For as long as I can remember, I have always loved games. It has always been my number one hobby, whether it be board games, video games or sports. When I was young, my main gaming focus was on video games. My first exposure to video games was in 1988 when I was introduced to Super Mario Brothers 2 on the NES. I was amazed. I was hooked. I soon acquired my own NES and worked my way through the classics – Contra, Mega Man, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden and of course, The Legend of Zelda. My video game obsession continued all throughout grade school and college with me playing through the many iterations of the Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation gaming systems. During this time I played the occasional board game as well – Fireball Island, Crossfire, Battling Tops, and the like – but none of them really captured my attention quite like video games.

However, that all I changed when I moved to Raleigh, NC in 2008. At around that time I was introduced to the d20 system playing the cooperative game D&D Castle Ravenloft. Once again, I was amazed, but this time it was a table top experience, not a video game experience, which captured my attention. I played D&D for a few years and loved every minute of it, building great friendships along the way. I was now more aware of the wider world of board games, but I was not fully in. Yet.

One night in 2012, I was wasting time on YouTube, and I saw a recommendation for the show Table Top by Wil Wheaton. I clicked on the show featuring the game “The Resistance”, and once again, I was amazed. I proceeded to watch the entire first season in two days, and I went out to a friendly local gaming store to buy my first euro style board game. I bought Alhambra, and I loved it. I haven’t looked back since (my personal board game collection sits at around 600 games). While I still enjoy video games, I really enjoy the challenge, comeradery and community that the board game hobby creates.

When I’m not gaming, I work as a pathologist at the Durham VA Medical Center and Duke University Hospital. I am married to my wonderful wife Talia and we have four boys, Bryce, Kael, Knox and Hayes.

In addition to gaming, I also enjoy reading/collecting comic books and graphic novels, drink mixology, working out (I’m a recovering CrossFit addict) and traveling.