2026 War Room Guest Of Honor: The Players Aid
Grant Kleinhenz and Alexander Klein
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The Players’ Aid, started by Alexander Klein and Grant Kleinhenz in April 2016, are content creators who focus on wargames and conflict simulations and maintain a YouTube Channel with over 20,000 subscribers and a written blog (www.theplayersaid.com). They have a passion for good design and approach their craft form the perspective of gamers and the way it feels to play games they cover. This is their 5th year attending Buckeye Game Fest and they consider it the “Best Little Gaming Convention in the Midwest”.
2026 Featured Guests
David Thompson
David Thompson is best known for the Undaunted, War Chest, and Valiant Defense series of games. He was the recipient of the James F. Dunnigan Design Elegance Award, has won five Golden Geek awards, a Dice Tower award, and has a Spiel des Jahres Recommended title.
Find him on bluesky: David Thompson
Hermann Luttmann
Hermann is a long-time gamer and game designer. Best known for Dawn of the Zeds, A Most Fearful Sacrifice, At Any Cost, the Blind Swords series, and The Plum Island Horror.
Find him on X: Hermann Luttmann
Find him on Facebook: Hermann
Dave Shaw
Dave Shaw is a avid gamer with over 40 years of experience – mostly wargames, but up for anything. He worked for Avalon Hill in the final year (1997-98) before it sold to Hasbro as a graphic designer & play tester. Co-designer of three games with good friend Ryan Heilman, and also a freelance play tester, proofreader and pitchman for Blue Panther LLC.
Some of his contributions and work:
1993 Quest For The Faysylwood, 2000 units.
1994 Space Fleet Warp One & Two, 80 units.
2001 Profiteer, MMORPG formerly at www.profiteer.ca.
2008 Berlin or Bust, unlimited units formerly at www.diycardgames.com.
2010 Virtual Car Collector formerly at www.virtualcarcollector.com
Brave Little Belgium (2018): A wargame focusing on the German invasion of Belgium in 1914.
White Eagle Defiant: Co-designed historical wargame.
Ginormopod 2050 AD: Other design work.
Kenton Kelly