Board game trade organisation GAMA is looking to celebrate outstanding tabletop gaming retailers again through its fifth annual Power Retail Awards.
When it comes to taking the temperature of the board game industry, few are in a better position than a business which works across everything from freight and trade selling to e-commerce and spare parts. James Naylor, founder of BoardGameWire sponsor Naylor Games and its one-stop shop board game outsourcing operation Back Office, unpacks the state of the industry across 2024, and casts his eye on the potential positives - and pitfalls - of the coming year.
A successful Kickstarter campaign and favourable reviews for post-apocalyptic car racing game Joyride: Survival of the Fastest have been dampenened by claims of plagiarism from Powerboats designer Corné van Moorsel, who is seeking royalties from publisher Rebellion Unplugged.That situation has been complicated by the fact that Rebellion Unplugged head and Joyride co-designer Duncan Molloy approached van Moorsel in 2019 about reprinting Powerboats, before changing his mind several months after the pair met up at Spiel Essen that year.
Molloy has provided extensive answers to BoardGameWire explaining where he believes it is right to draw the line between a new design and development of an existing title, and details the ways he says Powerboats and Joyride differ in their mechanics. He also admits he worries the dispute will have a knock-on effect on how Joyride is viewed, and outlines his regrets about not acknowledging Joyride's influences more clearly.
The tabletop arm of UK video game and comics major Rebellion has defended its post-apocalyptic car racing game Joyride: Survival of the Fastest, after being accused of copying the design from a title it was previously in negotiations about publishing.
The Summit Award, which aims to celebrate historical board games that have successfully broadened the hobby, has announced Alex Knight's Land and Freedom: The Spanish Revolution and Civil War as its latest winner.
The former head of game development at struggling Kickstarter board game specialist Elf Creek Games is working to save one of its unfulfilled crowdfunding projects through his new publishing house.
Facebook has banned ads for a Kickstarter from small historical board game publisher Fort Circle Games for the second time this year - this time claiming its game about the history of the US Supreme Court is a "sensitive social issue".
Polish board game publisher Portal Games has ended its almost decade-long US distribution partnership with GTS, saying it will focus on partners it believes can best inform retailers about its games.
Hachette Boardgames has added another publisher to its ever-growing distribution business, scoring a deal to distribute MicroMacro publisher Edition Spielwiese's games in the US and UK.
Forest Shuffle has added to its triumph in the German language Deutscher Spiele Preis last month by winning the Gouden Ludo Flemish family game of the year award.
