ass gamer . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message cheapass games is a game company founded and run by game designer james ernest based in seattle washington . cheapass games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice counters play money etc. so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that requires them . cheapass games thus come packaged in white envelopes small boxes or plastic resealable bags containing only those components unique to the game typically a rules sheet a playing board printed on card stock and game cards banded by magazine cutout sleeves . 1 this allows the company to produce games for prices well below the market average . later cheapass started offering some higher quality full color games under the james ernest games brand . ernest originally developed the idea for selling basic games without all the common components while freelancing at wizards of the coast during the 1990s . however wizards rejected the idea and in 1995 ernest quit and started up the company . creating the games by hand he initially showed the games at tradeshows and conventions resulting in sales demand from game stores . the company creates and assembles each game pack by hand with most games only being made in runs of up to 5 000 copies . 2 cheapass games and james ernest have won several awards for game design including the 2002 origins award for best play by mail game button men web game 3 the 2002 origins vanguard award diceland 3 the 1997 origins award for best abstract board game kill doctor lucky 4 and the 1997 origins award for best traditional card game give me the brain . 4 cheapass game pennywise was awarded the parodic 2003 spud des jahres award for most overpriced game by the website spielboy see spiel des jahres . in october 2007 cheapass games stopped updating their web site ; a message on the homepage explains cheapass games is in the process of hibernating which means we can be a bit sluggish and hard to reach . most of us have moved on to better careers and james ernest is slumbering peacefully in a warm hole in the ground . in 2009 cheapass created a button men app for the iphone . paizo publishing is selling some cheapass games on its website . in 2011 cheapass games resumed updating their website with a new business model games are being released for free in pdf format for gamers to print and play and customers are asked to donate a dollar or two if they like the game . james ernest says in the game rules i ve decided to try a different gamble . i m giving my games away for free . this way you can read the rules make a copy and even play the thing before you decide what it s worth . if you do like my games i hope you will send me some money . but i m also hoping you will share this experiment with your friends . you are my sales force my marketing department my demo team . new games are usually accompanied by the ransomometer where potential customers are encouraged to donate a certain dollar amount before a game is released to the public . in 2012 cheapass games offered their first kickstarter project a deluxe reprint of their previous game unexploded cow . this was followed in 2013 by another kickstarter project for a deluxe version of their earlier deadwood game called deadwood studios usa . list of cheapass games edit several of the older games are out of print but are offered for free by cheapass the cards rules or other game materials may be downloaded for free and cheapass requests that if the recipient likes the game he or she should make a voluntary payment . cheapass games provides a chart of suggested donations based on the recipient s profession income level at their website . 5 before i kill you mr. bond a game of attracting interesting people to your lair then killing them . reissued in 2004 as james ernest s totally renamed spy game ben hurt an out of print game involving betting and chariot races the big idea a game involving venture capitalism and marketing bitin off hedz a simple game of dinosaurs and rocks bleeding sherwood an out of print game with a robin hood theme available for download brawl a real time card game button men a collectible button and dice game sold in sets of two or five buttons captain park s imaginary polar expedition a game of faking travels the chief herman games chief herman s holiday fun pack chief herman s next big thing deadwood a game of bad actors the devil bunny games devil bunny needs a ham a game of buildings and devil bunny devil bunny hates the earth a game of squirrels taffy machines and devil bunny diceland a collectible cardboard dice game . multiple sets the digital eel computer games plasmaworm strange adventures in infinite space dr. blob s organism big box of blox boiler plate special the doctor lucky games kill doctor lucky a game of killing and not being seen kill doctor lucky craigdarroch another place to kill save doctor lucky a game of saving and being seen save doctor lucky on moon base copernicus another place to save enemy chocolatier escape from elba an out of print game of many d6 and spelling weapons falling an out of print real time game about falling to your death fightball a real time card game about a futuristic sport designed with mike selinker fight city a trading card game of gangs and cards freeloader a game about borrowing all that you can the friedey s games give me the brain a game of zombies and their jobs origins award winner for best traditional card game of 1997 4 dej sem mozek give me the brain in czech lord of the fries a game of zombies and fast food orders change an out of print game of zombies and money the great brain robbery a game of zombies and train robbery origins award winner for best science fiction or fantasy board game 2000 6 dead money a game of zombies the wild west and losing at poker get out a game of finding work girl genius the works a game of phil foglio s girl genius comic the grave robber games parts unknown an out of print game of mad scientists and economics renfield an out of print game that plays like a combination of poker and hearts . available for download the hip pocket games agora a game of market stalls the big cheese a small bidding game featuring mice and dice cube farm a game of cubicle layout light speed a real time card game about mining spaceships nexus a game of nodes safari jack remix a game of tracking animals steam tunnel a game of tunnel control timeline a game of time travel the very clever pipe game a game of connecting pipes huzzah a game of renaissance fairs . available for download jacob marley esq. a game of loans james ernest writes off another trip to vegas an out of print game of casinos and cheating landyland a promotional game using magic the gathering s basic lands mana burn an out of print promotional game using magic the gathering cards the one false step games one false step for mankind a game of getting to the moon one false step home a game of getting back from the moon punch cards a game for conventions secret tijuana deathmatch a game of buying the contracts of illegitimate wrestlers and pitting them against each other spree a game of firearms and larceny starbase jeff an out of print game of gambling in space tak an abstract strategy game based on a game introduced in patrick rothfuss s book the wise man s fear the cheapass album not a game but as the title suggests a music cd by beatnik turtle based on cheapass s games u.s. patent no. 1 a game of racing through time to get the first patent issued unexploded cow a game of marching mad cows through bomb fields witch trial a game of pressing the innocent to death with stones references edit vigilla hubert 2003 04 24 . 100 % cheapass fun . the daily aztec . frey christine 2004 02 14 . retail notebook bottom line they sell for less . seattle post intelligencer . retrieved 2008 06 12 . a b origins award winners 2002 . academy of adventure gaming arts & design . archived from the original on 2008 02 19 . retrieved 2008 02 23 . a b c origins award winners 1997 . academy of adventure gaming arts & design . archived from the original on 2008 01 30 . retrieved 2008 02 23 . about us page at official website http cheapass.com about origins award winners 2000 . academy of adventure gaming arts & design . archived from the original on 2008 04 15 . retrieved 2008 02 23 . external links edit cheapass games double secret website official button men website cheapass games for sale on the paizo website cheapass games at boardgamegeek retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title cheapass games & oldid 737200724 categories board game publishing companiescard game publishing companiescompanies based in seattlehidden categories articles needing 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