Brainwaves

The team are back after their close encounter with a rogue sound effect. Brushing off the audio cobwebs, they jump back into the studio to cover Kickstarter Growth, Catan Beer, Dragonlance Lawsuits, Games Workshop profits and much more on this episode of Brainwaves!  You might notice that Iain Chantler disappears about half way through the cast. Iain had a house emergency to attend to so Jamie and I finished the cast off.  Headlines Kickstarter rakes in games cash https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/22/22195749/kickstarter-top-10-highest-funded-campaigns-2020-video-games-board-games 2020 Vision Cast https://giantbrain.co.uk/2020/12/28/brainwaves-special-edition-2020-vision/  Catan Beer taken by the robber https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/catan-1/news/catan-beer-revealed Catan Snugglies https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/catan-1/news/catan-plushie-collection FFG permaban themselves and all users https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/313578-ffg-forum-shutdown/   News Dragonlance lawsuit comes to an end htt

Iain, Iain, and Jamie take a bit of a breather from the regular cast to look back at the year. They are joined by Josh Hartley from the Unlucky Frog to look back at the big stories of 2020 and speculate on what 2021 will bring to the world of the Tabletop. Below the subjects we talk about I’ve provided links to the shows that have featured those subjects, should you want to revisit them.    Subjects   Coronavirus https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-43-executive-bell/ https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/brainwaves-45-multiplayer-solitaire/ https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-49-cancellation-crisis/   Black Lives Matter, representation in the industry https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-50-going-strong/ https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-51-troubling-origins/ https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-55-rolling-wheelchair/   Wizards of the Coast bad PR year https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-51-troubling-origins/ https://giantbrain.podbean.com/e/episode-52-controversial-machines/ https://

It’s the last cast of the year, and over the Christmas break Iain McAllister is rebuilding the HQ. Thankfully the studio isn’t affected and the team gather for one last time in 2020 to cover companies going bankrupt, Gencon announcing new dates, Alexa grabbing more games and the return of RPG corner.   Headlines Sans Detour goes under https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sansdetour/confrontation-classic-the-legendary-skirmish-game/comments https://www.chaosium.com/blogstatement-about-ditions-sansdtour/ https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2224909/sans-detour-red-flags-thread   Gencon announces dates for 2021 https://www.gencon.com/press/holidays-2020-and-gen-con-2021-updates https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47186/gen-con-pushes-back-badge-registration-event-submission https://eu.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/24/gen-con-threatens-move-convention-gov-mike-pence-signs-religious-freedom-bill/70393474/   Alexa catches a hot potato https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/News/alexa-play-big-potato-games   News M

It’s Christmas time at Brainwaves HQ and the two Iains are decorating the tree! It shines magnificently in the corner of the Brainwaves studio as the team cover sinkings, new awards, old awards, Wizards dropping the ball (or should that be snitch?), and the feud between Uri Geller and a card game.    Headlines The Zenobia Award https://www.dicebreaker.com/companies/the-zenobia-award/news/zenobia-award-historical-board-game https://zenobiaaward.org/who-we-are/ GAMA Makes more Changes to the Origin Awards for 2020/2021 Cycle https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47053/gama-makes-more-changes-origins-awards-2020-2021-cycle Games Shipped to Abyssal Floor https://www.dicebreaker.com/amp/games/good-puppers/news/good-puppers-card-game-shipping-accident?__twitter_impression=true   News Update: Netflix Settles Bandersnatch “Choose Your Own Adventure” Lawsuit https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/25/21720533/netflix-bandersnatch-chooseco-lawsuit-settlement-choose-your-own-adventure MODCon Announced, the Online Convention of M

The Brainwaves team are back to bring you the best in Tabletop Gaming News. This week they cover the sad closure of Girls Game Shelf, troubles in a galaxy far, far away, legal troubles here on earth, convention cancellations, interesting kickstarters, and much, much more.    Headlines Girls’ Game Shelf shuts up shop https://girlsgameshelf.com/2020/11/not-goodbye-but-hello/ Asmodee moves Star Wars minis from FFG to Atomic Mass Games https://www.atomicmassgames.com/special-announcement Gale Force Nine sues Wizards of the Coast https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47010/gale-force-nine-sues-wizards-coast   News Pokemon Auction  https://comics.ha.com/itm/memorabilia/pokemon-first-edition-base-set-sealed-booster-box-wizards-of-the-coast-1999-/a/7236-92312.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515 https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47011/heritage-auctions-sets-new-record-sale-price-sealed-pokemon-1st-edition-booster-box GAMA 2021 cancelled https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/46933/gama-cancels-expo-2021-reno Endang

