Brainwaves

It’s been a mix of huge stories and not much else in the last few weeks. Iain and Jamie bring you the lowdown on what is going on at World of Game Design, who is bagging awards, hasbro’s financials, and what size of country the population of D&D Beyond could establish. All this, and more, on episode 153 of Brainwaves   Headlines   WOGD investigation by Rascal https://www.rascal.news/former-world-of-game-design-employees-claim-tabletop-company-exploits-workers-and-clients/   Zac Goins Facebook post https://www.facebook.com/xzacklee/posts/pfbid02yf9PBqMH47ReMwKBBH7rVVTtKtYZaSioPAAYJb57Wq7YpannnPSZGLCyR1xvnsNAl   Hasbro conference call https://investor.hasbro.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-third-quarter-2024-financial-results   https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/58109/hasbro-ceo-reveals-magic-plans-secret-lair-volumes-d-d-dtc-percentage-more   https://www.enworld.org/threads/hasbro-hit-with-layoffs-wizards-of-the-coast-impacted.707539/page-2   FSC award https://boardgamewire.com/index

In this special edition of Brainwaves we present the interviews that we carried out at Tabletop Scotland 2024. Thanks so much to everyone who spoke to us.    People and Organisations   Tanya Floaker Edinburgh Indie Gamers Hive Mind Games Village on Stilts  Hall or Nothing Kayla Dice - Rat Wave Game House Laurie O’Connell Phil Harris   Games mentioned   DrievthruRPG links are affiliate links   Dead Air Be Seeing You  Connection Machine Solstice The great Martian tripod race Wise Women  Conspiracy & Reality  Outliers Signal to Noise Numbers Station  Stealing the Throne The Gardener is Dead  Hopes and Dreams of the Orbital Bound  What’s so daring about sky pirates Duskbringers Runesword Colostle  Sandwich Master Brother Why? At your Peril Wretched and Alone   Our Links   Thanks very much for listening. If you like what you’ve listened to then the best way to help us out is to share the podcast and drop us a review and rating on itunes.  You can also follow us on   Oliver: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/ Disco

Iain is taking this cast off so Jamie and Oliver are at the helm. This episode they cover further troubles at Mythic, companies being saved and consolidating their lines, controversial giveaways and more on episode 152 of Brainwaves.    Headlines   Mythic Games France liquidates  https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/10/17/no-mythic-games-hasnt-gone-into-liquidation-but-its-fate-should-be-decided-by-the-end-of-the-month/ https://annonces-legales.leparisien.fr/annonce/23cba43f-8a82-48c1-8f57-6a2285e239c3   Funforge ‘saved’ by Tokaido deal https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/10/11/did-it-save-the-company-yes-and-no-funforges-ceo-on-fighting-its-financial-woes-by-selling-the-tokaido-line-to-stonemaier/   Spiel Essen Sold Out https://www.spiel-essen.de/en/press?view=article&id=222&catid=12   News   Barnes & Noble to list game designers  https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/57959/barnes-noble-begin-listing-game-designers   NAC Wargames hands out Nazi memorabilia https://bsky.app/profile/celacant

This special episode of Brainwaves is all the interviews I conducted at Gothcon earlier in the year. Gothcon is Sweden’s premier convention with games across all genres of the hobby and it was my privilege to be invited across. You can read all about my time there in the posts below and listen to the wonderful RPG community I had the pleasure of being involved with    https://giantbrain.co.uk/2024/03/30/gothcon-2024-arrival-and-day-1/   https://giantbrain.co.uk/2024/03/31/gothcon-2024-day-2/   https://giantbrain.co.uk/2024/04/07/gothcon-2024-why-do-i-attend-events/   Pontus   Gothcon  https://wordpress.gothcon.se/en/   Blackfisk Publishing    https://blackfiskpublishing.com/   Mika   https://mindy.nu/2024/07/29/bubblare-ian-mcallister-fran-brainwaves/   Emil. ROAR   https://open.spotify.com/show/3gptPHq0l1mg2ZuyuWMQ4R?si=5318d580a0f14560&utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree&nd=1&dlsi=8196858e350a4fab   Hjalmar Norden, Red Moon Roleplaying   https://www.redmoonroleplaying.com/   Magnus Seter  

