When no publisher seemed to be making the kinds of games they wanted to see on the shelves, Ann-Marie and Justin De Witt decided to make those games themselves. Their first game, Castle Panic, in which players cooperate to defend a castle from waves of fantasy monsters, was a breakout hit. Sixteen years later, the 
company they founded to publish their creations, Fireside Games, remains a small, two-person studio with a clear mission: to make fun, accessible games that bring people together.
I spoke with Fireside Games co-founder Anne-Marie De Witt about the company’s history, their design philosophy, and the ways playing games can help create lasting memories.
The Fireside Method
While Fireside Games has, at times, included up to five employees, the heart of the company has always been Justin and Ann-Marie De Witt. Ann-Marie breaks down who does what in their day-to-day operations: “Justin oversees the creative side of the organization, and I manage the business side,” she says. “It is a lot of work for two people, even with some aspects contracted out. It takes a lot of late nights and weekends. We always feel like we’re right on the verge of carving a little more time out for ourselves.”
Of course, at least some of those late nights and weekends are spent creating and developing games. For Ann-Marie, that work is a labor of love. “Our favorite process is to develop games internally. One of us starts with a theme or scenario that captures our imagination, and we think about how that idea is best expressed in a system and what mechanics make you feel like you are immersed in that experience. After we have a prototype that is somewhat working to our satisfaction, we show it to each other. The new insights we gain from each other are used to refine the game play.”
From there, it’s on to playtesting. As long-time gamers themselves, Justin and Ann-Marie can call on a wide circle of fellow players to help test and tune their
designs. Ann-Marie admits that getting a game just right can be a pretty slow process, so they also accept outside pitches. That’s how Zoomies and Please Don’t Burn My Village! made it into their catalog, among other games.
Even so, anything Fireside Games publishes always has to match their original vision. “Just as when we started in 2008, there aren’t many publishers doing what we do,” Ann-Marie says. “So there aren’t a lot of game designers that have ready-made designs that are right to pick up for our catalog.”
It’s About the Games
Castle Panic was one of the first modern cooperative board games. When Justin De Witt was designing the rules, he wanted to capture a very specific feeling. As Ann-Marie explains:
“He was inspired by those rare moments in competitive games when players team up to accomplish a goal. He loves that feeling and wanted to make a game that required that throughout.”
Justin’s design goal became the foundation of Castle Panic, and it has guided every game Fireside has published since.
“Even when we create competitive games, we keep the conflict light-hearted,” says Ann-Marie. “In this busy world, we don’t get enough time with friends. When we get a chance to get together, we want to play with them, not against them. And we’d never want to make a game that you walk away from feeling bad.”
Fireside Games’ also prioritizes originality and creative mechanics. In a crowded market, thoughtful creativity is just as important as heart.
“There has to be a reason for a game [to exist],” Ann-Marie says, “And gamers respond to original ideas. It’s the innovation that creates engaging experiences, the 
kind of experiences that become favorite memories.”
Some of that innovation shows up in small but impactful ways, like the spinning tokens used to track monster health in Castle Panic, or the inventive blend of math and color theory that powers Ultimatch, a fresh spin on the classic card matching game.
But It’s Really About People
Fireside’s emphasis on positivity and connection carries through in everything they do. Not just in the games themselves, but in the way they share them with the world. Their core value is welcoming people and, for Ann-Marie, a welcoming game is one that feels accessible to players.
“That means the games need to be quick to learn and easy to feel some proficiency with, while also allowing for discovery with repeated plays,” she says. “We want people to walk away from our games feeling like they want more.”
But designing for a wide audience doesn’t mean lowering the bar. “The way our accessibility differs from a mass market game,” Ann-Marie explains, “is the way we marry Euro mechanics to adventure style games. We not only meet players where they are, we also introduce them to a new way of playing.”
That philosophy shines through at conventions and store demos, where Fireside Games connects directly with the players. Events like GAMA Expo, Origins, and Gen Con give Justin and Ann-Marie the chance to show off games and meet fans. “Even in a light year, we’re on the road demoing games at least six weeks,” says Ann-Marie. “We really enjoy showing people our new games and hearing from fans about their favorite games in our catalog.”
Those face-to-face encounters can lead to moments that stay with them. Fireside Games believes in the power of tabletop to create real human connections. Ann-Marie shares one particularly memorable experience:
“I had provided a demo copy of My First Castle Panic for a large gaming group to use for an event. Afterward, the organizer reached back out to tell me that a boy who had been mute for the past two years started playing…with other kids. At first, he listened to the other kids yell about throwing the monsters in the dungeon after they captured them. Eventually, he started yelling, “dungeon!” with them. When they got home that night, he talked to his parents for 20 minutes about playing games. They were the first words they had heard from him in 2 years. We were sobbing reading that email and still tear up to think about it.”
A Brief Interview with Ann-Marie De Witt from Fireside Games
Is there any particular story behind the name “Fireside Games”?
We wanted a name that conveyed bringing people together in a welcoming environment and the idea of playing by a fire seemed to suggest that to us. We brainstormed dozens of names, but Fireside Games really stood out.
The first game you published was Castle Panic, and it continues to be popular. What do you think has led to its lasting appeal with players over the years?
There’s still no other game quite like Castle Panic. It’s a unique coop with high emotional engagement and cinematic moments that are ripe for storytelling long after the game is put away. It also has an elegance to the game design. There are no edge cases, and the simplicity of the ruleset makes it easy to learn and teach.
You talk about your commitment to bringing joy and shared experiences through your games. What is it about board games that makes them such a good tool for connecting people?
Board games offer a shared experience that gives people a communal focus. Players are in the moment together, face to face. And board games provide a smarter, more engaging kind of play than you find with any other hobby.
One of your upcoming games is Ham Helsing, based on a popular graphic novel. This one charmed me so much, I had to order the books from my local library! How did Fireside Games come to work on this project?
Ham Helsing really fell in our laps. Rich Moyer, the author and illustrator of the graphic novel series, reached out to us and asked us to make a game adaptation of his book. He knew we were known for cooperative games, and we saw immediately how well Ham Helsing could be translated into a cooperative adventure game. By its nature, the story of Ham making new friends, stumbling into exploits, and facing ridiculous villains lends itself to a humorous take on adventure tropes that fits our brand perfectly.
Are there any other upcoming releases you want to share with us?
Nothing we can share yet, but we know fans will be quite happy the next time we announce a game.
Just for Fun
Best place for gaming: Snowed in at a cozy winter cabin, or at a lively board game cafe? Cozy winter cabin, for sure. We don’t get enough snow in Texas!
What’s a cool board game mechanic you’d love to incorporate in a future game?
I’d like to play with card cascades, as long as they fit the experience we’re trying to create well.
If you could play board games with a fictional character (from any book, movie, etc.), who would you pick and why?
I’d pick Nancy Drew. She’s a deductive thinker, and I’m an inductive thinker. I’d love to see how she strategizes in a game. Plus, I read every book in the series when I was young, and she was one of my favorite characters. Justin would like to play with Death from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. Even though Death would beat him in every game, it “will be an important lesson.”
Favorite fantasy creature (or monster)? I love Medusa. Always a good hair day. Justin likes the Chimera. Why pick one monster when you can have three?
Thanks again to Ann-Marie and Justin De Witt for taking the time to answer questions for this article!
Read our previous article here!
