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BoardGameWire
@boardgamewire.bsky.social
4.6K followers 1K following 1.1K posts
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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Veteran Arkham Horror and Descent: Journeys in the Dark designer Kevin Wilson spoke to BoardGameWire about how he plans to make a success of his return to freelancing after tariff-related downsizing at Kinfire series publisher Incredible Dream earlier this year:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
Head and shoulders photo of a man with long brown hair which falls below his shoulders. He has a short dark moustache and goatee beard with flashes of grey, and wears a black t shirt. Board game designer Kevin Wilson.
November 19, 2025 at 4:05 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
The last big board game con of the year kicks off on Friday as Pax Unplugged returns. BoardGameWire rounds up the most interesting-looking panels for current and hopeful industry pros, from growing your evergreen title to getting your start as a tabletop artist:

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Visitors mill around an aircraft hanger-sized hall full of board game vendors. Pax Unplugged.
November 18, 2025 at 3:37 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Wyrmspan and Apiary designer Connie Vogelmann has taken the plunge into full-time board game design following the huge success of her first two creations - and the destruction she says is being caused by Donald Trump in her former career as a grants law attorney:

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Head and upper body photo of a woman with long brown hair covering her shoulders. She wears blue-rimmed glasses and a teal-coloured v-necked t-shirt, and sits on concrete steps. Wyrmspan and Apiary board game designer Connie Vogelmann. Boards, cards and wooden components from the board game Wyrmspan on a light brown table. A hand is visible from the left of the image holding a single card, which features a cat-like dragon. Board game Wyrmspan by Connie Vogelmann.
November 18, 2025 at 2:31 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Tonight’s gaming - having a great time playing @plaidhatgames.bsky.social’s Summoner Wars with my 9-year old recently, looking forward to introducing it to @alexspencerdale.bsky.social - keen to get Compile by @justgravyllc.com out of shrink and onto the table too! And @perryjon.bsky.social’s banger
Three board game boxes - summoner wars at the back, Compile to the left and Air, Land & Sea to the right - on a wooden dining table
November 14, 2025 at 6:23 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Kickstarter workers celebrate end to 42-day strike after securing four-day workweek, minimum salary, AI protections:

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36 zoom call windows in a 6x6 grid, with each person holding a fist up in solidarity. Members of the Kickstarter United union celebrate the end to their strike action.
November 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
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An attempt by financially-troubled board game publisher CMON to raise money by selling new shares has fallen through for the second time this year:

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The letters C, M, O and N in a yellow square on a purple background. Logo for board game publisher CMON.
November 13, 2025 at 1:38 PM
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Prolific board game designer Amabel Holland has won the second annual Bobby Nunes Memorial Award - recognising exceptional discussion of cultural issues in historical gaming - for her video essay on Kurt Vonnegut's long-lost board game:

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@amabel.bsky.social
A woman with long brown hair, slightly curled and wavy at the ends, looks up at the viewer. She wears black-rimmed glasses and a blue dress, and is sitting in a red chair. Board game designer and video essay maker Amabel Holland.
November 13, 2025 at 12:31 PM
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BoardGameGeek thread title of the day
Black text on a white background which reads Vampire Lords - Historical inaccuracies
November 13, 2025 at 9:41 AM
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“We’re not giving up”: Star Realms maker Wise Wizard Games lays off staff, citing rising costs, unstable US tariffs situation.

Read this and all the other latest board game news, including CMON's failed share sale, in the latest BoardGameWire newsletter:

buttondown.com/boardgamewir...
The words Wise Wizard Games in the centre of the image. The GAMES is on a scroll. To the left are three futuristic looking space ships, and to the right are several red dragons. The W of Wise Wizard is very large and has a wizard's hat on top. A blue planet is visible as if from space in the background.
November 12, 2025 at 4:21 PM
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Ravensburger pushes for Upper Deck to pay $3.8m legal fees it racked up defeating ‘groundless but unrelenting’ Disney Lorcana lawsuit:

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Mickey mouse wears a red and brown pointy hat and carries a very large pair of scissors. To his left is Elsa looking at the viewer and conjuring a snowflake, while to the right Maleficent looks at Mickey askance. Below them all are the words Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game, with Ravensburger's logo in the bottom right (the company name in white on a blue background).
November 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Veteran German board game publisher Amigo Spiele has restructured its top leadership for the second time since the start of last year, after long-serving executive Joachim Ulbrich revealed he will retire at the end of 2025:

