Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington.
Cheapass Games was originally founded on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, and other common board game accessories, so there was no need to bundle all of these components with every game that requires them. Cheapass games thus came packaged in white envelopes, small boxes, or plastic resealable bags containing only those components unique to the game - typically a rules sheet, a playing board printed on card stock, and game cards banded by magazine-cutout "sleeves".[1] This allowed the company to produce games for prices well below the market average. Cheapass later offered some higher-quality, full color games under the "James Ernest Games" brand, but their minimalist black-and-white components offered for print-and-play have remained their signature style.
From 2019 to 2025 the Cheapass Games catalogue of games was licensed to Greater Than Games, but in 2025 reverted to James Ernest's company Crab Fragment Labs.
History
Ernest originally developed the idea for selling basic games without all the common components while freelancing at Wizards of the Coast during the 1990s. However, Wizards rejected the idea, and in 1995, Ernest quit and started up the company.