Nominated for 1 award.
More details for Fish Cook- 2 - 6 Players
- 45 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Button Men: Beat People Up
- 2 Players
- 10 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Button Men
Nominated for 2 awards and won 2.
More details for Button Men- 2 Players
- 5 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Easy to learn
Unexploded Cow
- 2 - 6 Players
- 25 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Immediately playable
Lord of the Fries
- 3 - 8 Players
- 45 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Immediately playable
Kill Doctor Lucky
Kill Doctor Lucky puts a unique spin on the classic mystery genre. In this darkly humorous game, players scheme to off the ill-fated Doctor Lucky. He's the guy everyone loves to hate – maybe he snubbed you in his will, or perhaps he's responsible for your pet rock's untimely demise. Whatever the reason, you're out for revenge, but so is everyone else! The catch? You've got to do the deed secretly, without witnesses, or it's back to square one.
Nominated for 1 award and won 1.
More details for Kill Doctor Lucky- 3 - 8 Players
- 45 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Give Me the Brain!
Nominated for 1 award and won 1.
More details for Give Me the Brain!- 3 - 8 Players
- 15 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Sailor Moon Crystal: Dice Challenge
- 2 - 8 Players
- 5 - 60 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Video reviews for Sailor Moon Crystal: Dice Challenge
Deadwood Studios USA
- 2 - 8 Players
- 60 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Save Doctor Lucky
- 3 - 7 Players
- 30 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Get Lucky
- 2 - 6 Players
- 20 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Pirates of the Spanish Main
Pirates of the Spanish Main stands as the world's first constructible strategy game, inviting players into the swashbuckling world of piracy, treasure hunting, and naval combat. This innovative game allows players to assemble their own fleets of ships from collectible components and navigate the high seas in search of treasure and glory. With a unique mix of strategy, construction, and collectibility, Pirates of the Spanish Main offers an engaging experience for players looking to embody the adventurous spirit of pirates.
Nominated for 2 awards and won 2.
More details for Pirates of the Spanish Main- 2 - 10 Players
- 30 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Easy to learn
The Great Brain Robbery
Nominated for 1 award and won 1.
More details for The Great Brain Robbery- 3 - 7 Players
- 60 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
The Island of Doctor Lucky
- 2 - 8 Players
- 20 - 40 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Video reviews for The Island of Doctor Lucky
Pirates: Quest for Davy Jones' Gold
- 2 - 4 Players
- 30 - 60 Minutes
- 8+ years old
- Easy to learn
Cowpoker
- 2 - 4 Players
- 30 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Easy to learn
Veritas
- 3 - 6 Players
- 60 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Ben Hurt
- 4 - 8 Players
- 60 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Simpsons Trading Card Game
- 2 - 5 Players
- 20 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Dungeonville
- 2 - 5 Players
- 60 Minutes
- 10+ years old
- Immediately playable
Fightball
- 2 Players
- 20 Minutes
- 12+ years old
- Easy to learn
Didn't find the game you were looking for?
We're positive that you'll find it in one of our other lists! To make the search easier for you, we split our website into different categories. The following board game categories will help you find the right list: