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Top 10 Announcements From GenCon 2026

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There is no question that, when it comes to tabletop gaming announcements, Gen Con is probably the single most important event of the year. This is where the industry’s biggest publishers pull back the curtain on what they have planned for the coming year and where many of the games we will all be talking about over the next twelve months are revealed for the very first time.

It has been a dream of mine for many years to monetize Gamers Dungeon enough that I could actually justify making the trip to Gen Con myself. So far, I would say the project has been a tremendous success spiritually, just not financially. The site continues to grow, the readership is fantastic, and more people are discovering it every month. I just have not quite figured out how to turn that momentum into a meaningful source of income without compromising what I think makes the site special.

I have always been a bit stubborn about maintaining the hobby feel of Gamers Dungeon. I never wanted it to become a wall of sponsored content or lose the authenticity that comes from simply writing about games because I genuinely enjoy them. Maybe one day I will figure out that balance.

Until then, I will just keep writing.

Thankfully, Gen Con has given us plenty to write about. There were a surprising number of exciting announcements this year, even so far as Gen Con goes, from long-awaited sequels and expansions to entirely new games from some of the biggest names in the hobby.

So, let’s dive into the ten announcements that caught my attention the most.

By the way, if you want to know about what went on at GenCon you can check out the official Lookbook and Program Book here. They went all out again this year, including some really great cover artwork, very much loved it!

10. Wizards of the Coast & Dungeons and Dragons

One of the most important RPG publishers in the hobby is Wizards of the Coast, and the most influential role-playing game on the market is Dungeons & Dragons. Whenever the company takes the stage at Gen Con or anywhere for that matter, people pay attention, and almost every announcement has the potential to shape the direction of the hobby for years to come.

That said, I found myself a little underwhelmed by this year’s presentation, which is why it lands in the number ten spot on my list.

The headline announcement was a collaboration between Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft. The upcoming Azeroth campaign setting will allow players to adventure across Blizzard’s iconic world while introducing familiar races, classes, and locations. It is the beginning of what will almost certainly become a long line of crossover settings for the Dungeons & Dragons brand in the years to come.

Personally, it did very little for me. I play Dungeons & Dragons because I want to experience classic fantasy through the lens of Dungeons & Dragons. If I want to play in Azeroth, I would rather just play World of Warcraft. I understand why Wizards of the Coast is pursuing these collaborations, but this one simply was not aimed at me, and I doubt any of the other crossovers will do much for me either.

The announcements became much more interesting once the focus shifted back toward the game’s own history.

Joe Manganiello, one of Hollywood’s most passionate advocates for D&D, appears set to continue championing the return of Dragonlance. A new Dragonlance book was announced alongside additional sourcebooks and novels, suggesting that Wizards of the Coast is continuing to invest in one of the game’s most beloved settings.

Even more intriguing was the announcement of a Greyhawk project inspired by previously unpublished notes from Gary Gygax himself. If handled with care, this could become something genuinely special for long-time fans of the game.

To round things out, Wizards also hinted that other classic campaign settings could be making a return, with Dark Sun being one of the names mentioned. That is much more my speed. Dragonlance, Greyhawk, and Dark Sun represent some of the greatest settings ever created for the game, and I would happily spend more time in any of them.

Dark Sun was without question one of the more controversial settings from D&D’s past and certainly problematic in terms of replicating content for a modern audience. I do love their decision to lean into adult content and to just throw a mature audience label on it.

Finally, Wizards teased what appears to be a Star Wars crossover arriving in 2027.

Again, I recognize that this is major news, but it did very little to excite me. If I want to play a Star Wars role-playing game, Edge of the Empire remains one of the finest modern systems available, while the classic West End Games Star Wars RPG is still, in my opinion, the definitive tabletop adaptation of the universe.

Interesting? Absolutely.

Important? Without question.

Exciting? Not really.

For me, the real story here was not the crossovers. It was the renewed interest in the classic worlds that helped make D&D the legendary game it is today. If Wizards of the Coast can recapture some of that old magic, these announcements could end up being far more significant than they first appear.

9. Railway Boom

I missed this release from Japan, which is not all that surprising, I suppose, but I do keep a close eye out for any train games; I love them and own quite a few already.

I have always had a soft spot for train games. While I love sprawling economic titles like the 18XX series and Railways of the World, those games demand a serious investment of both time and mental energy. On the opposite end of the spectrum, many lighter train games have left me feeling that they abstract away so much of the experience that they lose what makes the genre appealing in the first place.

Railway Boom, designed by Hisashi Hayashi, looks like it might strike a very interesting balance.

Originally released in Japan during 2025 with extremely limited distribution, this year’s international edition gives the rest of the world a chance to experience it. So if the name has never crossed your radar before, don’t worry. It is new to most of us.

The game revolves around building and managing a railway company through an economic system centered around auctions and investment decisions. What immediately caught my attention is the relationship between auctions and turn order. Strong economic decisions earn you advantages, but turn order determines which opportunities are available, creating an interesting tension where money alone is not always enough.

I have always enjoyed games that ask players to balance those competing priorities. It actually reminds me a little of Smartphone Inc., where timing can be every bit as important as raw efficiency.

From everything shown so far, Railway Boom appears to have the feel of a heavier Eurogame without crossing into the kind of exhausting experience that some economic games can become. It looks substantial enough to reward careful planning while still being approachable enough that I could see it reaching the table on a regular basis.

Another feature that immediately won me over is the inclusion of actual route building. For me, this is one of those essential ingredients of a great train game. Laying track and expanding a rail network creates a direct connection between the mechanics and the theme. It makes me feel like I am actually running a railway company rather than simply manipulating numbers on a spreadsheet.

