Alan Joseph Waller

Alan Joseph Waller is the president of Illinois-based  Out of the Box Publishing, which creates board and card games.  Since 1998 Out of the Box Publishing has become a leading American game company. They are the proud recipients of the most prestigious awards in the game world. [a]  Games created by the company are available at over 4000 game, specialty toy, educational, and book stores nationwide (U.S.A.).  The company is affiliated with the American Specialty Toy Retailer Association, the Game Manufacturers Association, The National School Supply and Equipment Association, the Toy Industry Association, and the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design.

Waller is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes erroneously called the Mormon Church), a husband, and a father of five.  Waller’s dedication to family shows in the business he runs.

“All our games are designed to be learned in less than five minutes and to be played in 10-30 minutes,” Waller said. “Families of today do not have the time to invest in lengthy games that take hours to learn and days to play.” [1]

Waller is a convert to the Mormon or LDS Church, having been raised by faithful Catholic parents.  He attended Catholic schools and served as an altar boy.

“When I was 11-years-old, I asked our religion teacher, ‘What happens to us after we die?’ He was not able to give me an answer and said that nobody knows,” Waller said. “By age 16, I started questioning my faith. I continued asking questions to the priests, and they did not have the answers.” [1]

Waller was raised in Wisconsin.  At age 20, he took a road trip to Colorado to look for work.  On the way, he stopped to pray, which he had not done for many years.  To his surprise, he received an answer.  It was to go back to Wisconsin, and everything would work out.  Back in Wisconsin, Waller took a health class and ordered a product from the teacher.  He wanted to make the transaction on a Sunday, but the teacher declined, saying she did not do business on the Sabbath.  The health teacher turned out to be Mormon, and Waller began meeting with Mormon missionaries.

After investigating the Church for 6 weeks, Waller was baptized in 1981.  He served a mission for the LDS Church in Manchester, England, beginning just a little more than a year after his baptism.  Waller’s Mormon beliefs affect his business practices for the good.