BoardGameWire

Sorry to every American reading the word 'pitches' here rather than 'fields' and spitting out their morning coffee - sometimes my Britishness is too powerful to overcome 😅

Feels like there’s not a lot of liberty per square metre at this current time 🙃

Haha, fair! The biggest chunk of readers is American so I tend to default to that for this kind of thing, but maybe I should start also measuring in Bayeux Tapestries

Aerial photo of crowds of people inside a huge hall, which is full of booths exhibiting board games. Spiel Essen Hall 3 from 2025.

A human-sized mascot of a yellow, white and purple cat stands in front of a crowd held behind a red and white tape barrier inside a large hall. The crowd behind are smiling and laughing. Meeps the cat, the mascot for the Spiel Essen board game fair, and attendees waiting to enter the show from Hall 8 in 2025.

Giant board game fair Spiel Essen has expanded again to ‘max out’ its venue space amid “overwhelming interest” from exhibitors. The show's exhibition floor is now bigger than 15 American football pitches:

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

Actually the only correction levelled at me so far is "pitches are what board game designers do to publishers" 😂

#GAMAExpo2026 Horizons Fellowship Tour highlighting underrepresented creators.

A tread...

Just had an answer from them about that: “We love Essen – as a venue and the city – and have no intention of leaving. For the foreseeable future SPIEL will remain in Essen as it has for more than 40 years now.”

brb, changing the headline again

I believe they are actually called 'eggball arenas'?

That's a great comparison (although Spiel 2025 was 77,500 sq m, 62,500 was 2023 - but the point stands). And Spiel have even put extra rules in place post-Pandemic to try to lessen crowded aisles etc. Man, FIJ must feel great to walk around 😂

Sorry to every American reading the word 'pitches' here rather than 'fields' and spitting out their morning coffee - sometimes my Britishness is too powerful to overcome 😅

Haha, sorry - it's hell to be British 😂

Aerial photo of crowds of people inside a huge hall, which is full of booths exhibiting board games. Spiel Essen Hall 3 from 2025.

A human-sized mascot of a yellow, white and purple cat stands in front of a crowd held behind a red and white tape barrier inside a large hall. The crowd behind are smiling and laughing. Meeps the cat, the mascot for the Spiel Essen board game fair, and attendees waiting to enter the show from Hall 8 in 2025.

Giant board game fair Spiel Essen has expanded again to ‘max out’ its venue space amid “overwhelming interest” from exhibitors. The show's exhibition floor is now bigger than 15 American football pitches:

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

Two company logos - above, a blue shaded sphere, with the words Universal Distribution in black and blue underneath. Below, a hexagon to the left with an orange border, with the letters S and M inside in orange. To the right, the words Stonemaier Games, with the 'o' replaced by a Hex.

Colourful cardboard components and wooden eggs next to cards and player boards from the board game Wingspan. A cardboard bird's nest dice tower is in the centre of the image.

Universal Distribution has agreed exclusive rights to distribute Stonemaier Games titles into US hobby retail, which amounts to about $1.5m of business each year:

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

@stonemaiergames.com

Oh, no argument there

Orange and yellow writing which reads Origins, with the dots on the 'i's represented by hexagonal shapes meant to reflect gaming dice. The words Game Fair are underneath in smaller, black writing. Logo for the Origins Game Fair, where the annual Origins Awards are presented.

The Origins Awards, one of board gaming’s longest-running prizes voted on by industry professionals, has unveiled its latest slate of 120 nominees – and come under fire for failing to mention any of the games’ designers for the third year in a row:

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

Ha, it was way longer than 10 minutes to find, copy, paste and link up - that’s a big bunch of awards! Absolutely worth it though, those designers deserve to be celebrated. 🎉

Two company logos - above, a blue shaded sphere, with the words Universal Distribution in black and blue underneath. Below, a hexagon to the left with an orange border, with the letters S and M inside in orange. To the right, the words Stonemaier Games, with the 'o' replaced by a Hex.

Colourful cardboard components and wooden eggs next to cards and player boards from the board game Wingspan. A cardboard bird's nest dice tower is in the centre of the image.

Universal Distribution has agreed exclusive rights to distribute Stonemaier Games titles into US hobby retail, which amounts to about $1.5m of business each year:

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

@stonemaiergames.com

Orange and yellow writing which reads Origins, with the dots on the 'i's represented by hexagonal shapes meant to reflect gaming dice. The words Game Fair are underneath in smaller, black writing. Logo for the Origins Game Fair, where the annual Origins Awards are presented.

The Origins Awards, one of board gaming’s longest-running prizes voted on by industry professionals, has unveiled its latest slate of 120 nominees – and come under fire for failing to mention any of the games’ designers for the third year in a row:

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

Stonemaier Games' diversification of its flagship bestseller Wingspan into a trilogy of standalone titles powered the company to record revenues of more than $25m last year - eclipsing its previous annual high from the post-Covid board game boom in 2021:

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

Great catch, thank you!

Reviewers: if something doesn't seem right about a game, please take a moment to re-read the rules or even reach out to the publisher or designer for clarification before publishing a review. That extra step can save heartache and damaged reputation on both sides.

Stonemaier Games' diversification of its flagship bestseller Wingspan into a trilogy of standalone titles powered the company to record revenues of more than $25m last year - eclipsing its previous annual high from the post-Covid board game boom in 2021:

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

YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan You belong here

This week's video was a bit tough to make, reflecting on a few things that have happened in the last few weeks in the wider board game design community. Hopefully some folks find it useful.

youtu.be/y3P0gg8dBrs

🎲✂️

Registration for the Playtest Zone @ UKGE2026 is now open Registration for the Playtest Zone at the UK Games Expo 2026 is now open. This event is for designers, who would like members of the g...

Registration for the Playtest Zone at the UK Games Expo 2026 is now open, via @playtestuk.bsky.social

We ask top designers how to make board games about the worst parts of human history Board game designers Cole Wehrle and Amabel Holland talk about designing distressing historical games - and whether to make them at all.

A long read from me today, about the delicate task of designing respectful historical board games. Massive thanks to @amabel.bsky.social and @colewehrle.bsky.social for talking to me about their design approaches. www.wargamer.com/board-games/...

YouTube video by Game Night Picks GameNightPicks Official Response to Sponsorship Allegations

Recently, GameNightPicks was attacked in an online statement which cast doubt on the integrity of this channel and myself.

To clear up the misinformation it caused, please see the following response video, which provides facts and examples to address concerns: youtu.be/FLQT1M9lOyM

Geoff this sounds SO flipping cool

Several Kickstarter United members have been laid off three months after labor strike The union alleges that this is an act of retaliation by Kickstarter management.

Four members of @kickstarterunited.org who played an active role in the November 2025 labor strike have been laid off, with one member forced out of the bargaining unit. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Kickstarter, alleging anti-union retaliation.

A sign which reads Secret Beer Garden now Open at Rear

The absolute state of this