Viva le Revolution! Iain Chantler leads the charge in strike action at the Brainwaves studio! After a brief negotiation involving coffee, the team resolve their differences by coming together behind the mics. This cast we cover new studios, old money, sad partings, pay deals, auctions, and more!  Headlines Critical Role announce boardgame studio https://critrole.com/announcing-darrington-press-our-game-publishing-company/ Ex-Blizzard dev starts Tabletop game studio https://warchiefgaming.com/2020/10/27/chris-metzen-charges-back-into-world-development-with-warchief-gaming/ Pokemon deal goes south https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/oct/28/how-live-streamed-375k-deal-for-pokemon-cards-ended-in-disaster Hasbro Earnings call https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/46853/big-gains-hasbro-gaming-q3 https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/46855/hasbro-developing-d-d-tv-more https://seekingalpha.com/article/4381371-hasbro-inc-ceo-brian-goldner-on-q3-2020-results-earnings-call-transcript?page=1   News Martin McKenna dies h

The team is excited to bring you their first cast live from Essen! Turns out it’s been cancelled. Boo. Gathering themselves and retreating back to the confines of their hotel room the team diligently bring you the latest in tabletop gaming news: Wizards getting sued, more awards, chess cheating continued, rappers, pokemon and much, much more!    Headlines Wizards taken to court over Dragonlance Books https://www.geeknative.com/99114/racism-and-sexism-blamed-for-ruining-multi-million-dollar-dragonlance-deal-as-wizards-of-the-coast-are-taken-to-court/ International Gamers Award Game of the Year Nominees Announced https://therewillbe.games/news-newsflashes/8206-international-gamers-award-game-of-the-year-2020-nominees-announced?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Chess Cheating Crisis Continues https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/oct/16/chesss-cheating-crisis-paranoia-has-become-the-culture   News Wu-Tang Clan play chess for Charity https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/chess/news/wu-tang-chess-rza-gza-char

The cast has hit 10000 downloads and Iain M is throwing a party! He does seem to have forgotten about having to record the cast though. The show must go on and the team wrangle karaoking interns out of the studio and get down to the business of recording cast 58. This time round they cover Origins Awards, Magic meets the Walking Dead, Covid impact on Scottish stores, new crowdfunding sites and much more. Iain M has been hard at work in the basement on his latest news gathering invention, the Rumor Mill. What nuggets has he managed to sift from the detritus of the internet? Listen on to find out.  Headlines Origins Awards announce winners https://www.originsawards.net/ Magic the Gathering/ Walking Dead crossover https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wizards-of-the-coast-responds-to-concerns-over-walking-dead-crossover/1100-6482915/ Scottish stores hit by Covid 19 http://www.commongroundgames.co.uk/ https://www.westendgames.co.uk/   Rumour Mill Battlestar Galactica Returns https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2515543/u

Jamie has returned from the depths of the Brainwaves HQ with the help of Iain C and large quantities of caffeine. As Iain M gets them back in the studio and calms things down the team get back on the news wagon. This cast covers the return of an old friend, more awards, Critical role’s charitable side, old games, new money and much more. Brainstorm returns as the team discusses whether bigger companies should use crowdfunding at all.  Headlines Hero Quest Returns https://hasbropulse.com/products/heroquest-game-system Iain plays Heroquest with Paul Grogan and others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg4TwGKDsKU&ab_channel=GamingRules%21   More Awards https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/the-crew-the-quest-for-planet-nine/news/the-crew-wins-deutscher-spielepreis https://www.dianajonesaward.org/the-2020-award/   Critical Role Foundation https://critrole.com/foundation/   News Cards against humanity sells cafe https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/46589/in-quick-surrender-cards-against-humanity-sells-chicago-board-

Jamie’s back from travels and Iain M has had a nice long sleep. Too long though it seems as they missed the last cast! Making up for lost time the pair, Iain C is fixing the coffee machine, cover Eric Lang leaving CMON, updates from previous reports, Avalon Hill changing hands (sort of), and much more on this edition of Brainwaves.    Headlines Eric Lang leaves Cool Mini or Not(CMON) https://twitter.com/eric_lang/status/1299401294201917441 https://cmon.com/press/eric-lang-steps-down-from-his-exec-role-at-cmon-to-focus-on-design-and-activism   Fantasy Flight Games cancels Organised Play https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/8/24/august-covid-update/   UK Games Expo Award Winners https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=704305163454777&extid=fn6fbyBbGb9NHyDx https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/plan/at-the-expo/uk-games-expo-awards/   News Curse of Hearts returns to sale https://www.geeknative.com/87846/curse-of-hearts-controversial-horny-vampire-dd-goes-back-on-sale/?fbclid=IwAR3hh6ywAvPeZ0doGRhYPrWgTSNxyk7VHu

