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BoardGameWire
@boardgamewire.bsky.social
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The world’s leading source of industry news and analysis for board game professionals. Got a story? An anonymous tip? DM or email Mike Didymus-True on mike@boardgamewire.com
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BoardGameWire @boardgamewire.bsky.social · May 22
Hi! We're BoardGameWire - the world’s leading source of industry news, interviews and analysis for board game professionals.

Come visit us at www.boardgamewire.com, sign up to our free newsletter below, and please consider supporting the site!

buttondown.com/boardgamewire
BoardGameWire's Newsletter
Welcome to BoardGameWire, the world’s leading source of industry news and analysis for board game professionals. BoardGameWire provides news and features focused on the needs of board game designers, ...
buttondown.com
Reposted by BoardGameWire
tabletopgaymers.bsky.social
This short survey is a chance for Tabletop Gaymers to share what inclusive play actually looks like at the table, especially when things feel awkward, messy, or imperfect. Your voice will help shape practical tools we can bring to retailers, GMs, and organizers across the industry.
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January 5, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
tabletopgaymers.bsky.social
Please take & share our Measuring Authentic Allyship survey (forms.monday.com/for...) by January 19! We’re gathering community input as we prepare our Authentic Allyship presentation for GAMA Expo 2026 (March 1-5), because allyship is strongest when it’s grounded in real, lived experiences.
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Purple speech bubbles radiate outward from a central bubble with a question mark, suggesting conversation and curiosity and a burst of light purple lines behind. Below the graphic is the Tabletop Gaymers logo text and website URL, "www.TabletopGaymers.org,” in purple on a white background.
January 5, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
boardgamewire.bsky.social
The Diamant d’Or, a prize launched more than a decade ago to champion complex eurogames the organisers felt were being overlooked by more mainstream board game awards, has unveiled its eight finalists for 2026:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

@kinsonkeygames.bsky.social @paverson.bsky.social
Box covers for the eight finalists of the 2026 Diamant d'Or board game award. Presented in two rows of four, they are (top row: Ada's Dream, Ants, Galactic Cruise, Keyside; bottom row: Luthier, Philarmonix, Recall, Sweet Lands).
January 5, 2026 at 1:19 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
The Diamant d’Or, a prize launched more than a decade ago to champion complex eurogames the organisers felt were being overlooked by more mainstream board game awards, has unveiled its eight finalists for 2026:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

@kinsonkeygames.bsky.social @paverson.bsky.social
Box covers for the eight finalists of the 2026 Diamant d'Or board game award. Presented in two rows of four, they are (top row: Ada's Dream, Ants, Galactic Cruise, Keyside; bottom row: Luthier, Philarmonix, Recall, Sweet Lands).
January 5, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
minervatabletop.co.uk
Playtesting successes in 2025!

Last year we had a total of NINE games published that had been designed by our South London playtest group or playtested at Playfest London 🤯

Congratulations to everyone involved! Which games have you played/are looking forward to?

#BoardGameDesign 🎲✂️
Published in 2025: 21x (Naylor Games) Chroma Arcana (Roc Nest Games) Crumbs! (Minerva Tabletop Games) Divide & Conker (No Drinks On The Table) Grab Bag: Jungle (Rob Harper & Mike Harrison-Wood) One For Sorrow (Kevin Newman) Pandora Celeste (Guntower Games) Sakana Stack (Huff No More) Tricky Landing (Huff No More)
January 1, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
matthewdunstan.bsky.social
My first video looking back at 2025 - this one focussed on the state of the board game industry and what it means for designers.

A very happy holiday season to everyone!

youtu.be/XH4o2alaNoA

🎲✂️
The state of the board game industry for designers in 2025
YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan
youtu.be
December 26, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
cardboardedison.com
Hey board game designers! Just SIX DAYS left until submissions for next year's Cardboard Edison Award open! Get your pitches and prototypes ready! cardboardedison.com/award
Logo for the 2026 Cardboard Edison Award
December 26, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
amabel.bsky.social
- anything Lunarpunk Games is doing
- keep an eye on things released for the Indie Game Night Market, which sometimes get republished elsewhere
- Dan Thurot often highlights small weird companies and self-publishing designers
trickvi.bsky.social trickvi @trickvi.bsky.social · 9d
I've recently moved (matured?) my interests in the board game hobby to smaller/indie publishers and designers. Where would you recommend I take my first steps?
December 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Aww, thanks for the kind words everyone - Pickle’s quite rightly feeling very sorry for herself, but she should be fine after an operation on the 30th. Meanwhile I’m making the most of flying solo by reading in the bath in the afternoon with an absolutely enormous Baileys 😂 Merry Christmas!
A tortoiseshell cat on a grey towel, with some board games visible on a shelf behind. Pickle!
December 25, 2025 at 3:33 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Merry Christmas everyone! Weird one this year as our ancient cat Pickle has chosen the last few days to acquire an extremely painful and expensive to treat dental issue 😅 So I’ve just waved the family off to see relatives while I stay home solo to give her medicine. Will get to party a bit 2mrw tho!
December 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
425suzanne.bsky.social
Game designers who "can't draw" but want art for prototypes... beyond the wealth of public domain stuff available (there's lots) there are artists who make stuff that's VERY affordable and Itch has a ton on sale right now. #NoGenAI

