David Thompson was born in Savannah, Georgia. He grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying games, but turned his attention to Eurogames and Wargames in the 2000s. He began designing games in 2014, after moving to England and meeting the Cambridge-based chapter of Playtest UK.

His first published design was Armageddon, followed by Orc-lympics, Pavlov's House, Warchest, Castle Itter, and Switch & Signal. He now lives in Dayton, Ohio with his wife, two daughters, and son.