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Board game industry ticker 2020

What happened in the board game industry in 2020? You’ll find out in this ticker. Here you’ll get summaries of selected articles as well as brief news items for which we haven’t written our own articles. Under Spielebranchen-Ticker you’ll find news from previous years. More industry news can also be found in the Podcast Branchennews by Brettspielbar. Asmodee to distribute Cocktail Games from March 18 December – Companies: From March 2021, Asmodee Deutschland will take over distribution of Cocktail Games’ titles, including We will Rock you, I love broccoli, Twin It, Jetlag, Imagine Family, Mimtoo and Give me five. The Asmodee Group is an international publisher and distributor with operations in Europe, the USA and China. Asmodee has been active in Germany since 2008. Cocktail Games was founded in 2003 in Versailles by Matthieu d’Epenoux. Its portfolio now includes over a hundred games. Spiel Doch! moved from March to June 2021 11 December – Events: The Spiel Doch! 2021 trade fair has been postponed to 25 to 27 June due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The event was originally scheduled for March at Landschaftspark Nord in Duisburg. Spiel Doch! 2020 also had to be cancelled because of corona. Spiel direkt distribution cooperative gains eleven new members 16 November – Miscellaneous: According to its own reports, the Spiel direkt distribution cooperative welcomed eleven new publishers in 2020. This brings the total number of members to 72 companies. The new additions are Abi Games, Blam, Crimson Company, Formula Games, Leona Games, Mandino, Now Games, Nuovis Spiele, Spielköpfe, Strohmann Games and Wonderland Spiele. Specialist retailers, wholesalers and online shops can now order their products through Spiel direkt. Henning Poehl, board member of the distribution cooperative, says: “Many publishers are very small, sometimes consisting of just one person or a very small team. Yet they still want to handle their own distribution. That’s why they join us. We provide them with support and they can make use of our shared, professional structures.” 148,000 individual visitors at Spiel.Digital 28 October – Events: Friedhelm Merz Verlag has drawn a positive conclusion from Spiel.Digital. The platform www.spiel.digital recorded 148,000 individual visitors from 22 to 25 October. For comparison: in 2019, according to the organiser, 209,000 people attended the fair in person. The games platform Tabletopia, a partner of the digital fair, saw a 100 percent increase in users over the four days. The official fair livestreams in various languages were viewed over a million times. The next International Game Days Spiel are scheduled to take place from 14 to 17 October 2021 at Messe Essen. Amigo receives Fairplay Award for supporting specialist retailers 28 October – Awards: Amigo has been awarded the Fairplay Award by the “markt intern” publishing group. The prize recognises the company’s special commitment and support for specialist retailers during the coronavirus crisis. The jury praised, among other things, that Amigo had offered retailers special payment terms during the lockdown. In addition, Amigo’s field service had helped retailers restart their business operations with individual delivery plans. The “markt intern” publishing group has been producing more than 25 information and industry newsletters since 1971, including for the toy industry, with a focus on the needs of the commercial middle class. Spielwarenmesse 2021 to take place from 20 to 24 July 27 October – Events: Spielwarenmesse 2021 is scheduled to take place from 20 to 24 July at the Nuremberg exhibition centre. “The concept will differ from the winter event and will be tailored to the needs of exhibitors and visitors at the new date,” says Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse. Further details will be announced by Spielwarenmesse in the coming months. Spielecafé der Generationen receives Startsocial Special Award from Chancellor Angela Merkel 21 October – Awards: Chancellor Angela Merkel has awarded the Spielecafé der Generationen the Startsocial Special Award. According to its own information, the Startsocial initiative supports people and associations that are committed to social causes. The focus is not on one-off financial support, but on knowledge transfer and networking between business and civil society. According to Merkel, the Spielecafé der Generationen builds on the idea that playing together also strengthens cohesion: within families, between young and old, between people with and without disabilities, with and without a migration background. “I congratulate everyone who is involved in and for the Spielecafé and wish them continued success in strengthening a good community in the truest sense of the word through play,” Merkel said in her laudation. Nico Wagner new jury member Nico Wagner. Photo: Spiel des Jahres 1 October 2020 – Personnel: Nico Wagner has been a new member of the Spiel des Jahres association since 1 October 2020. The 38-year-old is part of the jury for the Spiel and Kennerspiel des Jahres, bringing the jury back to ten members. Nico Wagner, from Waldaschaff in Lower Franconia, is a teacher of English, history and politics. In 2016, he founded the podcast Brettagoge, in which he regularly discusses games with three other educators, often combining his reviews with background information. He teaches at a cooperative comprehensive school in Hesse, where he also runs a board game club. Spielwarenmesse 2021 moved to summer 29 September 2020 – Events: Contrary to the announcement in August, Spielwarenmesse will not take place from 27 to 31 January 2021. