Mike Fitzgerald’s game design career got started with the publication of Wyvern, an early CCG. However, he’s best known for the Mystery Rummy card games. After a 5-year hiatus the newest game, Bonnie and Clyde, was published by Rio Grande Games last month. The following interview helps to commemorate this new release; it covers the whole Mystery Rummy series, from Jack the Ripper, up to the present.
Shannon Appelcline: What got you thinking about turning Rummy into a more strategic game in the first place?
Mike Fitzgerald: When I was a kid I used to spend the summers playing rummy with my sister and cousin. We played 500 rummy for hours at a time and loved it. As an adult when I thought of what kind of game I would like to design (this was after my trading card game Wyvern was a hit and the company said they would do anything I wanted) a more strategic version of rummy was the first thing that came to mind.