Darwin Bromley, Co-Founder of Mayfair Games, Dies at 68

Darwin P Bromley, attorney, game designer and co-founder of Mayfair Games, has passed away at 68. He is survived by his wife, Trella and their four children. Bromley was born in West Virginia, but moved to the Chicago area to attend school. He studied mathematics at Marshall University and obtained his law degree in 1975 from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He most recently lived in Jacksonville, Florida.

Bromley founded Mayfair Game in 1981 with his brother Peter and other, and was company president from until 1997. Peter died in 2016 of a sudden illness. Darwin recently donated the brothers’ game collection to The Strong, National Museum of Play

At Mayfair, he helped create the first crayon-style train game, Empire Builder with co-designer Bill Fawcett. The company produced several games using the mechanic.

During Bromley’s tenure at Mayfair, the company published a range of role playing products including RoleAids, DC Heroes RPG, and Underground RPG. Mayfair won a lawsuit filed by TSR in 1993 for violations of an trademark agreement.

Often credited to Bromley, Mayfair was a pioneer in the importation and republishing of strategy games from Europe, with Settlers of Catan being the most successful.

Bromley helped establish the GAMA Trade Show as committee chairman and Vice President. He received the GAMA Merit of Service award in 1990

After his stint at Mayfair, Bromley was a show manager for the Radio Control Hobby Trade Association. He also was worked a computer developer and a consultant. Bromley was active with the Boy Scouts, and worked to enable Boy Scouts to earn the new Game Design merit badge.

A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville on Saturday, January 5 at 4:00 PM.

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