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Welcome to the latest BoardGameWire newsletter!

I’m back and champing at the bit after two weeks recovering from hernia surgery, which I unexpectedly got called in for three months early - thanks for all the kind messages of support I received!

I’m still catching up with contacts about stories in the pipeline (sorry if I still owe you an email, it’s coming!), but I wanted to send out a slightly slimmed down newsletter today given the exclusive nature of the top story. I tend to send quite large ‘digest’ newsletters every couple of weeks, but am considering switching to smaller, more regular newsletters in future - if you have any strong preferences either way, or suggestions for the newsletters in general, please do let me know!

So the big news then: Awaken Realms, one of board gaming’s biggest and most successful crowdfunding specialists, has made its first acquisition of another publisher by acquiring Darwin’s Journey maker Thundergryph Games.

That deal will see Awaken Realms take on responsibility for logistics, manufacturing, fulfillment and worldwide distribution for Thundergryph, leaving the publisher to focus exclusively on game design and development.

But what’s possibly most interesting of all is what the deal says about Awaken Realms’ strategy going forward, now that it’s added a eurogame specialist to its portfolio of large-scale, narrative-driven and miniature-heavy titles such as the hugely lucrative Nemesis series, Tainted Grail and ISS Vanguard.

Personally? I think there’s a good chance this isn’t the last piece of M&A activity we see from Awaken Realms in the future, although the company itself would not confirm to BoardGameWire if there were other similar deals coming down the pipe.

A spokesperson did say, however, "In general, Awaken Realms is interested in areas that can strengthen our ability to create, produce, and deliver great games to players around the world. That can include publishing, operational infrastructure or other strategic areas."

We also have an interview with award-winning board game store owner Matthew Mičetić, who says independent tabletop retailers can no longer rely on product sales alone to succeed, and the news that Mind MGMT publisher Off the Page Games is expanding beyond its comic book roots with the launch of a new imprint focused on original IP.

Plus all the rest of the latest industry news, our regular links to designer-focused podcasts and articles and a roundup of open job positions in the industry.

I hope you find this week’s newsletter useful! and thanks as always to everyone who financially supports my work - if you’re not already a supporter, you can become one here from as little as $1 a month, which you’ve got to admit is a bit of a bargain.

If you’re able to support my reporting in other ways, such as sharing articles across places such as Reddit and other social media sites, that’s genuinely incredibly helpful too!

And if you work in the industry and are looking to advertise your business or its services to a readership of tabletop gaming professionals, please do take a look at BoardGameWire’s media kit for advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

Take care, and have a great week,

Mike Didymus-True - Editor

Exclusive: Awaken Realms buys Darwin’s Journey publisher Thundergryph Games as first M&A expansion

Board game crowdfunding major Awaken Realms has made its first acquisition of another publisher by acquiring Darwin’s Journey maker Thundergryph Games, BoardGameWire can reveal.

The publishers said the tie-up will allow Thundergryph to focus exclusively on game design and development, with Awaken Realms taking on responsibility for operational necessities such as logistics, manufacturing, fulfillment and worldwide distribution.

Acquiring Thundergryph adds a catalogue which includes eurogames such as the highly regarded Darwin’s Journey, Tang Garden and Etherstone – and indicates an appetite from Awaken Realms to expand out into different styles of game.

Read more

“The future isn’t just about selling products”: award-winning board game retailer on why creating community is key to success

Award-winning board game store owner Matthew Mičetić says independent tabletop retailers can no longer rely on product sales alone, as rising costs, tariff uncertainty and changing consumer behaviour continue to reshape the hobby retail landscape.

Mičetić was named Oregon Small Business Person of the Year last week by the US Small Business Administration, celebrating the 16-year growth of Portland-based Red Castle Games from a small neighbourhood game store into a vibrant space offering organised play, youth camps, community events and an on-site cafe.

He told BoardGameWire the complexity of running a game store had increased dramatically since the store opened in 2010 – but added that widening the venue’s scope had been a key ingredient in Red Castle’s success.

Read more

Mind MGMT publisher Off the Page Games expands beyond comic book licenses with new imprint

Canadian board game publisher Off the Page Games is expanding beyond its comic book roots with the launch of a new imprint focused on original IP.

