I make things up for fun. Sometimes people pay me for it.
I'm a copywriter, narrative designer, creative strategist, and founder of Maximum Mischief, an independent tabletop game studio dedicated to publishing visually striking, narrative-driven board games.
After three years leading narrative design and copywriting for Magic: The Gathering's Secret Lair (concepting and writing 100+ products, collaborating on 50+ licensed IP releases, and learning what it takes to make a collectible feel collectable), I decided to build something of my own. Maximum Mischief is that something. My first game is a casual, campground slasher inspired party game, currently in development.
Before Magic, I spent a decade writing ads. Good ones, mostly. I worked at Crispin Porter Bogusky, VSA Partners, Cramer-Krasselt, and I freelanced at Energy BBDO and FCB Chicago, among others. While making ads for brands like Domino’s, Tropicana, Porsche, and Corona, I learned how to intrigue people in thirty seconds or less. Turns out that skill translates pretty well to getting people jazzed up about a piece of cardboard with a badass dragon on it.
When I'm not designing games or writing things, I'm performing improv comedy with Whimsy Lohan (Chicago Reader's 2023 Best Improv Troupe, heck yeah) or playing guitar in Kill Scenes, a darkwave band that is significantly moodier than I am.
If you want to talk games, stories, or creative work, I'm easy to reach at jon.podulka@gmail.com