R. Eric Reuss is a game designer and dad, two vocations that benefit from lots of creativity and a willingness to try something again even though it didn't quite go as planned the last time. Spirit Island is his most successful game by far, which delights him no end, and has resulted in him learning much more about colonialism and Indigenous cultures than he ever imagined when starting the project. He's been involved in the board game industry since 2009, and has created and played games of many sorts for nearly all his life.

Eric has the superpowers "tall enough to reach that thing" and "no longer allergic to cats" – the latter of which was acquired through a series of scientific injections – and more hobbies than he can easily recall, especially since a fair number have gone on hiatus to make room for parenting and Spirit Island work.