That is one of the reasons I never fully connected with games like Russian Railroads. As brilliant as the mechanics are, they become so abstract that the train theme starts to feel interchangeable. If you are going to make a train game, I want to see trains, tracks, and networks spreading across the map.

Railway Boom appears to embrace exactly that philosophy.

It is still a bit of an unknown, but from everything I have seen so far, this is one of the Gen Con announcements that has me genuinely intrigued. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this one

8. Final Titan

Final Titan, I think, falls into a similar genre as King of Tokyo: fun, fast, and lots of cool powers. The artwork for this one is outstanding!

As much as I like to think of myself as someone who enjoys dissecting deep strategic games, it would be complete fiction to suggest that those are the only games I play or enjoy. Some of my favorite gaming memories have come from loud, chaotic, completely unbalanced games where the only objective is to laugh until your sides hurt.

Games like Galaxy Trucker and King of Tokyo have earned permanent places in my collection because they understand that sometimes fun is more important than perfect balance or some sort of deep strategy. There is room in this hobby for careful strategic planning, and there is room for absolute nonsense.

Final Titan looks like it falls squarely into the second category.

Designed by Richard Garfield, who has never been afraid to embrace big swings, crazy interactions, and spectacularly overpowered abilities, Final Titan is all about larger than life characters battling it out in a frantic king of the hill style arena until only one Titan remains standing.

From everything shown so far, the game combines drafting, timing, and wildly overpowered combat abilities into what looks like a fast-paced spectacle where the best stories will probably come from the ridiculous things that happen rather than who actually wins.

That is exactly the sort of design Garfield excels at. His games often prioritize memorable moments over mathematical perfection, and I think there is a lot of value in that philosophy. Not every game needs to be a carefully balanced competitive masterpiece. Sometimes the best games are the ones where everyone around the table erupts into laughter because something completely absurd just happened.

Final Titan looks like it understands exactly what it wants to be.

It appears to be the perfect nerd culture filler, packed with outrageous powers, dramatic reversals, and enough chaos to keep everyone invested right until the final turn.

This is one I fully expect to see hitting my table as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. It simply looks like too much fun to pass up.

7. Excalibur

Cool theme, cool genre, but the hidden role and identity games are very hit-and-miss. There are at least as many good ones as terrible ones.

Hidden role games have become something of a family tradition in our house. Whenever we head off on vacation, there are almost always a couple packed into the luggage. Games like Coup, The Resistance, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, and occasionally Bang! The Dice Game have provided countless evenings of laughter, accusations, and just the right amount of friendly betrayal.

The problem is that, after enough plays, even the best hidden role games begin to lose some of their magic. Once everyone knows the strategies and the personalities around the table, it becomes increasingly difficult to surprise one another. That is why I am always keeping an eye out for something new in the genre.

Excalibur immediately caught my attention.

One of the things that often frustrates me about hidden role games is how easily they can be unintentionally spoiled. A player misunderstands their role, accidentally reveals too much information, or makes an obvious mistake during setup, and suddenly half the mystery disappears before the game has really begun.

Excalibur appears to avoid much of that.

Rather than relying on players memorizing a collection of unique roles, much of the gameplay revolves around moving tokens and resolving the abilities printed directly on them. That gives the game a much more natural flow. Once everyone understands the basic rules, the components themselves seem to guide the experience, making it easier for newer players to participate without accidentally giving the game away.

I also like the variety of powers that have been shown so far. My family always enjoys games where everyone gets to do something unique, and Excalibur appears to have plenty of interesting abilities without becoming overly complicated.

The play time is another major plus. Hidden role games tend to work best when they stay short and energetic, and for me anything much beyond twenty minutes starts to lose some of its momentum. Excalibur seems to understand exactly where that sweet spot is.

It also takes a slightly different approach to player interaction. Unlike games such as The Resistance or One Night Ultimate Werewolf, where direct accusations drive much of the experience, Excalibur appears to focus more on deduction through gameplay. Players are trying to determine who controls one of two legendary swords. Holding Excalibur at the end of the game earns you victory, while being left with the cursed sword means defeat.

It is a wonderfully simple concept, but one that seems capable of creating plenty of memorable moments and tense decisions.

This is exactly the kind of game that thrives around my family’s table, and I have a feeling it will be finding its way into our vacation bag before long.

6. Dungeon Crawler Carl

I have never read the books or know much about this universe, but I think games setup for a good one-shot are few and far between. Alien RPG was probably the last one I thought did a good job of it. I’m hopeful.

I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of role-playing games built around comedy. Games designed primarily as jokes have always struggled to hold my attention. I never really connected with Paranoia, and while I certainly appreciated the wonderfully bizarre nature of Dungeon Crawl Classics, it was never something that stayed on my table for very long.

Dungeon Crawler Carl fully embraces the outrageous tone of the bestselling novels on which it is based. From everything shown so far, this is an RPG that is unapologetically designed to be funny.

Normally, that would be enough for me to lose interest.

But there is a catch.

For quite some time now, I have been looking for an RPG that fills a very particular niche. I want something that works brilliantly as a one-shot, requires very little preparation, and can be pulled off the shelf on a random evening when a few of my nerdy friends happen to stop by. Sometimes you do not want an epic campaign. Sometimes you just want to roll some dice, tell a ridiculous story, and have a good laugh for a few hours.

Surprisingly, that niche is not very well served.

Most modern role-playing games take themselves fairly seriously. Even systems with lighter rules often expect players to invest in an ongoing campaign, and they rarely feel suited to the kind of spontaneous pick-up and play experience I am looking for.

