Brainwaves - Board Game and Tabletop News Show

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/new...

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   http...

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-he...

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.co...

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-pre...

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...

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://boardgamege...

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  ...

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.c...

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...

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 Associ...

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-sec...

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 Rolepl...

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...

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:...

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-ni...

Oliver is back in the studio giving us a full complement of hosts this week! On Brainwaves Episode 138 we look at awards, shipping issues, a Tempest reising in the industry and look ahead to some conventions Iain is attending.    Headlines   As D’Or Winners announced https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/news/french-board-game-award-winners-announced/   Cardboard Edison Awards https://cardboardedison.c...

The Brainwaves team are back to bring you the best in tabletop gaming news. This cast covers callous corporations, soaring crowdfunding, fantastically diverse awards, and D&D on stage?    Headlines   Hasbro Financials https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/02/13/magic-dd-maker-hasbro-lost-over-1bn-in-q4-predicts-wotc-revenue-decline-in-2024/ https://investor.hasbro.com/financial-information/...

It’s the team of Iain and Jamie this episode to bring you all the best, and worst, in tabletop gaming news. From Funko selling off their best asset, to Mojo award winners, we have all the latest breaking news.    Headlines   Funko sells game division https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/01/17/funko-just-sold-its-board-games-assets-and-prospero-hall-design-team-to-rummikub-maker-goliath/ https:...

The Brainwaves Team are back from our festive hiatus. Every two weeks we bring you the best in tabletop gaming news from the controversial to the down right strange. This episode we cover Hasbro’s unwanted Christmas present, Wizards in AI art trouble (again), Tabletop Mentorship programme expanding, and can you guess what Iain thought he would never type into the show notes? Headlines Hasbro cuts...

The team are back after a longer break between episodes and the tabletop world has been busy. From more art theft, to awards, loads of updates, and unfortunate lawsuits Jamie and Iain bring you the best in tabletop news from across the world in the last Brainwaves of the year!    Headlines   Wizards steals more art https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/magic-the-gathering-game/news/magic-the-gathering...

It’s just the two of us, by which I mean Oliver and Iain bringing you the tabletop news this week. This episode we cover the collapse of games companies, the formation of organisations, where you can watch the new D&D TV channel, and much more on episode 133 of Brainwaves.   Headlines   Devil pig down the drain https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3179322/here-statement-today?fbclid=IwAR31BF_-WUGV...

It’s a spooky news cast. No not really. Well maybe a bit. At the start. Blame Jamie. This episode of Brainwaves the team bring you a Hasbro heavy episode as that company releases its third quarter earnings, Magic changes its booster format, Wizards starts a TV channel. All this and more in Brainwaves Episode 132.   Headlines   Wizards starting TV channel https://www.polygon.com/23919779/dnd-dungeo...

Oliver and Iain are back behind the mics after a little hiatus due to holidays and lurgy. We bring you a bumper crop of news from the last month from companies suing netflix to Essen using creep AI, companies closing down, others asking for money and all the news from across the tabletop gaming hobby! All this and more on episode 131 of Brainwaves.    Headlines   Evil Genius sues Netflix regarding...

In this edition of Brainwaves the team cover Berserk Games not paying their dues, troubles at Haba, and the continued rise of AI in the hobby. All this, and more, on this episode of Brainwaves.   Headlines   Berserk Games   https://twitter.com/digisprite/status/1700078934769987626   https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2757485/seeking-help-regarding-berserk-games-resolved-reop   Dicebreaker Article we...