The company expanded into board game publishing in 2024 after more than a decade specialising in tabletop game mats and accessories, and rebranded from GamerMats to GameHead as part of that process.
Multiple members of the organisation expressed their disgust during the AGM that board members had suggested people only attended because free food was provided, while others were upset at the way they were shouted at and talked over during a fiery discussion on changes to the non-profit's bylaws.
MingYang Lu's puzzle fighter-style board game Re;MATCH has had a storming start to its Kickstarter campaign, picking up almost $250,000 from over 1,250 backers with half of the month-long crowdfund still to go. In this sponsored interview, Lu talks about why his design looks to derive fun from game mastery rather than discovery, the importance of conventions for small publishers, and why AI art "cheapens creativity".
GAMA Expo's attendance this year is more than double its pre-pandemic record of 1,800 set in 2019, and up more than 87.5% compared to the event's final Reno show in 2023.
Alexi Piovesan and Julien Prothière's design sealed top spot above Eric Olsen's Flip 7 - which won the separate family game prize - and also finished in third place in the family-weight category.
ODN's work over the years has included crowdfunding and marketing support for companies such as Roxley Games, Indie Boards & Cards and Stronghold Games, Devir North America and Allplay, while individual campaigns worked on include the $2.2m More Terraforming Mars! Kickstarter and Roxley's Santorini Co-op & Deluxe Pantheon Edition crowdfund, which raised about CA$2.1bn.
The publisher has broken a three-year run of losses since bringing in John Coveyou to restructure the company last July, with the profits allowing it to get Santa’s Workshop into the hands of backers, as well as starting to pay some of the backlog of royalties it owes designers.
Two more significant hires in the board game industry across the marketing side of the hobby. If you have news of a new role, hire or job change within the hobby that you’d like mentioned on BoardGameWire, please send an email with the details to the editor, Mike Didymus-True, on:
mike@boardgamewire.com
Arizona-based Silver Dragon Games scooped Retailer of the Year at this year's awards, adding to the Innovation In Games (Retail) and Outstanding Store Design titles it won at the same awards in 2024.
Soaring interest in the show has now seen Spiel Essen boost its floor space four times in as many years, with this year's event in October set to be about 30% larger than the already massive 62,500 sq m show which took place in 2023.
