{{Short description|British board game designer}} {{Infobox person | name = Alan R. Moon | image = Alanrmoon.jpg | image_size = | caption = Alan R. Moon playing his game, ''Ticket to Ride'' at Origins, 5 July 2007 | birth_name = | birth_date = November 18, 1951 | birth_place = Southampton, England | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = Ticket to Ride | education = | employer = | occupation = Board Game Designer | title = | height = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = {{URL|alanrmoon.com}} | footnotes = }} right|thumb|200px|Moon's ''Santa Fe Rails'' in play.
'''Alan R. Moon''' (born 18 November 1951) is a British game designer best known for creating the turn-based strategy game ''Ticket to Ride''. He is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the travelling salesman problem.
==Career== Moon has worked as a game designer for Avalon Hill, Parker Brothers, and Ravensburger F.X. Schmid USA.<ref name="HG">{{Cite book | contribution=Descent | title=Hobby Games: The 100 Best | last=Moon | first=Alan R. | editor-last=Lowder | editor-first=James | editor-link=James Lowder | publisher=Green Ronin Publishing | year=2007 | pages=77–80 | isbn=978-1-932442-96-0}}</ref> His first published game was Black Spy (Avalon Hill, 1981), inspired by the classic card game, ''Hearts''.<ref name="HG"/> But his first game that got him attention was ''Airlines'', published by the German company Abacus in 1990.<ref name="HG"/> He started his own publishing company, '''White Wind''' in 1990 and ran it until 1997.<ref name="HG"/> He now publishes his games through other companies, such as Ravensburger and Days of Wonder.
Since 2000, Moon has been a full-time freelance game designer, with dozens of games to his credit.<ref name="HG"/> Moon has won the Spiel des Jahres award twice, for ''Elfenland'' in 1998 and for ''Ticket to Ride'' in 2004; ''Ticket to Ride'' has won almost two dozen other awards worldwide.<ref name="HG"/>
==Selected list of games== :''a full list is available from Moon's website in the external links section.'' * ''Capitol'' with Aaron Weissblum (2001, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 5th place) * ''Das Amulett'' with Aaron Weissblum (2001, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 10th place) * ''Diamant'' with Bruno Faidutti (2005) * ''Down with the King'' with Glenn and Kenneth Rahman (1981) * ''Elfenland'' (1998, Spiel des Jahres winner, Deutscher Spiele Preis 3rd place) * ''Get the Goods'' with Mick Ado (1990, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 4th) * ''San Marco'' (2001, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 7th place) * ''Ticket to Ride'' (2004, Spiel des Jahres winner) * ''Union Pacific'' (1999, Spiel des Jahres nominated, Deutscher Spiele Preis 3rd place)
==See also== * ''Going Cardboard'' (Documentary)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051026053616/http://www.alanrmoon.com/ Alan R. Moon's website ] *{{Bgg designer|9}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Alan R.}} Category:Board game designers Category:Living people Category:1951 births