Jonathan Tomhave
Dr. J. Tomhave is a citizen of the MHA Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, and an academic mercenary who has been playing games for a very long time—THAC0 long. He grew up playing family board games and early video games like Pong, later diving into wargames such as Avalon Hill’s Luftwaffe, the notoriously complex Magic Realm, and beginning his RPG journey with AD&D 1st Edition. He remains an enthusiastic player of all types of games.
Dr. Tomhave is a founding member and researcher with the N.D.N. Players Research Group. His work focuses on the gamification of Indigenous philosophies in board and card game design, critically examining how many Ameritrash and Euro-style games perpetuate colonial assumptions and structures. He also serves as a cultural and game-mechanic consultant for developers seeking accurate and respectful representation of Indigenous cultures in new and existing intellectual properties. His expertise draws from professional experience in media production, ethnographic research, Indigenous studies, American Indian studies, and communication. He is also a presenter and the producer of the N.D.N. Players Podcast.
Selected publications include How to Get From Indigenous Philosophies to Game Mechanics (Maytaway Quarterly, 2021) and How Do You Say Watermelon? (Transmotion, 2017).
Works
Consultant: Monster Manual (2024)
Links
St. Martin University: https://www.stmartin.edu/directory/faculty-staff-directory/jonathan-tomhave-phd
