“We need to stop being reactionary”: New GAMA president Meredith Placko on being data driven, improving communication and turning its ten-year plan into a reality
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Welcome to the latest BoardGameWire newsletter!
Board game trade organisation GAMA has experienced explosive growth since the pandemic, with surging attendances at its annual GAMA Expo trade show and a broadening of its membership to include designers, manufacturers, media and events organisers, in addition to its long-time core of publishers, retailers and wholesalers.
Last October the US-based non-profit unveiled ambitious plans to become the “epicenter” of the global tabletop gaming industry, with the announcement of its first-ever 10-year-plan by then president Nicole Brady and long-time executive director John Stacy.
Fast forward six months, however, and the figureheads of that plan are both gone from their positions, with an as-yet unreplaced Stacy leaving three weeks after the announcement, and Brady losing her presidential re-election bid last month.
What does that mean for the future of GAMA? In her first long-form interview since being elected last month, new president Meredith Placko told BoardGameWire the organisation must stop being reactionary, improve how it communicates with members, and focus on collecting meaningful industry data as it continues to navigate a turbulent couple of years.
Elsewhere, the annual Spiel des Jahres nominations are here - and with them this year, the chance for both Reiner Knizia and Markus Slawitscheck to complete an unprecedented series of wins across each of the awards’ three categories.
And in breaking news overnight, BoardGameGeek has fired its advertising manager Chad Krizan after almost 20 years with the company, after he cited his personal experiences of demonic possession as grounds for rejecting a publisher’s ad campaign.
I hope you find this week’s newsletter useful! Things will be a little quieter on the site next week as I’ll be taking care of the kids across the week-long school holiday, as well as heading off to UK Games Expo next weekend. But I’ll do my best to squeeze in all the news I can manage, before coming back under full steam on June 1.
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Mike Didymus-True - Editor
“We need to stop being reactionary”: New GAMA president Meredith Placko on being data driven, improving communication and turning its ten-year plan into a reality
Newly-elected GAMA president Meredith Placko says the tabletop trade organisation must stop being reactionary, improve how it communicates with members, and focus on collecting meaningful industry data as it continues to navigate a turbulent couple of years.
Speaking to BoardGameWire in her first long-form interview since being elected last month, Placko said putting proactive structures in place to keep GAMA from “stepping in the mud all the time” was one of her priorities.
Reiner Knizia, Markus Slawitscheck could both seal historic trio of wins in this year’s Spiel des Jahres
Board game designers Reiner Knizia and Markus Slawitscheck both have a shot of completing an unprecedented series of wins at this year’s Spiel des Jahres – widely considered the highest profile awards in board gaming – after the 2026 nominations were unveiled earlier today.
The pair have already won two of the awards’ three categories in prior years – and the nominations of Slawitscheck’s Morty Sorty Magic Shop for the main prize, and Knizia’s Rebirth for the higher complexity Kennerspiel, could see either or both become the first designers in the awards’ 47-year history to complete the set.
BoardGameGeek fires veteran advertising manager for rejecting campaign due to firsthand experiences of demonic possession
BoardGameGeek has fired advertising manager Chad Krizan after almost 20 years with the company, after he cited his personal experiences of demonic possession as grounds for rejecting an ad campaign.
Krizan told Possess Me, Satan publisher Falling Whale Games that he couldn’t “in good conscience” approve ads for its Gamefound campaign as “the thought of displaying this subject matter makes me sick to my stomach”, according to an email exchange shared online by the publisher.
Asmodee unveils first slate of publishers picked to make new Lord of the Rings games
Asmodee has revealed the first slate of partner companies it has picked to make Lord of the Rings-themed board games and accessories, six months after becoming the steward of the hugely lucrative Middle-earth licence for the tabletop.
Endeavor: Deep Sea co-publisher Grand Gamers Guild, Ascension publisher Stone Blade Entertainment, and Play to Z, the board game publisher created by Z-Man Games founder Zev Schlasinger, have all been selected by Asmodee to produce new Lord of the Rings titles.