While Jamie is off in that there London, Iain and Oliver are once more behind the mics to bring you the latest tabletop news. In episode 151 we cover Wizards taking over Commander, CMON losing board members, the usual smattering of awards, and a good few stories about unions. All this and more on this episode of Brainwaves.    Headlines   Commander Format Firestorm https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/on-the-future-of-commander https://www.rascal.news/finance-bros-and-harassment-force-mtgs-biggest-player-owned-format-into-corporate-hands/ Zenobia Award Finalists Announced https://zenobiaaward.org/finalists/   CMON loses COO https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/09/19/cmons-coo-david-preti-is-resigning-after-eight-years-at-the-company/ https://investor.cmon.com/governance   Updates   Cops called on TTWU protestors  https://www.rascal.news/brooklyn-strategist-owner-calls-police-on-employee-walkout/   https://www.gofundme.com/f/supportTWU?ref=rascal.news   https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tablet

We have a longer than usual cast for your this week as we take a look at the controversy around Simon Lavender, a UK board game influencer. It is our only headline this week, but we still cover the business of the industry with new hires at Restoration Games, Asmodee, financial hits at CMON, a series of competitions and more!    Headlines   Influencer Simon Lavender accused of bad practices   https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3352419/a-simon-lavender-review-what-to-do-with-dishonest/page/1   The accusations at the centre of this are on page one of the link above. There are a large number of screenshots we have saved in regards to this story that will appear in a separate document linked to below. These include Simon’s replies in the thread above and my conversation with Simon.   SCREENSHOTS   Amass Games channel page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg-md_i730k&ab_channel=AmassGames   Amass games video on The Strange Forgeries of S.C. Rheber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg-md_i730k&ab_channel=AmassGa

Jamie is off seeing some shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, so Oliver and Iain are behind the mics this week to report on the latest tabletop news. From poisoning and sexual harrasment in chess to astonishing numbers, we bring you the news that really matters.  Headlines Chess Poisoning & Sexual Harassment  https://www.chess.com/news/view/russian-chess-player-suspended-after-allegedly-poisoning-her-rival   https://www.polygon.com/gaming/440094/international-chess-scandals-2024   Lego and Asmodee build a house https://www.lego.com/en-my/aboutus/news/2024/august/lego-asmodee-games?locale=en-my&age-gate=grown_up   Gen Con sells out https://www.gencon.com/press/gen-con-2024-breaks-attendance-records-press-release https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/08/08/gen-con-celebrates-record-71000-attendance-after-event-sells-out-for-first-time-in-history/ https://www.gencon.com/press/4daysellout https://www.gencon.com/press/2024-charity-partners-announcement-tangram-rose-gauntlet   News   Embracer Numbers https://e

With Oliver back from the Spiel des Jahres we have interviews with the winners, chat about the controversy, dive into finances, and lift up awards. Just another day at GB HQ as we bring you the best in tabletop gaming news.    Headlines   Spiel des Jahres 2024 awards ceremony controversy https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/preisverleihung-kennerspiel-des-jahres-2024/ Matteo Statement https://medium.com/@baddeo/why-i-wear-55cb9459d8e7   Hasbro Earnings https://www.fastcompany.com/91163137/hasbro-earnings-reveal-monopoly-go-made-3-billion-dollars   Diana Jones Award 2024 Winner Announced https://x.com/dianajonesaward/status/1818883478617723112?s=4 Tabletop Industry Network (not Indie like Iain said on the cast) https://uktin.substack.com/ Alex’s email alex.speidel@unitedpaizoworkers.org   News Braincrack Games   WOTC removes credits https://www.enworld.org/threads/wotc-removes-digital-content-team-credits-from-d-d-beyond.705711/   Funforge not forging fun https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/07/22/financiall