itch.io/game-assets/...
screenshot of itch.io game dev assets on sale showing a variety of listings including "forest nature pack" and "skeletons character pack" in a variety of graphic styles.
December 19, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Board game publishers Stonemaier, CMYK and Eurydice Games on how they’re utilising – and paying to include – fan designs in their releases:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Thanks to @stonemaiergames.com @jacksonpope.bsky.social and @cmyk.games for taking part!
Six strange creatures represented on wooden blocks. Including a worried-looking yellow banana with a tiny black hat, a yellow anteater in a pink and black striped shirt riding a unicycle, and a blue rabbit whose legs are moving so fast they are a circular blur. They are on a multicoloured board made up of different coloured squares, with the whole image on a yellow background. Magical Athlete board game by Richard Garfield, published by CMYK Games. Two cards from the board game Wingspan, both featuring an image of a bird, and text explaining the card's in-game rules. Central to those is a packet of cards titled Wingspan Fan-Designed Bird Cards - specifically the British Birds set. They are placed on a dark brown wooden table. Wingspan cards from Stonemaier Games. A hand prepares to flick a black die with white spots. The die is sitting on the grey plastic cutout of a futuristic space ship, with a smaller ship cutout also visible in the bottom right. The cutouts are on a blue, start-filled galaxy-style mat. FlickFleet from Eurydice Games.
December 18, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Italy-based Ares Games has expanded its distribution operation again, signing a deal with five other board game publishers to help get their games into the hands of European players:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
Logo for board game publisher Ares Games. ARES in white, angular text, on an almost oval orange background with small indentations in the top and bottom. Many, many more copies of the logo are visible in miniature in a tesselated pattern in the background, faded more than the main, central logo. Board and miniatures from the board game This War of Mine. The board is dark and sinister, and the miniatures, in grey, represent survivors of an armed conflict. Many cards, smaller board and other components are also visible. A red rally car on a yellow background, the words DIRT & in black and DUST in red above D&D style adventurers under a red and purple sky, with Mysthea written in ghostly white above
December 18, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
emmalarkins.bsky.social
💼 I’m looking for work as a board game designer.
🌎 I’m open to in-person, hybrid or remote work.
⭐ I’ve previously worked at the Uzzle and made Abandon All Artichokes, Starry Night Sky, and other board games.
Four photos - several of early Abandon All Artichokes board game prototype, vegetables with cartoon eyes. One of person with pink hair holding the published copy of Abandon All Artichokes in front of shelves of board games.
December 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Italy-based Ares Games has expanded its distribution operation again, signing a deal with five other board game publishers to help get their games into the hands of European players:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
Logo for board game publisher Ares Games. ARES in white, angular text, on an almost oval orange background with small indentations in the top and bottom. Many, many more copies of the logo are visible in miniature in a tesselated pattern in the background, faded more than the main, central logo. Board and miniatures from the board game This War of Mine. The board is dark and sinister, and the miniatures, in grey, represent survivors of an armed conflict. Many cards, smaller board and other components are also visible. A red rally car on a yellow background, the words DIRT & in black and DUST in red above D&D style adventurers under a red and purple sky, with Mysthea written in ghostly white above
December 18, 2025 at 4:18 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Board game publishers Stonemaier, CMYK and Eurydice Games on how they’re utilising – and paying to include – fan designs in their releases:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...

