2015 Guests of Honor
Ryan Metzler

I stumbled upon the board gaming world at a mall in Milwaukee, WI in 2009. Little did I know that a game of Cosmic Encounter, played with my (at the time) girlfriend (now wife) and my parents, would initiate a chain of events eventually leading to me being recognized as a Guest of Honor of...well...anything! Shortly after that fateful day, I joined the wonderful community over at BoardGameGeek.com and realized just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Within a few months, I had found my way to the forums on the site, and began posting written reviews of family friendly games. Realizing just how much work writing really is, I turned to film as a new medium to express my rather strong opinion on games, beginning with a video review comparison of Crokinole Boards posted on my own YouTube channel. Days later, I was contacted by the King of Board Game Reviews, Tom Vasel, with an offer to make videos for the Dice Tower.
Fast forward several years, and 400-some videos...man it has been quite a ride. I've experienced things I've never thought I would...hatred and love over my opinion (YouTube is a trip), all that goes along with conventions like GenCon and Essen, and countless gaming sessions with awesome people at events like the Gaming Hoopla (still my favorite convention)! Over the years, I've been honored to contribute to rulebooks, review new and hot games (and some excellent Euro Classics), be featured in a few games, start my own podcast (R.I.P. Boardroomers), and even work for a game company in public relations.
I'm thrilled to be a Guest of Honor at the Gaming Hoopla, a convention I have attended and enjoyed watching grow progressively every year. I look forward to seeing my "gaming family" at these events, teaching the "hotness" in Euro Games, continuing my streak of not winning "Mr. Congeniality", and, of course, raising funds for an excellent cause.Thanks for the Honor!
Fast forward several years, and 400-some videos...man it has been quite a ride. I've experienced things I've never thought I would...hatred and love over my opinion (YouTube is a trip), all that goes along with conventions like GenCon and Essen, and countless gaming sessions with awesome people at events like the Gaming Hoopla (still my favorite convention)! Over the years, I've been honored to contribute to rulebooks, review new and hot games (and some excellent Euro Classics), be featured in a few games, start my own podcast (R.I.P. Boardroomers), and even work for a game company in public relations.
I'm thrilled to be a Guest of Honor at the Gaming Hoopla, a convention I have attended and enjoyed watching grow progressively every year. I look forward to seeing my "gaming family" at these events, teaching the "hotness" in Euro Games, continuing my streak of not winning "Mr. Congeniality", and, of course, raising funds for an excellent cause.Thanks for the Honor!
Stephen Conway & David Coleson

We are happy to announce Guests of Honor Stephen Conway and David Coleson of "The Spiel" podcast and The Spiel Foundation!
Stephen Conway - Creator / Co-host, The Spiel ; President, The Spiel Foundation
David Coleson - Co-host, The Spiel; Co-founder, The Spiel Foundation
Stephen is a writer, filmmaker, podcaster and game designer. David is a professional musician, podcaster, and game designer. We both share a deep and abiding passion for games and the importance of play as a lifelong pursuit. Fun isn't something we outgrow. It's a vital part of life. Our hope is to open a door to the wider world of games through creative projects like The Spiel and documentary films like Made For Play: Board Games & Modern Industry. With The Spiel Foundation, we raise money to donate bundles of quality board and card games to children's hospitals and senior centers across the country. To date, we have donated over 1500 games to kids and seniors who could use more fun in their lives.
For more information on The Spiel, visit http://www.thespiel.net
For more information on The Spiel Foundation, visit http://www.thespielfoundation.com
Stephen Conway - Creator / Co-host, The Spiel ; President, The Spiel Foundation
David Coleson - Co-host, The Spiel; Co-founder, The Spiel Foundation
Stephen is a writer, filmmaker, podcaster and game designer. David is a professional musician, podcaster, and game designer. We both share a deep and abiding passion for games and the importance of play as a lifelong pursuit. Fun isn't something we outgrow. It's a vital part of life. Our hope is to open a door to the wider world of games through creative projects like The Spiel and documentary films like Made For Play: Board Games & Modern Industry. With The Spiel Foundation, we raise money to donate bundles of quality board and card games to children's hospitals and senior centers across the country. To date, we have donated over 1500 games to kids and seniors who could use more fun in their lives.
For more information on The Spiel, visit http://www.thespiel.net
For more information on The Spiel Foundation, visit http://www.thespielfoundation.com
Adam McIver

Adam P. McIver first dipped his toes into the board game industry after illustrating the popular microgame, Council of Verona. Shortly after, his first published game design, Coin Age, made a surprise splash after a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign.
In December of 2014, Adam left his graphic design career to found THE CRE8TIVE DEPT., a full-service creative agency dedicated solely to the tabletop gaming industry. CR8DPT has more than a dozen game projects coming to your FLGS and Kickstarter in 2015, from pubslishers such as Tasty Minstrel, Gryphon, Gamelyn, Dice Hate Me, Green Couch Games, Terra Nova, Minion, Crash, and many more.
In his "free time", Adam continues to design his own games. His "hacker placement" game, Vector, is coming from Gamelyn Games in 2015, and many more are in the works!
In December of 2014, Adam left his graphic design career to found THE CRE8TIVE DEPT., a full-service creative agency dedicated solely to the tabletop gaming industry. CR8DPT has more than a dozen game projects coming to your FLGS and Kickstarter in 2015, from pubslishers such as Tasty Minstrel, Gryphon, Gamelyn, Dice Hate Me, Green Couch Games, Terra Nova, Minion, Crash, and many more.
In his "free time", Adam continues to design his own games. His "hacker placement" game, Vector, is coming from Gamelyn Games in 2015, and many more are in the works!