This is a copy of the “script” we used to organise Brainwaves Episode 163. It is not a full transcript but should give you an overview of the news as we reported it. Quotes are in italics.
Headlines
UK Games Expo figures
- UK Games Expo, the largest hobby games convention in the UK, has reported record figures for this year’s event.
- Taking place from the 30th of May to the 1st of June, the expo recorded over 42,000 unique visitors, that is the number of tickets sold, which is a nearly 7% increase on last year.
- Total attendance was over 72,000 people, translating into a 10% increase over 2024. The total attendance figure counts people each day that they come to the show. So if I visit for all three days, I’m counted three times, for example.
- There were 780 exhibitors in this year’s show, which is up from 685 last year.
- The trade hall space for 2025 was about 30% larger than in 2024, as it covered halls 2, 3, 3A and 4, while last year, UK Games Expo was held in halls 1, 2, 3 and 3A. In fact, parts of hall 1 were used this year as a ticket queue and for the Bring & Buy sale space, which previously occupied one of the other halls last year.
- Speaking to a number of regular attendees, we were told that the new seamless layout was confusing, because there was no clear distinction between halls. However, speaking to new visitors, we heard that they liked the seamless flow through all of the exhibition halls and into the open gaming space.
- Some exhibitors told us that their sales were down between 30-40% compared to last year, which they put down to being in a dead spot region of the exhibition space.
- However, the increase in trade space meant that UK Games Expo broke another record.
- Speaking to BoardGameWire, Richard Denning, co-organiser of the event, said that UK Games Expo had finally overtaken US giant Gen Con in trade hall size, even though attendance at the UK show still lags behind Gen Con’s 71,000 unique visitors recorded last year.
- Denning also told BoardGameWire this:
- “It’s actually now I think the second largest trade hall after Essen Spiel – about 2,000 sq m more than Gen Con.
- “Gen Con has vastly more event space of course, and we are not suggesting we are in any way bigger than them, but the trade hall element is maybe on a par or even a bit bigger. So my plan to bring a world class level trade hall to the UK has essentially been achieved.”
- Next year, UK Games Expo celebrates its 20th anniversary, running from the 29th to the 31st of May 2026 again at the NEC in Birmingham.
Union Busting Escalation
- On Friday, the 26th of May, eBay,
the global e-commerce marketplace platform, announced the closure of its TCGplayer authentication centre in Syracuse, New York. - TCGplayer is a major online marketplace and fulfilment service for trading card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Obtaining TCGplayer’s authentication centre was a key part of eBay’s push into the trading card sector. eBay acquired TCGplayer in 2022.
- Within minutes of the announcement, employees reported that dozens of unidentified security guards entered the authentication centre building, allegedly blocking doors, following workers into breakrooms and restrooms, and in some cases, using physical force.
- According to reports from members of the TCGunion-CWA Local 1123, guards claimed they were being paid to “beat on people” and use misogynistic language around staff.
- In one especially worrying account, an eBay representative reportedly grabbed a union member who was cleaning out his locker, accusing him of trespassing and threatening to call the police. That worker was later placed on administrative leave.
- Zach Freeman, an eBay employee and union member, described the scene as follows:
- “Deploying security guards to stalk us immediately after letting us know we’d all be losing our jobs is psychological warfare. TCGplayer and eBay are doing everything in their power to punish us for exercising our federally-protected rights to organize.”
- The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union filed an unfair labour practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing eBay of closing the centre to avoid completing a union contract, after more than 600 days of bargaining.
- Dennis Trainor, the Vice President of CWA District 1, made the following statement:
- “We refuse to accept eBay’s corporate terrorism and contempt for its workforce. We will hold eBay accountable in the courts, in the streets, and in the public eye.”
- A petition demanding accountability from eBay CEO Jamie Iannone and TCGplayer CEO Rob Bigler has already gathered more than 2,500 signatures.
- A public rally is planned for Tuesday the 27th of May at 6PM Eastern Time outside the TCGplayer offices in Syracuse. Union members, labour groups, and local officials are expected to attend.
CMON Fire Sale
- As we reported in previous episodes of the cast, CMON, the US-based publisher of games such as Zombicide, Blood Rage, Rising Sun and Ankh, has been having financial troubles for some time.
