Who are these nutty word game aficionados?
The Word Play Cafe core team consists of 8 Burners who love crosswords, coffee and other word games.
Read the story of the project.
Seneca
"EKE"
Burner since 2001. Brought a Whale mutant vehicle to Floating World in 2002, became a DMV volunteer and then council member for many years. Lives in San Francisco with 3 other humans, 3 cats, and lots of games. They/them.
Emily
"EMU"
Emily found the playa in 2011 and worked on teams to bring Biotronesis, Devoted, and Shots Fired to the playa.
Elana
"Mhysa"
Burning since 2017. Mhysa looks forward to playing games with you and your littles. Life-long East Bay gal; now lives in El Cerrito with her 9 and 11 year olds who are the best teachers she has ever had!
David
"IOTA"
David loves word games, building things, and providing others opportunities for joy. A relative newcomer to the playa, but a vicarious denizen of BRC for over a decade. He lives in Atlanta with his pet fish, who opted to stay home this year.
Jörg
"TSK"
TSK first found his way to Black Rock City in 2018. Originally from a car-making country Jörg found his (Mercedes) star volunteering for the DMV. Enjoys Wortspiele en plusieurs языках. Infamous for on-playa negronis.
Hilary
"PSST"
PSST’s favorite games are Boggle and Bananagrams. Loves mushrooms and art. Lives in Palo Alto with 3 kids, 3 cats & 2 dogs. Burner since 1998. Brought a Santa Sleigh mutant vehicle in 2003. She/Her.
Steve
"Steeeevee"
Steve’s first burn was 2023. He likes games, puzzles, and escape rooms. He created the puzzle Animal Planet for Burning Man 2023 and the game BlockWords for 2024, and the Alternate Reality Game, “The Solano Human Project”
Sue
"Derby"
Sue fell in love with the playa on her first burn in 2013 and never looked back. Rollerskating and horseback riding are favorites in terms of activities. Scrabble and Codenames are her top games. San Anselmo (Marin County) is where Sue calls home.
Larry
"Autocorrect"
Larry’s both participated in Burning Man and competed in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for more than a decade. He’s finished in the top 20% of the latter more than once, and is probably in the top 20% of burners for height, or age, or something.
Special Friends of Word Play Cafe
Word Play Cafe could not be possible without the support of these folks
Elbe Spurling: graphic design for our amazing stickers and logo.
Howard Cohen: expertise in dome construction, safety, tools and process.
Eileen Fitz-Faulkner: our beautiful glowing W O R D letters, and high-flying-ladder-work for dome construction.
Qat and Erik: for providing the base for our new “Fun Across” mutant vehicle