Game wizard made work magic, playful

Over 58 years, Scottish American genius Richard Tait proved that seeing the world through a child‚s eyes could build a business based on Cranium, fun and computers. “Richard was just like a little kid,” said longtime friend Whit Alexander, partner in his major business venture—“wildly popular” game Cranium that sold 44 million copies in about a decade. Toy giant Hasbro paid $77.5 million in 2008 (worth $105.3 million now) to buy the company.

Cranium lets players shine during group matches. Game segments challenge different brain parts. The game melds elements of Scrabble, Pictionary, charades, Trivial Pursuit and other classics.

Tait‚s _irst experience as an entrepreneur came young, running a Scottish newspaper route. Realizing readers were at breakfast as papers arrived, he offered bacon sandwiches with his papers. That hat trick “managed to drive the margins up in my business hugely,” he told the Scotsman newspaper.

GeekWire wrote, “A passionate and visionary entrepreneur with a reputation for being tough, Tait had a generous spirit, effusive personality, and rare ability to connect with people.”

His Cranium title was grand poohbah. Gumball machines and wind-up toys _illed his of_ice. Partner Alexander was chief noodler. The building sported bright, playful colors, décor and a giant gong employees used to promote a celebration, wrote the Wall Street Journal‚s James R. Hagerty.

He was born Jan. 17, 1964, in Scotland. America called when he _inished computer science studies at the University of Edinburgh. After earning his MBA at Dartmouth, he started a decade-long career at Microsoft in Seattle, where he hired its future CEO and chairman.

He and Alexander became friends