Cliff Johnson (born 1953) is an American game designer, best known for the puzzle video games The Fool's Errand (1987) and 3 in Three (1990). Both games use visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure. Both won GAMES Magazines Best Puzzle Game of the Year.
Biography
Johnson was born August 14, 1953, in Hanover, New Hampshire, the only child of Norman and Leatrice Johnson. He attended Bristol Eastern High School in Connecticut, where he started making Super 8 movies. In 1972, he had jobs "building monsters" for five different amusement parks. He later attended University of Southern California's film school, where he became a teaching assistant in animation and created some of the Monty Pythonesque animations for Nickelodeon's television series Out of Control.)
From 1990 to 1995, he directed the *FunHouse* production group for Philips Media, and from 1996 to 2001, he consulted with Mattel, Warner Bros. and Disney for online puzzles and treasure hunts.
Authored games
- The Fool's Errand (1987) — GAMES Magazines Best Puzzle Game of the Year (Macintosh & Dos)
- At the Carnival (1989) — Macworld Game Hall of Fame inductee, Brain Teaser category (Macintosh & DOS)
- Disney's Cartoon Arcade (1990) - View-Master Interactive Vision/Walt Disney Home Video(VHS)
- 3 in Three (1990) — MacUser<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Best Game of the Year; GAMES Magazines Best Puzzle Game of the Year (Macintosh)
- Hanna Barbera's Cartoon Carnival (1993) (CD-I)
- Merlin's Apprentice (1994) (CD-I)
- Labyrinth of Crete (1995) (CD-I)
- The Fool and His Money (2012)