Quick Facts
Biography
Dominic McDowall-Thomas is a game designer and publisher who has worked primarily on role-playing games and card games.
Career
Dominic McDowall-Thomas is a leadership and communications consultant.:427 McDowall-Thomas began his relationship with Cubicle 7 on January 1, 2004.:427 McDowall-Thomas and Angus Abranson were friends who regularly gamed and clubbed together, and he agreed to help edit the SLA Industries books for Abranson, starting with Hunter Sheets Issue One.:427 In late 2006, Abranson and McDowall-Thomas properly formed Cubicle 7 Entertainment Limited, with the two of them as partners.:427 Abranson and McDowall-Thomas handed the creation of Victoriana to Ian Sturrock and Andrew Peregrine, as they remained focus on the business side of things.:428 When McDowall-Thomas was busy with a consultancy contract, Gareth-Michael Skarka stepped in to edit Starblazer Adventures (2008).:428 After acquiring the Doctor Who license, Abranson and McDowall-Thomas needed investment by the end of 2008, and went to Matthew Sprange of Mongoose Publishing who introduced them to the Rebellion Group.:429 Abranson and McDowall-Thomas were then able to go full-time for the first time in March of 2009.:429 When Cubicle 7 secured the license to Lord of the Rings, McDowall-Thomas and Robert Hyde of Sophisticted Games led the project, with lead designer Francesco Nepitello.:432
In November 2011 Abranson left Cubicle 7 after the reported failure of the print partnerships he oversaw.:355 With McDowall-Thomas in sole charge of the company it went from financial crisis to turn over a million dollars within two years.:357
In 2012 the Mcdowall-penned "Words of the Wise" won the Silver ENnie award for best free product.
Under Mcdowall's CEOship, Cubicle 7 expanded beyond its original roleplaying games remit, into card games,:357 and dice games.
In December 2014, Cubicle 7 announced that it had left the Rebellion Developments group of companies, following a successful management buy out led by CEO Dominic McDowall.
In July 2016, still under Mcdowall's sole leadership, Cubicle 7 announced "Adventures in Middle-earth" an OGL setting guide for Middle-earth, bringing Tolkien's work to the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset for the first time.