Francis Lalumiere

Francis Lalumiere at DecipherCon 1999. Photo: Decipher.

Francis Lalumiere was a Decipher Squadron Member (Gold 28, earlier Red 23) who wrote SWCCG articles for Decipher's website and Scrye. He also wrote Decipher's Jedi Knights Trading Card Game Design Diary.

He joined the squadron in 1996 in Montreal and traveled to Tunisia as part of the 1996 World Championships grand prize. He wrote articles for Decipher's website and Scrye, and from fall 1998 wrote for Lucasfilm's website. His first articles on decipher.com appeared in 1997. Decipher welcomed him to its web team in late 1999, and he signed his NewsFlash stories with his Decipher title, The Juggler. His last bylined pieces on decipher.com appeared in April 2001. Decipher's Radio Free Decipher broadcast of 8 June 2001, "The Prodigal Son Returns", billed him as a guest host visiting "from the great white north".

In their own words

I joined the ranks of Squadron Members in 1996, when A New Hope was barely past the rumor stage, and when those of us called "veterans" still had to take a look at our rulebook from time to time. My base of operations was Montreal (Canada) and, as Gold 28, I helped my Squadron rule the surface of Hoth for three exhilarating years. I lived many Star Wars adventures in this short period, from meeting fellow Squadron Members, to traveling to Tunisia (as part of the 1996 World Championships' grand prize), to writing articles for Decipher's web page and Scrye magazine. But the biggest adventure was yet to come. In fall of 1998, Lucasfilm's marketing team hired me as a writer for their web page.

So where am I now? I landed my trusty Y-wing on Alderaan (California), where I had to rebuild a new life. Out of the things that thankfully remain constant, Star Wars CCG stands out. Of course, the faces are different; but rather than feeling like an outsider, I get the sense that I'm simply visiting a new branch of our big family. However, it means that I have to build a new player base, an activity whose difficulty I had (gladly) forgotten. But it's well worth the effort, once again. Between my job at Lucasfilm and my Squadron Member endeavors, I try to sneak in some writing time so I can get my French literature masters thesis done (on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Reveries du promeneur solitaire", for those weirdos among you who'd like to know). I also enjoy performing card magic - although I refrain from using such skills when I sit down at the card table - and writing music. I'm an avid gamer, willing to play anything and everything under the sun. My hobbies now include flying back to Montreal in order to spend time with my loved ones, whenever I get a chance (and the necessary funds).

Even though pretty much everyting around here is new and exciting, every now and then I take a look at my surroundings and realize how much I miss my old players. We spent at least one complete day together every single month, and the sudden disappearance of this tradition left quite a hole in my Star Wars Customizable Card Game . But "stay on target"... I'm not out of Montreal for all eternity. In the meantime, guys, email rules!

Service

Dates	Service
27 July 1997	Director, Montreal regional qualifier (Hoth region) for the 1997 Decipher World Championship
19 April 1998	Tournament director, Official Tournament Sealed Deck pre-release tournament at Carta Magica, Montreal
11–14 November 1999	Writer on the Decipher team at DecipherCon 1999; wrote the daily reports
August 1999 – January 2001	Squadron Member Gold 28, Alderaan region; Santa Rosa, CA; Decipher profile page; earlier Red 23 (San Francisco, Ca)
November 1999 – April 2001	Writer on Decipher's web team
October 2000 – April 2001	Jedi Knights Trading Card Game Design Diary writer; credited on the game's team

Decipher recruited volunteer Squadron Members in the 1990s to promote SWCCG locally (tournaments, demos, player support).

Jedi Knights TCG

Lalumiere wrote Decipher's Jedi Knights Trading Card Game Design Diary (October 2000 – April 2001) and is credited on the game's team.

Articles

Bylined or signed articles on decipher.com, newest first.

