24th May 2008
Jim and Dean are very sad to announce the death of a good friend to Ludorum Games, John Harris.

John was a lifelong board gamer with a passion for the traditional oriental game Go, as well as enthusiasm for games of the more recent Euro-game revolution. In fact, John had a fascination for all games. His collection over the years numbered well over a thousand titles and encompassed traditional stalwarts, ancient rarities and firm, fun, family favourites. John just loved games.

A son of Northampton, England and educated at St Catherine's College, Cambridge, John followed a brief national service sojourn in military intelligence with teaching posts at universities in Birmingham, UK and Queensland, Australia. He finally settled in East Yorkshire, taking the post of drama lecturer at the University of Hull. John will be remembered fondly by many students, who will recall his passionate - if sometimes arcane - lectures on Shakespeare, Restoration Theatre, and Mask Making. It was John's enthusiasm for the theatres of Noh, Bunraku and Kabuki which kindled Dean's continuing interest in traditional Japanese theatre. John later became Dean's PhD supervisor, sharing his love and knowledge of science fiction for Dean's thesis on science fiction film.

John's publications include well-respected works on medieval theatre and traditional Japanese theatre. Further writing interests included Shakespeare, Comedia D'ell Arte, and the classical Roman board game Latrunculi.

As a games enthusiast, John will be remembered by generations of students, with whom he shared his passion and knowledge - not to mention access to his impressive game collection. Jim recalls 25 years of evenings of fun, frustration and, frankly, quite a few arguments over the rules! As a game designer, John Harris strove to integrate 60 years of gaming experience into his own creations. His card game, Heraldic, became Ludourum Games' first foray into 'print and play' gaming. We are proud that John's memory lives on in his design for our company logo: The Unicorn Rampant.

John loved games. More importantly, he loved to share his love of games with friends, family and students.

After six months struggling to recover from a broken hip, resulting from a fall at home, John died of pneumonia and aortic valve failure at Hull Royal Infirmary on Saturday 24th May 2008. He is survived by his wife, Hella, and three children: Mark, Kate and Phil.

A kind and generous friend, John is sadly missed.

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John's funeral took place on Thursday 5th June at Haltemprice Crematorium, East Yorkshire:

John Wesley Harris, 1935 - 2008