Richard Tait was a Scottish-born entrepreneur best known for co-creating the board game Cranium with Whit Alexander. His career spanned Microsoft, consumer products, Starbucks, smartphone camera accessories and venture investing. Tait died in 2022, aged 58.
Who was Richard Tait?
Tait was born in Broughty Ferry, Scotland, on January 17, 1964, and died on Bainbridge Island, Washington, on July 25, 2022. GeekWire reported that his family attributed his death to continued pulmonary complications due to COVID-19. GeekWire’s obituary described him as a restless entrepreneur whose work crossed technology, games, consumer brands and investing.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Cranium Classic | $21.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Funko Cranium 25th Anniversary Edition Family Party Game for 4 or More Players Ages 12 and Up | $34.40 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Cranium | $38.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Hasbro Cranium Wow Board Game | $59.97 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Cranium Game | $42.90 | Buy on Amazon |
Adam Tratt, an early Cranium employee who later became its general manager, called Tait “the ultimate dreamer,” as quoted by GeekWire. That description captures the breadth of his ambitions: he moved from software and online services to a board game, a soccer-themed drink, food initiatives and camera accessories.
How did Tait help create Cranium?
After leaving Microsoft in 1998, Tait co-founded Cranium with Whit Alexander, another former Microsoft executive. Their aim was to make a group game that gave players with different strengths more ways to participate, rather than relying on one kind of knowledge or skill. Tait described the purpose as creating a brand “that would give everyone the chance to shine,” according to GeekWire.
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#1 Best Overall
- The classic brain game is back and better than ever with 18 activities and over 800 different challenges
- Compete in teams and be ready to draw, sculpt, act, rhyme, or anything else that comes your way
- There’s something for everyone, from the artists to the brainiacs, so no game night will ever be the same!
- Be the first team to make it all the way around the board to win - recommended for 4 or more players, ages 12 and up
- Includes 1 Game Board, 2 Movers, 200 Cards, 1 Card Box, 8 Bonus Coins, 2 Markers, 2 Whiteboards, Cranium Clay, 1 Sand Timer, 1 Die, 1 Reference Sheet, and Complete Instructions
It is accurate to call Tait a Cranium co-creator, but not its sole inventor: Alexander co-founded the game with him. Cranium became the venture most closely associated with Tait. GeekWire reported that Hasbro acquired it in 2008 for $77.5 million. GeekWire also called it “one of the fastest-selling games in history,” an attributed characterization rather than a published unit-sales figure or independently established ranking.
What did Tait do before and after Cranium?
Microsoft: operating systems, Encarta and online services
Tait joined Microsoft in July 1988 and worked there for about a decade. GeekWire credited him with pioneering client-server computing in the operating systems group, leading CD-ROM products including Encarta, and starting consumer online services such as Carpoint and Sidewalk. The obituary also reported that he helped recruit Satya Nadella in the early 1990s.
Rank #2
- Definitive new edition of the smash-hit party game Cranium
- Custom Cranium Capsule elevates gameplay and stores all components neatly.
- Featuring 800 all-new questions across 18 diverse activities
- Includes Cranium Clay and dry-erase whiteboard to craft your original works of art.
- New activities take their place alongside classic favorites from the original game
Consumer ventures and Starbucks
In February 2008, Tait launched BoomBoomBrands. He later founded Golazo, a soccer-themed sports drink. GeekWire reported that Golazo raised $3.7 million in a 2011 investment round, then closed after it failed to reach profitability and secure additional financing.
Tait also worked with Starbucks. He consulted on product teams and later returned as a senior vice president and entrepreneur in residence. GeekWire said his work included the Real Food, Simply Delicious campaign and helping shape the company’s health and wellness strategy in 2009 and 2010.
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Rank #3
- Cranium is the version of the smash-hit, multi-activity game Cranium made for kids and parents
- Teams work together to race around the board by completing a mix of 14 hilarious activities,
- Now with all new components, including 600 all-new cards and flexible length of play
- Whether you are an aspiring actor, artist, data hound or wordsmith, Cranium gives you and your team a moment to shine
- Cranium Edition gives everybody from Grandma to Junior the chance to shine
Moment and venture investing
Tait co-founded Seattle-based Moment and served on its board. The company made attachable smartphone lenses and other camera accessories. In 2019, he joined Valor Siren Ventures as a partner, focusing on food technology, retail technology and sustainability.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What defined Tait’s approach to business?
