Hi All,

My name is Paul Ross and, for those of you who don't spend a lot of time hanging out in the rules forum (although I can't understand why you wouldn't - it's a non-stop party :)), I am Moorf, the "rules guy" for the WoW TCG.

What does that mean?

* Early in a set's design, the lead designer gives me a heads-up about anything crazy they'd like to try. It may surprise some of you to learn that my job is actually to say "yes, let's figure out how to make the rules work with that" rather than "no, the rules can't handle that" as much as possible (say hi to Lady Katrana Prestor!)

* Late in a set's development, my awesome rules team (Edwin "slowmail" Teh and Dave "doesnotpostontheforums" DeLaney) and I compile the FAQ and update the comprehensive rules with all the New Hotness.

* In between, I spend as much time as I can building decks and playtesting with the developers. This is both fun (because it's cool playing with some of the best in the world) and beneficial (because I get to hear all the questions that come up, which results in better card templates and FAQ entries).

How did I get here?

Our journey begins in a faraway land called Sydney, Australia, where I was a TCG fan from way back.

Vs. System came to town and my friends were hooked. Not too long after, our first $10K tournament was announced in September 2004, and Australian players were so excited that... nobody wanted to judge :) So I called Chris Zantides to volunteer, and met Alex Charsky when he flew over to head judge.

Chris and Alex liked the cut of my jib (so to speak) and invited me to the next Pro Circuit in California, and then the next one after that in Amsterdam, and then... I just held on for the ride with a big smile on my face. Along the way, I offered to help out with the evolving rules of the game, and started compiling FAQs starting with the Green Lantern expansion.

Over the following months, rules and judging became increasingly important parts of my life. It was voluntary work, but it was exciting to be involved behind-the-scenes with such a major game, working with some of the smartest and most talented people I had ever met.

It was also, unbeknownst to me, raising my profile within the company, which led to a call from Danny Mandel one fateful day to ask for help writing the rules for a little project he was kicking around called the World of Warcraft TCG.

The final piece of the puzzle is something that Mike Hummel mentioned in his recent blog. Each time I volunteered at a tournament, I tried to arrange a little face time with any senior Upper Deck staff in the house. (Funnily enough, it was none other than Mike Hummel himself who proved to be the most cunning quarry I stalked, but I wore him down in the end :))

At first, these meetings were short - just a few minutes to introduce myself and put a face to the name. But over time, these short meetings evolved into longer discussions that ultimately led to my current position. When Jeff Donais told me that playing the World of Warcraft MMO was a non-negotiable prerequisite for my employment, I knew I had found the right company :)

For you TLDR types, here's the executive summary:

* Most people I know in the gaming industry started out by spending a ton of time doing what they do for little or no payment (because it was, ya know, fun!)

* The good news is that there are infinite ways to demonstrate that you've been doing this sort of thing, whether it's articles you've written, forum posts you've made, cards you've designed, tournaments you've organized, or results you've posted. The bad news is that if you're not motivated to do any of the above, you're going to be waiting in line behind those who are.

* Don't be shy about letting prospective employers know what you're capable of, but do be respectful of their time.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to say hi the next time you see me at a tournament :)

PR