Board gamers in “tough” US market turning to lower priced games, Asmodee CEO says, as company unveils another quarter of soaring sales
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Welcome to the latest BoardGameWire newsletter!
The end of the year is well and truly in sight, with the last big convention of 2025 in Pax Unplugged wrapped up, and publishers and retailers diving headlong into the hugely important pre-Christmas sales period.
One of the biggest challenges for board game makers and sellers this year is tightening household budgets, but thankfully a recent Financial Times report suggests that while US retail sales and consumer confidence are both well down on last year, the retail environment is actually holding up ok, and is one where “consumers are a bit choosy and value-oriented” - a likely benefit for discretionary hobby purchases like board games.
Economic uncertainty in the US is driving people towards lower-priced games, however, according to Asmodee CEO Thomas Koegler - who said on the company’s most recent investor call that consumers are delaying their Christmas purchases until later and later in the year. As our headline story this week details, Koegler said Asmodee had seen “good momentum” in its lower price-point products in the US mass market, and singled out Exploding Kittens as a particularly strong performer in what he called a “challenging market”
In other Asmodee news, one of its top executives, Steve Buckmaster, has revealed he is stepping down from his role driving the board game giant’s global distribution operation, after almost 24 years with the company and its predecessor business in the UK. His replacement, current deputy CCO Marjolein Lubberman, will take on a massively important role at the business, with about two thirds of Asmodee’s net sales – which reached €1.36bn during the last financial year – coming from distributing games from other publishers.
Changes at the top too at hobby game trade organisation GAMA, which has brought in leadership consultant Zaria Davis as interim executive director amid its hunt to find a permanent replacement for John Stacy - who left the association last month. Stacy oversaw what GAMA described as seven “transformative” years - and the news his contract would not be renewed came just three weeks after the association unveiled ambitious plans to become the “epicenter” of the global tabletop gaming industry.
This week’s newsletter also features interviews with veteran tabletop designer Kevin Wilson, Wyrmspan designer Connie Vogelmann - who has now gone full-time in the industry - and our regular roundup of designer-focused advice and the latest industry job openings.
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Mike Didymus-True - Editor
Board gamers in “tough” US market turning to lower priced games, Asmodee CEO says, as company unveils another quarter of soaring sales
Economic uncertainty in the US is driving people towards lower-priced games, Asmodee CEO Thomas Koegler said, as his company revealed sales of more than €400m in the last quarter – up more than 20% on the same period last year.
Koegler said Asmodee had seen “good momentum” in its lower price-point products in the US mass market, singling out Exploding Kittens as a particularly strong performer in what he called a “challenging market”.
GAMA names veteran leadership consultant, past-lives regression hypnotist Zaria Davis as interim executive director
Hobby game trade organisation GAMA has brought in leadership consultant Zaria Davis as interim executive director amid its hunt to find a permanent replacement for John Stacy, who left the association last month.
GAMA, which boasts almost 1,800 members, said Davis would help strengthen its organisational processes, policies and contracts while working to ensure a smooth transition to hiring a new executive director.
Stacy oversaw what the organisation described as seven “transformative” years - and the news his contract would not be renewed came just three weeks after GAMA unveiled ambitious plans to become the “epicenter” of the global tabletop gaming industry.
Senior Asmodee veteran Steve Buckmaster to step down as head of its vast distribution operation, deputy Marjolein Lubberman to take on role
One of Asmodee‘s top executives, Steve Buckmaster, is stepping down from his role driving the board game giant’s global distribution operation after almost 24 years with the company and its predecessor business in the UK.
Chief commercial officer Buckmaster is set to move into a part-time advisory role at Asmodee in spring next year, with deputy CCO Marjolein Lubberman in line to take over his position and join the company’s executive management team.
About two thirds of Asmodee’s net sales – which reached €1.36bn during the last financial year – come from the company distributing games from other publishers, while almost 70% of Asmodee’s 2,200-plus workforce are focused on distribution.
