Skaff Elias was a major force in helping Wizards of the Coast & Magic: the Gathering start off on the right foot, and is remembered fondly by many.
Before his time at WotC, Skaff was a Math PhD student at Penn, and joined the cadre of grad students who helped play & develop Richard Garfield’s earliest game designs (many of whom later followed Richard out west).
From there, Skaff joined Wizards of the Coast and became the first brand manager, and helped push the company towards starting a pro circuit to help legitimize Magic: the Gathering as a sport.
At these pro tournaments, Skaff quickly became a legend for a) never sleeping and b) organizing a basketball game anywhere an event happened and c) making any conversation more interesting for having him in it.
I knew Skaff from my days as a Magic player, but had the good fortune to work with him on WotC’s NBA game, which was really fun to play and make. Kudos to Brian Hacker for that design. :)
I learned a ton in this call about things I didn’t know prior. Enjoy!