Oliver is off at the Spiel des Jahres ceremony and Brettspiel so it is up to Iain and Jamie to bring you the latest tabletop news. From Facebook scams to new presidents we bring you the news that really matters across the tabletop world on episode 147 of Brainwaves.    Headlines   Scam takes in major publishers  https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/07/08/multiple-board-game-publishers-fall-prey-to-scammers-impersonating-80000-member-board-game-facebook-group/   Ennie Awards open  https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2024/   Spiel des Jahres https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/2024_preistraeger/   Updates   Berserk Games Update https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2757485/article/44554066#44554066   11 Concurso de Protojuegos https://www.verkami.com/games-contest-2024   Petersen Games and Quimbley  https://www.quimbleys.com/pages/pg-quimbleys-faq   News   Hasbro names new WOTC President  https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/57388/hasbro-names-new-wotc-president   Jobs, Opportunities, and Events   https://www.facebook

In a quieter couple of weeks for the tabletop industry the team still endeavors to bring you the industry news that really matters. From data breaches to big anniversaries it’s all here in Brainwaves episode 146   Headlines   Roll20 data breach https://help.roll20.net/hc/en-us/articles/24620372778775-Data-Security-Incident-July-3rd-2024-FAQ   2018 breach https://blog.roll20.net/posts/conclusion-of-2018-data-breach-investigation/   2024 WiT Wonder Women Awards Nominations https://www.womenintoys.com/nominees https://www.womenintoys.com/wonder-woman-awards https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/07/01/industry-professionals-from-asmodee-flat-river-group-exploding-kittens-nominated-for-2024-wonder-women-awards   Meeps, the Spiel Essen mascot, is back… https://www.spiel-essen.de/en/news?view=article&id=172&catid=8 https://www.spiel-essen.de/en/?view=article&id=175&catid=9 News   2023 Charles S. Roberts Awards Winners Announced https://charlessrobertsawards.com/2023-charles-s-roberts-awards-win

The team of 3 are back again like a renegade master. Only up to date references on this show. It’s another bumper cast as we cover the Spiel des Jahres, trademarks you won’t believe exist, and people on the move in the industry. All this, and more, on episode 145 of Brainwaves.    Headlines Spiel des Jahres Nominations https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/nominierte-spiele-2024.html https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/162128/spiel-des-jahres-nominations-for-2024-captain-flip   Martina Fuchs Interview https://giantbrain.co.uk/2023/07/24/brainwaves-episode-126-spiel-special/   Meeple trademarks  https://gamefound.com/en/projects/cogito-ergo-meeple/meeple-inc/updates/9   https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/06/14/the-word-meeple-is-being-trademarked-in-the-us-in-reaction-to-cease-and-desist-activity-from-carcassonne-publisher-hans-im-glueck/   https://web.archive.org/web/20101130212607/http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Unity_Games/message/2301 EU trademark: https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/registerHA

Hello everyone,   In a break from our usual cast, this is a set of interviews I carried out at UK Games Expo 2024. I’ve provided links to all the folk mentioned and more besides in the show notes. Hope you enjoy!    Folks we mention on the cast   Soul Muppet Publishing Leyline Press Mousehole press Paverson Games  Black Chantry Null Signal   Orbital Blues  Slightly Reckless Games Wanderer’s Tome   Burn After Running Boardgamewire UK Tabletop Industry Network Arcs Darington Press - Candela Obscura  UK Indie RPG collective  Undaunted Calisto Roland MacDonald Crossed Paths Tabletop Games Blog - Oliver Tabletop Scotland 