The company, which has built its reputation adapting indie comics into tabletop games such as Mind MGMT, has unveiled Off the Page Games Unbound, which will publish games not tied to existing comic book licences.

The imprint’s first title will be The Seekers, a family-weight hidden movement game from Off the Page founder Jay Cormier and his Mind MGMT co-designer Sen-Foong Lim, which is set to launch on Kickstarter later this year.

Read more

Cephalofair CEO, Molly House, Trench Crusade among finalists for 2026 Diana Jones Award

Tabletop gaming’s most eclectic prize, the Diana Jones Award, has unveiled the latest clutch of finalists for its annual celebration of excellence in the field of gaming.

Price Johnson, the new CEO of Gloomhaven publisher Cephalofair, is among the five finalists for this year’s award, as are miniatures game Trench Crusade and Minnesota-based game retailer Mischief Toy Store.

They are joined by Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle’s board game Molly House, which explores the joy and fear experienced by gender-defying Londoners in 18th century society, and Rob Wieland, a much-loved TTRPG designer and journalist who died last October aged 47.

Read more

Asmodee unveils debut titles from recently-launched party game studio Moodbox

Asmodee’s recently-launched party games studio Moodbox Games has unveiled its first four releases, with Guess the Mess, Link Out Loud, Photo Dump and Who Says? Friends set to hit retail shelves in July.

The announcement marks the first product reveal from the women-led studio, which Asmodee launched last October as part of a push to reach players beyond traditional hobby gamers.

Read more

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Other news:

• Bérengère Prévost, who runs the Penelope Gaming YouTube channel, has become the first woman president of the As d'Or jury - LudoVox

• Asmodee’s Game In Lab is looking for its next slate of tabletop-related research projects, with €45,000 of endowment money up for grabs

• German board game site Ministerium für Brettspiel has a good interview with Spiel Essen communications director Robin de Cleur about this year’s show

Design Zone

• The Ludology podcast chats with game designer and educator, Kathleen Mercury, about the second annual Game Design Academy - a professional development and formal education track that runs concurrently with Gen Con.

• Designer Pam Walls shares her top tips for rapidly prototyping board games

• A good Reddit thread here with advice on playtesting game designs at conventions

• Connor Wake from Always Awake Games investigates the veracity of the oft-heard maxim ‘don't publish, just stick to design’

• Designer Diary: Jackpot: Set the Reel by Kristian Karlberg - BoardGameGeek

• Skeleton Code Machine looks at how Black Rose Wars: Rebirth uses a batch action queue mechanism for spell programming to create a different kind of tactical play

• The Decision Space podcast looks at hand management and the puzzles it can present players

• Danni Loe and Jen Graham-Macht explore what a blockbuster movie-like strategy for a tabletop release could look like using the tools shared in Harvard professor Anita Elberse's book Blockbusters

• Joe Slack from the Board Game Design Course presents suggestions for victory conditions other than victory points

• Designer Diary: Perfectly Imperfect by Danielle Reynolds - BoardGameGeek

• The Game Design Unboxed podcast talks with Pirates of the High Teas designer and Pink Hawk Games founder Emily Vincent

• The Garphill Games team Shem Phillips, Sam MacDonald and Zach Smith regularly discuss games they've played together with a focus on game design elements - this time looking at Eternal Decks by Hiroken

• The Tabletop Takeaway podcast discuss mechanisms in miniatures wargames

Job Watch

• US - Product Designer - Panda Game Manufacturing

• US - eCommerce Coordinator - Renegade Game Studios

• US - Senior Game Designer, D&D - Wizards of the Coast

• US - Senior Game Developer, D&D - Wizards of the Coast

• UK- Financial Planning Analyst - Big Potato Games

• Italy - Trade Marketing Specialist - DV Games

• Brazil - Project Manager - Panda Game Manufacturing

• Brazil - Sales Support - Panda Game Manufacturing

All these jobs are from the very excellent Tabletop Game Jobs Facebook Group - head there to take a look at all the latest listings

That’s it for this week - please share this email with your friends and colleagues if it’s been useful or interesting!

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