Dungeon Crawler Carl, however, feels like it was almost designed for exactly that purpose.

The premise alone is wonderfully ridiculous. Aliens invade Earth and force humanity into an intergalactic reality television show where contestants must battle their way through an ever-changing dungeon packed with monsters, traps, absurd challenges, and increasingly bizarre situations, all for the entertainment of a galactic audience.

That sounds like the perfect foundation for a memorable one-shot adventure, even if as a campaign, it’s not something I would have any interest in at all.

I also have another weakness that probably works against my wallet. Whenever something becomes inexplicably popular, I simply have to know why. I have to read it, play it, or watch it just to understand what everyone is talking about.

Dungeon Crawler Carl has become one of those phenomena.

So while it sits well outside my usual tastes, I can absolutely see a place for it in my collection. It may never replace my favorite fantasy RPGs, but I have a feeling it could become my go-to choice for those evenings when the goal is not to build an epic campaign, but simply to gather some friends around the table and have a ridiculously good time.

5. Satisfactory: The Board Game

I’m a huge fan of the PC game, and while my faith in crossovers has its limits, I’m really hoping for the best here. I do think the concept is very well suited for the table top.

I should probably begin with a disclaimer. At the time of writing, we know very little about Satisfactory: The Board Game. In fact, there is barely enough information available to form an opinion about what the finished product will actually look like.

That said, I simply could not leave it off this list.

Satisfactory, the PC game, is quite possibly the best video game I have played in the last five years. It completely consumed me for weeks. There is something incredibly satisfying about gradually building these sprawling, beautifully efficient production lines, watching resources flow through increasingly elaborate factories, and constantly finding new ways to optimize everything.

It is an absolutely brilliant game.

Naturally, the announcement that it is coming to the tabletop immediately caught my attention.

The current Gamefound page offers little more than a brief overview of the concept and promises to recreate the experience of building an automated industrial empire around the table. Technically, that qualifies as information, but in reality it tells us almost nothing about how the game will actually play.

Will it focus on engine building? Resource management? Spatial puzzles?

At this point, your guess is probably as good as mine. Despite that, I cannot help being excited.

Every time I see the title, I immediately start imagining all the clever ways its mechanics could translate into a board game. There is enormous potential here. The constant optimization, expanding production chains, balancing inputs and outputs, and solving increasingly complex logistical puzzles already feel like they belong in a Eurogame.

Of course, I am also trying to keep my expectations under control.

Video game adaptations have a very mixed track record. Some manage to capture what made the original special, while others end up feeling like they borrowed the artwork and little else. Translating an experience that unfolds over dozens, sometimes hundreds of hours into a board game is no easy task.

Still, I am choosing to be optimistic.

Satisfactory is one of my favorite PC games of all time, and I would love nothing more than to see it become an equally compelling tabletop experience. Right now there are far more questions than answers, but this is one announcement I will be following very closely over the coming months.

Here’s hoping Coffee Stain’s masterpiece can beat the odds and become one of those rare digital adaptations that truly earns its place on the tabletop.

4. Drillers

The production on this game is pretty over the top, but mostly this pick is based on the publisher’s reputation. I love every single CGE game I have ever bought.

Whenever Czech Games Edition announces a new game, I pay attention.

Few publishers have earned my trust quite like CGE. Time and time again they have produced games that not only impressed me on first play but continued to earn their place on my shelf years later. In fact, if I looked back over all of my various Top 10 lists, I suspect Czech Games Edition would have more appearances than any other publisher.

That kind of track record buys a lot of goodwill.

Drillers is still something of an unknown quantity, so my excitement is tempered with a healthy dose of caution. There simply is not enough information available yet to know whether this will become another CGE classic or just an interesting experiment.

What I can say is that everything shown so far looks incredibly promising.

The artwork immediately grabbed my attention with a unique, colorful art style that has that come-together look, and the production already has that polished look that I have come to expect from the publisher. More importantly, I really like the core concept. I love a cool mech game, and this being about mining, I don’t know why how, perhaps years of Minecraft exposure, but it just appeals to me. It appears to sit comfortably in that middle-weight space, offering meaningful decisions without becoming overwhelmingly complex. That is a sweet spot that Czech Games Edition has consistently excelled at over the years.

If I am being completely honest, though, this entry is as much about confidence in the publisher as it is about the game itself.

Right now, Drillers has not earned this spot through detailed gameplay reveals or glowing previews. It has earned it because Czech Games Edition has built up years of trust with me, and because the game simply looks fantastic. Sometimes that first impression is enough to get a game onto your watch list.

Now it is up to designers Roman Bednář and Adam Španěl, two relative newcomers, to deliver on that promise.

I certainly hope they do.

3. Trials Of Maya

I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to review this one; it’s very much in my wheelhouse!

Even if you attended Gen Con this year, there is a good chance you completely missed Trials Of Maya. It was not one of the convention’s headline announcements, nor was it surrounded by the same level of hype as many of the bigger releases.

For me, though, this is a bit of an indulgent pick.

Everything I have seen and read about Trials Of Maya suggests that it was designed specifically for someone with my rather unusual tastes. I have always had a soft spot for games that do something a little different, especially when they combine strong and unique gameplay with deep world-building and a compelling narrative.

It reminds me a little of Syndicate Foundation in that regard. Rather than simply presenting a game with an interesting setting, Trials Of Maya appears to build an entire universe around its mechanics through a novel and expanded lore. I love that approach. It transforms the board game into something larger with presence, giving players an opportunity to continue exploring the world long after the game has been packed away.

That sort of commitment to storytelling is right up my alley.

