BoardGameWire

@boardgamewire

The world’s leading source of industry news and analysis for board game professionals. Got a story? An anonymous tip? DM or email Mike Didymus-True on mike@boardgamewire.com

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BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· 26d

Valor Mountain Games says it is challenging hobby game publishing’s “safe bet” mentality - with owner Christopher High wagering his company can succeed by taking chances on the kinds of titles other publishers are passing over: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Head and shoulders image of a bearded man looking at the camera. He wears a blue baseball cap and clear rimmed glasses, and a purple polo shirt. Christopher High, owner of board game publisher Valor Mountain Games.

Four strange illustrated characters on a path in a green, leafy environment, with a couple of geese in front of them. They are on the cover of a board game box which reads Pilgrims Curious Adventures, on a brown wooden table.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· 26d

The latest BoardGameWire newsletter is out, chock with all the board game industry news you need to know about. For free, no less! buttondown.com/boardgamewir...

Three people on a stage behind large board game boxes for Rebirth, Dito! and Mooki Island. The one on the left is wearing scottish tartans, centre a white t shirt and open grey shirt, and right a white shirt. WInners of this years Spiel des Jahres awards - Reiner Knizia for Rebirth, Martin Ang for Dito! (JinxO) and Florian Sirieix for Mooki Island.

Components from the board game Dune Imperium Uprising, including the main board, a player card for Lady Amber Metulli, Rivals card for Paul 'Maud'Dib' Atreides, and a rulebook showing the Solo and Two-Player Games section.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· 28d

How competitive TCG accessories are influencing hobby retail strategy in Europe: Sanseking boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... This is a sponsored article, which are hugely important in helping keep BoardGameWire running and me reporting on the hobby, so please do have a read and help support BGW!

A colourful selection of TCG binders, storage boxes and other accessories from manufacturer Sanseking.

A man with short dark wavy hair and thin-rimmed glasses rests his elbows on a table with a laptop on as he looks at the camera. He wears a black t shirt. Sanseking production manager Ding Guang.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· 28d

All online reality is currently contained between instances of the Seven-Part Pact It does look and sound absolutely stellar: www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjg...

A Bluesky post of a BoardGameWire article, surrounded top and bottom by posts about RPG The Seven-Part Pact.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· 29d

The free online academic conference Generation Analog 2026 is putting board game sustainability, environmental theming and more under the microscope on July 15 and 16: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... Very cool project from @analoggamestudies.bsky.social and Asmodee co-founded Game in Lab

To the left, the words GENERATION ANALOG 2026 and "GREEN", to the right an illustration of a cute blue square and yellow hex in a room with green-themed paintings on the walls, and an archway leading to a green countryside vista. The logos of Game in Lab and Analog Game Studies are visible in the lower left, while the lower right says July 15-16, 2026, online.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 13

Word association party game JinxO has won this year’s hugely influential Spiel des Jahres award, on a night which also saw legendary game designer Reiner Knizia make history with his Kennerspiel award win for Rebirth: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Close up over the shoulder of a board gamer holding a board with nine boxes on with words written inside in black. They hold an erasable marker. JinxO (Dito!) board game.

A man wearing a tartan hat, kilt and sash, holding a giant wooden pawn. Board game designer Reiner Knizia with his Kennerspiel des Jahres trophy.

A man smiles as he holds aloft a large wooden pawn. Martin Ang with his Spiel des Jahres trophy.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 10

Devir has bolstered its ongoing North American expansion by bringing in The Op's director of hobby games Pat Marino as its first director of sales and marketing for the region: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... @deviriberia.bsky.social

Head and shoulder photo of a man with dark hair and a short dark beard smiling at the camera. He wears black round rimmed glasses, a white shirt, red tie and thick dark grey cardigan. Pat Marino, former director of hobby games at The Op, who has just joined Devir as North America sales and marketing director.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 8

The latest BoardGameWire newsletter is out, crammed full of all the board game industry news you need to know about. If you -❤️love❤️- BGW and want to help me keep reporting, subscribing for $1 a month (or more) is one of the best things you can do to help the site! buttondown.com/boardgamewir...

An image showing a white cup, left, full of different coloured pens and a yellow pencil. To the right is a miniature board game shelf filled with miniature board game boxes, with titles including Dune: Imperium, Wonderlands War, Potion Explosion and Gloomhaven. Shelfy, from Brotherwise Games.

Laser cut board game components, red and grey, in the shape of spaceships, sitting on a playmat covered in stars and galaxies. A hand is visible preparing to flick a red die from one of the circular components. FlickFleet board game from Eurydice Games.

Eleven circles of different colours, with combinations of dots and lines in their centre describing their colours. ColorSym.

