Game Designers
Publishing games by different designers adds to the variety of Cheeky Parrot titles. We especially love helping new designers turn their idea into a finished project.
Julia Schiller
Raid the Pantry, Komodo, Kenakalan, Granny Wars, Manifest, Hoard, Glimstone Grab
In addition to being the director of Cheeky Parrot Games, Julia is the co-designer of the seven titles above. Of them, she considers Raid the Pantry her special baby. Inspired by a childhood of playing traditional card games like Hearts, Pinochle, and Rummy, Julia wanted to create a food-themed game where your fate could not be predicted by the initial cards you are dealt. Raid the Pantry, Komodo, Kenakalan, and Manifest were co-designed with Amanda Milne and the latter three remain SchilMil Games titles.
Claire and James Dunning
Cat Capers
Kiwi couple Claire and James Dunning love to make and play games. Roleplaying Game Masters, board game and computer game designers, they made games for their friends and each other for a long time before even considering taking their ideas to the world. It's their aim to bring fun and thought-provocation to their audience through stories and games, and the virtual and tabletop spaces where imaginations collide.
Brad Thompson
Granny Wars
Brad is a designer and avid player of board games and RPGs. He masterminded the creation of the card game Granny Wars. Brad’s motto is nothing beats a good story combined with compelling gameplay. Further to that Brad is a father who appreciates keeping designs accessible for a wide scope of ages. He is involved heavily in the local LARP (Live Action Roleplay) scene running large campaign long events. His most recent achievement is being a Top 3 Finalist in the international Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeon Masters Challenge.
Andy Bell is a new designer from Christchurch. He loves board games and is always keen to introduce new people to the hobby. He wants his designs to be both approachable and interesting, so that all kinds of gamers can enjoy them together. While he spends a lot of his time playing board games solo, what he loves most about the hobby is the way it brings people together. Andy lives with his wife, son, cat, and three chickens. He daylights as a software developer, and also enjoys making music when he gets the chance, most often at his local church.
Norbert Abel
Flaming Pyramids
Norbert Abel is a passionate board gamer from Germany. All his life he has played, tweaked, or invented board games. In 2012 he arrived in New Zealand, where he met Julia. Together they decided to publish Flaming Pyramids. Norbert keeps tinkering with games; has developed his own RPG system for children, which he plays with his family;
has extensive house rules for basically every game on his shelf; and keeps working on new board game ideas.
Jonathan McGarvey
Glimstone Grab
Jono is a proudly autistic board game designer in Christchurch. His special interest in board games kicked off when he was introduced to Catan when he was 14 - back when it was still called Settlers - and he has dabbled in design ever since.
His favourite games are ones that present a thinky puzzle and he plays most of these solo to save others from having to suffer through his analysis paralysis. He believes that solo modes (if nothing else) are the silver lining of the pandemic.
Demi Ernst
FARMily Feud
DeMi is a Filipino game designer based in Auckland, New Zealand. After being an avid gamer for years, she decided to start designing games as a hobby in 2021. She continuously develops a variety of game ideas and manages several prototypes at once. As a new focus, she intends to create sell sheets and game videos for each of her prototypes. Her debut game, FARMily Feud, is set to be released under the Cheeky Parrot Games label in 2025.