To make things even more exciting, the publisher recently reached out and asked if I would be interested in reviewing the game. Needless to say, I accepted, so you can expect a full review here on Gamers Dungeon once I have had a chance to dive into it properly.

Just a few weeks ago I had never even heard of Trials Of Maya.

Now it is one of the games I am most looking forward to playing.

The gameplay itself also looks incredibly promising. The “How to Play” videos already available showcase what appears to be a MOBA-inspired design, with heroes battling over objectives and making tactical decisions that feel heavily influenced by the digital genre.

If there is one thing guaranteed to get my attention, it is a game that blends strategic combat with immersive world-building and a strong narrative foundation.

Trials Of Maya seems to be doing exactly that.

I have very high hopes for this one. Hopefully the finished game lives up to the excitement, because if it does, I think it could become one of the biggest surprises of the year.

2. Star Wars Unlimited

I’m just about ready to call Star Wars Unlimited a modern-day classic; it’s soooooo good.

I have to admit that I have not played as much Star Wars Unlimited over the past few months as I would have liked. Earlier this year it was on my table almost constantly, but lately it has settled into that comfortable place where it comes out every now and then for a few casual games.

That has not stopped me from collecting it.

Fantasy Flight Games used Gen Con to reinforce what was already becoming increasingly clear. Star Wars Unlimited is here to stay.

The coming release schedule is incredibly ambitious. Homeworld arrives this October, followed by the new introductory mini set, Icons, in November. Beyond that, Legacy of Skywalker, System Overload, and Galaxy At War are all planned throughout 2027, giving players a clear roadmap for the game’s future.

Admittedly, much of this information had already been announced before Gen Con, but there is something reassuring about seeing Fantasy Flight Games double down on its commitment. Collectible card games live and die by publisher support, and knowing there is a healthy pipeline of new content makes investing in the game feel much easier.

That is really what excited me most.

It is also worth saying that, even if the game somehow disappeared tomorrow, I honestly think Star Wars Unlimited has already earned its place among the great collectible card games. The foundation is remarkably strong, and the expansions have only reinforced that opinion. Sets like A Lawless Time and Ashes of the Empire have been outstanding, adding interesting mechanics while continuing to capture everything that makes Star Wars such a compelling universe.

Hopefully I am not tempting fate by saying this, but I genuinely believe Star Wars Unlimited has already secured its legacy.

Now it just has the opportunity to become even better.

With another full year of expansions already planned, I cannot wait to see where Fantasy Flight Games takes it next. For me, Star Wars Unlimited remains one of the most exciting games in the hobby today, and it is still right at the top of my must-play list.

1. Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit

Excited doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now about this game.

I don’t know much about Restoration Games, but with Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit, they have definitely got my attention now!

The game is a reimagining of the legendary Star Wars: Queen’s Gambit, one of those wonderful hidden gems that quietly disappeared into tabletop history despite being far better than most people ever realized. The fact that it is returning at all is exciting enough. Rebuilding it around what I consider to be one of the greatest fantasy worlds ever created simply pushes it over the top.

Over the past several months, Restoration Games has steadily released previews, designer diaries, and behind-the-scenes looks at the project. Gen Con felt like the moment where everything finally came together. With a planned release in September 2026, the finish line is clearly in sight.

Queen’s Gambit is, without question, a classic. Sadly, I don’t own this one, I, like so many, missed my chance, and these days trying to get a copy is expensive and difficult.

What impressed me most was finally seeing the game in action.

The spectacular multi-battle structure that made Queen’s Gambit so memorable appears to have survived the transition beautifully. Watching several interconnected battles unfold simultaneously across the table captures the scale of The Lord of the Rings in a way that very few board games have managed. It is ambitious, visually stunning, and from everything shown so far, remarkably faithful to both the original design and Tolkien’s world.

Simply put, it looks incredible.

Of course, I am trying to keep my expectations under control. We have all been excited about games before, only to discover that they never quite lived up to the promise. Until I actually get this one to the table, there will always be that small voice reminding me not to get carried away.

That said…

This is the announcement that excited me more than any other at Gen Con 2026.

If Restoration Games manages to capture even half of what made Queen’s Gambit so special while wrapping it in one of the greatest fantasy settings ever created, they could have something truly remarkable on their hands.

And if they somehow pull it off completely, there is a very good chance this will become one of my favorite board games of the decade.

No pressure, but the hype is real, people!

News

Gamersdungeon Update: Instagram Account!

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I know… I know… I’m an old unit and, as usual, fashionably late to the party, but this week I finally created an Instagram account. It’s all very exciting.

The truth is, I’ve never been particularly good at community building, even though this site is now approaching its 12th anniversary. There are a lot of reasons for that, but I think the biggest one is simply the amount of work involved.

Writing, editing, photographing games, maintaining the website, and keeping everything running takes a surprising amount of time. It’s something I essentially pay for the privilege of doing. Don’t take that as a complaint; I genuinely love writing, and I love running this blog. But between financing the Lord of the Rings CCG Database, hosting, domains, and the other little expenses that come with keeping a website alive, it all adds up. It’s not outrageously expensive, but it certainly isn’t free either.

There are definitely perks. Getting review copies of games is always exciting, and I’ve had the opportunity to chat with a few game designers over the years, which has been genuinely rewarding. Most of the time, though, running a site like this feels a bit like a second part-time job that I volunteer for. It can be surprisingly lonely.

A while back I decided to open the comments section on the blog, and that’s actually turned out to be one of the better decisions I’ve made. Readers occasionally stop by to share their thoughts, point out things I’ve missed, or offer a different perspective. Sure, there’s the occasional bit of criticism, but honestly, I think that’s healthy too. Overall, it’s been a really positive experience.

