The Covenant Cast

We take wild guesses at what 2022 might bring, both for Covenant (the store build begins!) and the tabletop industry. What will happen with trading card games, living card games, unique deck games, and even in our ignorance, miniatures and board games?

Join us for the last episode of the year, wherein we take a look back at 2021 and trace the big moments through notable podcast episodes. A little too perfect that this year began with "What is the point of collectibility" and ended with " Blockchains and NFTs". It's been a weird one.

We share our research about blockchain technology, explain how these systems work (hopefully), scope the NFT trends in tabletop (as well as more generally), and do our best to remain objective and open in the face of a movement that has historically had difficulty convincing others that it creates real value.

It feels familiar doesn't it? An influx of new TCGs hitting the market after a collectible boom, with significant financial success and often without the previously expected focus on rules, organized play, long-term distribution, and market position. This time, nostalgia for that first TCG boom - and the Big Three (Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh) that arose from it - seems to be a driving factor. Join u...

Getting back into a collectible game - for us, that's the Flesh and Blood TCG - brings you back into the inevitable tension between players and investors. The former is annoyed by rising prices and product scarcity created by hoarded, unplayed products, while the latter is annoyed by players who don't understand how without investors, a game will not be financially sustainable (and will, then, die...

Having attended a few big events recently, and having hosted one of our own, we run down the punch list of what needs to happen if you want to host a truly incredible tabletop gaming event.

We've recently launched the capability to fulfill UK orders domestically via Royal Mail - at least on a select number of products. Join us for a conversation about the process, the complications, and the future.

Having recently implemented a small but long-in-the-works change to our subscription system, we were reminded yet again that innovation is often more unseen grind than startling revelation. Join us for a bit of self-reflection that explains exactly what that means.

While we were attending the biggest Flesh and Blood event to date, The Calling in Las Vegas, Fantasy Flight dropped some very significant KeyForge news. Get our full rundown of both, and how those events impact their respective games.

After much deliberation and assessment of the landscape and costs, we've canceled our plans to attend Gen Con this year. But the curiosity only grows stronger - what exactly is Gen Con 2021 going to be like in this environment? And can smaller publishers take advantage?

At the root of some of the hesitancy to jump into a game like Earthborne Rangers or a genre like RPGs (roleplaying games) is a simple question: if you can't win a game, why is it worth playing? And at a certain point, is it even a game? We've seen it pop up a lot lately, so put on your philosophy hats and join us for a deep dive into the point of, well, everything.

Earthborne Rangers has officially launched on Kickstarter, and it is a fascinating change of pace for the platform - certainly when it comes to tabletop games. We hope you'll join us for an equally fascinating (to us, at least!) conversation about vision, systems, and disruption, with Earthborne as the centerpiece.

A beautiful new customizable, cooperative card game launched by the former head of Fantasy Flight Games, Andrew Navaro, is undeniably going to get our attention. Join us for a conversation about Earthborne Rangers, the first from Earthborne Studios, which will hit Kickstarter on July 27. Follow the project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/earthbornegames/earthborne-rangers

In a follow up to the previous episode about "old school" organized play, we reflect on another "old school" concept - traveling significant distances to play tabletop games. Between Gen Con and various Flesh and Blood events, it's a joy to rediscover what we so often took for granted - and what we're fortunate enough to do.

Two almost too coincidental announcements happened recently - Magic announced the end of "Pro Magic", including the Pro Tour, while Flesh and Blood announced its new Organized Play structure, which included pathways to its own Pro Tour and World Championship. It's a fascinating moment, and one that may well be formative for the industry when we're looking back in a decade; so let's dive into it.

We originally asked this question in Episode 32 of the cast, when Six Packs Six Weeks was announced for L5R. Now that Arkham Horror has transitioned from 7 SKUs to 2 SKUs, with Investigator and Campaign Expansions, we're back asking the eternal question - what does Living Card Game even mean?

Recent announcements that major publishers - Asmodee, Paizo, Ultra Pro - will not be attending Gen Con 2021 fulfills an assertion from Episode 136 of the cast: breaking habits like convention attendance gives publishers an opportunity to determine what really impacts their bottom line. If sales are unmoved or improved without convention attendance, the logical move is not to return. The upside? A...

During the ongoing research and planning process for our next local store, we've consistently run into paradoxical perspectives about what a store should be (free tables, well-staffed, well-stocked, plentiful events, warehouse pricing) and what is worth paying for (almost nothing). These kinds of paradoxes run up and down the chain, and have for a long time. Is it time to be more realistic?

By the end of last week's episode, it had become clear that there was a lot more to explore on this topic of passion, innovation, and disruption in tabletop games. Are local game stores the next "Blockbuster", or will they drive the next major development in the industry - along with the publishers promoting them? Join us for another tiny sliver of an immense conversation.

It's a classic, near-eternal tale - passion launches something wonderful, and then a shift from those early priorities leaves it vulnerable to disruption. We see this across all industries, from restaurants, to films, to music, and of course right now in tabletop games. Are the titans capable of adapting in time, or is this the beginning of a new, transformative era?

In the midst of a "seller's market" for a good number of games, it's all too easy to curse yourself for selling too soon, or not buying in soon enough, or selling at the wrong price. How far are you willing to push? Retailers and players can quickly find themselves in a devastating spiral, one that applies to every facet of life, and one that we are keen to discuss on this week's episode.

Tabletop games have relied on a number of promotional tools throughout their history, and content previews are at the top of the list. Having now experienced the Flesh and Blood approach of a big "preview season" right before release, we discuss when this tactic works, why it works, and the more general tabletop marketing considerations that publishers and retailers should consider.

After years of watching release dates get delayed, confused, and broken (even by publishers themselves), it's worth backing up and really asking - what's the point of release dates for the majority of tabletop products?

In our "How to Ruin a Game" series, we talked a lot about balancing a game and sticking to foundational principles instead of throwing things at the wall and banning whatever created problems. Flesh and Blood, Ashes, and Skytear are all demonstrating "principle-first" design in their own way, and it is wonderful to see. Join us for a conversation spurred by the first FAB ban, Drone of Brutality.

With the announcement of KeyForge Adventures and Flesh and Blood rumored to be testing a PvE variant of the game (as well as Skytear having a similarly positioned new offering on the horizon), we can't help but discuss the possibilities of head to head games giving players an opportunity to cooperate against a common enemy. Aren't those the best experiences anyway? Find all previous casts, as well...