Welcome to Idle Thoughts our spin-off podcast where the team get together and talk about games they have played recently. This cast was formerly a patreon exclusive that we would occasionally share with the main feed, but it is now going to be a regular fixture of our release schedule. Patrons still get it early and extended, as we do for the Brainwaves cast.  This is a recording of our opinions about a bunch of games that we played when we met up recently in Glasgow to actually play some games together. We cover Overstocked, Swatch, Biblios, Valley of the Kings, Letterpress and Root! Going to try something a bit different for the show notes here. I'll link to the companies for the KS games of course but for the ones that are actually out and you fancy buying we are providing Amazon Affiliate links (marked AL as usual). If you buy the game through one of these links we get a small cut.  Games that we talked about Overstocked  Swatch  Biblios (AL) Valley of the Kings I can only find these two on the current Am

The deluge of news is finally slowing and the team takes a well deserved rest in the gardens, whilst still bringing you the latest information from the world of tabletop. This cast covers the Ennie Winners, Roll20 boom, Combat Wheelchairs, Asmodee going alone, Starfinder returning to Alexa and more! As the storm clouds gather overhead the team discuss the relationship between publishers and reviewers and where the line lies between reviews and paid content.   Headlines Ennies announced https://ennie-awards.com/2020-nominees_winners/ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/11/mork-borg-swedish-metal-role-playing-game Roll20 reports covid RPG boom https://www.geeknative.com/82373/roll20-reports-2020-q2-boom-in-rpgs-dd-reigns-supreme/?fbclid=IwAR0TuxfLid81m4OLS00i6HplH6Zmc-RFaziDb02k037zWq7pTsm18bEB8cA Combat Wheelchair https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2020/08/dd-combat-wheelchair-makes-splash-with-wotc-staff-critical-roles-dm-but-not-all-agree.html AJ Le Brun Interview https://giantbrain.co.uk/2020/08/12/meet

Excavating Iain Chantler out from underneath a huge pile of news the team are reunited and set about the latest developments in Tabletop gaming with enthusiasm (or at least workman-like efficiency). This episode we take a look at the Spiel des Jahres, Uk Games Expo Award shortlists, a whole bunch of financial news from across the industry, Mind Sports Olympiad. Also the return of RPG corner where the team uncovers tales of HORROR!   Headlines   Spiel des Jahres Winner announced https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/en/aktuelle-preistraeger-2020/   UK Games Expo Awards https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/whats-on/show/awards-shortlist/   Board Game Sales Data https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/46196/hobby-game-sales-hit-1-675-billion-2019?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#.Xx68pgJBDHo.twitter   News   Time of Legends Update https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/destinies/time-of-legends-destinies/posts/2906454?fbclid=IwAR1sr6O3YAbCbBiHexahZ1seV2JjpNt0kF9qMW966X1MiMHc-Zh-bsy0kIM   Open letter to retailers from m

On this special episode of Brainwaves we chat to two of the people behind Project Nisei, a fan run continuation of the Netrunner card game. Serenity, Community Manager, and Jonni, Design lead, join Iain and Iain to chat about the challenges of keeping a worldwide community going amidst the current crisis, how the game is continuing to evolve, their plans for forthcoming releases, and the best way for new players to get into this fantastic game of cyber criminals and the corps who hate them.    Jonni http://www.twitter.com/jvtrev http://www.twitch.tv/jvtrev   Serenity https://twitter.com/exalts   Project Nisei https://nisei.net/ https://twitter.com/ProjectNISEI   Other things mentioned   Duelyst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duelyst   Dave Hoyland vs. Kenny Wong match https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmrfrT1lYfI   Make Playing Cards https://www.makeplayingcards.com/   Drivethrucards https://www.drivethrucards.com/   Netrunner subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Netrunner/   There you can also find the link to th

The HQ is on red alert as the news tubes fill up with more information than they can handle. Setting the interns on the problem Iain M and Jamie set about getting the podcast done to reduce the strain on the system whilst Iain C is lost somewhere in the piles of news! This episode we report on the return of Golden Bell to crowdfunding, Wizards having more employee troubles, Twitter Bans, Scrabble bans, deaths, awards and loads more!  Headlines Golden Bell Studios launches crowdfunding site https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/hkxaun/golden_bell_studios_is_starting_their_own/ https://www.thegrowingtreehouse.com/ Wizards Employee Troubles https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2020/07/dd-wotc-employee-quits-sparking-uproar.html https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2020/07/dd-wotc-issues-apology-community-demands-action.html https://twitter.com/DungeonCommandr/status/1279208531103629312 Eric Lang twitter ban https://www.facebook.com/eric.lang.1217/posts/10158245957480856 https://www.facebook.com/eric.lang.1217/posts

