Four years after leaving Asmodee, Dead of Winter creator Plaid Hat is finally free to do things its own way

Four years have passed since Plaid Hat creator Colby Dauch bought back the Dead of Winter studio from Asmodee - but an exclusivity deal signed as part of the exit has put limits on what the newly-independent studio has been able to experiment with. That deal expired ten days ago - and Dauch has wasted no time in spreading Plaid Hat's wings for its first-ever foray into crowdfunding, with the launch of its latest narrative-fuelled Crossroads game, Wandering Galaxy, set to go live on Kickstarter in the summer.

How board game maker The Op got 8 million TikTok views last month

In an industry where selling several thousand copies of a game can often be considered a success, getting eight million people to look at your products is something most publishers would bite your hand off to achieve. Board game media and marketing specialist Ray Billings, who has years of experience under her belt with companies including Czech Games Edition and Resonym, told BoardGameWire how her foray into TikTok since joining The Op five months ago has led to eye-watering engagement figures for the company - and explains how other publishers should be following suit.