Funtails Team

Andreas Geiermann – Management

Despite of a lifetime as a passionate gamer geek, my career path had taken me to other realms at first. In 2011, however, I took the opportunity to study game design at the Mediadesign Hochschule Düsseldorf as a secondary education in the field of video game development. I already dedicated my bachelor thesis to the world of board games, but then I worked for various computer game companies, including Daedalic Entertainment Studio West on the game “The Long Journey Home”. I had already met Steffen during my studies, but he doesn’t remember it anymore! ?

In 2019 I finally got the chance to professionally pursue my passion for analog games as a co-founder of Funtails. My areas of responsibility range from editorial work to our work on Kickstarter campaigns, the digital implementation of our prototypes and customer support. In 2020 I would finally like to work as an author to fulfill my heart’s desire.

Steffen Rühl – Management

Games have accompanied me all my life: I assembled my first game with ‘objects’ from the trash can (my mother claims).

In the mid-1980s I developed my first game, a play-by-snail-mail (!) game called Vangor. After some detours into the live-role-playing scene as co-founder of the legendary Drachenschmiede, I entered video game development in 1999 and stayed in this industry for 20 years – as product manager, producer, storywriter and designer, among others at Piranha Bytes (Gothic) and Electronic Arts (Battlefield 1942, Knights of the Old Republic). Together with Andreas, I launched the board game podcast “Die Würfelwerfer”, which celebrated its 50th episode in 2020.

In addition to business matters, I also take care of business development and internal game development. I also teach game production and game design at universities in Germany.

Maikel Cheney – Editor

Maikel spent his childhood in South Africa and enjoyed a creative multi-culti education. He studied computer science in Germany and discovered a great fascination for the art of expressing logical operations in code as a software engineer.

Maikel loves to get involved in all sorts of social games and can’t stand a weekend without a good board game night. That combined with the urge of always wanting to create something new, led him to devote all of his free time to design Feed the Kraken as an aspiring board game author. When he ended up working on that game together with the entire Funtails team, Maikel was soon converted and is now a loyal follower of our cult – err … I mean a valuable member of our editoral stuff.

Henrik Sörgel – Figures & Editorial

Logical thinking, statistics and numbers have always been a playful part of my life growing up. By now I have become a full time board gamer that happily spends most of my money on new board games. Or on travelling – my second favorite passion.

After successfully completing my Mathematics degree in Bonn, a spontaneous internship brought me to Funtails. That’s where my fascination for board games got paired with a beautiful bunch of people.

After some time supporting our amazing customers and fans, I am now responsible for everything related to numbers. I feel most at home in the editorial team, but I also enjoy the colorful variety of tasks that come my way every day.

Hendrik Noack – Illustrator

As far back as I can remember, I liked doodling and later drawing. I knew early on that I wanted to do something creative. After graduating from high school in the small town of Olpe (NRW), I did a long internship in advertising technology, where I discovered my enthusiasm for digital design. I was able to develop this during my subsequent art studies, which I financed via many small commissioned works (including Feuerland, Forbidden Games).

One of these (supposedly) small commissions came from a certain Steffen Rühl. When he told me at a breakfast, which was also our first briefing for Glen More 2, that he had worked on “Gothic”, it was clear to me: I want to get involved!

Video games and especially tabletop games (Warhammer, 40k) have always fascinated me and also had a strong artistic influence on me. So it made sense for me to join Funtails. Since the beginning of 2021 I am a permanent artist in the team and can’t wait to share all the beautiful things we have created in the meantime with you and unleash them on your gaming tables! Blood for the Bloodgod!

Swantje Schurig – Marketing Manager

In addition to my studies in philosophy and fine arts, I earned my living for a long time as a cultural critic. Unfortunately, I don’t like caramelized violets in champagne any more than most people. That’s why I turned my back on exhibition openings.

I also got tired of studying. Don’t get me wrong-I love Foucault and Dalí. But you get weird if you spend too much time with them. That’s why I wanted to work somewhere where no one was guaranteed to roll flowers in sugar. Funtails seemed like a safe choice.

I felt very comfortable here during my internship. So much so that I’m still here – now as Marketing Manager.

I wrote my master’s thesis on Feed the Kraken while spending my last semester as a student trainee at Funtails. Gaming has officially been my life’s work since October 2024, and I haven’t met a champagne bubble yet!

Dr. Hans Joachim Höh – Localization & Scouting

In order to understand human capabilities in data analysis and problem solving, I studied computer science, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. For my doctoral thesis, I specialized in logic, the philosophy of language, and brain research.

However, my greatest interest has always been in games, including board games, card games, dice games, and computer games. For over ten years, I was one of the most successful players in the world in various trading card and miniature games. I won six German championships in three different games, was named Player of the Year, and won the World Championship in the World of Warcraft trading card game, among many other titles and tournaments.

After more than a decade as a professional player, I developed remarkable analytical skills, especially regarding game mechanics and strategy. I now use these skills at Funtails. I oversee localizations, scout new projects, and dedicate myself to the German implementation of Blood on the Clocktower.