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the organiser Spielwarenmesse eG has postponed the fair to the summer. The exact date of the summer fair will be announced later. The decision was mainly due to rising infection numbers and further travel restrictions. Spielwies’n 2020 cancelled 22 September 2020 – Events: Contrary to the announcement in May, Spielwies’n München will not take place in November 2020. Many major publishers had cancelled their participation due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. An attempt to finance a gaming area including events with the help of exhibitors had also been unsuccessful. The next Spielwies’n is scheduled for 5 to 7 November 2021. The Crew wins Deutscher Spielepreis 14 September 2020 – Awards: The Crew by Thomas Sing has won the Deutscher Spielepreis, and Andor Junior by Inka and Markus Brand has won the Deutscher Kinderspielepreis 2020. Both games were published by Kosmos Verlag. The other placings in the Deutscher Spielepreis went to Der Kartograph by Jordy Adan (Pegasus Spiele) and Maracaibo by Alexander Pfister (Game’s Up). Martin Klein leaves the Spiel des Jahres association Martin Klein. Photo: Spiel des Jahres 1 September 2020 – Personalia: Martin Klein will leave the Spiel des Jahres association at the end of September. Klein has been a member of the jury for the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres awards since 2014, and served as deputy chair of the association from 2018 to 2020. Klein primarily publishes his reviews in video format on his YouTube channel Spielerleben. Klein is stepping down because he can no longer dedicate his full time to the very time-consuming jury work. On the Spiel des Jahres homepage, the jury writes: “Martin Klein will be missed by the association. His ethical mindset, his passion in discussions, his valuable contributions and precise analyses. Also his straightforwardness, not shying away from uncomfortable confrontations for the sake of the cause.” Asmodee to distribute Plan B Games titles from September 31 August 2020 – Companies: From September 2020, Plan B Games titles will no longer be distributed in German-speaking regions by Pegasus Spiele, but by Asmodee. Plan B Games includes the brands Next Move Games, Pretzel Games, Eggertspiele and Plan B Games. Sophie Gravel founded Plan B Games in 2016. Previously, she owned F2Z Entertainment. In 2016, Asmodee acquired F2Z Entertainment along with its publishers Z-Man Games, Plaid Hat Games and Filosofia. Alexis Desplats, CEO of Asmodee Deutschland, comments on the new distribution partnership: “Plan B Games and Asmodee have been closely connected internationally for a long time. I have known Sophie for almost 15 years; she was one of my first customers in France. Asmodee Deutschland and I personally are very much looking forward to working with Plan B Games again.” Spielwarenmesse 2021 to go ahead despite Corona 13 August 2020 – Events: The Spielwarenmesse is set to take place from 27 to 31 January 2021 despite Corona. This will be made possible by a hygiene concept that is continuously adapted to current regulations. The key rules are distancing, hygiene measures and traceability. Currently, a distance of 1.5 metres between people across the entire site is essential. To achieve this, the hall layout will be optimised, wider aisles created, and special areas and stand parties will be dispensed with. All exhibitors, visitors, journalists and service providers must also register in advance via personalised tickets or passes to enable comprehensive contact tracing. According to the trade fair, almost 90 percent of exhibitors from the previous year have registered so far. Hans-Peter Stoll new managing director of the Spiele-Autoren-Zunft 1 August 2020 – Personalia: Hans-Peter Stoll has been the new managing director of the Spiele-Autoren-Zunft (SAZ) since 1 August. The 46-year-old is taking over many of the tasks from 71-year-old Christian Beiersdorf, who was appointed the first managing director of the SAZ in 2015. Stoll is responsible for all organisational tasks, member administration, events and press work, among other things. Beiersdorf remains active in the management as a consultant for copyright issues and political communication at the SAZ office in Freiburg. Stoll has been a game designer since 2003 and a SAZ member since 2007. He is also an improv actor, artist and a freelance consultant and trainer. Stoll also moderated the Deutsche Spieleautorentagung in Weilburg for many years. Martina Fuchs new jury member, Sandra Lemberger leaves jury Martina Fuchs. Photo: Spiel des Jahres 30 July 2020 – Personalia: The Spiel des Jahres association has admitted Martina Fuchs as a new member: the 42-year-old works as a pedagogical specialist at a primary school and has founded several games meetups. In her podcast Fux und Bär, she talks