- On the 30th of May, the company announced in its latest press release that it had completed two important IP transfers as part of a strategic refocus on its core projects.
- Negotiations for selling certain properties had started last year, and CMON now confirms that Tabletop Tycoon as one of the companies taking over a number of major game lines.
- Tabletop Tycoon is an independent US board game publisher from New Hampshire known for titles such as Everdell, Nemo’s War or A War of Whispers through its many brands, including Starling Games, Victory Point Games, Sparkworks and Flying Meeple.
- CMON confirmed that Tabletop Tycoon would take over Arcadia Quest, Starcadia Quest and CMON’s Legendary Series, which includes Blood Rage, Rising Sun and Ankh and that CMON was confident that the new owner would continue to deliver the high standards fans expect from these games.
- Additionally, CMON confirmed that another of their IPs has also been sold to a different publisher, but details about the deal have not yet been made public.
- CMON emphasized that ongoing projects and upcoming retail releases would remain unaffected, and that the fulfilment for current campaigns would continue, but with some delays, but that they would pause launching new crowdfunding campaigns until conditions stabilized.
- CMON said it had completed development on several retail games that will debut at Essen Spiel later this year, with full retail launches to follow soon after. More information on these titles is expected next month.
- CMON also teased a new series of video updates titled Inside CMON, aimed at keeping fans better informed about upcoming games and production progress.
- Discussion: Will the selling of IPs help or is this just another nail in the coffin for the company?
News
Spiel des Jahres nominations announced
- Every year, the tabletop world is glued to their laptop screens when the Spiel des Jahres, the German non-profit board game association, announces the nominations and shortlist for its annual awards.
- There are three prizes on offer:
- the Kinderspiel des Jahres, awarded to family games that are not only accessible to young children, but also offer enough interest to parents,
- the Kennerspiel des Jahres, which goes to games that offer people who are familiar with the hobby an extra challenge, and
- the Spiel des Jahres, the most coveted award, while often seen as ‘the best game of the year’ award, the prize is better thought of as the best game for people looking to explore beyond the more mainstream games they may regularly come across.
- All three awards are for games released in German in the preceding 12 months, and their goal is more about introducing people to the hobby, than it is about declaring a single “best” game in each category.
- For the 2025 awards, the association announced on Tuesday, the 20th of May its nominations in a live stream, as follows:
- Kinderspiel des Jahres:
– Cascadia Junior by Fertessa Allyse and Randy Flynn from Kosmos / AEG / Flatout Games with illustrations by Beth Sobel,
– Die Mäusebande by Christophe Lauras from Game Factory with illustrations by Marie Desbons, and
– Topp die Torte by Wolfgang Warsch from Schmidt Spiel with illustrations by Michael Verdu. - Kennerspiel des Jahres:
– Endeavor: Die Tiefsee (Endeavor: Deep Sea) by Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray from Frosted Games / Board Game Circus with illustrations by Fahed Alrajil,
– Faraway by Johannes Goupy and Corentin Lebrat from Kosmos with illustrations by Maxime Morin, and
– Neuland (Looot) by Charles Chevalier and Laurent Escoffier from Game Factory with illustrations by Xavier Gueniffey Durin. - Spiel des Jahres:
– Bomb Busters by Hisashi Hayashi from Pegasus Spiele with illustrations by Dominique Ferland,
– Flip 7 by Eric Olsen from Kosmos / The Op Games with illustrations by O’Neil Mabile, and
– Krakel Orakel by 7 Bazis from Topp. - In a Bluesky post dated Monday, the 20th of May, Elizabeth Hargrave, designer of the cultural juggernaut that is Wingspan, shared her annual statistics about the representation of women and PoC in the annual awards.
- According to her analysis, Fertessa Allyse, co-designer of Cascadia Junior, is the first woman nominated for a Spiel des Jahres award since 2023. Hargrave believes Allyse is also the first ever black woman and possibly the first black designer nominated for one of the three Spiel des Jahres awards.
- The winners of all three awards will be announced in a live-streamed ceremony on Sunday, the 13th of July hosted at the nHow in Berlin. The live-stream is going to feature English subtitles, making it accessible to the international audience that the award attracts nowadays.