Thanks to @stonemaiergames.com @jacksonpope.bsky.social and @cmyk.games for taking part!
Six strange creatures represented on wooden blocks. Including a worried-looking yellow banana with a tiny black hat, a yellow anteater in a pink and black striped shirt riding a unicycle, and a blue rabbit whose legs are moving so fast they are a circular blur. They are on a multicoloured board made up of different coloured squares, with the whole image on a yellow background. Magical Athlete board game by Richard Garfield, published by CMYK Games. Two cards from the board game Wingspan, both featuring an image of a bird, and text explaining the card's in-game rules. Central to those is a packet of cards titled Wingspan Fan-Designed Bird Cards - specifically the British Birds set. They are placed on a dark brown wooden table. Wingspan cards from Stonemaier Games. A hand prepares to flick a black die with white spots. The die is sitting on the grey plastic cutout of a futuristic space ship, with a smaller ship cutout also visible in the bottom right. The cutouts are on a blue, start-filled galaxy-style mat. FlickFleet from Eurydice Games.
December 18, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
matthewdunstan.bsky.social
Today's video is about pitching to multiple publishers at the same time, and what to do if you get an offer from one of them.

🎲✂️

youtu.be/KVqfMec6YCM
How to deal with multiple publishers wanting to sign your game
YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan
youtu.be
December 15, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
matthewdunstan.bsky.social
Fantastic video by Pam Walls on the increasing use of AI in board games, and the need (more than ever) to support artists, illustrators and graphic designers in the industry.

youtu.be/Ci5pOjyJknI?...
We need to talk about AI slop in board games
YouTube video by Pam Walls Game Design
youtu.be
December 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
leder.games
We're Hiring!

Are you our next Executive Director of Operations? Check the listing and see. ledergames.com/pages/careers
Careers
Leder Games is a medium-sized studio based in St. Paul, MN that designs and produces innovative board games. We market our titles to become the owner’s new favorite game, games that will require…
ledergames.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Root and Arcs publisher Leder Games has axed its next Kickstarter campaign just a few weeks before its expected launch, after the game’s creator abruptly left the publisher and took his design with him:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
Cartoon-like illustration of four people in a getaway card, three inside and one on the roof. They are being pursued at a distance by a police car. The word TAKE is visible in large white letters in the top left, below much smaller text which says 'from the studio that brought you ROOT and ARCS'. Illustration for Take, the planned Kickstarter from Leder Games which has now been cancelled. Head and upper body photograph of a man with light blonde/ginger hair and short ginger beard, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a red zip-up hoodie, where the logo for Leder Games is visible. Copied of Leder Games board game titles including Root and Vast are visible on shelves in the background. Ted Caya, designer of the heist board game Take.
December 12, 2025 at 11:26 AM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Root and Arcs publisher Leder Games has axed its next Kickstarter campaign just a few weeks before its expected launch, after the game’s creator abruptly left the publisher and took his design with him:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
Cartoon-like illustration of four people in a getaway card, three inside and one on the roof. They are being pursued at a distance by a police car. The word TAKE is visible in large white letters in the top left, below much smaller text which says 'from the studio that brought you ROOT and ARCS'. Illustration for Take, the planned Kickstarter from Leder Games which has now been cancelled. Head and upper body photograph of a man with light blonde/ginger hair and short ginger beard, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a red zip-up hoodie, where the logo for Leder Games is visible. Copied of Leder Games board game titles including Root and Vast are visible on shelves in the background. Ted Caya, designer of the heist board game Take.
December 12, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
boardgamewire.bsky.social
A criminal investigation against the business has also been closed after a failure to find fraudulent behaviour, misappropriation of funds or suspicious financial movements by company management:
boardgamewire.bsky.social BoardGameWire @boardgamewire.bsky.social · 27d
Mythic Games, formerly one of the most successful crowdfunding-focused board game publishers of all time, has officially been liquidated after a financial collapse which left it unable to fulfill millions of dollars-worth of Kickstarter projects:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
December 10, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by BoardGameWire
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Mythic Games, formerly one of the most successful crowdfunding-focused board game publishers of all time, has officially been liquidated after a financial collapse which left it unable to fulfill millions of dollars-worth of Kickstarter projects:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
December 10, 2025 at 11:47 AM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
A criminal investigation against the business has also been closed after a failure to find fraudulent behaviour, misappropriation of funds or suspicious financial movements by company management:
boardgamewire.bsky.social BoardGameWire @boardgamewire.bsky.social · 27d
Mythic Games, formerly one of the most successful crowdfunding-focused board game publishers of all time, has officially been liquidated after a financial collapse which left it unable to fulfill millions of dollars-worth of Kickstarter projects:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
December 10, 2025 at 5:41 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Mythic Games, formerly one of the most successful crowdfunding-focused board game publishers of all time, has officially been liquidated after a financial collapse which left it unable to fulfill millions of dollars-worth of Kickstarter projects:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
December 10, 2025 at 11:47 AM