Tait combined ambitious ideas with an emphasis on discovery and enjoyment. GeekWire relayed his line, “If you’re not having fun, you are not doing it right,” and documented another of his entrepreneurship tips: “Lead with passion, a sense of discovery and speed.” Cranium reflected that outlook by treating a board game not just as a product, but as a brand and a shared social experience.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Players can show off their talents
- Move around the board completing activities in 4 fun categories
- Featuring word play, sketching, sleuthing, acting, and more
- Play in teams
- Includes 600 cards, 4 movers, Cranium Clay, timer, die, 1 notepad, and instructions
Rank #4
- Players are divided into two, three, or four teams; each team picks a mover and puts it on the "Planet Cranium" space. The board is laid out as a circuit, consisting of different color spaces. Each color corresponds to a question card category. Purple "Planet Cranium" spaces give the team their choice of category. The rules of Cranium state that the team with the player whose birthday is coming up next starts the game. Play then continues clockwise to the next team. Card Categories[edit] Creative Cat These blue cards are, as the name suggests, two creative activities. Cloodle cards require a team member to draw on a piece of paper while the other team member(s) attempt to guess the word or phrase, much like Pictionary. Sensosketch cards are the same but the drawer must have their eyes closed. Sculpturades requires one player to mold the included putty into shapes for the other player(s) to guess the word or phrase being sculpted. All of the blue cards have vague hints. Data Head These red cards revolve around, as the name suggests, knowledge of data and facts. Selectaquest cards ask a question and present four possible multiple choice answers, of which the player's team must choose the correct answer. Factoid cards present a question that the player's team must answer outright, and a third type of card requires the player's team to evaluate a statement to determine whether it is true or false.
- Word Worm These yellow cards are themed around words, spelling, and anagrams. Two types of spelling are involved in this category; one type involves one team member spelling a moderately difficult word (such as vacuum) correctly on the first try without writing down the word. Another type of spelling challenge in Word Worm is Gnilleps; again, a moderately difficult word (such as achieved) must be spelled correctly on the first attempt by one team member with the caveat that they must spell it backwards. Lexicon cards require teams to correctly identify the definition of a word out of four possibilities, usually a relatively unused word such as syzygy or bedizen. Blankout requires the team to use a vague hint to fill in the blank words with only some letters filled in. Finally, Zelpuz requires the player's team to use a vague hint to re-arrange the letters in an anagram to form the correct word or phrase. Star Performer These green cards are themed around acting out clues with a vague hint such as in charades, acting and speaking like a famous person or fictional character but without using proper names, or humming or whistling a popular tune to get your group to guess the song, such as with Hummdingers.
- Gameplay[edit] On each turn, a team has a chance to complete an activity on one card and advance along the board. If the team is on a purple space (as all teams are on the start space), they can choose the first card from any of the four categories. If they are on a coloured space, the first card from the corresponding category is selected. If the team successfully completes the card they have chosen, the die is then rolled to determine what space the team moves to.Whether the activity is completed successfully or not, the turn always ends after one card. If the team completes an activity successfully before timer runs out, they roll the color-faced die and move to the next space of the color they roll, or to the next Planet Cranium space, whichever is closer. If they roll purple, they go to the next Planet Cranium space. Scenic Path and Fast Track[edit] A team's first activity on a Planet Cranium space, including the start space, determines whether they will take the "scenic path" or the "fast track" to the next Planet Cranium space. If they complete their first activity on a Planet Cranium space successfully before time runs out, they will take the inside fast track to the next Planet Cranium space. If they do not complete their first activity successfully, or if time runs out, they will not be able to take the fast track, and, when they do complete an activity successfully to get off the Planet Cranium space, they will have to take the longer scenic path to the next Planet Cranium space.
- Club Cranium[edit] On some of the Creative Cat and Star Performer cards, there is a "Club Cranium" symbol. When one of these cards is drawn, every team competes and has one of its members do the activity for them. Acting is to be performed in front of all the teams. Each team may guess the answer by looking at anyone performing. The same applies to sensosketches and cloodles. Whichever team gets it first gets to roll the die and move, and play continues with the team who the Club Cranium card was originally for. If no one guesses the answer before time runs out, no one moves and play continues with the team whose turn it was. If a team gets a Club Cranium card correct while on a Planet Cranium, they may move on the fast track if it was their first activity while on the Planet Cranium; if their first activity on a Planet Cranium is a Club Cranium and they do not win it, they still try for the fast track on their next turn. The only penalty for not getting a Club Cranium right is not being able to take an extra move.
- Cranium Central[edit] Around the "Cranium Central" space in the center of the board are four black spaces, each with the name of one of the decks on it. Before a team can go into Cranium Central, they must collect one card from each deck by moving around these spaces. When a team reaches the end of the path, they must place their mover on the black space that with the deck name that corresponds to the color of their roll. If they roll purple, they may decide which black space to start on. They continue play in the normal fashion, except that when they complete an activity successfully, they keep the card, and instead of rolling the die, they move clockwise to the next black space. Once the team has a card from each deck, they may move into Cranium Central. Once they are in Cranium Central, on their turn, they will receive an activity from the deck that the other teams decide on. If they do not complete the activity successfully, they must wait until their next turn, when the other teams will pick another activity for them, either from the same deck or another deck. Once the team successfully completes an activity while in Cranium Central, they have won the game.
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