- Oliver is hoping to be there and record interviews with the winners, but nothing is yet confirmed.
HCM Kinzel GmbH goes into insolvency
HCM Kinzel website: https://shop.hcm-kinzel.de/
- The German website Verbraucherschutzforum.berlin, a blog that shares information to help protect consumers, reported on Monday, the 19th of May that HCM Kinzel GmbH, is in the process of going into insolvency. HCM Kinzel GmbH is a German publisher best known for the Next Station series of roll-and-write games.
- According to the consumer blog, HCM Kinzel GmbH filed an application for the opening of the insolvency proceedings as a result of extremely difficult economic conditions.
- In response, the Heilbronn District Court issued a ruling on Monday, the 19th of May, ordering far-reaching measures to protect the company’s property and clarify its financial situation.
- The court also protected HCM Kinzel GmbH from all enforcement actions against it, by blocking ongoing and future proceedings.
- The court appointed attorney Dr. Tibor Braun as the provisional insolvency administrator with the aim of stabilising the company and preparing the company for the main proceedings at a later date.
- A key objective of the administrator is to determine whether the company’s assets are sufficient to cover the costs of the insolvency proceedings.
- The coming weeks are important for creditors, business partners, and employees because they will clarify whether an orderly restructuring is possible, whether an insolvency plan will be pursued, or whether liquidation is necessary.
- The website of HCM Kinzel GmbH is still active as at time of writing on Wednesday, the 21st of May and there are no official statements on their website or any of their social media pages referring to the insolvency application.
- We will bring you updates as we get them.
Cardboard Edison Award Winners 2025 Announced
https://cardboardedison.com/award
- The Cardboard Edison Award is an international contest for unpublished board games that is now in its 10th year.
- We have covered it many times in the past and are always excited to see the variety of game themes and settings that were created by a diverse group of designers.
- Many of the previous year’s award entries have since been picked up by publishers or were successfully self-published and have become well-known and often much-beloved titles.
- Some examples include the 2017 entry Castell by Aaron Vanderbeek, a game about the Catalonian folk tradition to build human towers up to 8-10 people high, which was published by Renegade Game Studios, or the 2023 entry Diatoms which was successfully funded through Kickstarter by the designer Sabrina Culyba (“Sylbah”).
- The winner of the 2025 award is Dot Com by Sammy Salkind, an app-assisted economic strategy game where players face off as startup founders in the booming internet industry of 1999.
- The judges had this to say about the game:
- “The game does a great job of replicating the hectic vibe of a startup, along with plenty of funny, winking implications of how that world works.”
“The gameplay was really smooth and tight. A perfect blend of light strategy and fun chaos from the time pressure.”
“Upon finishing I immediately wanted to play again. I felt overwhelmed, and confused, but joyously so.”
“It is easy to pick up and play but also offers layers of depth. There is so much strategy in this little game.”
“This was my #1 pick overall! We had a super fun time, and we wanted to keep playing.”
- “The game does a great job of replicating the hectic vibe of a startup, along with plenty of funny, winking implications of how that world works.”
- In 2nd place is Babble by Jonah Kagan, a strategic word-building game where builders are cursed to speak different dialects to build a tower to the heavens.
- Judges called it a “fun twist on a spelling game” and “a really interesting word stacker.”
- The award’s 3rd place went to Branching Out by Jeff Grisenthwaite, in which players cooperate to grow and shape a beautiful 3D Bonsai tree together.
- Judges praised how the “cooperative play with hidden goals” created an “eye-catching 3D centerpiece.”
- The list of winners of the 2025 award is long, so please check out our show notes to the full list on the Cardboard Edison website.
- There is a huge variety of games from designers from diverse backgrounds.
- Congratulations to all the winners. We can’t wait to see what publishers will pick up which games.
- Discussion: As always, a great list of games. The themes, settings and gameplay are always fascinating.
Jobs, Opportunities, and Events
Oliver
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TabletopJobs
https://www.game-in-lab.org/en/international-call-for-projects/
- Game in Lab, a program that does research about board games on an international level, has opened its 2025 international call for research projects from researchers worldwide.