A board game on a wooden table surrounded by cardboard player board and including many wooden pieces and cardboard tokens. The board resembles countryside, and the arms of several players can be seen pointing at parts of the board. Kingdom Come: Deliverance board game from Czech Games Edition.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 8

Brotherwise Games is betting that hobby board game brands can travel beyond the tabletop by launching Shelfy, a collectibles line of miniature board game boxes featuring titles from 20 publishers: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... @brotherwisegames.bsky.social

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 8

Indie publisher Eurydice Games hits almost £400,000 in revenue while hand-making every copy of its game FlickFleet in a garage: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A smiling man wearing a red t shirt and black trousers stands over a black table. On the table is a playmat covered in stars and galaxies, and on top of that are several green and purple components from the board game FlickFleet. Jackson Pope, director of UK-based board game publisher Eurydice Games.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 7

A pair of tabletop game designers have launched an open-source colour identification system called ColorSym, giving publishers a free tool for colourblind-friendly board game creation: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 3

The parent company behind European tabletop retail major Wayland Games has expanded again with the acquisition of US-based miniatures storage maker Battle Foam: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Three boxes with carrying handles, one balanced atop the other two. The bottom pair are decorated in camo and beige respectively, while the top one is grey - all three are decorated to resemble carrying bags, with pretend pockets on the outside. In front of the boxes are examples of the special foam interiors, which have gaps for placing miniatures for tabletop wargaming to prevent them from being damaged in transit. Products from Battle Foam.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 2

“We have a great story to tell, we just have to get better at telling it”: GAMA hires Kevin Ronnebaum as sixth communications head in as many years boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A man with short brown hair swept to one side smiles at the camera, behind him slightly blurred are several shelves of books. Kevin Ronnebaum, the new head of communications and marketing at board game and tabletop gaming industry association GAMA.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 1

GAMA’s long-running tabletop gaming convention Origins has seen its annual attendance fall for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, even as revenue, exhibitor space and the volume of scheduled events continued to expand: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Aerial view of a large hall full of exhibitor booths showing off board games and related products. The hall at the 2026 Origins Game Fair.

Players sit down at a white table for a game of the Button Kingdoms board game at the 2026 Origins Game Fair.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jul 1

Take Time follows Swiss Gamers Award win by securing Austrian game of the year prize, Hot Streak and Morty Sorty Magic Shop also among category winners: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A blue, green and gold board game box with Take Time written on sits in the centre of a grey-coloured wooden table. Surrounding it in a horizontal and vertical grid are golden cards with dreamlike designs in a circle in the centre of each. Board game Take Time, the winner of this year's Austrian game of the year award.

A hand reaches down to move one of four plahing pieces on a green board shaped like a running track. The four pieces represent people in mascot suits - a hot dog, a queen, a bear and a fish. Jon Perry's board game design Hot Streak.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 30

Plaid Hat Games cancels successfully-funded Kickstarter The Monolith after pledges ‘stagnated’ on day two, plans changes for post-Gen Con relaunch: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A bare arm with a rolled up tartan shirt sleeve held with hand slightly open above a large black plastic tower. Surrounding the tower are many smaller plastic miniatures. The whole scene is lit red and orange as if glowing in the light of a volcanic eruption. The Monoloth Kickstarter image from Plaid Hat Games

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 26

Spirit Island set for new publisher as designer declines Flat River Group renewal, plans complete art overhaul: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Board game box cover showing the giant heads of multiple 'spirits', representing elemental powers, looming above a tropical island. Three boats with red sails are visible sailing towards the island. Above all this is the title Spirit Island, with smaller text underneath which reads 'A game by R Eric Reuss'. Box cover for the Spirit Island board game.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 24

Exclusive: Board game crowdfunding major Awaken Realms has made its first acquisition of another publisher, acquiring Darwin’s Journey maker Thundergryph Games: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 23

“The future isn’t just about selling products”: award-winning board game retailer Matthew Mičetić on why building a community is the key to game store success: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Head and upper body photograph of a man with short spiky black hair and a short black beard with streaks of grey in. He wears a red t shirt and a lighter red apron, which features a rook-style playing piece built from two dice. Underneath the words Red Castle Games are visible. Behind him are shelves of board games. Red Castle Games owner Matthew Mičetić.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 23

Asmodee's party and social games push continues, with its dedicated studio Moodbox Games unveiling its first four releases - Guess the Mess, Link Out Loud, Photo Dump and Who Says? Friends: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Coloured cards and a box from the Asmodee party game Photo Dump, arranged on a purple background.