about games. The advisory role for the Kinderspiel des Jahres was publicly advertised again. From over 60 applications, Spiel des Jahres selected Indra Dikhoff (41) from Hänigsen in Lower Saxony. She has been a childcare worker at an after-school centre at a primary school for 16 years. Sandra Lemberger is leaving the association on 31 July 2020 after almost 13 years. In October 2007, Sandra Lemberger joined the Kinderspiel des Jahres jury as an advisor, in 2010 she became a member of the association and a juror for the Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres. Asmodee cancels participation in major events for 2020 24 July – Events: Asmodee Deutschland has cancelled the participation of Asmodee employees at major events and conventions for the entire year 2020 due to the Corona pandemic. The protection of its employees and supporting the slowdown of the infection rate is the company’s top priority. This does not affect events held in game shops or other small venues with few visitors. Game shops and board game cafés that only allow limited, strictly regulated and individually recorded visitors will continue to be supported by Asmodee with sales-promoting promoters. Pictures is Spiel des Jahres, Die Crew is Kennerspiel des Jahres 20 July 2020 – Awards: Pictures by Daniela and Christian Stöhr from PD-Verlag is the Spiel des Jahres 2020. The Kennerspiel des Jahres award went to Die Crew by Thomas Sing from Kosmos-Verlag. In its verdict, the jury wrote: “The material sets in Pictures initially seem almost randomly thrown together, but in reality they are cleverly chosen: each set challenges the players in a different way, and so the incentive to experiment is enormous. The results are often amazing, which is why the guessing rounds quickly resemble visits to art exhibitions: with great aha moments and amusing attempts by the misunderstood artist genius to justify themselves. Great creativity with the simplest of means.” The jury praised Die Crew as follows: “Die Crew is a cooperative trick-taking game, and that alone makes it something special. But the appeal does not end with this unique selling point. Hardly any game before has been able to capture the particular charm of trick-taking games so perfectly. Almost incidentally, it sharpens the senses for the nuances of this genre while simultaneously challenging the players in an original way. Die Crew is both missionary and mentor. A truly magnificent journey!” Asmodee acquires Libellud 17 July – Companies: Asmodee has acquired Libellud. The French publisher is behind Dixit, the Spiel des Jahres 2010. Régis Bonessée founded Libellud in Poitiers in 2008. He will leave the company. Mathieu Aubert, who has worked alongside Régis for five years, is to head the new Asmodee studio Libellud in the future. According to the press release, 19 employees in three countries and a programme with 24 games and 15 expansions will move to Asmodee. The acquisition also includes the Libellud Foundation, a non-profit foundation that promotes youth and education. Fair Toys Organisation founded 14 July – Other: In Nuremberg, the Fair Toys Organisation e.V. (FTO) was founded. According to its statutes, the purpose of the association is to improve labour and environmental standards in the supply chains of the toy industry, as well as to provide training and raise awareness. The FTO aims to become a credible monitoring body that unites the important stakeholder groups: toy manufacturers, toy retailers and civil society organisations. André Maack succeeds Stefan Brück at alea André Maack. Photo: Ravensburger 10 July 2020 – Personnel: André Maack is the successor to Stefan Brück at the expert game brand alea from Ravensburger. Ravensburger confirmed this upon request. In 1998, alea was first publicly announced at SPIEL Essen, with the official launch of the brand taking place at the Spielwarenmesse in 1999. Since then, Brück has been solely responsible for the brand as editor and product manager. In February, it was announced that he would be leaving alea. Maack has worked as an editor at Ravensburger since 2008. Among other things, he managed El Dorado, which was nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2017. He also managed the alea game The Rise of Queensdale, released in 2018. Before joining Ravensburger, Maack worked as an editor at Schmidt Spiele and Amigo. Speedy Roll is Kinderspiel des Jahres 2020 15 June 2020 – Awards: “Speedy Roll” by Urtis Šulinskas from publishers Lifestyle Boardgames and Piatnik is the Kinderspiel des Jahres 2020. In their reasoning, the jury states: “Many things have been rolled in children’s games: marbles, balls, logs, but until now, no tennis ball. The idea of presenting it as a hedgehog, with felt-covered spikes to which apples, mushrooms and leaves with Velcro stick, is already special in itself. But combining all this with a race where the hedgehog actually rolls across the table and the ‘spiked’ items determine the distance moved makes Speedy Roll particularly appealing. Whether playing cooperatively or against each other: every game tells an exciting story.” The Kinderspiel coordinator Christoph Schlewinski hosted the award ceremony, which took place this year without a live audience.

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