Another primary content creator at BGG is striking out on their own. This is from a Reddit thread, but captured here as both text & graphic in case the Reddit thread gets memory-holed
W. Eric Martin is leaving BGG & starting an independent board game news site
click to enlarge
EDITED to add you can get a sneak peek and join the email list for a reminder when the site is live at wericmartin.com (password 9763). The content is all placeholder, but the memberships, etc. are all set up. Eric doesn’t know I’m posting this…he hates tooting his own horn but I think he deserves a shout out…even if I am biased!
FYI for anyone who follows the BoardGameGeek news feed:
W. Eric Martin will be wrapping up his BGG news role in early 2026 after about fifteen years of covering tabletop games there.
He’s starting a new site called Board Game Beat, which is focused on the craft, culture, and business of tabletop games. The plan is for regular industry news and release coverage, convention reporting, deep-dive pieces on industry happenings, interviews with designers abd publishers, a monthly video, and more.
A few things that might matter to folks here:
The site is privacy-respecting by design (No ad networks, trackers, or pixels)
There will be minimal, direct-sold ads instead of a wall of programmatic banners
Eric will have a Fediverse-first social presence (Mastodon, etc….no FB, Instagram, Twitter, and so on.)
The site is in final prep now and is planned to go live on Jan 26. If you mainly know Eric from BGG and want to keep up with his reporting once he’s done there, Board Game Beat is where he’ll be putting his energy next year.
Full disclosure: I’m Eric’s partner (on this project and in life), so I’m biased…but I figured people here might want to know what’s happening with the BGG news guy before he quietly disappears from the front page.
So Candace is off on her own, and now freelancing with GMT Games as well, and Eric’s left the building. Seems like there’s some issues at BGG that probably need some scrutiny.
Seminars are pretty much locked down on scheduling and we’re just adding a couple of more game events. Look for a big event preview shortly! Registration is open – early bird badges are sold out, but regular ones are still available
This week’s batch of temptations has arrived—resistance is futile
Last week’s announce-something-significant-right-after-#TuesdayNewsday-goes-live was Neva Wargames announcing their first 2 titles were shipping, and did it within 15 minutes of the news going live
Someone at MMP screwed up and left their clocks on Central Europe time because there’s no other explanation for them announcing the pre-order for On To Berlin! before we release the news on our normal schedule
No Game of the Week on sale from Wargame Design Studio this week, because it’s all on their annual Winter Sale, through 4 January, where everything that’s more than a year old is 25% off
Le Sueur’s post-convention reports typically follow a format: costs, sales and revenue, profit, the logistics of setting up a booth, general observations, highlights, and areas for improvement. These are figures and details that some business owners may be squeamish about sharing openly, but it’s a remarkably transparent practice that Le Sueur wants to encourage across the industry. “Hopefully, [the reports can] help people avoid the mistakes that I’ve made or point them in the direction of what worked for me and what to expect around the actual, practical costs of things,” he said. “I’ve gotten where I am today through the advice and guidance from others, and I’m happy to do my part to help share that knowledge.”
This week’s best written coverage from the wargaming world
🎉 Ardwulf’s counter clipping show celebrated 250 episodes 🎉
Our new favorite “it’s time for the holidays” moment
Shout out to the PR staffer this morning who reached out to ask what my email was, in an email message. It's okay. We get it. We're all tired and ready to hibernate.
"Free-play, human-adjudicated wargames expose conceptual weaknesses, challenge participants to adapt in real time, and provide adversaries who think, adapt, and exploit operational opportunities."I will dare to add: Let go of Course of Action "Wargaming" and shift to mission command. #wargaming
Something neat from outside the wargaming world we thought was worth sharing
That’s all for this week!
You can chat about the news in the Intel Dump in our discussion forums and next Tuesday we return with another intel update for you
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