Reed Ambrose Launches Board Game Wispwood

Reed Ambrose, a 2010 Hastings College graduate, launched his tile-laying board game Wispwood onto the global market in 2025 at Essen Spiel in Germany, after years of hobby design and a successful pitch at a 2024 BoardGameGeek convention in Dallas.

Building a Magical Forest Tile by Tile

Players in Wispwood arrange wisp and tree tiles to build a personal grid representing a magical forest. The game is designed for one to four players aged 10 and up. Players aim to meet the specific desires of glowing wisps and magical trees across three scoring rounds while the forest shifts between phases.

The whimsical title features creatures with unique personalities. Each game utilizes new goal cards to redefine wisp preferences, ensuring a distinct layout during every playthrough.

From Campus Studies to Global Tables

Ambrose developed his creative foundation at Hastings College. The Irving, Texas, native designed his own major called Creative English and Advertising Design. He also played on the college’s men’s soccer program from 2006 to 2010.

Following graduation, Ambrose worked as a communications and content strategy specialist at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. He began exploring modern designer games in his 20s. He attended his first BoardGameGeek convention in Dallas in 2016.

Mentors in the hobby board game industry helped him refine his prototypes. In 2024, he participated in a speed-pitching event at the BoardGameGeek convention, where designers had approximately seven minutes to demonstrate prototypes to publishers.

Wispwood Expands Globally as Cats vs. Ghostlings Prepares for Launch

Czech Games Edition picked up Wispwood during the 2024 event. Following its debut at Essen Spiel in Germany, the game has been translated into French, Italian, Korean, and eight other languages. It is available in specialty hobby game shops as well as online through retailers like Amazon.

Ambrose designed another game titled Cats vs. Ghostlings, which has been signed by Envy Born Games in the United States. That title is scheduled to launch on Kickstarter in early 2027, allowing players and shop owners to gauge interest and place preorders prior to release.