Jay Tummelson
Jay Tummelson is the founder of Rio Grande Games.
Career
Jay Tummelson was the top-ranked RPGA Judge, when Don Bingle and Linda Bingle brought him on as a third owner of their company 54°40' Orphyte after they purchased the product rights for Pacesetter Ltd's games.[1]:199 Tummelson met Darwin Bromley of Mayfair Games through his connection with 54°40' Orphyte, and joined Mayfair in 1995, spending the next two years licensing German games under the direction of Bromley so that Mayfair could produce new American versions; under Tummelson, German classics such as Grand Prix, Modern Art, Manhattan, Streetcar, and The Settlers of Catan were published in the United States for the first time in 1996.[1]:170 After Tummelson was laid off from Mayfair, he founded Rio Grande Games in 1998, which became the major publisher of eurogames in the United States for many years,[1]:170[2] by taking the approach of using the same artwork and components as the original games and sharing the cost of printing with the European publishers.[3][4] Tummelson sold his shares in 54°40' Orphyte sometime after founding Rio Grande Games, leaving the Bingles once more in sole charge of their company.[1]:199
