New in Town: The Office of Tiffany Birdsong Takes Flight

A new player is grabbing a chair at the table. Co-founded by game industry veterans Deirdre Cross and Jessica Aceti, The Office of Tiffany Birdsong is securing its spot at game night. 

The Seattle-based tabletop gaming studio officially opened its doors in January and is preparing for its first official product launch this fall. Accompanying Cross and Aceti’s decades of experience across legacy brands like Moose Games and Funko Games are Director of Product Development Matt Christianson and former Funko President and CEO Andrew Perlmutter, who serves as a strategic advisor and investor. 

The team is dedicated to cultivating connections through play and using unexpected avenues to deliver games with style and charm, something “Tiffany Birdsong” would approve of. The company’s namesake isn’t a real person, but rather a heightened creative presence. 

According to Aceti, the two co-founders “actually used to work in this office together, and we always said, ‘Oh, Tiffany’s not here.’ It’s this third person, almost like the world’s most interesting woman who was never there, but the idea was to create the kinds of games that Tiffany Birdsong would want to play. These very kinds of epic experiences that only Tiffany Birdsong could provide. It’s really combining our world and our backgrounds into this new brand.”

The Office of Tiffany Birdsong’s mission is to create “The Perfect Hour,” where the moments spent with its games (and away from digital distractions) are fulfilling and worthwhile. To the brains behind Birdsong, the promise of “The Perfect Hour” means that players are undoubtedly entertained and feel truly tied to the people around them. 

To achieve this, the team is developing tabletop games with a spark — from the initial packaging that begs you to play to the game mechanics that keep bringing you back. The company has already launched its first brand, Hall Party Games, with three games in the pipeline. The first game launches in early September, with two additional titles following this fall. While the specific content and game mechanics are still under wraps, the titles follow Hall Party Games’ product building blocks: effortless, energetic, and aesthetic. 

“This is the parameter we give to our [Hall Party Games] design team: we are looking for games that you can pitch in five seconds, that’s kind of the scope … this is exactly the box we want to be in.  I believe that a lot of creative energy comes from tight design parameters, finding unusual solutions … I think some great surprises and really killer products can come from those parameters,” Cross says.

If a product doesn’t necessarily fit within these guidelines, it can still find a home at a future imprint, as The Office of Tiffany Birdsong is just beginning to flap its wings. Alongside its original games, Tiffany Birdsong is interested in developing IP-based products. Cross and Aceti share an intimate knowledge and refined skill in translating diverse IPs into creative games, having published multiple licensed games in their past positions. In May, The Office of Tiffany Birdsong attended Licensing Expo in Las Vegas and kept their eyes peeled for new ways to serve fans their favorite characters and scenarios. 

“We’ll make a game out of anything that inspires us. That’s one of the ways we’re looking to partner is with IP and licensors,” Cross notes. “We’re also interested in and working on some opportunities with other toy and game companies.” 

Aceti mentions, “We’ve developed hundreds and hundreds of licensed games, and it was always about integrating the story in a really beautiful way to have it be represented in a tabletop experience … If there’s any sort of brand out there that thinks that their IP makes sense in the world of tabletop,  we would, of course, be interested in that. We’re always interested in the unexpected [too]. We’ve made some really unexpected games in the past with licenses that nobody would have ever thought could be made into a tabletop game.”

In addition to the leadership team’s invaluable firsthand industry experience, The Office of Tiffany Birdsong is based in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest’s gaming hub. Noted as the birthplace of titles like Magic: The Gathering and Pictionary, Seattle provides a cozy yet chilly space for studios to test their products with passionate players. 

“We have a lot of the year where it’s ‘indoor time,’ and I think with that indoor time, tabletop games and party games, it’s the number one thing that you can do,” Aceti says. “Because of that, an amazing community has developed here of people who are making their own games, people who are testing their games; there’s like Play Test Northwest, and all these amazing organizations, and then a lot of independent companies pop up here … I think people are apt to help one another out, test each other’s games, be an available resource, and it makes it pretty special.”

The grey skies and cascading mountains have witnessed many gamers pass through. It’s a home, or a home away from home, to brands like The Pokémon Company International, Wizards of the Coast, and Ravensburger North America. Now, The Office of Tiffany Birdsong is etching its name into that rich history. 

“It’s what I believe is actually generations of game companies that have been here over the years and the stardust that comes from those companies,” Cross says. “When those companies are bought, strategically, the purchasing company may move folks elsewhere; all that is totally natural, but so many people remain [in Seattle], and their incredible creativity and competency in all areas of the business remain here in this ecosystem, and it germinates new companies.”

The large gaming community also provides a rich pool of playtesters, and The Office of Tiffany Birdsong is dedicated to thoroughly playtesting its products to discover what works, and, most importantly, what doesn’t work. The company’s Creative Laboratory welcomes players in the area who are eager to reveal if the game mechanics and design make for the next rainy-day selection. 

Looking ahead, Hall Party Games aims to collaborate with TikTok and other social media content creators and influencers to reach its Seattle-based audience, as well as those unfamiliar with the Emerald City. 

Whether it’s tied to a beloved character or introducing a new icon to game night, Cross, Aceti, and their team aim to deliver cherished moments to families and friends, so everyone can experience The Perfect Hour.

A version of this feature first appeared in The Toy Book‘s 2026 Action, Adventure, & Mystery Issue. Read the full issue here!

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