In Memorium: Francis Tresham

Kevin Whitmore

(Kevin_Whitmore)

United States
Albuquerque
New Mexico

Last night I heard news of the passing of Francis Tresham. I only knew Mr. Tresham through his published games. It seems fitting to pay tribute to a true giant of our boardgaming hobby.

In 1974, Francis Tresham released the seminal game of what became an entire genre known as 18xx:

In 1975 he released The Game of Ancient Kingdoms. Then in 1980 another monumentally important game was released:

In 1981, Avalon Hill republished Civilization (and Civ has been republished many other game companies ever since). Also in 1981, Hartland Trefoil published the 1829 Northern Board.

In 1983, Francis Tresham designed a game for Gibsons called Shocks & Scares. In 1984 he released his first edition of Spanish Main. Then in 1986, Avalon Hill published an American version of 1829:

In 1989, Francis Tresham released a game that by all reports had been under development for years:

In 1990, an officially licensed game in the 18xx series was released called 1835. 1835 officially credited Francis Tresham as a co-author. In 1995, Francis Tresham turned his attentions back to 1829. What followed were several "units and extensions" in a series of connected games released from 1995 through 2010:

In 2004, Francis Tresham released a game through Phalanx Games:

In 2005, Francis Tresham released a big variant from his past rules sets for the 18xx universe:

In 2011, a new game from Francis Tresham was anticipated. Sadly "Judge in Circuit" was never released. (See frontispiece above)

In 2015, Mega Civilization was released. This was a super-sized version of Civilization, and they gave design credit to Mr. Tresham.

I never had the privilege to meet Mr. Tresham. I only knew him through his games. He made my life richer, and he advanced the board gaming hobby. He will be missed, but never forgotten.

The Game Bistro

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