Ludorum Games is an imprint of Scene Cinema Ltd., a UK media-in-education company formed in 2003 by writers/teachers Jim Hawkins and Dean Conrad.

Here at Ludorum Games we aim to design and produce the kind of games that we have enjoyed playing over the years. We admire the so-called 'German-style' or 'Euro-style' modern table game, but our scope reaches beyond this to all games that are fun and have a strategic element - provoking thoughtful play from groups of friends and intelligent families.

We value and aim for: originality, simplicity of mechanism, playability, and clearly-written rules.

After a brief flirt with print-and-play games, we took the plunge in 2007 and produced our first full-spec board game: FAGIN'S GANG. Following positive responses to, and early successes with, this award-winning Euro-style game, we moved ahead with the next game in our development stable: the family strategy game ICE FLOW - which has also been a prize winner. In 2009, we plan to release a younger family game: BUSY BEES (Melissi), before we return to the 'heavier' Euro-style game with FIRE FRONT (working title).

We would like to thank the retailers and distributors who have supported us in our gaming venture so far.

We welcome contact from production and distribution partners for our games and designs.

Jim Hawkins
Dean Conrad

After qualifying as a teacher, Jim taught English and Drama in schools in Britain and Africa, before spending some time as a BBC producer. In the 30+ years since, Jim has enjoyed a very successful playwrighting and screenwriting career.

In the mid 70s, Jim was the Yorkshire Television Fellow in TV Scriptwriting at Leeds University. He has also taught play and screenwriting at the Arvon Foundation, the Northern Film School, Hull University Drama Department, and at its Centre For Lifelong Learning.

Jim has followed a parallel career in software development, and is currently Technical Director with Melissi Multimedia Ltd, creating digital classrooms for language learners.

Jim's interest in board games stretches way back. He has programmed a number of games for the PC, most notably Acquire, which he claims now to be unbeatable at. As he seems always to be 'unavailable' when Dean suggests a game, we feel unable to verify this boast. Jim is also an admirer of the ancient oriental classic, Go, which he describes as the perfect game - apart from the one he's working on, of course.

Dean followed 2 years as an assistant theatre technician at Essex University Theatre with a BA hons degree in Drama at Hull University. He was first published in 1996 with a critical film analysis: "Star Wars: The Genesis of a Legend". In 1998 he received his PhD for a doctoral thesis on film.

Dean has taught Theatre, Film, Scriptwriting and Video Production in a number of schools, colleges and universities - working with students from Year 3 to Degree Level, as well as adult learners in continuing education.

In 2001, Dean gave up work as a full-time teacher and Head of Drama to become a full-time writer. In 2003, he formed Scene Cinema Ltd. with playwright and fellow teacher, Jim Hawkins.

With a keen interest in board games (re-ignited in 1991 by much-missed friend, John Harris), it seemed natural for Dean to bend the company and whatever talents he may have towards game design and publishing. And so Ludorum Games was born (technically, Jim already had already acquired the web domain names for his programming, but that fact is lost in the mists of time - almost).


Top Games:
Go (anon)
Acquire (Sid Sackson)
Sorry! (unknown)
Seven League Boots (unknown)
Cosmic Encounter (Bill Eberle, Bill Norton, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka)


Top Games:
Elfenland (Alan R.Moon)
Masons (Leo Colovini)
Outpost (James Hlavaty)
Tigris and Euphrates (Reiner Knizia)
Yahtzee (Edwin Lowe)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Webmaster: Scene Cinema Ltd.
Product of Yorkshire, England.