The whole team are back together covering a bumper crop of news. Mergers everywhere, UK Games Expo expands (and we were there), awards, controversies, and of course we tell you if Ryan Dancey is accountable. The answer will not surprise you.    Headlines   Steamforged bought Privateer Press rights https://steamforged.com/en-gb/blogs/brands/sfg-acquires-iron-kingdoms   https://home.privateerpress.com/2024/06/03/privateer-press-the-next-phase/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2PzhzcDq_j5L7gg_0Esd1OvoKskXDomYpeb4rZYiQ4EY2MLBiJ3K-ns5c_aem_ARXNYQHsZBzeuEloediavrCp-Otisvcr6wr9GP2XlHPjjhzD0SqbIcDlZOftHMmNO8TPyvLxqPTWbRWjktKcix9g   Update 1 https://steamforged.com/en-gb/blogs/brands/iron-kingdoms-manifesto-part1?_kx=-sFq1XbQgQy7s_Rxhtdsx3d0aCtUpZBpQpd6_AghaTE.Xq6fgY&utm_campaign=WM%2C+IKRPG%2C+P3+-+Manifesto+P1%3A+Vision+%26+Mission&utm_medium=campaign&utm_source=Klaviyo   UK Games Expo figures https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/06/06/record-breaking-uk-games-expo-preps-for-even-bigger-future-after-being-

Oliver and Iain are back in the studio as Jamie continues to travel Scotland. This episode they bring you up to date news on the winners of the Cardboard Edison Award, look at the finances of our overlords, and ask “Is Ryan Dancey accountable?”. Tune in to find out the answer.    Headlines   Cardboard Edison Awards https://cardboardedison.com/ https://cardboardedison.com/award   Asmodee financials and Embracer Write Down https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56967/embracer-writes-down-asmodee-dark-horse   https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/05/23/asmodee-writes-down-more-than-620m-of-asset-value-despite-posting-strong-annual-sales/   Is Ryan Dancey Accountable?   Original tweet https://x.com/PonchoRebound/status/1661308221326229504/photo/3   Apology Tweet https://twitter.com/rsdancey/status/1661409374735327235   Updates   Mythic doubles down  https://gamefound.com/en/projects/mythic-games/rise-of-the-necromancers#/section/rewards/reward-product-20652   Iain’s “Review” https://giantbrain.co.uk/2024/05/19/6-

Jamie is on tour around the islands of Scotland so it falls to Oliver and Iain to bring you the latest episode of Brainwaves. They look at the finances of CMON, support for designers in the US and UK, and cover some interesting programmes from the folk behind the Spiel des Jahres.    Headlines CMON sales https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56802/cmon-sales-flat-2023 Tabletop Games Designers Association https://www.ttgda.org/ IWBG Union welcomes tabletop members https://iwgb.org.uk/en/post/iwgb-tabletop-workers/   Updates   Mythic review email   News Spiel des Jahres Support Programme https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/foerderprogramm-2024-73-000-euro-fuer-spielerische-projekte/ Deutsche Spiele Preis https://spiel-essen.de/de/programm/dsp#abstimmen   Black Lotus beats the One Ring  https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/magic-the-gathering-game/news/magic-the-gathering-pristine-black-lotus-sold-at-3-million-dollar-auction Biggest card tournament https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56813/largest-tcg-tournament-ever   J

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the tabletop industry, but never fear. The Brainwaves team are here to bring you all the latest news both big and small from across the globe.  Headlines Embracer splits up https://embracer.com/releases/embracer-group-announces-its-intention-to-transform-into-three-standalone-publicly-listed-entities-at-nasdaq-stockholm/ https://embracer.com/releases/asmodee-secures-financing-agreement-of-eur-900-million-as-part-of-separation-deleveraging-the-remaining-embracer-group/ https://embracer.com/releases/open-letter-by-embracer-group-ceo-about-the-transformation-into-three-standalone-publicly-listed-entities/   WOTC ceo steps down https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56723/wizards-coast-president-resigns   Goliath buys Lucky Duck https://toyworldmag.co.uk/goliath-acquires-lucky-duck-games/   News Japon Brand joins CMON https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56786/japon-brand-love-letter-machi-koro-to-join-cmon-limited   Kickstarter implements late pledges  https://updates.kickstarter.