That’s really the goal behind creating this Instagram account—and some of the other social media experiments I plan to try over the coming year. I’d like to build a little more interaction with the people who read the site and, maybe, just maybe, find a sensible way to monetize some of the time and effort that goes into keeping GamersDungeon alive.

I’ve experimented with Google Ads before, but I never liked what they did to the look and feel of the site. I made a conscious decision that if I ever monetize GamersDungeon, it won’t be by plastering random banner ads all over the place. Sponsored partnerships or carefully chosen affiliate links? Maybe. Generic ads everywhere? That’s probably never going to happen.

So what can you expect from Instagram?

Honestly… I’m still figuring that out.

The plan is to share a few behind-the-scenes glimpses of what’s happening at GamersDungeon, quick gaming news, works in progress, convention adventures, new arrivals on my game shelf, and whatever other interesting things I think are worth sharing. It’ll probably evolve over time as I discover what works and what people enjoy.

So if you’d like to follow along on the journey, I’d love to have you there. After nearly twelve years of mostly talking at the internet, I think it’s about time I started talking with it.

You will find a clickable Instagram button like this in various places on the site; click it and follow to keep up with the content!

News

Gamersdungeon.net Becomes Monetized!

Gamersdungeon.net has been a labor of love for over a decade, and I’m proud of what it’s grown into thanks to the support of readers like you. Today, I want to share an important update: the site will soon begin its next chapter as a monetized platform.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, “Does this mean ads?” And yes, it does. There will be ads on the site going forward. That might sound like a downside at first, but I want to be upfront about why this change is happening and what it means for the future.

Monetization isn’t just about keeping the lights on, it’s about ensuring the site can continue to grow, improve, and deliver more of the content you enjoy. Joining an ad network gives us the opportunity to invest more time, resources, and energy into making Gamersdungeon.net even better.

I believe the benefits, from faster updates to expanded features, will far outweigh the occasional banner or sidebar ad. And rest assured: I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure the ad experience stays as non-intrusive and user-friendly as possible.

The Ads

Let’s start with the obvious: yes, there will be ads. But my goal is to make sure that the ads you see here are as relevant, interesting, and actually useful as possible. Think: gaming gear, hobby stores, and cool stuff we already love or might be excited to discover.

In fact, I hope the ads can even become part of the exploration for readers, surfacing new shops, tools, and games you may not have come across otherwise. It’s also a way to support the very companies that support us, many of which send review copies and content to help fuel the site.

I get it, ads can have a bad reputation. They’re often associated with loud, intrusive interruptions (we’re looking at you, unskippable YouTube ads). But that’s not the kind of experience I want here. The ads on Gamersdungeon.net will be kept low-key and respectful, generally appearing at the bottom of pages or tucked in neatly, easy to scroll past or close if they’re not your thing.

Ultimately, the goal is to strike a balance: supporting the site and its future without compromising the quality of your experience.

The Good Stuff

Now for the exciting part, the benefits of monetization.

First and foremost, it will help cover the actual costs of running the site. Beyond just my time and energy (which I’ve gladly poured into this for over a decade), there are ongoing expenses for hosting, software, and services that keep everything running smoothly. Quality matters, and having solid infrastructure behind Gamersdungeon.net and our connected sites is essential to maintaining a good experience. It’s an invisible thing behind the scenes, but the price of it has grown substantially, especially in the last few years.

This includes not just Gamersdungeon.net, but also companion projects like The Lord of the Rings Campaign Companion and The Lord of the Rings LCG Site, which many of you already use and enjoy.

But covering costs is just the beginning.

Based on our past traffic, there’s real potential for the site to generate enough revenue to grow, to do more, and to do it better. I’d love to expand what we did with the Lord of the Rings card game into other areas of the hobby: historical wargames, new LCGs like Star Wars Unlimited, and other exciting games that deserve attention.

I’m also hoping to give back by shining a light on independent creators, game developers, and community projects that I believe deserve more visibility. Through shared writing and projects, we can develop new content that everyone can enjoy.

And there’s another big step coming: community interaction. I’m planning to open up the site for comments, ratings, and discussions, giving readers a voice and turning articles into conversations. That means creating a space where we can all share opinions, ask questions, and engage with the content in a deeper way.

In the past, I have always been against this sort of thing for a simple reason: I neither want to defend my opinion nor deal with internet trolls. To have such a comment section, we need moderation, and that too comes with a cost, especially if you want to have a consistent, respectful, and fun environment.

There may also be more; it really depends on how well the site does and how much income we earn. This site is not intended to be a revenue stream for me, I have a full-time job and don’t need “extra money”, so all money earned through monetization will be reinvested into the site.

Ok that is all for now. Let the next chapter of Gamersdungeon.net begin.

Gaming Articles, News

Gamers Dungeon 10 Year Anniversary

As of September of 2024, GamersDungeon.net turns 10 years old and I felt like, that in itself deserves an article at the very least. After all, running a blog for a decade while making me feel old, also makes me feel mature and professional. I know I’m absolutely not, in fact, I’m a fumbling idiot for the most part but still, hitting the 10 year mark feels great.

I thought the way I would celebrate is by going through the posting history to talk about some of my favorite articles as well as those I hate. Sort of a flashback, a look at GamersDungeon.net over the last decade.

From Mediocrity to Perfection: The Trials of D&D

The first article I ever wrote for this blog was about D&D, in a way this blog was founded on talking about D&D and I have done so quite continually throughout the blogs life. This article was triggered by the big event at the time, the release of 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons and as I was excited by having a new edition in my hot little hand, I was very generous with my words.

