Petersen Games, the Cthulhu Wars publisher left struggling to fulfill more than $2m of Kickstarter projects after hitting severe financial issues during the coronavirus pandemic, has been bailed out by fledgling board game publisher and manufacturer Quimbley's Toys and Games.
Scammers impersonating a Facebook group and community with tens of thousands of members have managed to con multiple tabletop publishers into sending them review copies of their latest games.
Bringing any board game crowdfunding project to fruition amid the clamour of competiting offerings can be a challenge for even large publishers. But doing so as a one-person company, putting out the latest expansive board game from famed Axis & Allies designer Larry Harris, requires another level of plate-spinning entirely. In this sponsored article, Nightingale Games owner Thomas Gale talks deluxification of Kickstarters, savvy advertising and working in the post-Covid environment, while Larry Harris himself discusses his design approach and creating 'experiences' rather than just games.
Applications for board games trade organisation GAMA's annual diversity programme are now open for this year, offering $1,000 grants, convention support and mentorship to new board game publishers and retailers from under-represented communities.
A string of board game industry professionals are in the running for this year's Wonder Woman Awards, which looks to recognise exceptional women executives in the toy, licensing and entertainment sectors.
Professional streamer Banzainator, who has thousands of Twitch followers and also works as a community manager for Alderac Entertainment Group, shared with BoardGameWire her strategic advice for how to best work with streamers to get your game noticed.
Crafting a game system so compelling that other designers want to create their own games using it is a rare beast in board gaming. Veteran wargame designer Volko Ruhnke has managed it twice - first with the COIN series, which saw its asymmetric counterinsurgency design influence games including Root, and his Levy and Campaign series, which currently runs to nine volumes of designs by various creators. The former CIA intelligence analyst spoke to BoardGameWire about his continuing drive towards accessibility with new design Hunt for Blackbeard, which is on Kickstarter now, how he's solving the hidden movement mechanics conundrum, and which games have been influencing his own design processes in recent years.
Abstract lightweight tile-laying game Harmonies has powered to the top of the charts for the number of BGG users adding new games to their collections in May.
Innovative hex and counter wargame Downfall: Conquest of the Third Reich has been named Game of the Year at the latest Charles S Roberts Awards, seen by many as the Oscars of wargaming.