“I’m a lot less apologetic about the types of games I design”: Descent, Arkham Horror design veteran Kevin Wilson on heading back to freelance after Incredible Dream downsizing
Kevin Wilson, the veteran tabletop designer whose abundant list of work includes Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Arkham Horror and Cosmic Encounter, spent most of the 2010s working a successful freelance career after a decade at Fantasy Flight Games.
Wilson became director of game design at Incredible Dream upon the company’s 2021 launch, but a tariff-disrupted year for the Kinfire series publisher has seen the business downsize to just two permanent staff - putting Wilson back into the freelance pool.
He spoke to BoardGameWire about how his time at Incredible Dream has helped him hone his design strengths, why visibility as a freelancer is key and which of his older unpublished designs might now get another bite at the cherry.
“Keep the foot on the gas, and don’t get complacent!”: Wyrmspan designer Connie Vogelmann on making the jump to full-time board game design
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.
Board game maker Panda signs deal with tabletop design project management platform Boardssey, says organisation is ‘critical factor separating successful game creators from struggling ones’
Board game manufacturing major Panda has agreed a deal to give its customers access to tabletop-focused project management platform Boardssey, with Panda CEO Michael Lee citing organisation as “the critical factor separating successful game creators from struggling ones”.
Panda said that despite a maturing industry, in which self-publishing had moved from niche to mainstream and with first-time creators potentially able to launch six-figure crowdfunds, most creators still rely on generic software never designed for game development workflows.
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Other news:
“Tariff Tour” Warns Of Board Game Price Bump: US Representative Rosa DeLauro and Elm City Games owner Matt Fantastic talk to the New Haven Independent about the impact of US tariffs on board game businesses
The nominations are open for this year’s GAMA Power Retail Awards, which aim to honour the best in tabletop retail innovation and creativity
Kazuhide Yonekawa, a key force in the spread of games such as Catan to Japan, has died - TGIW
Design Zone
The Garphill Games team look at the game design decision of Matt Leacock’s The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship
Game designers Brett Gilbert and Ellie Dix discuss abandonment and rejection in game design: why certain game concepts are more prone to being set aside, what leads designers or publishers to walk away from a project, and how creators can better navigate the emotional and professional side of rejection
Board game designer Pam Walls discusses the five most innovative mechanics in board games she’s played this year
Experts from Panda Game Manufacturing, distributor Spiral Galaxy Games and crowdfunding promotion specialist LaunchBoom explain what it takes to get your idea funded, manufactured, and into the hands of board gamers during a panel at this year’s Spiel Essen
Stonemaier Games co-founder Jamey Stegmaier on what he thinks makes a great rulebook
Pablo Clark discusses the six-year development journey behind the game design and art of The Old King’s Crown - Mojo Nation
Designer Diary: Animal Rescue Team by Matt Leacock - BoardGameGeek
Skeleton Code Machine explores hexcrawls, pointcrawls, and other crawls, the illusion of choice and helping players make meaningful decisions
Pete and Jake at the Decision Space podcast analyse a selection of ‘I cut, you choose’ games
Designer Diary: The Plank by Magnus Karlsson - BoardGameGeek
Joe Slack from The Board Game Design Course unveils his top three ways to market your board game and build an audience for Kickstarter success
The Game Design Unboxed podcast talks with Gnome Hollow designer Ammon Anderson about Twinkle, Twinkle, a game born from his lifelong fascination with space
LaunchBoom director of games Victor Shiu discusses the realities of crowdfunding, independent publishing, and his hummingbird game Hover with the My Favourite Game podcast
Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda from the Tabletop Takeaway podcast run their 2025 Iron Designer Challenge game jam event
Peter C Hayward and AJ Brandon talk through a number of grab-bag topics, including how to be successful as an introvert and what makes a hook
Designer Diary: Naishi by Mathieu Bieri and Alex Fortineau - BoardGameGeek
Job Watch
US - Communication and Creator Relations Specialist - Ravensburger
Canada - Art Director - Plan B Games
Germany - Head of Marketing - Asmodee
Japan - Game Designer - Hasbro
All these jobs are from the very excellent Tabletop Game Jobs Facebook Group - head there to take a look at all the latest listings
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