James Ernest was the creative force behind Cheapass Games, and is the inventor of more than one hundred tabletop games. His best-known works include Kill Doctor Lucky, Lords of Vegas, Button Men, Tak: A beautiful Game, and Pirates of the Spanish Main.

In his youth, James worked as a comic juggler, traveling the world with his hat out. He published his first instruction book, Contact Juggling, in 1989.

James entered the hobby games industry in 1993, as a technical writer for Wizards of the Coast. He began publishing games under the Cheapass brand in 1996. He has won several industry awards for game design and graphic design, and he is a member of the Origins Awards Hall of Fame.

James’ latest endeavor is Crab Fragment Labs, a repository of original print-and-play games that also hosts many of the original Cheapass Games. Crab Fragment is home to dozens of original board, card, and dice games including Linos, Whispers, and Shipwrights of Marino. Find them at crabfragment.com.