Iain M thought he was going to have a nice relaxing time in the Brainwaves studios over lockdown but no! There is so much news that it is threatening to bury the entire HQ! Together the team dig into the giant piles to bring you only the best nuggets of news; CAH revelations continue, WOTC part ways with artist, Ennies deals with their own controversy, AI taking over and much, much more!  Headlines Cards against humanity head ousted https://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com/statement/ https://medium.com/@nicolas.j.carter/how-to-know-youre-not-insane-and-how-a-cards-against-humanity-staff-writer-was-fired-40fe07fbbfe4 https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/30/21308708/cards-against-humanity-unionization-toxic-culture-chicago    Wizards of the Coast parts way with Magic the Gathering artist https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45990/wizards-coast-parts-ways-magic-the-gathering-artist-noah-bradley https://twitter.com/noahbradley/status/1274670378296774658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E127467037829677465

After the rose tinted glasses of episode 50 we put on the harsh specs of reality and dive into this week’s news. Together the team cover the cancellation of Origins Online, Wizards of the Coast banning cards and striving for diversity, Cards Against Humanity abuse allegations, Golden Bell tolling once more, Everything Board Games imploding and much, much more.    Headlines Origins Online Cancelled amidst mass walkout of guests over silence on American protests https://kotaku.com/board-gamings-industry-body-refuses-to-say-a-word-about-1843990186/amp?fbclid=IwAR0mzioSECyHsAtJyW8f8g7v-OPCpkCnQpBGG-fiEO_i1zWKKx85ahcAFmM&__twitter_impression=true Statement can be found on GAMA facebook page @TheGAMAOnline https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45895/gama-cancels-origins-online Eric Lang Statement https://twitter.com/eric_lang/status/1271095405644779521   Wizards of the Coast bans Racist magic cards https://www.geeknative.com/73805/here-are-the-racist-magic-cards-wizards-have-banned/ https://gatherer.wizards.com/P

Brainwaves Statement on the U.S. Protests Hello everyone, before we get to the cast proper we wanted to take a moment to address how the Brainwaves team feels about the current situation in America. We feel that even though our voice is small, it is important to speak up when events like this occur. As 3 white guys we will not pretend to understand what the black community has experienced worldwide during our lifetimes and for centuries beforehand. However we do stand with the protesters who are seeking justice for the killing of George Floyd and the countless other black Americans who have been unlawfully killed. The United States is being run by a fascist who wants nothing more than to line his pockets and those of his rich, white friends. He doesn’t care about people, especially those who look different from him. We hope his rule is brought to an end in November. Our own country is being run by people who foster the fear of ‘the other’ to score political points, to divide, and make money. Whilst they have

Iain C is having some outside time in the Brainwaves garden, leaving Jamie and Iain M to get on with the business of the cast. This week we cover convention cancellations, Avengers’ board game night, BGG Geek Game store, Spartacus returning, Hot Zones for free and more. In Brainstorm we discuss the possibility of a silver lining to all the convention cancellations: are release schedules going to get a little more spread out?    Headlines Coronavirus cancels conventions Uk Games Expo https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/virtually-expo/ Tabletop Scotland https://tabletopscotland.co.uk/tabletop-scotland-2020-cancelled/ Essen https://www.spiel-messe.com/en/covid-19/ Gencon https://www.gencon.com/press/updates-gen-con-covid19 https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45767/gen-con-officially-cancelled-2020-over-covid-19-concerns   Play boardgames with the Avengers https://www.fanatics.com/giftcards/virtual-hangout-with-chris-evans-and-five-of-his-super-close-friends/o-32270109+p-9276001395646+z-9-3629237344?_ref=p-SRP:m-GRID:i

It’s time for the most coveted prize in the boardgame award season calendar, The Golden Brains! These coveted prizes are only given out on this cast to categories of our own devising, number two will shock you. Of course we still have time to bring you the best in tabletop gaming news: comic relief DnD, Wingspan sweeps awards and picks up some controversy, Frosthaven rocks Kickstarter, Asmodee takedowns, Union negotiations and much more! In our Brainstorm we look at the thorny subject of boardgame categories and ask if it is time that things are shaken up.  Headlines Comic Relief goes Dungeon Delving https://twitter.com/comicrelief/status/1255814860102828033?s=19 https://tiltify.com/@comic-relief-plays-dungeons-dragons/crplaysdnd   BGG announces Golden Geek Awards 2019 https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2421320/14th-annual-golden-geek-awards-winners-2019   Frosthaven takes eleventybillion dollars https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45687/frosthaven-kickstarter-raises-nearly-13-million   News Hasbro gets lift fr