Since this article I have written quite a few articles about 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons, either being mentioned as part of a larger theory article or directly addressing the edition itself. Over the years I have gone back and forth about my feelings about 5th edition but sitting here now with the 2024 edition released, I can say these definitive words about 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons.

It’s ok. I still prefer the classic playstyles of 1st edition D&D, the Dungeon Crawl, The Dungeon Survival, that deadly game where players aren’t heroes because they have powers, they are heroes because of the risks they take for the greater good against all odds.

Still, I do enjoy 5th edition D&D. It’s an easy game to the table and looking at this article, though I was a bit generous, I still believe 10 years later that the general assessment remains true. 5th edition is as close as the franchise has gotten over the years to returning to the original, classic formula of 1st edition. It’s a bit high powered and has plenty of exceptions, but all and all, it’s a fine game.

Top 10 Table Top Games

My first Top 10 of all time list was published in 2015 and I have to say, looking at it today, I still think most of these games are great, but it does feel a bit strange to see some of these titles today. There are some exceptions like Star Wars X-Wing and Twilight Imperium, both of which I consider top notch games still today.

Star Wars X-Wing in the number one spot feels great, I still love this game, I still have my collection and believe it or not it still comes out on occasion. It’s a fast moving fun dice chucker and while it’s no longer on my list today, I proudly stand by this one.

Twilight Imperium is still on my top 20 list today (no. 7 spot) and this game has remained on the list the entire decade. I love Twilight Imperium and true love lasts forever!

The rest of the list gets a bit shaky. Fury of Dracula in the no. 4 spot is the eye sore here, I’m not sure what I was thinking but I probably haven’t played this game since 2015. Formula D also feels a bit odd. I do like it but its a very niche game, quite random and way too long for what is effectively a kind of push your luck dice chucker. Dominion is the really painful one, I culled that one from my collection many moons ago and just the thought of playing it gives me the shivers.

This however is exactly why I update my best of list each year, these lists don’t age well.

Rating System

In September of 2015 I created my rating system that I would use from this point forward when receiving games and I have to say, even today, I still think its one of the best and most fair way to review games.

I think it’s actually the most brilliant thing I have ever done on this site to be honest, I love this system and I actually wish it was more standardized. I really dislike the arbitrary way in which boardgames are reviewed. It’s like, I give it a 7 out of 10… how? why? My rating system really quantifies things and gives categories of judgement weight based on the intended design so that way a game intended to be a short, fun dice chucker doesn’t get judged the same way a big, complex strategy game would. These are different games that require a different review approach and I really think my rating system captures that.

I’m very proud of it.

What Makes It Tick: Star Wars X-Wing Part V

The What Makes It tick was an article series that I never really fully explored. I did some decent work here but what I discovered is that these sort of articles aged really poorly, especially when applied to a constantly evolving game like miniature games.

I didn’t write very many as a result, but I do think they were pretty good for the 5 minutes they were actually valid.

7 Wonders Duel By Repos Production 2015

I have done a lot of reviews over the years and most of them I stand by, but there are a few that I cringe when I read them, the most famous of these blunders was my review of 7 Wonders Duel.

Man I feel like a fool for this one. I crapped all over this game and I was wrong about all of it. 7 Wonders Duel is a fantastic game, I still play it today nearly 10 years later quite regularly with my daughter, its actually one of my favorite games that I play with her and I’m pretty sure its one of her favorite board games of all time.

If there is a review I would love to re-write its this one.

Board Gaming Super Weekend II: Quick Reviews

Every year my friends and I disappear for 4 days to a place called Hassela, where we lock ourselves in a house in the country and do absolutely nothing but play boardgames all day, eat good food, drink good drink and be merry. It’s the gaming highlight of every year and we have been doing it now for nearly a decade. In fact, we will be celebrating our 10th year anniversary for this event.

Writing these articles is pure joy and it’s also probably the most diverse list of games you will ever see bunched up together in a single article. Great for when you want to find something new to try.

Lord of the Rings LCG: Companion Online!

In April 2018 I met a guy online that created the Lord of the Rings LCG companion, a website dedicated to Lord of the Rings. He was looking for a webspace to put the companion, I was a super fan of the game and basically I decided to host the sub-site and have been doing so ever since.

This site has been and continues to be updated and maintained, I have gladly paid to keep it up and running and will do so as long as the creator who by the way, I have almost no contact with, keeps it current. It’s been a fantastic resource provided to the community, I use it myself all the time and I love the idea that I keep it alive, there is something felathrapic about it.

D&D Theory: How to be a great DM

Theory articles have become a kind of staple of my site over the last few years, but it all started back in 2018. In fact, I do far more of these types of articles these days than I do boardgame reviews.

Part of the reason is that I’m not really all that interested in keeping up with the latest and greatest when it comes to boardgames. I choose my games rather abstractly based on current interest, I really don’t pay that much attention to new releases.

RPG’s however are a staple of my gaming life and I find myself playing, thinking about and writing about them all the time.

It also helps that these are the most commonly read articles. A single theory article can get more hits in a day, than most articles will get in a decade. They are very popular and generate a lot of traffic and while I’m not making money on this blog, I do like to see it getting traffic, it feels good.

A Guide to Battletech: Part III

I’m a huge battletech fan and writing this three part Battletech guide was one of the most fun articles I have ever written and it was one I was very heavily invested in.

I think all together there was over 100 hours worth of research and work that went into this three part series and personally I think its the single most relevant information you will ever find on the subject of Battletech anywhere on the internet and I’m quite proud of that.

