
Asmodee shakes up UK leadership structure to kick off 2025
Board game publishing and distribution giant Asmodee has changed up its UK leadership structure to begin 2025, with a trio of senior executives being given updated roles.

Board game publishing and distribution giant Asmodee has changed up its UK leadership structure to begin 2025, with a trio of senior executives being given updated roles.

One of North America's biggest tabletop gaming distributors, Alliance Game Distributors, has received a $39m buyout bid from Canadian peer Universal Distribution after its long-time owner Diamond Comics filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday.

Devir Games has agreed to buy Spanish board game publisher Maldito Games, adding its portfolio of 'expert-level' localisations including Terraforming Mars, Ark Nova and Brass Birmingham to its catalogue.

Space exploration eurogame SETI has picked up its first major award by scooping this year's Diamant d’Or, a prize launched a decade ago to celebrate complex eurogames being overlooked by more mainstream board game awards.

French board game publisher Super Meeple plans to step up its own direct sales this year after struggling to get individual retailers to stock more than a handful of copies of each of its heavier games through 2024.

Stonemaier Games has unveiled the final game in its bestselling Wingspan trilogy, with the fish-themed Finspan set for release in Q1 of this year.

The long-running Cardboard Edison Award, which aims to highlight the best in currently unpublished board games, is changing the judging process for this year's competition after a backlash over last year's colonisation-themed winner.

Board game review giant Shut Up & Sit Down has made a further move into game development by inking a deal with star-studded publisher Play to Z - a financial tie-up it admits will mean "additional caveats, conversations, and potential complications" for its review work.

Another strong year for the board game industry, which has now grown to about €13bn, nears its end, with all eyes turning to the opportunities and challenges presented by 2025. In this article Cedric Delobelle, co-founder of one of BoardGameWire's sponsors All About Games Consulting, looks ahead to what US tariffs might mean for the industry, and reflects on the successes and difficulties encountered in 2024.

The Diamant d'Or, a prize launched almost a decade ago to celebrate complex eurogames being overlooked by more mainstream board game awards, has unveiled its eight finalists for 2025.

Capstone Games, the Ohio board game publisher which made a name for itself bringing complex eurogames to the US from Germany, has inked its first partnership with a Japanese publisher.

A new award recognising historical gaming’s most exceptional culture writers, podcasters and video essay makers has unveiled interview podcast series Beyond Solitaire as its inaugural winner.

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.