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Decipher

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For the 1995–2001 printed game period, see Decipher era.

Decipher, Inc. (often just Decipher) was the Norfolk, Virginia game company that published the printed Star Wars Customizable Card Game (SWCCG) from December 1995 through 2001.[1][2]

Decipher logo, 1999. Source: LOTR-TCG wiki.

Founder / leadership

Warren Holland founded Decipher in 1983 and was its Chairman and CEO. The company was headquartered in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.[3][4][1]

Early years (puzzles and party games)

Decipher began in 1983 with contest jigsaw puzzles. It then built a long-running party-game line around How to Host a Murder, and later marketed Pente under a license acquired from Parker Brothers.[1][5] The company's slogan of the CCG era was Decipher: The Art of Great Games.[6][7]

CCG era (overview)

After Magic: The Gathering popularized collectible card games, designers Tom Braunlich and Rollie Tesh pitched a media-licensed CCG approach. Decipher's first major CCG was the Star Trek: The Next Generation CCG (1994), followed by SWCCG (1995). Later titles included Austin Powers, Young Jedi, Jedi Knights, The Lord of the Rings TCG, several youth-market licenses (.hack, Beyblade, Mega Man), the original-IP WARS TCG, and finally Fight Klub.[1][7] At peak, Star Wars CCG sales were among the top non-Magic CCGs.[7][1]

SWCCG

Decipher released SWCCG under a Lucasfilm license.[1] Its designers were Tom Braunlich, Rollie Tesh, Jerry Darcy and Warren Holland (see Creators of SWCCG).[2] Printed Decipher sets begin with Premiere Limited (December 1995); the full Decipher expansion list is on the Main Page.

After the license

Main articles: Decipher after the Star Wars license, Decipher and the Star Wars CCG Lucasfilm license

Decipher lost the Star Wars license when its contract was not renewed; the license ended in December 2001. Company leadership publicly supported a Players' Committee and advocate structure so organized play and later virtual cards could continue.[2][8][7] After 2001 the game's stewardship passed to the community and the Players Committee.[8]

Decline

Decipher contracted over several years after license losses and underperforming launches. FanHQ and fan-club magazine efforts faded as social media grew. WARS and several youth CCGs struggled, RPG lines were cut, and staff reductions delayed late sets for its remaining licensed games. Physical product ended after Fight Klub (c. 2008), while decipher.com posted intermittent "coming back" messages for years afterward.[7][1]

Embezzlement

Former Decipher finance executive Rick Eddleman, Holland's brother-in-law, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than US$1.5 million from the company.[1][9] In 2009 he was sentenced to about six years in prison.[10] A civil settlement came to about US$8.9 million.[1] According to documents Holland posted online, losses over Eddleman's 1990s–2001 tenure were about US$9 million.[7][11]

Logos

Decipher used several corporate logos and wordmarks.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Decipher, Inc., Wikipedia
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Star Wars Customizable Card Game, Wikipedia
  3. ↑ About Decipher, Decipher.com (Internet Archive, 15 August 2000)
  4. ↑ Find Us, Decipher.com (Internet Archive, 15 August 2000)
  5. ↑ Vision, Decipher.com (Internet Archive, 15 August 2000) — company statement signed Warren Holland, Chairman and CEO, citing inception in 1983
  6. ↑ Decipher, Wookieepedia
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Decipher, LOTR-TCG Wiki
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 History of the Players Committee
  9. ↑ Norfolk man pleads guilty to embezzling more than $1.5m, The Virginian-Pilot (Internet Archive)
  10. ↑ Game company embezzlement was betrayal to family, The Virginian-Pilot (Internet Archive)
  11. ↑ EmbezzlementFromDecipher.com, archived overview hosted by Holland (Internet Archive)
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