View source for Francis Tresham (game designer)

{{Short description|British board game designer (1936–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Francis Tresham, game designer.jpg|thumb|Tresham in 2011]]
'''Francis Tresham''' (1936 – 23 October 2019) was a [[British people|British]] [[board game]] designer who produced board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil (founded 1971), a company well-known for its ''[[Civilization (1980 board game)|Civilization]]'' board game, until its sale to [[MicroProse]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite news|title=MicroProse, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Creator of Civilization(TM) Board Game|publisher=MicroProse inc|date=December 2, 1997|work=Press Release|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20027461.html}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> His ''1829'' game was the first of the ''[[18xx]]'' board game series<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.18xx.net/personal.htm#Francis+Tresham|title=Blackwater Station : Personal|website=www.18xx.net}}</ref> and some of his board games inspired [[Sid Meier]] computer games such as ''[[Railroad Tycoon]]''.

Francis Tresham was the first to introduce a [[technology tree]] into his boardgames.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Stewart Woods|title=Eurogames – The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games|place=London|publisher=Mc Farland |year=2012|isbn=978-0-7864-6797-6|page=40}}</ref> This idea had a large influence on later board and computer games.

He was managing director of Tresham Games, which produced ''[[18xx]]''-style board games. In 2013, he was one of the first inductees in the [[UK Games Expo]] Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/halloffame.php|title=Uk Games Expo Hall of Fame|website=www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk|access-date=25 October 2019|archive-date=29 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629163639/https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/halloffame.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> He died on 23 October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.railsonboards.com/2019/10/24/18xx-legend-francis-tresham-passed-away/|title=18XX Legend – Francis Tresham – passed away|date=23 October 2019}}</ref>

==Published board games==
*''[[1825 (board game)|1825]]''
*''[[1829 (board game)|1829]]''
*''[[1829 Mainline]]''
*''[[1830 (board game)|1830]]''
*''[[1853 (board game)|1853]]''
*''[[Civilization (1980 board game)|Civilization]]''
*''[[Revolution: The Dutch Revolt 1568-1648 (board game)|Revolution: The Dutch Revolt 1568–1648]]''
*''[[Shocks & Scares]]''
*''[[Spanish Main (board game)|Spanish Main]]''
*''[[The Game of Ancient Kingdoms (board game)|The Game of Ancient Kingdoms]]''

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/publisher/236 Current list of available games from Tresham Games]
*{{bgg designer|58}}

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[[Category:Board game designers]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:British game designers]]


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