Top down photograph of cardboard components from Asmodee party game Link Out Loud, arranged on a yellow background.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 22

New Cephalofair CEO Price Johnson, anti-ICE board game retailer Mischief Toy Store and Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle's Molly House are among nominees for this year Diana Jones Award, tabletop gaming’s most eclectic prize: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

a pink and black background showing multiple people in early 18th century attire, with elaborate light pink writing in the centre which reads Molly House. Box cover for the board game Molly House.

A miniatures game figure, of a woman wearing a mask/helmet with two horn like spies, a green dress and flowing cloak. On her upraised right hand she balances an enormous bomb with a runic-style symbol on. Artillery Witch figure from the Trench Crusade miniatures game.

A pyramid-shaped award on a black base, on which can be read the words The Diana Jones Award. The pyramid is brightly lit by a blue light and is glowing almost white, while the background of the image is a deeper blue shade. The trophy for the Diana Jones Award for tabletop gaming excellence.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 13

I -definitely- made this one a few times - it really was powerful!

Image and instructions for making a paddle steamer out of a matchbox

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 9

Thanks so much for all your best wishes everyone, I am incredibly touched by everyone’s kindness ❤️ Surgery was a success! Currently devouring an NHS feast, including three packs of extra biscuits as I’m so charming 😂

A sándwich, coffee and packets of biscuits on a table in a hospital ward

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 4

Elden Ring, Monster Hunter World board gamer maker Steamforged Games confirms redundancies, crowdfunding cutback amid refocus on booming Warmachine line Read this and all the other important industry news in the free BoardGameWire newsletter, out now! buttondown.com/boardgamewir...

Two sets of painted miniatures face off on a rocky landscape - the ones to the left red, the ones on the right blue. The word Warmachine is visible above in yellow. Miniatures from the Warmachine wargaming line from Steamforged Games.

Grey and brown plastic miniatures on a black and yellow board, with multiple black boxes behind which all say Elden Ring on in yellow. Game components from the Elden Ring: Rot & Sorcery board game - Gamefound image.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 4

The Diana Jones Award committee has picked a trio of TTRPG creators as the latest winners of its emerging designer program, who will each receive a $6,500 prize package that includes an all-expenses trip to Gen Con: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Head and shoulders photo of a person with long brown curly hair looking at the camera, wearing an open-necked denim shirt. RPG designer J Strautman.

A head and shoulders photo of a person with short, wavy dark hair swept across the head from one side to the other, wearing brown and black-rimmed glasses and throwing a peace sign with their fingers. TTRPG designer Kodi Gonzaga.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 4

Frosted Games, the German publisher of titles including Too Many Bones and Endeavor: Deep Sea, has brought in industry veteran Michael Kränzle to lead its marketing operations - and hired a board game podcaster as its sales head: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20... @frostedgames.bsky.social

Head and shoulders photo of a man with short white hair and steel-rimmed glasses, smiling slightly. He wears a green polo shirt buttoned up to the top button. Ex-Pegasus Spiele and HeidelBÄR Games marketing exec Michael Kränzle, who has just joined Frosted Games.

Head and shoulders photo of a man with short brown hair swept to one side, and stubble in the shape of a goatee. He wears a very light blue shirt - almost white - and a black suit jacket. Dennis Oettershagen, the new sales manager at Frosted Games, and a host of the Board Game Theory podcast.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 3

Million-play analysis inspires streamlined The Isle of Cats successor The Isle of Penguins, as original game's sales pass 250,000: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A white board game box with the words The Isle of Penguins in stone colour. Several penguins coloured red, green, blue, yellow and multicolours are visible, while an arctic scene is in the background.

Board from the board game Isle of Cats, with polyomino tiles with multicoloured cats on them placed on a board resembling a wooden ship. Blue, beige and green cards are visible too.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 3

Board, the startup making a $400 board game console, leans into AI-powered designs after raising another $20m: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

A hand holding a small wooden piece shaped like chopsticks over a large touchscreen game console, which has a digital representation of a game board on covered in various sushi-style foods. Board game console Board.

A hand placing a small white plastic piece onto a large touchscreen game console, which has a digital representation of a game board on covered in black and white and other coloured squares. Board game console Board.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 2

Board game giant Asmodee’s strategic push into crowdfunding has passed its first major test, with its debut campaign in the Zombicide universe raising more than $4.1m on Gamefound: boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Left of image shows a board game box with an illustration of several pirates battling orc-like and zombie-like creatures, while the right shows a trio of plastic pirate miniatures in brown and grey. Above both are the words Fantasy Zombicide, with Dead Men Tales in smaller writing underneath. Gamefound crowdfunding image for Asmodee / Fantasy Flight Games release.

BoardGameWire@boardgamewire· Jun 1

Indisputable proof that board game journalism is a mug's game