Quicknation    Allen Varney

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(b. April 1959) is an American writer and game designer born in St. Louis, Missouri. He is married to writer Beth Fischi and currently lives in Austin, Texas. He has a dual B.A. in English and History from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Varney has produced numerous books, boardgames, roleplaying game supplements, technical manuals, articles, reviews, columns, and stories, as well as the fantasy novel i

Varney started his career in paper roleplaying games. From April 1984 to September 1985 he worked as Assistant Editor at Steve Jackson Games (with Warren Spector, then Editor-in-Chief) editing i magazine.

In 1986, he left Steve Jackson Games to freelance. From this time onward, he wrote a large of game supplements for companies like TSR, Inc., FASA, West End Games, and White Wolf, Inc..

His latest paper game project is an update of the classic 1980s roleplaying game Paranoia, published in 2004. He currently edits and packages the game's support line for Mongoose Publishing.

Austin e-learning company Enspire Learning produces the computer version of his multiplayer business ethics and leadership simulation, the Executive Challenge [1]. The Wall Street Journal covered the Executive Challenge in its May 10, 2004 issue.

Varney has long been involved in the game design and documentation for companies such as Origin Systems, Interplay, Prodigy, Acclaim Entertainment, Looking Glass Technologies, Microprose, and Sony Online Entertainment.

In 1993, Varney designed an expansion set for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast ultimately did not published the expansion set, but the design concepts later surfaced in Vanguard [2]. Varney is credited for the original concept.

He writes articles for the weekly online gaming magazine The Escapist.

Allen Varney has been a member of the Texas Juggling Society [3] for over a decade. At the society's annual Jugglefest, he helps teach novices how to juggle balls and clubs.