About Montrose Biology

Matt Montrose grew up in and around creeks, with pockets full of newts and beetles. His grandparents raised birds and his sister sold hamsters to the local pet store. The core of his personality was formed in gardens, tidepools, meadows, and mud puddles. As an adult, he wanted to share his love of the natural world and inspire the next generation to investigate all the life that surrounds us. He became a biology teacher and moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he engages students in the classroom with homemade games based on the science they are learning in class. While his games are designed with students in mind, they are also heavily influenced by the variety of strategy board games he grew up playing. They are rooted in real science, but strategic enough to find a home in any game night rotation. His design process includes sourcing, colorizing, manipulating, and altering vintage art in the public domain until a sort of digital collage is created and printed on cards. Text and borders may come from a 1700s map, while organism art might be a combination of two lithograph prints from the 1800s. The result is a beautiful game that is equal parts strategic and instructive.Read their story