In 2016, popular international card game Magic: The Gathering debuted the game’s first Black woman Planeswalker, Kaya, Ghost Assassin.
Kaya was the creation of former Magic developer Kelly Digges who hired Monique at the end of 2014 to consult on the development of Kaya. Monique’s hiring was crucial since there were no Black women on staff at Wizards of the Coast at the time.
For the full year of 2015, Monique worked closely with Kelly to bring authenticity and power to Kaya in order to meaningfully resonate with Black players, especially Black female players.
Black female players wrote into Monique on social media, explaining how meaningful Kaya immediately became to them. They also told her how Kaya properly represented Black women and Black culture.
Monique Jones 