The award aims to celebrates "everything that’s the best about gaming", with previous winners across the award’s 26-year run having included Blood Rage designer Eric Lang, Nigerian games industry publisher and evangelist NIBCARD, and the entire ‘actual play’ movement of people livestreaming and podcasting roleplaying games.
Hello readers! Mike Didymus-True here, the editor of BoardGameWire. I wanted to post a quick message to apologise for an upcoming week or two-long quiet patch for the site - I'm being unexpectedly admitted for surgery tomorrow, and will likely be out of action for at least 7 to 14 days while I recover.
The company has been one of tabletop crowdfunding's biggest success stories over the past decade, raising tens of millions of pounds across campaigns based on major video game licences such as Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, Horizon Zero Dawn and Elden Ring.
The emerging designer program, now in its sixth year, seeks to amplify the voices of up-and-coming tabletop creators, with a particular focus on designers from marginalized communities.
The company has become a significant publisher of German language board games, including last year's Kennerspiel des Jahres winner Endeavor: Deep Sea and big name titles such as Andromeda's Edge and The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era.
Isle of Penguins creator Frank West told BoardGameWire he used data from over a million plays to create a game that plays 20% to 30% faster than The Isle of Cats standard mode, while also giving players more to do.
Board said it would unveil an AI platform later this year which will allow users to build their own games using natural language prompts, saying taking a game from idea to playable prototype can be done in less than an hour.
Asmodee's acquisition of Zombicide from financially troubled CMON last June set the stage for the company's drive into crowdfunding - an area it had previously barely touched through any of its myriad studios.
The surging visitor numbers - up 64% in just three years - mean UK Games Expo is now pushing steadily towards the 70,000-plus visitors recorded by giant US tabletop convention Gen Con each year since 2023, and is more than two and a half times larger than last year's Origins Game Fair.
Despite Asmodee's long-time image as a board game publishing heavyweight, more than 72% of its revenue now comes via its distribution of other companies' games.
The debut design from Iranian video game veteran Yasaman Farazan was praised by judges for its "genius" action selection system, which makes use of a physical 'astrolabe', calling it "thematic, toyetic, and an absolute joy to engage with".
Speaking to BoardGameWire in her first long-form interview since being elected GAMA president last month, Meredith Placko said putting proactive structures in place to prevent GAMA "stepping in the mud all the time" was one of her priorities.
Chad Krizan told Possess Me, Satan publisher Falling Whale Games that he couldn't "in good conscience" approve ads for its Gamefound campaign as "the thought of displaying this subject matter makes me sick to my stomach".
Spiel des Jahres Association chairman Harald Schrapers said the jury looked at a record 571 games for this year's awards, underscoring the sheer mass of games being released through retail.
Endeavor: Deep Sea co-publisher Grand Gamers Guild, Ascension publisher Stone Blade Entertainment, and Play to Z, the board game publisher created by Z-Man Games founder Zev Schlasinger, have all been selected by Asmodee to produce new Lord of the Rings titles.
Osprey said it would not commission any new board and card games, but would continue to release, sell and license upcoming titles while parent company Bloomsbury Publishing hunts for a new owner for its board games.
The Root publisher is rebuilding after a staff exodus earlier this year that included star designer Cole Wehrle and style-defining artist Kyle Ferrin, who left to form Buried Giant Studios.
Bender and Badell, who launched the business in 2011 alongside Adam Rebottaro, have reacquired the brand and the rights for the Sentinels of the Multiverse titles alongside their other original IP such as the Sentinel Comics RPG.
Fate of the Fellowship's flurry of wins and runner-up nods continues a powerful run in the Golden Geeks for games based on JRR Tolkien's seminal novels, with Bryan Bornmueller's The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game and Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala's Duel for Middle-earth both having secured wins in last year's contest.
Law wrote more than 300 pieces across those sites following his debut article in 2013, helping bring modern board gaming to a wider audience through his reviews, opinion pieces and highly regarded 'games of the year' lists.
SETI's rapid success is striking following a year which has seen many publishers pivoting to smaller box titles over more heavyweight designs, as a response to economic factors such as US tariff volatility, as well as gamers having less money to spend due to inflation and general cost of living struggles.
