Francis Tresham (game designer)
Encyclopedia
Francis Tresham is an United Kingdom
-based board game
designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil (founded 1971), a company well known for its Civilization
board game, until its sale to Microprose
in 1997. His 1829 game was the first of the 18xx
board game series and some of his board games have inspired Sid Meier
computer games such as Railroad Tycoon
.
Francis Tresham was the first to introduce a technology tree into his boardgames. This idea had a large influence on boardgames and computer games that were later produced.
He is currently managing director of Tresham Games
and is, , still producing 18xx
-style board games.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil (founded 1971), a company well known for its Civilization
Civilization (board game)
Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in Britain in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil , and in the US in 1981 by Avalon Hill. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players...
board game, until its sale to Microprose
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
in 1997. His 1829 game was the first of the 18xx
18XX
18XX is the generic term for a series of board games that, with a few exceptions, recreate the building of railroad corporations during the 19th century; individual games within the series use particular years in the 19th century as their title , or "18" plus a two-letter geographical designator...
board game series and some of his board games have inspired Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
computer games such as Railroad Tycoon
Railroad Tycoon
Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is a business simulation game. There are five versions; the original Railroad Tycoon , Railroad Tycoon Deluxe , Railroad Tycoon II , Railroad Tycoon 3 , and Sid Meier's Railroads! .Railroad Tycoon was written by game designer Sid Meier and published by MicroProse and...
.
Francis Tresham was the first to introduce a technology tree into his boardgames. This idea had a large influence on boardgames and computer games that were later produced.
He is currently managing director of Tresham Games
Tresham Games
Tresham Games is a board games publisher featuring the games of Francis Tresham. It was formed by Francis after he sold Hartland Trefoil, Ltd to Microprose in 1998....
and is, , still producing 18xx
18XX
18XX is the generic term for a series of board games that, with a few exceptions, recreate the building of railroad corporations during the 19th century; individual games within the series use particular years in the 19th century as their title , or "18" plus a two-letter geographical designator...
-style board games.
Published board games
- 1825
- 18291829 (board game)1829 is a railroad operations and share-trading board game in the 18xx series, first published by Hartland Trefoil Ltd in 1974 from an original design by Francis Tresham, but is now out of print...
- 1829 Mainline
- 18301830 (board game)1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons is a railroad operations and share trading board game first published by Avalon Hill in 1986 based on an original design by Francis Tresham...
- 1853
- CivilizationCivilization (board game)Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in Britain in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil , and in the US in 1981 by Avalon Hill. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players...
- Revolution: The Dutch Revolt 1568-1648
- Shocks & Scares
- Spanish Main