Four years after leaving Asmodee, Dead of Winter creator Plaid Hat is finally free to do things its own way
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Four years is a long time in board games - the unending cycle of new releases, plus the ever-increasing volume of new games unveiled each year, can distort time in strange ways. Has it really been four years since the release of games such as Lost Ruins of Arnak and Dune: Imperium? The last four years has been especially long for Plaid Hat Games founder Colby Dauch, who bought back his company from Asmodee in an attempt to reignite the studio’s spark. Plaid Hat has been bound by an exclusivity deal signed with Asmodee since its independence - but the expiration of that deal on February 19th means the Dead of Winter creator is free to spread its wings and experiment with Kickstarter for the first time.
We also have Awaken Realms CEO Marcin Świerkot promising ‘no AI art’ in the final release of the deluxe edition of Puerto Rico revealed earlier this week, after questions were raised about the game’s promo images, and the heartening news that laid-off designers from Funko’s board games division have launched their own design studio.
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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.
Awaken Realms CEO promises ‘no AI art’ in final deluxe Puerto Rico release after questions raised about promo images
A newly-announced deluxe edition of classic economic strategy game Puerto Rico has come under fire after promotional images for the campaign appeared to show tell-tale signs of using AI to create the artwork. Publisher Awaken Realms revealed on Wednesday that it was launching a crowdfunding campaign for Puerto Rico Special Edition in Q3 of this year on Gamefound, the Kickstarter competitor created by Awaken Realms CEO Marcin Świerkot. But the campaign was immediately pegged by some board gamers as having used AI artwork, citing characteristic tells such as humans being depicted with too many fingers, strange geometries and details within the image bleeding into each other.
“This is not going away anytime soon”: How soaring costs and long delays from the Red Sea shipping crisis are taking their toll on the board game industry
Soaring global shipping rates and heavy delays caused by attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have begun to have a serious impact on the board game industry – and experts believe the snarl-up could persist well into 2024. The cost of shipping container space has more than tripled since the end of November, reaching levels last seen in the latter half of 2020, when the impact from the worsening Covid-19 pandemic staggered global supply chains.
Shipping from China, where the vast majority of board games are manufactured, to the UK and EU countries have been particularly badly affected by the ongoing attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants, which have forced container ships to redirect away from using the Suez canal. That is adding between two and three weeks to journey times as vessels take the longer route around the southern tip of Africa – which is also having a knock-on effect on upcoming planned deliveries, with ships tied up longer in transit and unable to hit their previously expected schedules.
Laid-off Funko board game designers bounce back by launching new studio
When Rummikub owner Goliath bought Funko’s board game and puzzles assets last month, there was no place in the deal for most of the 30-plus team that had created some of its most lauded designs of recent years. Chris Rowlands, the former game development team lead at Funko’s tabletop design arm Prospero Hall, was among the raft of layoffs – and told BoardGameWire he initially believed there was no way his ex-team could possible afford to band together to launch their own studio.
Just a few weeks later, however, Rowlands has announced the launch of Tempest Workshop – a full-service board game design and development studio based in Seattle – alongside ex-Prospero Hall team members Korby Sears and Isaias Vallejo.
Asmodee continues whittling down Plan B Games, shifts trio of award-winning games to Lookout Spiele
Tabletop gaming giant Asmodee has moved Camel Up, Village and the entire Great Western Trail series to subsidiary Lookout Spiele, continuing a slow exodus of titles from Plan B Games. Asmodee bought Plan B three years ago, towards the end of an enormous acquisition spree within board games that saw it pick up companies and brands including Fantasy Flight Games, Catan and Days of Wonder, as well as several distribution businesses.
The Plan B buyout gave Asmodee control of its eponymous game studio as well as Next Move, Pretzel Games and Eggertspiele – and a game catalogue featuring Azul and Century: Spice Road as well as Camel Up, Great Western Trail and Village. Shifting the award-winning trio of games to Lookout leaves Plan B with a seriously reduced offering compared to just a few months ago, with the rights to Junk Art having been taken on by Spanish publisher Ludonova and former Eggertspiele title Heaven & Ale also disappearing from its online store.
Board game veterans to “open doors to bottomless potential” with launch of group supporting women in industry
A group of board game industry veterans have launched a new support initiative aimed at helping women who work in, or want to work in, tabletop gaming learn from and champion each other. The Tabletop Gaming Learning Community is part of Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment, a non-profit organisation created more than 30 years ago to advocate for the advancement of women through leadership, networking and educational opportunities. TLC has been launched by industry professionals including Jennifer Graham-Macht, project manager at Keymaster Games, Rose Gauntlet co-founder Lindsey Rode and Danni Loe, the marketing manager at Flat River Group.
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