Flamecraft designer Manny Vega on quitting his 20-year video games career to make board games his “forever home”
Plus: CMON’s H1 revenue falls almost 25% year-on-year amid heavy slump in wholesale earnings
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BoardGameWire is back from its short summer break, having waved the kids back off to school on Tuesday, and I’ve been eager to get stuck back into reporting and analysis of the board game industry’s biggest happenings.
Our first newsletter of the autumn (or fall if you prefer) kicks off with Flamecraft designer Manny Vega explaining why he’s turned his back on a long career in the “volatile and toxic” video games industry to commit his future to board games - and reveals his plans for 2024 and beyond.
We also have analysis of CMON’s rather grim financial results, with the company’s revenue falling almost 25% to $15.9m for the first half of 2024 - the first time the company’s mid-year revenue has fallen since the pandemic.
The newsletter also features a detailed report on Asmodee anointing its first new CEO in 12 years, with Thomas Koegler taking over at a transformative time for the business given its impending debt-loaded spin off from parent company Embracer Group.
I also want to highlight some changes that will be happening to this newsletter and announce our 2024 supporter drive, which I hope will help BoardGameWire become self-sustaining - so I can commit to it full time rather than squeeze it around my existing day job.
When I launched BoardGameWire in April last year I put out newsletters every three weeks, and increased that to (roughly) fortnightly on the site’s first birthday. In that time the newsletter has grown from solely collating BoardGameWire’s original reporting to also featuring a comprehensive round-up of tabletop news and happenings from around the internet, in addition to dedicated sections focused on board game design advice and the latest job openings in the industry.
From today, the newsletter will be weekly, with the occasional likely gap while, for example, attending Spiel Essen at the start of next month. One newsletter every two weeks will remain free to read, with the other editions requiring a paid subscription to view.
I know times are tough, and finding a few dollars for yet another monthly subscription is not necessarily easy to do! As such, I’ve temporarily dropped the paid subscription price from $8 a month to $5 - or just over $4 per month for an annual subscription. I hope BoardGameWire’s reporting over the past 18 months, providing in-depth coverage of the industry that’s simply not available elsewhere, has proved its value, and I really hope you’ll find it worth your while to upgrade to a paid subscription.
To provide some financial transparency: this newsletter currently has more than 720 subscribers, just 13 of which pay to support the site. I’ve set a pretty modest goal of $500 a month from newsletter subscriptions for the 2024 supporter drive - it currently brings in less than $100 monthly. That would mean about 80 readers upgrading from free to paid. I like to think that’s achievable! And I hope you agree, and can help BoardGameWire go from strength to strength for 2024 and beyond.
Other ways you can help during our month-long supporter drive, which will end at the start of Spiel Essen on October 2, include:
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Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy this week’s newsletter!
Mike Didymus-True - Editor
Flamecraft designer Manny Vega on quitting his 20-year video games career to make board games his “forever home”
Flamecraft designer Manny Vega has been working in the video game industry for more than 20 years, most recently on Electronic Arts' first person shooter Immortals of Aveum. But a lukewarm response to that release left him in a distressingly familiar situation - unemployed, and facing the prospect of hunting for work in what he describes as a "volatile and toxic" industry. Video gaming's loss is set to be board gaming's gain, however, with Vega turning his focus to tabletop as he looks to make the industry his "forever home". BoardGameWire caught up with Vega to find out his game design and illustration plans - and his work on Flamecraft's successor - for 2024 and beyond.
CMON’s H1 revenue falls almost 25% year-on-year amid heavy slump in wholesale earnings
Zombicide publisher CMON‘s mid-year revenue has fallen for the first time since the pandemic, with slumping wholesale earnings putting a dent into the company’s H1 results. CMON posted revenue of just over $15.9m in the first half of 2024, down 24.9% compared to the roughly $21.1m it recorded in the same period in 2023.
CMON’s wholesale revenue sank 39% in H1 2024 compared to the same period last year, falling from almost $9.7m to just $5.9m – its lowest total since the pandemic-hit first half of 2020.
Asmodee’s first new CEO in 12 years takes reins ahead of spin-off from Embracer Group
Board game giant Asmodee has named long-serving exec Thomas Koegler as its first new CEO in 12 years, as the company prepares to carve out its independence from corporate owner Embracer Group. He replaces Stéphane Carville, who as Asmodee CEO from 2012 oversaw the company’s huge expansion from a European player to an international giant, fuelled by a €143m private equity buyout of the business by Eurazeo in 2014.
Koegler, who joined Asmodee in 2015 and was named deputy COO last year, takes charge at a transformative time for the business, as it prepares to spin-off from Embracer after being loaded up with €900m of its parent company’s debt.
Kickstarter board game specialist Orange Nebula signs exclusive US distribution deal with GTS
Orange Nebula, a Kickstarter-focused board game publisher which has raised more than $6m across its campaigns, has inked an exclusive US distribution deal with GTS Distribution. The move expands retail availability of Orange Nebula’s debut title Vindication, which has raised about $1.8m across a trio of Kickstarters, and Unsettled, which has raised close to $3.2m across a pair of crowdfunds.
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Other news:
James Emmerson, Adam Hocherman and Tristam Rossin on what to expect from Wayfarer Games - Mojo Nation
Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere TTRPG becomes the most-funded Kickstarter game ever - Polygon
Related! Brotherwise Games’ Jillian Ross has been promoted to marketing manager in the wake of the Cosmere campaign
Dungeons and Dragons communication manager Greg Tito has quit Wizards of the Coast to work for the Washington Secretary of State office, saying: “It feels good to do something that doesn’t just line the pockets of assholes” - Wargamer
Retailer Board Game Bliss has warned about a scammer impersonating it on Facebook, offering ludicrously low prices
Tabletop Workers Union protest alleged union-busting from Hex&Co management - Rascal News
Brazil’s biggest board gaming event is about to get even bigger - Romir Play House
Catan is getting a new novel that Klaus Teuber penned before his death last year - Polygon
Design Zone
Stonemaier Games’ 10 Steps to Announce, Promote, Launch, and Release a Product
Board game design YouTube channel Board Game Blueprint on finding inspiration for motivation
Designer Diary: Tír na nÓg by Isaac Shalev - BoardGameGeek
Jamey from Stonemaier Games again, this time talking design problems and games that solve them on the Decision Space podcast
Dynamic markets and Dutch auction mechanics explored by Skeleton Code Machine
YouTube channel Board Game Casual recommends their Top 3 free design tools for graphic and image editing
Designer Diary: Building Cudillero by Jorge Tabanera Redondo - BoardGameGeek
Job Watch
US - Senior Director, Industrial Design: Board Game, Hasbro
US - Game Developer, Board Games, Ravensburger North America
US - Systems Administrator, Operations, Gen Con
US - Head of Marketing, BackerKit
US - Game Design Manager, Fantasy Flight Games
US - Design Lead, Fantasy Flight Games
US - Product Line Manager, Fantasy Flight Games
UK - Research and Development Manager, 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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