Board game sales in Germany, one of the world’s biggest tabletop markets, are continuing to grow despite an ongoing economic slowdown in the country, new research from German toy and game trade association DVSI and its tabletop publisher-focused subsidiary Spieleverlage shows.
Few board game designers score the kind of rapid success that has come to Connie Vogelmann - with her debut design Apiary from 2023 flying high in the BoardGameGeek rankings, and follow-up creation Wyrmspan selling "far beyond the wildest dreams" of publisher Stonemaier Games' founder Jamey Stegmaier following its high-profile release last year. That double success - and the "destruction" Donald Trump's administration has had on her work as a grants law attorney - has seen Vogelmann decide to take the plunge into full-time board game design. She spoke to BoardGameWire about navigating freelance design, branching out beyond worker placement, and the challenges that face full-time designers in the current economic climate.
The last big board game convention of the year kicks off on Friday as Pax Unplugged returns to the Philadelphia Convention Center. BoardGameWire rounds up some of the most interesting-looking sessions for tabletop game industry professionals from across the three days, ranging from how to grow your own evergreen title to getting your start as a tabletop gaming artist.
Members of the Kickstarter United union had been striking since October 2 after months of talks with management over a new collective bargaining agreement stalled.
The company has let go of project director Danielle Reynolds and customer experience manager Derek Gill as part of the "heartbreaking" layoffs, which it said were necessary to ensure its long-term sustainability.
The co-creator of publisher Hollandspiele and designer of games including Irish Gauge, The Field of the Cloth of Gold and City of Six Moons, triumphed in this year's award with her video essay on author Kurt Vonnegut’s long-lost board game GHQ, its cultural relevance and the wider subject of game preservation.
Hong Kong-listed CMON had hoped to sell more than 360 million newly-created shares in a process which would have valued the company at just over $5m, with the money raised going towards developing new games, marketing and events, and general working capital.
Veteran German board game publisher Amigo Spiele has restructured its top leadership for the second time since the start of last year, after long-serving executive Joachim Ulbrich revealed he will retire at the end of 2025.
Ravensburger's court filing said, "Upper Deck's case was frivolous in conception, objectively unreasonable in prosecution and pursued in a manner that multiplied costs while consuming vast judicial resources."
Steamforged CEO Rich Loxam told BoardGameWire the company had been surprised by the weight of feeling from potential backers over the $389 price of the all-in 'Town Founder' pledge level, which he acknowledged "placed it out of reach for many".
