“No part of the mission says ‘Asmodee makes all the games'”: Luke Peterschmidt on shaping the future of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tabletop titles
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Welcome to the latest BoardGameWire newsletter!
I’ll keep this intro incredible brief this week as a) I’m sure you’re keen to get stuck into the news and interviews, and b) I have to pick up the kids from school in about three minutes ⏰.
I’ll highlight that it was a pleasure to sit down with Asmodee’s Luke Peterschmidt to grill him on the future of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings board games, now that the publisher is in charge of managing which titles get made and when. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, of course, but it was really interesting to hear about the team’s strategy and what they’re looking for in pitches from external publishers.
Plus we have a full rundown of all the other board game industry news from the last week or so, designer tips and discussions, and the latest job openings within the hobby.
Thanks as always for reading the newsletter! As ever, if you’re finding BoardGameWire and the newsletters informative and useful, please do help me continue to professionally cover the board game industry by supporting my reporting from as little as $1 a month. If you can afford more than $1, that’s wonderful - just increase the quantity via that link.
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Take care, and have a great week,
Mike Didymus-True - Editor
“No part of the mission says ‘Asmodee makes all the games'”: Luke Peterschmidt on shaping the future of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tabletop titles
When news broke three months ago that board game giant Asmodee had been named manager of the hugely lucrative Middle-earth licence for tabletop games and accessories, questions naturally abounded within the industry about what that would mean for other publishers hoping to create The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings-based titles.
Luke Peterschmidt, the tabletop veteran tasked with running the Middle-earth operation at Asmodee, sat down with BoardGameWire following the announcement to outline his vision for the IP, what they want from publishers in terms of pitches, and how they hope to prove naysayers of the deal wrong.
Tabletop Game Designers Association urges Legendary series publisher Upper Deck not to make a Harry Potter board game after company celebrates licensing deal
Upper Deck, the publisher of the Legendary series of deck-building board games, has been urged not to create a Harry Potter-based tabletop title amid ongoing anti-trans campaigning from the character’s creator, JK Rowling.
Professional organisation The Tabletop Game Designers Association made the plea in the wake of Upper Deck announcing a deal for the “coveted” Harry Potter licence earlier this month, calling on the publisher to “help keep gaming a welcoming environment”.
Root and Arcs designer Cole Wehrle, style-defining artist Kyle Ferrin lead staff exodus from Leder Games to form new board game studio
The creator of Leder Games’ breakout success Root and the artist whose style has become synonymous with the company’s games have left to launch their own board game studio, alongside a string of other staff from the Minnesota-based publisher.
Cole Wehrle, who also designed hits including Arcs and Oath while at Leder, and lead artist Kyle Ferrin have launched Buried Giant Studios with Wehrle’s brother Drew and former Leder director of operations Ted Caya, who left the company last month along with his design for the company’s now axed Kickstarter Take.
Games Workshop bans AI use in its designs, celebrates record half-year results
Wargaming miniatures giant Games Workshop has banned the use of AI in its design processes, with CEO Kevin Rountree saying the £6bn business was strongly committed to protecting its IP and respecting its human creators.
The Warhammer maker unveiled the policy as it announced record half-yearly results, with core revenue in the 26 weeks ending November 30 rising more than 17% to reach £316.1m.
Kinderspiel des Jahres-winning publisher Schmidt Spiele sees 2025 sales rise almost 8%, to €61.5m
Last year’s Kinderspiel des Jahres-winning publisher Schmidt Spiele saw its sales rise nearly 8% to €61.5m in 2025, citing children’s and family games as a key driver of its growth.
The veteran board game maker, which has a history stretching back to 1907, said its “core area” of children’s and family games grew 6% last year, with Wolfgang Warsch-designed 2025 Kinderspiel winner Topp Die Torte highlighted for achieving “encouraging sales figures”.
People moves: Ross Thompson leaves Asmodee’s Atomic Mass Games; Druid City Games brings in ex-Incredible Dream marketing director Ilya Ushakov; Ross Connell joins Mantic from North Star Games
A trio of comings and goings from the board game industry for the year so far - if you have news of a new role, hire or job change within the industry that you'd like mentioned on BoardGameWire, please send an email with the details to the editor, Mike Didymus-True, on mike@boardgamewire.com
Hachette becomes exclusive UK, Ireland distributor for Captain Flip publisher PlayPunk, taking over from Asmodee UK
Hachette has signed an exclusive UK and Ireland distribution deal with Captain Flip publisher PlayPunk, the board game studio launched three years ago by 7 Wonders and Hanabi designer Antoine Bauza and Repos Productions co-founder Thomas Provoost.
The French publishing giant will take over UK and Ireland distribution from Asmodee UK for PlayPunk’s existing titles, the Spiel des Jahres-nominated Captain Flip and Kennerspiel recommended title Zenith, and upcoming expansions Captain Flip: Isla Bomba and Zenith: Secret Agents.
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Other news:
GAMA net declined sharply in 2024, revenues near all-time highs - ICv2
“Continuity, innovation and adaptability”: Christian Ulrich on 75 years of Spielwarenmesse – and how the show stays relevant - Mojo Nation
Creative collaborators of RPG Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast clash with Jay Dragon, Steve Jackson Games over unfair treatment - Rascal News
Beacon Patrol has wone the Tabletop Design Award at the IndieCadee Festival 2025
Flemish games award The Gouden Ludo expands to a third category for 2026 - Speloptafel
Design Zone
Pam Walls provides a tour of her board game prototyping supplies closet
Matthew Dunstan suggests one of the best ways to approach designing your first game is to intentionally make something bad
The Game Crafter is running an auction for three badges to this year’s Protospiel.Online game convention in May
Nick Bentley on why split testing - where players play two games back-to-back and compare their experiences - has been transformative for his board game design process
Designer Diary: The Origin of Cozy Stickerville by Corey Konieczka - BoardGameGeek
The Decision Space podcast chat with Happy Camper Games founder Jason Schneider about what makes for a great family game experience
Danielle Reynolds chats to the Game Design Unboxed podcast about the trials and tribulations of the gaming industry in 2025, and highlights trends she’s noticed on the horizon
Cranio Creations is running a competition to design an executive officer for Barrage
Board game designer Clarence Simpson shares his retrospective for how his design year went in 2025
Designer Diary: Luthier, or The Art of the Instrument by Dave Beck - BoardGameGeek
How do you keep players engaged when it is not their turn? The Tabletop Takeaway podcast team discuss through the medium of Sprocketforge
Peter C Hayward talks finances and explores how much money he’s made through his board game design career to date
Job Watch
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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