Paul Reiche III papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 118.2627

Collection Scope and Content Note

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The Paul Reiche III papers are a compilation of game design concepts and related documentation for both tabletop role-playing games and video games. This collection includes materials beginning with his creation of Dungeons and Dragons materials in high school, his time at TSR, and his long and distinguished career in video game design leading up to his creation of his work on games about licensed characters, such as 102 Dalmatians. (These materials precede the development of the Skylanders documentation in the Toys for Bob collection.) The bulk of the materials are dated between 1983 and 1996. Additional scope and content information can be found in the Contents List section of this finding aid.

The Paul Reiche III papers are arranged into three series. The materials are housed in three archival document boxes and one separate oversized folder.

Dates

Creation: 1979 - 2018
Creation: Majority of material found within 1983 - 1996

Creator

Reiche, Paul, III (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Though the donor has not transferred intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) to The Strong, he has given permission for The Strong to make copies in all media for museum, educational, and research purposes.

Biographical Note

Paul Reiche III is an American game designer, notable for working with both tabletop/role-playing and video games.

Reiche became interested in gaming as a teenager, and he joined TSR in 1981 as a game designer. Reiche contributed to various Dungeons & Dragons-related projects at TSR before leaving to work on computer games for Electronic Arts in the 1980s. (He also co-founded Free Fall Associates in 1981 with Jon Freeman and Anne Westfall.) Reiche later established video game developer Toys for Bob with Fred Ford and Terry Falls. At Toys for Bob, Reiche developed several video games for Crystal Dynamics, including The Horde, Pandemonium!, and The Unholy War. Toys for Bob also found great success in the 2010s with the Skylanders series.

As of 2019, Reiche is Co-Studiohead at Activision Blizzard.

Extent

1.65 Linear Feet (3 boxes, 1 oversized folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Paul Reiche III papers are a compilation of game design concepts and related documentation for both tabletop role-playing games and video games. The bulk of the materials are dated between 1983 and 1996, though some materials are undated.

System of Arrangement

Series I: Personal papers, c. 1980s-2018 and n.d.

Series II: Tabletop/role-playing games, 1979-2018 and n.d.

Series III: Video games, 1983-2018 and n.d.

Custodial History

The Paul Reiche papers were donated to The Strong in April 2018 as a gift of Paul Reiche. The papers were accessioned by The Strong under Object ID 118.2627 and were received from Reiche in 3 boxes, simultaneously with Object ID 117.11504 [Toys for Bob collection, 2011-2017] and other Toys for Bob and Skylanders-related items.

Related Materials

The Toys for Bob collection in the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play contains video oral histories about Toys for Bob, including interviews with Paul Reiche.