Boardgames Australia Committee Alumni
These are the members of the committee that have contributed to Boardgames Games Australia in the past.
Neil Fathulla
Games have been an integral part of Neil’s life. Whether it was playing traditional games such as backgammon, chess and card games from around the world or watching family members play these games, Neil has spent an inordinate amount of time honing his skills throughout the years to still get beaten by his dad. Neil also complemented his love of traditional games with his love of sports and sport simulation games.
However he gained his love of the fun of gaming from watching family members playing cards and backgammon quite competitively but always with a sense of humour. He brings this love of fun to the game table always looking for the challenge and the laughter. It wasn’t until University that his game playing flourished and from that time it has grown to an enjoyable hobby he shares with his friends and especially his family.
During daylight hours Neil is an Operations Manager for one of the largest utility companies in Australia.
Tommy Dean
Tommy Dean well-known comedian and television celebrity who is a staple on shows such as Spicks’n’Specks and Thank God it’s Friday. He is an American who understands Australians, and what makes us laugh. His mellow voice, love of music, and gift of comedic observation have established him as one of Australia’s most sought after comic performers and writers.
Tommy loves games of all sorts, but especially ones that make people laugh, hoot and holler. He has held the title of Australian Blood Bowl Champion, and it is still one of his favourite games. He wants to share the joy games have brought him with a wide audience, and is starting on the home front with his three young children.
Paul Kidd
Paul’s business card says he’s a Software Solutions Architect, but he’s really a husband, father and board game player. Like many people he started playing Monopoly as a child and moved on to Dungeons and Dragons as a teenager, all-night games of Civilization as a uni student and two years representing Queensland on the Junior Bridge team for the Australian National Championships. He has now come full circle to the simple pleasure of an hour or two’s enjoyment of a game around the kitchen table with friends and family.
He is very excited to be involved in Board Games Australia, as it will give him an excuse to give his wife for how much time he play games with the kids. Of course if it promotes the sociable, stimulating and above all enjoyable hobby of board and card games to more Australians then that’s OK too.
Carol Witt
Carol Witt has been playing board games for several decades. She began at games nights with her groovy young, single friends, worked her way through to games afternoons with her toddlers and their Grandma, and now finds herself right back at games nights with young, single, 19 year olds – only this time they are her children.
Throughout it all, she has firmly believed that board games are one of the best and most underrated ways of having fun with a group of people – no matter what their ages. This conviction led her, as editor of the parenting publication “Sydney’s Child” (and its many associated ‘Child’ papers), to write and feature articles on board games, write a regular board game review column (‘Game for Anything’) and to contribute board game articles to “The Good Weekend” and other publications.
Carol currently lives in a very small house that has, as its main claim to fame, walls held up by alarmingly tall, somewhat wobbly, floor-to-ceiling piles of board games. The size of her collection is too daunting to compute, but is undoubtedly, by anyone’s standards, substantial.