This article series is a deep dive into Battletech that explains every resource, how it all fits together and all the options, variations and nuances of the game. It’s pure gold in my opinion, a effort well worth it for me.

Re-Review: Looking Back

While the 7 Wonder Duel review is something I’m not very proud of, my original review of Great Western Trails triggered me to do a “re-review” article, the only of its kind on this blog to correct some of those errors in judgement.

To some extent it was a kind of response to certain readers, who complained about some of these reviews and rightfully so as a few of these reviews were pretty terrible. I was glad I wrote this article but I had to swallow my pride when doing so.

Blood Rage by CMON 2015

Blood Rage is the first and only game in 10 years to receive a perfect 5 out of 5 score using my rating system and frankly, I still believe today that it’s the only game that deserves it.

I think this actually speaks to the objectivity of the rating system itself as well of the quality of Blood Rage as a board game because, believe it or not, this one doesn’t even crack my top 20 list.

There is no question in my mind in every category from components, gameplay, theme and replayability this game nails the landing with perfection. It is, genuinely in my opinion the only game I have ever played to which I could not find a single thing to complain about. It really is, the perfect game.

Now personally I think its a fun game and I always enjoy playing it, but it doesn’t really fit my style of game. For me, a game doesn’t need to be perfectly designed and published, to make the list. In fact, I usually prefer my games with some nuanced flaws, it gives them character.

REview: Napoleon’s Imperium by Compass Games 2021

I really do try my absolute best to be as objective on this blog as I can, especially when it comes to reviews, but in the case of Napoleon’s Imperium it was simply impossible.

This heartwarming story about a game developer publishing his first game, based on a life time spent designing it, with a fascinating and inspiring long road to that publications was enough to shake the foundations of objectivity. I however had the pleasure to meet and befriend the designer Andrew Roland and that really sealed the deal for me, throwing any sense of objectivity out the window.

All I can say is that I love this story, it is without question in my mind, one of the most fascinating and inspiring tales I have come across as a writer and I loved writing this article and this review.

For what it’s worth, after writing the article which did include some criticism, Andrew contacted me and not only thanked me for writing the review, but told me that this was the most accurate and most insightful review of the game he had ever read.

I’m not surprise at that comment as I spent the better part of 40 hours agonizing over every word of this article.

I was very proud of that and I was happy to help Andrew promote his game because I have never met anyone more deserving of success.

Empire Of the Sun by GMT 2005

Empire of the Sun by famed historical war game designer Mark Herman was a very coincidental and rather rash purchase on my part, but would end up completely changing the way I think about and what sorts of games I love. It was one of my first foray’s into serious historical war gaming and I have not been the same since.

This absolute masterpiece was one of the most difficult games to learn and dissect, without question one of the toughest reviews I have ever written. I have never worked harder to get words onto a page than the ones put together for Empire of The Sun.

I really hope I did the game justice, as it is one of my favorite games of all time, a lifestyle game I plan to play until the day I die.

Project: Arcade – Day 1

Probably one of the strangest articles and projects I ever took on was trying to create my own arcade system. I only wrote two articles for this one, something I hope to remedy one day when I actually finish the project, but I can tell you that I do in fact have a working prototype at home.

In fact my daughter and I play our homemade arcade every week like clockwork, we absolutely love and I really hope to finish this article and this project over the next couple of years because I had a ton of fun building and playing with it. It’s a unique experience that I would encourage any nostalgic gamer to pursue, if I can do it, anyone can do it.. I’m a fumbling idiot!

D&D Theory: List of 10 Games that can replace 5th edition D&D

When I wrote this article, I can tell you that the 5th edition D&D community was not kind. For a gaming community that claims to be all about tolerance and inclusivity, their true colors really shined through when I dared to write an article suggesting that there are other RPG’s out there that might replace 5th edition D&D as “THE” role-playing game.

In fact, I will call it out here and now just for the record. The 5th edition D&D community is predominantly populated by gatekeepers completely intolerant to anything other than their version of D&D. They are hostile, rude and bigoted, their defense is of course that everyone else is the bad guy and they are just innocent snowflakes. I don’t want to throw the entire community under the bus here, because of course this is a generalizations, I have met plenty of nice people but as a community a bigger group of assholes has never existed, the whole lot of them can fuck off.

What Makes It Tick: ASOIAF: Targaryen – Jorah Mormont

A Song of Ice and Fire the miniature game played a huge role in my gaming life during the pandemic era thanks mainly to Table Top Simulator which allowed us to play this miniature game online. I think I must have played 100 matches over the course of two years and I got to know this game really well. Well enough to trigger a rebirth of the What Makes It Tick articles.

As was the case before, these articles did not age well as the game is constantly being adjusted, adapted and updated. Suffice to say, while I enjoyed writing them, they are all very much obsolete at this point.

Top 10 Gaming Experiences Of 2023

It never occured to me to write a top 10 list of gaming experience, but when I did I found it a rather refreshing way to look at a top 10 list. As I was not bound by the quality of the game, but rather the play experience at a given moment, it allowed me to write an article free of trying to justify what is and isn’t good about a game in a sort of review style. Instead I was just writing about how things went and that was really fun.

I definitely will do more of these in the future.

Q&A – Time to answer some questions

I don’t interact with my readers very much, I don’t have a comment section and usually while I read every email anyone sends to me, I rarely respond. There is a reason for this. My blog is my space, it’s a white board for my thoughts, ideas and opinion and these things are not up for debate. Generally I don’t care what people think, what other people think is not what this blog is about, its a very narcissistic thing, it’s my opinion that matters here and it’s a one way, take it or leave, train.