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Upper body photo of three people smiling at the camera, with trees and grass visible behind them. A woman in a white shirt folds her arms in the centre, flanked by two men wearing light coloured shirts and dark suits. The man on the left has short wave grey hair, a short grey bear and glasses, while the man on the right is taller, has a bald head and longer grey beard. The woman has brown hair which falls down to below her shoulders. Amigo Spiele's new managing director team of Alexander Jost, Alexandra von Reeken and Cristiano Scibetta. An older man with short white hair and a white moustache and soul patch smiles at the camera in this headshot image. He wears a pale blue shirt open at the neck, and there is a brighter light blue background behind. Amigo Spiele managing director Joachim Ulbrich.
November 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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High price complaints and a sluggish start have led Steamforged Games to slash the Terra Mystica special edition all-in price by over $100 within hours of its Gamefound launch. BoardGameWire spoke to company CEO Rich Loxam about current challenges in crowdfunding:

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A board game box which says Terra Mystica Special Edition in gold, on top of a scene of mountains, water and greenery. To the right are green and yellow wooden components in the shape of buildings and people. Head and shoulders photo of a man with short brown hair and a beard looks at the camera. He is wearing a black t shirt with an orange lanyard. Rich Loxam, CEO of Steamforged Games.
November 5, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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Botanicus scores Italian game of the year award win a month after scooping a Nederlandse Spellenprijs, Castle Combo creator Grégory Grard named 2025 designer of the year:

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Red, yellow, blue and green-coloured wooden components such as people, frogs and squirrels on top of a board representing the site of a botanical garden. Cards and other cardboard chits and components are also visible. The board game Botanicus. A bearded man with short, spiky brown hair looks directly into the camera. He wears a black hoodie with a meeple logo on one breast, and a white t-shirt underneath. Blurred foliage and pink flowers are visible behind. Board game designer Gregory Grard.
November 5, 2025 at 12:18 PM
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Altered, the trading card game which broke Kickstarter records with its €6.2m debut crowdfund two years ago, is running almost €2m short of the amount needed for its latest expansion - despite having raised more than 10x its crowdfunding goal from backers:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
A robed figure in white and blue faces away from the viewer as they enter a brightly coloured city. A wizard like character to the left and person with two extra mechanical arms to the right welcome them. Visible too are the words Altered in silver at the top, and SEEDS OF UNITY in gold at the bottom.
November 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Asmodee has unveiled its second surprise partnership for flagship title Catan in as many weeks, this time teaming up with a major professional sports franchise for the first time in the form of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves:

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

@hovdestad.ca @catan.com
A white logo of a howling wolf on a blue background, a green letter x and the word CATAN in white. A person wearing a wolf mascot costume sits at a table in the middle of a basketball court. Multiple copies of the board game Catan are stacked on either side of the table, and a copy of the game is set up before the wolf. A toy sheep sits on a chair to the left, and a stack of logs has been placed on a chair to the right. The words 'WOOD FOR SHEEP' have been crossed out at the top of this image, replaced by 'TIMBER FOR WOLVES'. Below is a timber card from the board game Catan, and a card styled on that but instead featuring a howling wolf.
November 4, 2025 at 11:53 AM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
The world’s biggest board game fair, Spiel Essen, secured a record-breaking 220,000 attendance this year after expanding into a seventh massive hall – while the decision to scrap 4-day passes secured a hefty boost to visitor numbers on its often quieter final day:

boardgamewire.com/index.php/20...
A woman in red clothes with horns on a large yellow poster at the main door of the Spiel Essen 2025 board game fair Crowds of people flock around stalls in this aerial view of Hall 6 of the 2025 Spiel Essen board game fair A person dressed in a yellow, purple and white cat mascot costume with cheering people behind. Meeps, the mascot for the Spiel Essen board game fair. Two adults and two children play a game of the Heat: Pedal to the Metal board game on a specially designed racing car table at the 2025 Spiel Essen board game fair.
November 3, 2025 at 4:24 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Happy Halloween! My 9-year-old took immense delight painting me up ahead of trick or treating. “Should I do right up into your bald bits?” 😂

Looking forward to getting back to BoardGameWire-ing on Monday after a week of Spiel followed by a week of school holidays childcare. Until then: stay spooky!
A man with his face painted like a skeleton. He wears a black t shirt featuring cartoon cats performing a demonic summoning ritual.
October 31, 2025 at 4:26 PM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
SETI continues powerful awards run by beating Endeavor: Deep Sea, Bomb Busters to 2025 Deutscher Spiele Preis:

