Richard Garfield is an American mathematician, inventor, and game designer who created Magic: The Gathering, the first modern collectible card game. He has also made and designed several popular games, including Keyforge, Netrunner, BattleTech(CCG), Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and many others.
Quick Facts
| Celebrated Name: | Richard Garfield |
| Real Name/Full Name: | Richard Channing Garfield |
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | 59 years old |
| Birth Date: | 26 June 1963 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height: | 1.68 m |
| Weight: | 75 kg |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Wife/Spouse (Name): | Koni Kim (m. 2015) |
| Children/Kids (Son and Daughter): | No |
| Dating/Girlfriend (Name): | N/A |
| Is Richard Garfield Gay?: | No |
| Profession: | Mathematician, inventor, and game designer |
| Salary: | N/A |
| Net Worth in 2024: | $12 million |
Richard Garfield Biography
Richard Channing Garfield was born in Philadelphia on June 26, 1963. Because his father was an architect, he spent his childhood in various locations worldwide.
Garfield’s family moved to Oregon when he was twelve years old. His great-great-grandfather was former US President James A. Garfield, and his grandfather invented the paper clip. Fay Jones, his nephew, is also a well-known artist who illustrated one of the Magic cards for him.
Garfield had an interest in puzzles and games since childhood, but his love for games began when he was introduced to the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. At the age of 13, he created his first game.
In 1985, he received his Bachelor of Science in computational mathematics. Garfield began working at Bell Laboratories after completing his graduation. Still, he felt compelled to further his education, so he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a Ph.D. in combinatorial mathematics. Soon after, he was hired as a mathematics professor at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
Richard Garfield Age, Height, Weight
Richard Garfield was born on June 26, 1963, and is 59 years old as of 2024. His height is 1.68 meters, and his weight is 75 kilograms.
Career
Richard Garfield began creating games as a child but only became a full-time game designer after completing his Ph.D. In 1985, he created a board game called RoboRally and was having difficulty finding a publisher.
Wizards of the Coast, a game publishing company, expressed interest but requested some changes before releasing the game. They asked Garfield to design a game that was less expensive, portable, and easy to transport to conventions.
He finished the game in a week and sent it to the publishers for approval. Garfield combined the ideas of a Cosmic Encounter-inspired card game called “Five Magics” and an existing game to create Magic: The Gathering, the first trading card game released in 1993.
Garfield also began creating expansion packs on his own. The following year, he became a full-time game designer at Wizard of the Coast. He balanced the player experience with business requirements and built a solid tournament system for the game.
His game Garfield’s RoboRally, well received by the public, was released in 1994. Jyhad, his Vampire: The Masquerade-based CCG game, was released the same year, but the name was later changed to Vampire: The Eternal Struggle to avoid offending Muslims.
The game BattleTech Collectible Card Game, based on Garfield’s design, was released in 1996 by the game publishing company Wizard of the Coast. He was also a primary playtester for the Dungeons & Dragons third edition game, which was released in 2000.
He later left Wizards to work as an independent game designer. Pecking Order (2006) and Rocketville (2006) are two of his most recent independent games (2006). He has now shifted his focus to video games, where he has worked on the development of titles such as Schizoid and Spectromancer.
Richard Garfield Achievements and Awards
Richard Garfield has received numerous awards and recognitions in his illustrious gaming career. In 1999, he was inducted into the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame. He taught “The Characteristics of Games” at the University of Washington, which is now part of the University of Washington’s Certificate in Game Design.
Richard Garfield’s Net Worth in 2024
Richard Garfield’s net worth is estimated to be more than $12 million as of February 2024. He amassed such vast wealth due to his successful career as a mathematician, inventor, and game designer.
Magic: The Gathering (1993), Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (1994), BattleTech (1996), Filthy Rich (1998), Pecking Order (2006), Kard Combat (2011), Ghost! (2013), Treasure Hunter (2015), Bunny Kingdom (2017), Half Truth (2019), and many more.
Garfield has also worked as a game designer and consultant for companies such as Electronic Arts and Microsoft.
Richard Garfield is a well-known game designer around the world. He has won people’s hearts by creating popular games such as KeyForge, SpyNet, Ghost!, and others.
Richard Garfield’s Wife, Marriage
In 2015, Richard Garfield married his long-term girlfriend, Koni Kim. They don’t have any kids. The couple has managed to keep his personal life out of the spotlight and is living happily in Washington, DC.