Date	Article
25 April 2001	Jedi Knights Design Diary, closing entry: "The King is Dead – Long Live the King" (Jedi Knights Trading Card Game)
April 2001	"On the First Day of Printing, Decipher Gave to Me..." (12 Days of Jedi Knights, Day 11)
27 March 2001	"Set Course for the Delta Quadrant!" (Star Trek CCG Voyager expansion)
6 March 2001	"70 Show Up for Jedi Knights TCG Demo in New York"
16 February 2001	"UltraPRO's Card Protector"
14 February 2001	"Ian Vincent Conquers the World – Literally" (Young Jedi World Champion)
11 February 2001	"A-1 Comics Wins Trip to GAMA Trade Show!"
5 February 2001	"Gamers Guild Named Decipher's Retailer of the Year"
12 January 2001	"Reach For The Sky – And Stay There Forever"
2001	"Young Jedi Rising" (Duel of the Fates, Young Jedi)
25 October 2000 – 7 March 2001	Jedi Knights Design Diary: 49 entries, from "Dramatis Personae" to "Diner With Mr. X" (Jedi Knights Trading Card Game)
18 October 2000	"The Death Star II Closed-Environment foils are on their way!" (Death Star II)
28 September 2000	"The Great Tribble Hunt" at DecipherCon (DecipherCon 2000)
25 September 2000	"Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck and Enhanced Premiere at the 2000 World Championships" (2000 Decipher World Championship)
21 September 2000	"Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck to Debut at DecipherCon 2000" (Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck)
21 September 2000	"Enhanced Premiere to Debut at DecipherCon 2000" (Star Trek CCG)
2000	"How Premiere Became Enhanced" (Star Trek CCG Enhanced Premiere)
2000	"The Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck Design Philosophy" (Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck)
2000	"Death Star II Trivia Quiz" (Death Star II)
17 August 2000	"Point of Origin: Decipherian 'Theme' Titles"
17 July 2000	"Bring Balance To The Force – The Uncut Young Jedi Posters" (Young Jedi)
3 July 2000	"DragonCon 2000: A Retrospective"
30 June 2000	"DragonCon 2000: 'Is That Your Final Answer?'"
8 June 2000	"Decipherian Profile: Kendrick Summers, Marketing Manager" (Kendrick Summers)
2000	"Tall Tales or True", Day Twelve (Third Anthology)
18 May 2000	"Alternate Battle of Naboo" (Young Jedi)
18 May 2000	"Point of Origin: Utinni Effects" (Utinni Effect)
9 May 2000	"North American Summer Cons: Major Tournaments Schedule"
27 April 2000	"New Con, New Tournaments! Virginia State Championships"
21 March 2000	"À La Fine Pointe du Paradoxe Technologique" (in French)
29 February 2000	"Alternate Rules of Acquisition", with Evan Lorentz (Star Trek CCG)
4 February 2000	"Local Heroes Wanted: State & National Titles for Rated CCGs"
2 February 2000	"Any Methods Necessary – Star Wars CCG Enhanced Cloud City Out of Print" (Enhanced Cloud City)
11 January 2000	"Musings on Reflections" (Reflections)
29 December 1999	"The Star Wars Year"
11–14 November 1999	DecipherCon '99 daily wrap-ups, Days 1–4 (DecipherCon 1999)
16–29 May 1997	"Tatooine Memories", Days 1–6 (the 1996 Decipher World Championship grand-prize trip to Tunisia)

Photographs

• 
  New writer on the Decipher team. Photo: Decipher.
• 
  Francis Lalumiere at his iBook. Photo: Decipher.
• 
  Daily Wrap-Up button, DecipherCon 1999 website. Photo: Decipher.

See also

• DecipherCon 1999
• Squadron Members · Anagrams · Creators of SWCCG · Radio Free Decipher
• Corellian Engineering Corporation (fan site)

External links

• Decipher SWCCG Squadron Members (Players Committee reprint). Preserved copy: Internet Archive