Alternate Worlds Podcast: Jake Theis, former Magic: the Gathering Brand Manager
In this episode, Brian reconnects with former Wizards of the Coast colleague Jake Theis for a conversation that blends game industry history, product development, entrepreneurship, creativity, and the enduring influence of Magic: The Gathering. What starts with jokes about cheese, personality types, and old Wizards memories evolves into a thoughtful discussion about how games are built, how careers evolve, and how communities shape the people within them.
Notes from Brian:
Jake Theis is an INFJ, who, while I was at WotC, was a Brand Manager for Magic: the Gathering.
After that, he went off to work on Gencon, became Head of Marketing at Ravensburger, then functioned as VP of Games at Wizkids.
Jake has deep knowledge of the hobby gaming industry & working with great IPs (think Lorcana) & also has a fertile knowledge of the cultural influences that inform the products we design.
Jake is an excellent person to talk with to understand how to position, craft & market all things game & entertainment.
Very fun chat. :)
Topics Covered
* Working at Wizards of the Coast across brand, R&D, and creative teams
* Early Magic podcasting and digital initiatives
* The challenges of cross-functional collaboration
* Product strategy and long-term planning
* Building licensed board games
* Creating a Great British Baking Show board game
* Working at Ravensburger and Gen Con
* Game industry successes, failures, and lessons learned
* The value of market research and consumer insight
* The role of nostalgia in entertainment products
* Wrestling games, conventions, and pandemic timing
* Magic’s worldbuilding and creative development process
* Secret Lair and innovation in collectible games
* Magic’s influence on game designers and creative thinkers
* Trading card games beyond Magic
* Board game design and open-ended systems
* Slay the Spire, Civilization, and favorite modern games
* Leadership, collaboration, and organizational culture
Memorable Moments
* Jake recounting unexpectedly running into Brian in Las Vegas and discovering he was spending part of his evening working with a blackjack team between casino shifts.
* Stories from the earliest days of Magic podcasting, years before smartphones made podcasts mainstream.
* The creation of a Great British Baking Show board game and the challenge of translating a beloved television experience into tabletop form.
* The tale of launching a wrestling-themed party game designed for thirty players directly into the COVID pandemic—making large group gatherings temporarily impossible.
* Jake’s appreciation for Secret Lair as one of the smartest business innovations Magic has introduced since his departure from Wizards.
* Recollections of Magic’s “hole-filling” process, where employees throughout the company could submit card ideas and potentially see them appear in future sets.
