Growing up, Tanya Thompson’s family had just a handful of board games—what she describes as “probably a normal amount.” Today, her home is filled with over 1,200 games, which feels fitting for Hasbro Games Head of Inventor Relations. Tanya travels the world looking for Hasbro’s next big board game.

You may be familiar with some of their classics, like Monopoly, Candyland, Jenga, Twister, Bop It, and many more. But that’s not how her journey started. 

“I didn’t even know this job existed,” Tanya shares. A teacher with a passion for math, Tanya spent years making the subject fun for her students at Collingwood Collegiate Institute. One of her earliest inspirations? A game-like calculator called Little Professor that made math exciting when she was a child. Her mission? To bring that same sense of fun to her students.

"I’m always about stepping outside of your comfort zone. That’s where the magic happens."

“I used to blow things up. I’d light things on fire—with a purpose!” Tanya laughs, recalling her unconventional ways of keeping students engaged.

Tanya’s passion went beyond the classroom, where she engaged with math professors across Canada, learning new techniques and exploring how to make a typically dry subject come alive.

She learned about a math fair and made it her own by introducing a carnival theme. It was a hit. Parents and kids raved about it, and the Alberta professors who created the initial concept invited her to a conference. They saw her spark and were willing to pay for her expenses once she arrived so that she could continue to be inspired. 

The one thing they couldn’t cover was the flight. With young kids and expensive flights, Tanya almost didn’t go—until a mentor stepped in and paid for it without hesitation. “You need to go meet people like you—people passionate about math,” they told her. That trip became a pivotal moment in her journey.

Tanya’s success with the math fair didn’t go unnoticed, and the math fair leaders asked her to host a conference in Ontario to teach teachers about it. Here, she met the CEO of ThinkFun, a company whose games she had used in her classroom to make learning fun. It wasn’t long before she was offered a role at ThinkFun—an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone.

“I’m always about stepping outside of your comfort zone. That’s where the magic happens. And I could always go back to teaching,” she recalls. But she never did go back. Instead, she dove headfirst into a new world where her love for games would shape her future.

At ThinkFun, Tanya found herself at the intersection of education and play at first but then was her role evolved into something she hadn’t anticipated—scouting for new game ideas and meeting inventors who were shaping the industry's future. “I didn’t know that Inventor Relations was a thing,” she says, but soon found herself thriving in a job she hadn’t even known existed.  She helped bring Gravity Maze to life, a game that would go on to win prestigious industry awards. “I’m so proud of that game. The company had been around for 30 years, and it was their first award of this kind,” she shares.

While at a toy fair, Tanya met someone with the same role—at Hasbro. That connection eventually led her to the global toy giant, where she now helps bring new games to market, including recent hits like Twister Air, a modern take on the classic game inspired by TikTok dance challenges.

Once again, Tanya had to step outside her comfort zone when offered the role. She moved from the small town she had called home her entire life to Rhode Island for three years, where Hasbro’s head office is located. But when the pandemic hit, everything changed. With remote work becoming the norm, Hasbro allowed Tanya to work from Collingwood full-time. She has lived there ever since, managing her global role from her hometown.

“Find something you love and work hard at it"

If you ask Tanya how to get her gig, there’s no specific university degree that’s going to get you there. 

“You just have to love travelling and love people.” Tanya’s hard work, passion, and connections transformed her path from a small-town math teacher into an innovative leader in the global gaming industry.

While Tanya’s career may seem like all fun and games, she is quick to point out the challenges that come with it. “70% of the time, I’m saying no,” she explains, referring to the difficult task of rejecting game ideas. “Sometimes it’s not that the game isn’t fun—it’s just not what Hasbro is looking for at the moment.”

Despite these challenges, Tanya’s ability to spot great ideas has earned her numerous accolades, including the Toy Industry’s Top 100 most influential figures for the last six years running, the Inventor Relations Executive of the Year, the Wonder Woman Award, and even the I.D.I.O.T. Award which stands for International Designer and Inventor of Toys, given to only one luminary each year who has made outstanding contributions to the toy industry.

Tanya’s career has taken her worldwide—from Korea to Germany and beyond. When she’s not travelling, she enjoys spending time with her family, skiing, swimming, and, of course, playing games. “My kids grew up as my number one game testers,” she says, laughing about the endless board games that filled their home.

“I’m hoping that when I retire, people will remember me for being someone who was fair, kind, and passionate—someone who helped the industry,” she reflects.

Last year, Tanya launched the Women Innovators of Play event, a groundbreaking initiative with the full support of Hasbro. After noticing the gender imbalance in the inventor community—where men significantly outnumber women—Tanya knew she had to do something to help women in the industry thrive. She pitched the idea to Hasbro’s executives and received not only approval but also the budget and resources needed to bring the event to life. The event focused on educating women in the toy and game industry, featuring talks on topics like imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and how to make a successful pitch. Over 1,000 participants attended the event where women could submit ideas and awarded three winners $10,000, a mentorship session with a Hasbro executive, and a trip to experience a day at Hasbro. “Every underrepresented group needs time, money, and opportunity,” Tanya explained, and this initiative was her way of helping women innovators gain all three.  

Her career has been anything but traditional, but Tanya wouldn’t have it any other way. “Find something you love and work hard at it,” she advises. “If you’re going to put in the effort, it might as well be something that brings you joy.”

For Tanya, success isn’t just about winning awards or launching hit games. It’s about the happiness that games bring to families around the world. “If one of the games I license at Hasbro becomes a modern classic, that would be amazing. It would mean I’ve brought joy to families for a very long time.”