- Game in Lab was founded by Asmodee, the global board game publishing and distribution company that is owned by Embracer Group, and Innovation Factory, a non-profit association dedicated to fostering collaboration and innovation through digital education.
- Game in Lab has already supported more than 20 research projects through previous rounds. Eligible research projects may last up to 24 months.
- This year, special attention will be given to research that explores sustainability, justice and inclusion, healthy people and/or planet, cultural heritage, and civic engagement, democracy, and social competence.
- Game in Lab is offering a total of EUR 85,000 in funding, divided across two research tracks.
- The first track supports Fundamental Research, that is theoretical work that advances understanding of games, their design principles, and the frameworks used to analyze them, with a total budget of EUR 45,000.
- The second track focuses on Applied Research with a Social Action Dimension, funding practical, action-based projects that use games to address real-world social challenges in collaboration with communities, educators, or health professionals. This second track has a budget of EUR 40,000.
- Each project may be awarded up to EUR 20,000.
- Funded research teams are expected to contribute to Game in Lab’s outreach efforts, including producing articles for the website or external publications, and may be invited to present at Game in Lab-supported events.
- Applications must be submitted online, and proposals from public research institutions will receive particular attention, although collaborations with private institutions are also welcome.
- All awarded funds must be allocated entirely to research activities, and co-financing is encouraged.
- Full details, including eligibility criteria and application instructions, are available on Game in Lab’s official website, a link to which can be found in our show notes.
- Disclosure: Oliver has done paid work for Asmodee.
- Discussion: This is the first time I have heard about Game in Lab, but it’s great to see that research in our hobby is a thing. It makes sense that Asmodee is a founding member, because they probably benefit from the research’s findings.
IWGB launches tabletop freelancer survey
The survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdT1nYVqWkNVZa_jH_9q1Ofw_k-7Bbpko9EkrZFsvGU6ny3eQ/viewform
- The Game Workers branch of the IWGB, the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain, announced on a social media post that their survey for freelancers in the TTRPG industry is open until the 31st of August.
- The form was put together by freelance IWGB tabletop workers to get a better understanding of the rate of freelance pay in the UK since 2019.
- The reason that the survey goes back until 2019 is because there is very little historical data about the freelance rates for tabletop workers.
- The historic information will allow the IWGB Game Workers Branch to act to improve the industry more easily and more effectively.
- The survey is for anyone who did any freelance work in the tabletop industry since 2019, including art, writing, editing, translation and anything else, and even if they no longer work in the industry now.
- All information collected is anonymous.
- Please see the show notes for a link to the survey if you want to take part.
Tabletop Games Blog Raffle
http://tabletopgamesblog.com/raffle
- The raffle in aid of The Trussell Trust, a charity that runs UK food banks, is running again for June. Tickets are £1 and all proceeds, minus fees, go directly to the charity. The prizes for the June raffle are review copies of Katmai – The Bears of Brooks River and Death Valley: Highs & Lows, both of which are used but in very good condition, and a brand new copy of Pilfering Pandas.
Battle in the Burgh
Patreon Shoutouts
Iain
Kevin Bertram
James Naylor
Shaun Newan
game-a-lot.fun/en
facebook.com/gamealotboardgames
Our Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/thegiantbrain
Fanroll
https://fanrolldice.com/ref/2783
Outro
Jamie
StoryBake- game and bake your game
https://www.rascal.news/storybake-is-out-of-the-oven
- Roleplaying games can teach you many things, like how to be a stylish swashbuckling pirate, how to live in a dystopian computer-driven hellscape or how to fail to survive against the unrelenting hordes of eldritch abominations beyond the stars. But what about something…tastier?
- StoryBake by Dan Walter was crowdfunded last year and on the way soon. Dan, a professional baker, has put together a game of magical bakers of varying specialities who can save lands with their culinary creations and their magical bakery.
- Whilst this theming is lovely in itself (to me at least), the game also comes with recipes to bake at home based off some of the 13 pre-written adventures, including Babka Yaga and Java Lava Creme Brulee.
- Sounds like a lovely RPG and i might have a wee look for it.
- Favourite bakes?
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