Hi folks,   This is another special from my time at Gothcon in Sweden. This is a panel I lead where the panellists and I talk about the state of RPG criticism in 2024 and how we go about reviewing RPG products.   The Panellists Thanks to the panellists for joining me and discussing this interesting topic! Andreas Lundström - Sweden Rolls https://www.swedenrolls.com/ Hjlmar Norden - Red Moon Roleplaying https://www.redmoonroleplaying.com/ Michael Ericson - Äventyrarna Rollspelspodd https://www.facebook.com/arpodd/ Ras https://dragon-legion.com/  

Brainwaves is a whole 6 years old! We would like to thank all our listeners for their support and encouragement over the time we have been running the show.  The whole team are back this episode to bring you the return of Golden Bell, the defence of Hasbro by Chris Cocks, more plagiarism in Magic: The Gathering and much more!   Headlines   Webcomic Name creator sued by Golden Bell https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56568/oh-no-suit-sends-webcomic-name-creator-alex-norris-back-gofundme?fbclid=IwAR157V87k3IHCdMbXEX1IOCca6gkQw6J7myVSPZZP2FXFDxKVgrav7Ifo9I_aem_AbGJEwj7A1FunkxrgJRj7Z16rAdAxaq8Cq67f8Vv2K8gyG1kU8GE1CIOevLobqXVhpSt2yFSzm7tMi8UWYdiwwCU   Episode 110 https://giantbrain.co.uk/2022/11/14/brainwaves-episode-110-tolling-bells/   History of Golden Bell scandals https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/259248/golden-bell-affiliated-projects-and-companies   Chris Cocks interview with NPR https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/04/03/dungeons-and-dragons-hasbro   MTG Plagiarism again https://www.dicebreaker.com/gam

Bit of a different cast to our usual today. This is an actual play I did at Gothcon, Sweden. If you aren't familiar Actual Play is a type of RPG that is recorded for people to listen to how a game plays out. I hope you enjoy it. This one is for Blades in the Dark, a game I love to bits. Players Huge thanks to the folks who played and made my job really easy! Andreas Lundström - Sweden Rolls https://www.swedenrolls.com/ Hjlmar Norden - Red Moon Roleplaying https://www.redmoonroleplaying.com/ Krister Svanlund https://www.svartvikenrp.se/ Giant Brain links for Blades How to play, and run, Blades in the Dark https://giantbrain.co.uk/2023/04/06/how-to-play-and-run-blades-in-the-dark/ Review https://giantbrain.co.uk/2017/07/30/blades-in-the-dark-review/ Player's Review https://giantbrain.co.uk/2022/06/22/blades-in-the-dark-players-review/   Giant Brain socials Discord: https://discord.gg/3bMx2HK75r Blusky: https://bsky.app/profile/giantbrain.co.uk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giantbrainuk/ Facebook: https:/

The team of 3 are back together to bring you the best, weirdest, and most controversial news stories from around the tabletop industry. This episode cover companies collapsing, “compelling” AI, and new factories.    Headlines   Ninja Division files for bankruptcy https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/03/11/thousands-of-kickstarter-backers-left-out-of-pocket-as-super-dungeon-explore-publisher-ninja-division-files-for-bankruptcy/   Hasbro presents “compelling” case for AI https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/news/dungeons-and-dragons-ai-generation-chris-cocks-comments-dice-summit   https://venturebeat.com/games/how-hasbro-is-jumping-on-the-game-opportunity-chris-cocks-interview/   CGE acquires new factory  https://czechgames.com/en/home/news-24-03-01-cge-acquires-their-own-factory/   Updates   Haba emerges from Bankruptcy https://habafamilygroup.com/en/haba-familygroup-end-self-administration-insolvency-proceeding   News   Nasa RPG https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/onlin