Undaunted publisher Osprey’s board game operation to be sold off by owner Bloomsbury Publishing
Osprey Games, the UK publisher of tabletop titles including the critically acclaimed Undaunted series, is shutting down its board and card games operation to refocus on wargames and RPGs.
The company said it would not commission any new board or card games, but would continue to release, sell and license upcoming games according to its existing schedules while Bloomsbury hunts for a new owner for its board games.
Greater than Games back in hands of founders Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, has multiple games in development
Greater than Games is officially back in the hands of two of its founders, a year after former owner Flat River Group laid off the vast majority of the board game publisher’s staff and suspended new projects amid US tariff uncertainty.
Paul Bender and Christopher Badell, who launched the business in 2011 alongside Adam Rebottaro, said they have reacquired the brand and the rights for the Sentinels of the Multiverse titles alongside their other original IP such as the Sentinel Comics RPG.
Leder Games staffs up after Buried Giant departures, brings in Johnny Dale to lead day-to-day operations
Root publisher Leder Games has unveiled four new hires as it continues to rebuild from a staff exodus earlier this year that included star designer Cole Wehrle and style-defining artist Kyle Ferrin.
The Minnesota-based publisher has brought in experienced operations director Johnny Dale as executive director, who will take on responsibility for day-to-day operations, and former Trick or Treat Studios graphic and production designer Jody Henning as senior graphic designer.
Veteran board game writer Keith Law expresses shock as AV Club shutters tabletop section
Entertainment website The AV Club has shuttered its board game and video games segment, bringing to an end almost 13 years of tabletop coverage for veteran writer Keith Law across the site and its predecessors, Paste Games and Endless Mode.
Law wrote more than 300 pieces across those sites following his debut article in 2013, helping bring modern board gaming to a wider audience through his reviews, opinion pieces and highly regarded ‘games of the year’ lists.
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Support BoardGameWire as a Paid SubscriberOther news:
Spiel des Jahres: How independent is the jury? Kulturgutspiel interviews SdJ chairman Harald Schrapers
Dolphin Hat Games has officially rebranded to Taco Cat Games, unveils four new titles
Dire Wolf, Capstone, and Chaosium Sign on with asmodee - BoardGameBeat
Asmodee continues social game expansion push, buys rights to Time’s Up! from R&R Games
French board game publisher Savana makes first acquisition, buys Beat That! publisher Gutter Games
Arcs named game of the year by Italian tabletop magazine ioGioco, Paolo Mori named best designer
Design Zone
Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim from the Ludology podcast chat to academic J Rey Lee about his book Unsettling Catan: Detached Design in Eurogames”, discuss the game’s impact on the hobby, the concept of detached design and what designers can do to avoid it
Designer Pam Walls picks out ten games she thinks all budding game makers should play, to add tools to their design toolbox
The Hungry Gamer chats to Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games and Peter Vaughan from Cardboard Alchemy about the pros and cons of crowdfunding versus retail release
Designer Diary: First Giants by Matthew Dunstan - BoardGameGeek
Skeleton Code Machine explores how Hellboy: The Dice Game uses push-your-luck mechanisms and custom dice pools
The Decision Space podcast chats with Cole Wehrle about player agency, emergent storytelling, and making and playing long, heavy games.
Designer Diary: VNTYPL8S by Clarence Simpson - BoardGameGeek
Joe Slack from The Board Game Design Course looks at two types of randomness, and how to apply them to your design
The Game Design Unboxed podcast speaks with librarian and game designer Lewis Graye about his design Inkwell and his path to becoming a designer
Alex Radcliffe puts a string of questions to publishers Joe Wiggins from Allplay and Nick Murray from Bitewing Games
Job Watch
US - New Product Development Specialist - Asmodee
US - Game Design Manager - Lorcana
US - Business Operations Project Manager - Wizards of the Coast
US - Sales Analyst (Barnes and Noble) - PSi
UK - Trade Marketing Manager - Asmodee
UK - Associate Graphic Designer - Games Workshop
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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