One of the very many pleasures of attending Britain’s biggest board games convention, the UK Games Expo, is the chance of bumping into some of your favourite designers. But there was a special, unexpected treat this year: the arrival of superstar creative Matt Leacock all the way from the USA. He’s the mind behind Pandemic, the title that launched the best board games into mainstream stores and launched a wave of imitators that’s still washing up fresh new titles today.
The success of Pandemic has made him the closest thing the board games hobby has to a household name. But he’s characteristically modest about his success, saying in a quiet, considered tone that he was "famous to about 15 people. There was one convention where someone ran across a ballroom to say hi, but generally speaking, I can merge into the crowd without too much trouble. I can only say I feel very lucky, and it's very satisfying. I am blessed that I now have the opportunity to pick the projects I want to work on, and I don't take that lightly.”
