James F. Dunnigan
| James F. Dunnigan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 August 1943 Rockland County, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Author, military analyst, wargame designer |
James F. Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and wargame designer currently living in New York City.
He was born in Rockland County, New York. After high school, he volunteered for the military instead of waiting to be drafted. From 1961 to 1964, he worked as a repair technician for the Sergeant ballistic missile, which included a tour in Korea. Afterwards, he attended Pace University studying accounting, then transferred to Columbia University, graduating with a degree in history in 1970.
While still in college, he became involved in wargaming. He designed Jutland, which Avalon Hill published in 1967, following it up with 1914 the next year, and PanzerBlitz in 1970, which eventually sold more than 300,000 copies. Meanwhile, Dunnigan had founded his own company, initially known as Poultron Press, and which soon became Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI). Dunnigan created SPI in order to save the magazine Strategy & Tactics, which was published by Chris Wagner. Dunnigan had been a contributor to the magazine since Strategy & Tactics #2 (February 1967), and when Wagner was having financial difficulties with the magazine he sold Dunningan the rights for $1. Dunnigan set up shop in a windowless basement in New York City's Lower East Side, and published his first issue from there, Strategy & Tactics #18 (September 1969); starting with that issue, every issue included a new wargame. Dunnigan also designed the game Sniper! (1973) . Dunnigan later designed Dallas: The Television Role-Playing Game (1980), the first ever licensed role-playing game. In 1980, Dunnigan was forced out of SPI due to the company's worsening financial situation. He left SPI to write more books, get into modeling financial markets, and pursue other projects.
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