That said, I figure after 10 years, perhaps this one time I will break the silence and answer some direct questions. I will not reveal any personal information here and I will paraphrase the questions for brevity.

Q1: Why don’t you have a comment section? What are you afraid of?

Already answered to a degree in the intro but to be plain and blunt about it, I don’t really give a fuck what you think and I’m not going to provide you with a space for it on my blog. I know there are a lot of snowflakes out there that think there opinion must be heard and to those I say, write your own fucking blog!

To answer the second part, I’m not afraid of anything, I just don’t care to hear or debate people’s opinions about my opinions. I see no value in it, some people agree with me, some people don’t. We can make that assumption without me having to moderate assholes who take advantage of an anonymous space to vent their bullshit.

Q2: Editorials and repost request

I get a metric ton of requests from people wanting me to re-link or publish articles on their behalf on this blog, which I can understand, I have a fairly sizeable audience for a small gaming blog.

Here is the thing. I’m not a professional, I’m not even a writer, I’m just a gamer with a blog that use it as an outlet to express my opinions and ideas. It’s really that simple, one voice in a larger chorus.

I have never felt comfortable exposing this space to other publications and authors, to me, it doesn’t make sense. Every word on this blog I have written, errors, run-on sentences, terrible opinions and stupid articles mixed in with some good content (I hope) is mine. The point is for it to be mine so I have no interest in sharing the space with anyone. I know there is money in it, but I have plenty of money, I don’t need to make more on my hobby.

Q3: Your wrong and I demand you correct it

There are certain communities out there like miniature gaming communities, original D&D communities and 5th edition communities who actually believe that I have some sort of obligation to them when I write. They insist that if I don’t word things the way they think I should that they have the write to not only tell me about it, but in some cases even do actionable stuff like send me fake cease and desist letters (yeah that actually happened).

I get it, people are passionate but I can’t stress enough how few fucks I give about people’s opinions about my opinions. I’m not saying I’m always right, but what I think is what I think, if you disagree, your barking up the wrong tree telling me about it, I really don’t care and I’m not going to alter my articles. I know that frustrates people, I can’t tell you guys enough how much it means to people that I listen and respond, which is exactly why I never do.

Q4: Review My Game

I get a lot of requests to review people’s games, even from large publishers who are willing to send me free copies if I do so. I’m not going to claim I have never done this, I have made exceptions but I generally avoid this sort of thing.

Writing articles and reviews for this blog is not my job, it’s my hobby, I do it for fun when I fancy to do so. I do not keep schedules, perform “task assignments” or anything else of the sort. In fact, I rarely ever do “new release” type stuff. I write and talk about things I’m doing in that moment and that can be just about anything.

So probably the answer is no, I’m not saying “stop sending me requests”, I’m just saying that in most cases I’m probably not going to respond.

News

News: Games Workshop goes woke the wrong way

I don’t normally do news or politics on this blog for two main reasons, first I usually can’t muster the will to give a fuck about other people’s bullshit, sorry world, I got my own shit to worry about and it’s more important than you. Secondly, almost all modern politics are stupid and wrong on both sides lacking a moral compass, so there is no one to agree with, Liberal Democrats are every bit as corrupt and unethical as conservative Republicans. You are effectively asked to choose between two sides, both run by assholes, both lying and avoiding important context.

Today I make an exception to my no politics rule and it’s only because my hope is that somewhere out there, perhaps someone working at Games workshop, someone with an actual moral compass and a brain has some influence and can steer their company away from the idiocracy they are heading for.

My hope is that Warhammer 40k won’t be the next Disney, Marvel or D&D that catapults itself off the cliff of self-destruction in the name of fake morales designed by people who pretend to give a shit for people pretending to give a shit. As a guy who truly does not give a fuck about you, think of this as the only objective advice you will ever get.

The Fake Woke Drama In Warhammer 40k

For those of you who play and follow Warhammer 40k, you have no doubt heard about the latest Games Workshop debacle. To sum it up, basically, GW, a company that treats their employees like shit and underpays them (well documented) while obscenely overcharging for their products and taking every economic shortcut possible fucking over their community at every turn (well documented) has suddenly become concerned about diversity in the boys club they created and maintained for nearly 5 decades.

Their big public”strategic play” to fix diversity in 40k was to add a female character to an all-male faction (The Custodes) and when the community called them on their bullshit, they re-wrote their own history and pretended like “women have always been part of the Custodes” and they had no idea what the fan base is complaining about.

Now the gaslighting aside which is an issue in its own right, this is about the equivalent of a full nude strip club suddenly changing Taco Tuesday to a vegan buffet because they are concerned about the cruelty of how animals are treated in slaughterhouses. This in a place in which they facilitate vulnerable 18-year-old girls to sell their actual pink tacos.

Of all the moral concerns one might bring up and wish to address about how Games Workshop operates as a corporation and its commitment to diversity, having more girls in Warhammer lore perhaps shouldn’t be their priority if they are actually concerned about diversity.

How about instead you make sure that female employees at Games Workshop get equal pay? Perhaps focus on creating a business model that doesn’t exclude poor people who are mostly minorities? How about making sure that when I walk into a Games Workshop store, you have some actual diversity among the people running it? How about simply starting with creating some diversity in your own company so you don’t have only middle-aged white guys defining what diversity means or how its implemented?

This is the Gender Pay Gap report on Games Workshop from 2022.

There are a lot of ethical changes Games Workshop could make within its organization to address diversity and ethical obligations if they are actually serious about change. The simple fact that women are not represented in the company and those that do work there get paid over 10% less at GW than men might be a good start. