Bruce Whitehill Resume 

11 South Angell Street #116
Providence, RI 02906 USA 
Telephone: +1-401-254-5135
games @ thebiggamehunter.com

PROFESSION

Writer/Editor; Game developer

QUALIFICATIONS

Extensive background in game development, research, writing (creative and technical), and editing.
Highly skilled in communication and team building.
Computer literate.

EXPERTISE

Specialist in inventing new games (board games and card games), developing game concepts based on licensed products and other outside sources, "fine-tuning" game play, and writing and editing final instructions.

Nationally recognized as the premiere expert on the history of American games. Special interest in artifacts of American culture, especially playthings and pop-collectibles. Guest curator of numerous exhibitions. Collaborator with collectors, game players, and specialists in games and Americana nationwide.

Games author, lecturer and editor.

PRESENT EMPLOYMENT

June 1984 - Present
The Big Game Hunter (DBA; self employed)
Consultant to the Toy and Game Industry

• Invent new products
• Write and edit instructions, package copy, and catalog copy
• Develop promotional and marketing campaigns
• Redesign board and card games
  
  Clients have included Milton Bradley, Hasbro, Parker Brothers, Pressman Toy Corp., Mattel, Coleco,
  International Games, Talicor, Timbuk II, R&R Games, Endless Games, Winning Moves, and others.

Independent Inventor
"Psychedelic Cipher Caper," published by Sandpiper Creations, 1995
"Stealth," published by Talicor, 1996

January 1984 - Present
Write on Schedule (formerly The Write House) (DBA; self employed)
Copywriter and consultant

• Write instructional and promotional copy for clients
• Write and edit brochures, procedural manuals and articles
• Design questionnaires and recording forms
• Consult on marketing strategies, advertising campaigns and incentive programs

Freelance writer

• Write articles for national magazines, journals, and newspapers
• Write monthly column for "Toy Shop" magazine (1997-1999)
• Write and edit questions for the 1998 "Know-It-All" edition of "Trivial Pursuit" (Winning Moves Co., October, 1997 - May, 1998)

June 1982 - Present
The Mystery Game; Fun-in-a-Million (DBA; self empl.)
Founder and producer-director

• Write, produce, and direct original audience-participation mysteries, jury trials, mock weddings, and quiz shows for public group events.
• In the corporate arena, develop mystery puzzles, whodunits, and scavenger hunts which necessitate using communication skills, problem solving techniques, negotiation skills, and team work.

EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

November 1982 - June 1984:
Product Developer
Milton Bradley Co., Springfield, Massachusetts

Designed new concepts and helped develop new product line; wrote and edited instructions and package copy; helped develop marketing strategies. Invented the "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" game, "Fraggle Rock" game, "Centipede" board game, "Championship Baseball" (on permanent exhibit in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY), "Snoopy Card Game," and others.

EDUCATION

January 1977 - January 1979
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California
M.A. program, Cross-Cultural Psychology (course work completed)
Graduate Student/Instructor

Developed conceptual cross-cultural studies in communication.
Instructor (part-time), S.F.S.U. faculty, Dept. of Speech Communication.

September 1963 - June 1967
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
B.A., Psychology

PUBLICATIONS

Games: American Games and Their Makers, 1822-1992 . Radnor, PA: Chilton Books, 1992.

"Halma & Chinese Checkers: Origins and Variations." Fribourg, Switzerland: Step by Step: Proceedings of the Colloquium, Board Games in Academia IV , University Press, Fribourg University, 2002.

"American Games: A Historical Perspective." The Netherlands: Board Game Studies/2. The International Journal For the Study of Board Games, Leiden University, 1999.

"American Games: A Historical Perspective." Florence, Italy: Board Games in Academia III, 1999. Based on the proceedings of a colloquium held in Italy, April, 1999.

"Games Timeline of the 20th Century." Dresher, PA: Game Researchers' Notes, Oct.-Dec., 1999.

"Games: Cultural Recreation in the '50s--A Decade of Change." Wynantskill, NY: The Ephemera Journal , The Ephemera Society of America, December, 1993. (Based on the oral presentation "American Games of the 1950s: How We Learned and Played," at the annual national meeting of the American Antiquarian Society, October, 1993.)

U.S. Trivia Trip. New York, NY: American Hotel and Motel Association, 1985. (Game booklet)

Over 80 articles on American games and American culture published in regional, national, and international publications including Antique Toy World magazine, Antique Trader Price Guide, Baby Boomer Magazine, Collectible Toys & Values, Collectible Trend$, Games International magazine (London), Game Researchers Notes, Game Times, Goodtimes Magazine, Inside Collector, Spotlight (New York metropolitan area), To Life (California), Toy Collector, Toys and Prices, Toy Shop, Toy Values Monthly, and others. Monthly columns including "The Game Piece," and "It's All in the Game."

EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE

Editor, All in the Game (online magazine), 1999-present.

Advisor, Board Game Studies (journal published by the University of Leiden, the Netherlands), 2002-present.

Associate Editor, Games Games Games (int'l magazine; published in England), 1999-2001.

Senior Editor, The Games Annual (national magazine), 1996-1998.

Editor, Game Times (national collectors' magazine), 1985, 1986.

Editor, B'nai B'rith District #1 Newsletter (professional trade journal), New York, 1982.

Editor, Hobart Film Guide (interim editor, film society newsletter), Hobart, Australia, 1971.

Editor, The Eagle (government O.E.O. poverty program newsletter), Merced, CA, 1968.

Editor, The Spectrum (science newsletter), Westbury, NY, 1963.

AWARDS & ADDITIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Vice President, Board of Directors of the International Society of Board Game Studies.

Author of Casefile #17 of the Hardy Boys Mysteries, under Franklin W. Dixon pseudonym: The Number File. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1988.

Author of the first continuous mystery dinner theater in New York, Murder on Broadway, which played for one year at Sardi's restaurant, and of Audition for Murder which played at Sardi's for six months. (A brochure about THE MYSTERY GAME and its productions is available on request.)

Developer and instructor of a series of "Communication & Perception" courses for Adult Education.

Founder of the international American Game Collectors Association, 1985. Director, past president, and convention chairman in 1985, 1986 and 1994; long-range convention planning chairperson, 1999-present; awards chairperson, 1997-present.

Photographer of the cover photo for Massachusetts regional magazine; other photographs published in national magazines.

Recipient of 1978 Educational Technology award for "Creative Video," San Francisco, CA, and awards for photography in California, New Jersey, and New York.

Subject of national television and radio interviews on "F-X," "Smart Money" (CNBC), "On The Road With Charles Kurault," and "The Joe Franklin Show" (WOR), among others.

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

American pastimes and fads, games research, the culture of advertising, films, photography, antiques and collectibles, cross-cultural psychology, travel, volleyball, curling (the ice sport), singing, three-dimensional images (3D), old-time radio and classic (1950s) TV, and writing.