History of Board Games

[@jonblake942]

I think treating tabletop as a quality yet affordable hobby provides better long term growth for these companies but the venture capitalists at Asmodee may only be seeing the next quarterly report as many are prone to do. I'm just glad we KS as a means for innovation and independent designers to publish.

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks for stopping by to comment, Jon. You may be right - we'll find out in the future - but for now Asmodee and their various parts continue to produce quality, affordable hobby games. I understand all the speculation (and indulge in it myself) but nothing is set in stone. We've seen a few price rises, and some limitations on distribution, but we are far from the doomsday scenario.

[@johnhaand]

Interesting and insightful walkthrough. Especially the part with Asmodee and the capitalist behind brings a new aspect to boardgames i near future. Thanks a lot

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks for watching!

[@NerdsofWisdom]

that Italian card deck was for a game called Briscola. It is a wonderful little trick taking game that is still very popular. Worth checking out. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briscola Great Vlog BTW. I always enjoy tuning in.

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks for stopping by Dave. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@RiccardoCastelli1]

Very interesting, thanks a lot! Greetings from Italy

[@LeighHathaway]

Wow, very informative! Great job Adam.

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks!

[@BrianBenedict72]

Great vid. One small criticism though - it feels like you avoided any discussion of RPGs. While there is a huge difference between the styles of game, you mention M:TG which I find even more different. In the late 70s and early 80s Dungeons and Dragons was a huge influence on boardgaming (Heroquest, GW starts as a D&D importer, etc...) Maybe another vid on the influence/relationship? D&D started as a boardgame (light wargame) called chainmail. Not a huge deal, but I lived through most of these years and RPGs were massive.

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks for stopping by to comment Brian. Glad you enjoyed the video. Glossing over RPGs was not intentional! I don't have much experience of RPGs myself, so inevitably they don't immediately leap to mind when I think about the boardgaming hobby. I mentioned that they started to arise in the 1970s (around the 17:00 mark), but I probably didn't highlight their significance as much as I could have. Inevitably, I don't have much time to spend on each particular item in an overview like this so RPGs got a name-check only (as did MTG, Catan, Pokemon, Chess, and many other hugely important landmarks in gaming history). I don't think I would be able to make a video about the RPG/boardgame relationship unfortunately! I would be totally out of my depth!! :)

[@BrianBenedict72]

Completely reasonable. My own history was RPG-centric in the 80s, but mostly because I couldn't get my group to play boardgames on a regular basis. Then I did the whole GW thing until I went bankrupt (even worked for them and that'll drive you into the poorhouse as well.) Much like you, I was late to the euros but specifically because I cannot stand Catan. Anyway, wonderful content. Going into your back catalog now.

[@BoxofDelights]

Great viewing and a great topic. I'll be sharing this ALL OVER !! Thank you Adam - what a great gift to the community.

[@AdaminWales]

Haha! Sharing is always appreciated Ricky!! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@clumsydad7158]

it was probably good you tried to be an adult though, because then you have all those games waiting and vetted for you when you came back. I wasn't aware of the Asmodee situation, interesting. Still, I think independent companies will still rise up as the world is connected and there are a lot of developed networks for publishers... well, that's what I imagine at least. Unfortunately i am one of those that should buy more at FLGS, but the better prices online are just too tempting and easy. But overall, i'm optimistic that there will be a lot of exciting evolution yet in the future, although the current market frenzy may need to decline/pass first before that happens.

[@sandervanamstel5048]

I just recently discovered your vlogs and I love the way you talk about the boargaming industry. It is very refreshing and I hope you will continue making these vlogs. Big thumbs up!

[@dghughes]

Both informative and enjoyable and has kept me awake through the last few hours of a night shift. Looking forward to more of these.

[@AdaminWales]

Don't know how often I'll manage a 45 minute epic like this one! But planning on keeping the vlogs coming. :)

[@clumsydad7158]

absolutely outstanding, i like how you wove the history together in an organic way, with story and flow. thank goodness for ios games so i can play 4 player when I want! good point about microgames because i think the diversity of games/game lengths provides niches for different types of gamers. i love the idea of longer euros, but normally am playing games in the 20-45 minute range.

[@stevemanser.]

Awesome stuff. Downloading your videos makes my train commute to work way more entertaining and interesting. Loving your efforts.

[@AdaminWales]

Great! Always good to have a podcast/blog to travel with!

[@judykrauss3466]

I miss Avalon Hill. :(

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

, Budd 🕊️👍

[@robertahearne423]

Thanks so much for this. A lot of it I knew but still a lot was news to me. Really enjoyed it. Got to say I am worried about Asmodee's impact on the hobby.

[@AdaminWales]

Robert Ahearne I think Asmodee will continue to have a huge impact over the future direction of the hobby, but it is unlikely to be all negative. Currently publishing contracts most often allow a designer to retain the original design as their own. The publisher simply licenses the game for a short period. Hence if Asmodee (or whoever purchases that company next) decides to focus only on its best-sellers and ditches the rest of the back-catalogue these games would be lost for a few years depending on their contracts. Thereafter, the rights revert to the original designers and huge opportunities open up for smaller publishers to take on these established titles and re-issue them. This would be great for the hobby. The issues arise if Asmodee flex their muscles and limit distribution channels. If stores (physical or online) can’t get the products from the publishers, then the market dries up. Again, this opens up new opportunities for smaller distributors to make deals with stores, and build their businesses. The hobby has many, many safety nets built in which all safeguard us against a catastrophic outcome. Not to mention the new opportunities afforded by Kickstarter.

[@d20plusmodifier]

Super informative, thank you so much. At my first big convention I couldn't figure out why everyone was talking about "Athsma Day"

[@AdaminWales]

Sometimes it is hard to breathe at conventions so Asthma Day is a suitable name. In fact in some of the darker recesses of the U.K. Games Expo it is advisable not to breathe too deeply unless you have a particularly strong stomach... ;)

[@Yxvandoolu]

What a good video about the board game history from mainly my own lifetime (50 odd years). I really enjoyed the “last years” breakdown and Asmodee’s history in the first half of the 2010’s. Any chance of a part two where you go from where this ended sometime in 2016 up to now in 2023?

[@AdaminWales]

Glad you enjoyed this video - it’s one of the first ones I remember being really proud of making. I probably will remake it someday - scripted and edited to make it a bit slicker.

[@christianbauzon]

MTG = TCG not CCG