Alfred Leonardi was a 7/8th Grade History teacher but started designing games at an early age. His passion for history manifests itself in his research for some revolutionary games. Many consider his coup de gras the pictorial aerial combat game, Ace of AcesTM. He patented the system after 5 years of research, models and hand drawings to perfect it. This diligent and persistent drive paid off in the form of an enthusiastic reception by many military pilots as well as game fanatics. The game was nominated as a 1993 Origins Awards Product Hall of Fame Inductee. The game was reprinted in 2013 after a successful Kickstarter campaign by Rick Loomis, a licensed publisher at the time.
Lost WorldsTM was released in 1983 and won the Charles Thomas/Origins Award for Best Fantasy Boardgame of 1983. The game has been sold and played since it’s debut. The latest series using the game system is Queens Blade from Hobby Japan and of course, Firelight Game Company’s plan for the Legend’s Gauntlet series. Over 75 characters have been created and published by various companies granted the license, including knights, mythical creatures, gunslingers, robots, zombies, pirates, female Japanese warriors, wizards, giants and many more. What is truly amazing is that all characters are compatible with other game books using the game system after 30 years of publication.
Alfred Leonardi was recently interviewed by GMS magazine about the game design process for Ace of Aces and Lost Worlds. Go to Alfred Leonardi GMS Interview
Alfred was also a part of the design team for Axis and Allies, currently sold by Hasbro.
Many games designed by the patriarch have been played by the family for decades but never released to the public. Firelight Game Company was formed in part to evaluate, playtest and prepare some of these gems for publication. One such game is the classic who-done-it, Sherlock. Jill fondly remembers hours of play through her childhood and I was privileged to play with her and her father. I was a fan after the first game! It’s elegant, intriguing and there are near infinite number of outcomes giving it a high replay value. We have added this to the short-list of games we want to produce in the future.
There are many opportunities for us to bring some of these quality games to your family for the first time. We hope we can accomplish what we set out to do. Ultimately, it is always up to the fans and our resources to introduce some of these hidden classics. We look forward to it and we hope you do too!
