What We're Grateful For This Year

Turkey With Stuffing

It's Thanksgiving here in the United States, which is a time when most of us are enjoying food, family, friendship, football, and – um – fun games.

Before we at Steve Jackson Games went our separate ways for the weekend, I invited the Secret Masters to share anything they were grateful for . . . in a maneuver that was definitely not a clever-but-touching way to fill a Daily Illuminator slot while I'm also scrambling to prepare for the holiday. Here are the transmissions I received:

• • •

I'm grateful for every day, and for the gamers that let me keep doing what I love.
     -- Steve Jackson

Besides the usual "family/loved ones/health" – which I am eternally grateful for – I also have so much gratitude for just getting to geek out about games all the time. If I could tell my 12-year-old self what I do on a daily basis – and get paid for it – some rough childhood years would have been a lot easier.
     -- Steven Marsh

N na kkfaywxq sci wmr qlunbij, wmr qcharf, rqi gvv nnar.
     -- Nicole

I am thankful for my big, beautiful, peaceful, and free country – Canada – where all of my problems are truly "First World problems" at worst.
     -- Sean Punch

I'm thankful to work for the company who makes my favorite game and to have colleagues who make every day fun. I feel lucky to have a career in the industry of one of my greatest passions – gaming! I'm also thankful for my loving and supportive husband, and my parents, who I'm fortunate to live just a few miles from.
     -- Michelle Richardson

I'm thankful for a lot of [redacted], but I'm most thankful for [redacted] and [redacted]. Both of these [redacted] are very close to my [redacted] and keep me [redacted].
     -- Darryll S.

I'm thankful for the golden age of tabletop gaming that we are still experiencing. From big name products produced by the largest companies in the industry to indie products that only release as PDFs, it is easy to find something that you can have endless fun with.
     -- Will Schoonover

I am thankful for the opportunity to work on amazing products, and for my wonderful work colleagues and my supportive family.
     -- Nikki Vrtis

I'm thankful to have a job that I like, and to work with people I like. I'm also thankful for my friends, my family, and for all the weird and wonderful people who dance in and out of my life. They make things interesting and help me see things from different points of view.
     -- Bridget Westerman

• • •

We're thankful to everyone reading for making all this possible; we couldn't keep doing this without amazing fans like you. If anyone wants to express their own Thanksgiving thoughts on the forums or by dropping me a line privately, we'd love to hear it. For all celebrating, we wish you and yours all the best. Also, if anyone's seen my can opener, please let me know; I need to prepare my famous homemade cranberry sauce.

-- Steven Marsh