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

Congrats to @czechgames.com @heidelbaer.de @frostedgames.bsky.social @pegasusspiele.bsky.social @burntislandgames.bsky.social and all the nominees!
A smiling man wearing a black t shirt featuring SETI in white letters and an orange radio telescope. He holds a copy of the SETi board game in his left hand and a golden award in his right, shaped like octopus tentacles holding a box. Behind him is a large banner which says SETI and CGE. Tomas Holek, designer of Deutscher Spiele Preis-winning board game SETI. Four men smile as they show off identical awards in different colours: golden, silver, bronze and rainbow. The awards are all shaped like octopus tentacles holding up a cube. This year's winners of the Deutscher Spiele Preis German board game awards.
October 29, 2025 at 11:38 AM
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Getting closer to Spiel Essen!
A white aeroplane being boarded at an airport An electronic sign on a train which reads RE6 Essen Hbf
October 22, 2025 at 9:17 AM
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Board game giant Asmodee has continued its push into crowdfunding by picking up Cthulhu: Death May Die from financially-troubled CMON – a series which has raised almost $10m from backers to date

This + all the latest industry news in today's BoardGameWire newsletter!

buttondown.com/boardgamewir...
The words Cthulhu Death May Die on a sinister background which features claws, tentacles and the suggestion of a demonic face. Below this the words 'Now part of Asmodee, Inspired by Players' are visible in white. A faint background shows a Lovecraftian monster with red eyes.
October 20, 2025 at 12:19 PM
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“Production will stop, shipments will be frozen, and some companies may not make it”: board game industry braces for further pain after Trump threatens 130% tariffs on China:

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A large container ship in the sea with many brown, yellow, white and other coloured shipping containers on board. A smaller ship with about a dozen containers is visible to the right.
October 17, 2025 at 3:40 PM
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Spiel Essen eyes record 220,000 attendance as world’s biggest board game fair expands into seventh huge hall:

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

@spielessen.bsky.social @carolrapp.bsky.social
Aerial shot of crowds at the 2024 Spiel Essen board game fair. A large blue banner hanging from the ceiling saying KOSMOS in white is visible to the left, a red and yellow banner with CATAN in yellow is centre to the right. Many other exhibition booths fill the image. A woman smiles at the camera, She is wearing a black hoodie, with a medium-blue jacket over the top, and is wearing dark blue jeans. She has short red hair, which is swept to the right and covers her ear on that side. Carol Rapp, managing director of the Spiel Essen board game fair.
October 16, 2025 at 1:17 PM
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Bohnanza, 6 Nimmt publisher Amigo Spiele shutters US operation after eight years, saying tariff uncertainty was the ‘final impetus’:

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@amigogames.bsky.social

Wishing all the best to @alexyeager.bsky.social and Corey Delmonto for whatever comes next for them.
The letters AMIGO in red, surrounded by a jagged black line like an explosion. The logo for German board game publisher Amigo Spiele. A yellow board game box with a cartoon image of a green runner bean aggressively hoeing a patch of earth. Two other beans, one orange, one blue, are visible in the background. The blue one is dressed like a cowboy. Box for board game Bohnanza, the title of which is written in red along the top.
October 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
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Asmodee makes US mass market push with launch of new party games-focused studio Moodbox Games:

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@moodboxgames.bsky.social
Purple looping writing which reads MOODBOX GAMES, with the O having three yellow lines issuing from its top, perhaps symbolising hair, or the O as the head of a shocked person. Logo for Asmodee's new US mass market focused party games studui Moodbox Games. the word asmodee, with with a thick black shadow. In the shadow underneath is the text 'Inspired by Players', also in white. The logo for board game publisher and distributor Asmodee.
October 15, 2025 at 9:49 AM
boardgamewire.bsky.social
Cryptozoic Entertainment co-founder John Nee has stepped down as CEO of the board game, TCG and comics publisher, with veteran team member Shahriar Fouladi taking on leadership of the business:

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

@cryptozoic.bsky.social
Head and shoulders photo of a man wearing a dark blue shirt with light blue jellyfish on. He has shortish grey hair swept to one side in a messy style, and thin black-rimmed almost circular-lensed glasses. John Nee, the co-founder and outgoing CEO of Cryptozoic Entertainment. Head and shoulders photo of a man looking up and to the right. He has short, black curly hair and wears black-rimmed glasses and a grey top. A red lanyard bearing the word Cryptozoic in white is visible around his neck. Shahriar Fouladi, the new CEO of Cryptozoic Entertainment.
October 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM