Board Game News

We’re in a golden age of tabletop games, but that can make it hard to keep up with everything that’s happening in the hobby. Worry not — Meeple Mountain has got your back!

Below you’ll find news and announcements from the world of tabletop gaming as well as hyperlocal information from Nashville, the birthplace of Meeple Mountain.

News Team, Assemble!

“No part of the mission says ‘Asmodee makes all the games'”: Luke Peterschmidt on shaping the future of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tabletop titles

When news broke three months ago that board game giant Asmodee had been named manager of the hugely lucrative Middle-earth licence for tabletop games and accessories, questions naturally abounded within the industry about what that would mean for other publishers hoping to create The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings-based titles. Luke Peterschmidt, the tabletop veteran tasked with running the Middle-earth operation at Asmodee, sat down with BoardGameWire at Spiel Essen following the announcement to outline his vision for the IP, what they want from publishers in terms of pitches, and how they hope to prove naysayers of the deal wrong.

People moves: Ross Thompson leaves Asmodee’s Atomic Mass Games; Druid City Games brings in ex-Incredible Dream marketing director Ilya Ushakov; Ross Connell joins Mantic from North Star Games

A trio of comings and goings from the board game industry for the year so far – if you have news of a new role, hire or job change within the industry that you’d like mentioned on BoardGameWire, please send an email with the details to the editor, Mike Didymus-True, on mike@boardgamewire.com

Kinderspiel des Jahres-winning publisher Schmidt Spiele sees 2025 sales rise almost 8%, to €61.5m

The publisher, which also makes puzzles, plushies and toys, is best known in hobby board games for critical and commercial successes Quacks of Quedlinburg and Daybreak – winners of the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel respectively – and Ganz Schön Clever, a Kennerspiel des Jahres nominee in 2018.

Hachette becomes exclusive UK, Ireland distributor for Captain Flip publisher PlayPunk, taking over from Asmodee UK

The deal comes a month after Codenames and SETI publisher Czech Games Edition signed its first-ever distribution agreement with Hachette – for the UK distribution of its new title Wispwood – after a decade of Asmodee being the sole distribution partner for its titles in the UK.

Tilt 5: The Much-Anticipated Arrival of AR Glasses for Board Games

November 22, 2023

Guest Contributor

Tilt5 has designed a system that’s perfectly fused traditional board gameplay with 3D, stereoscopic visuals and ultra-realistic holograms. Here’s how...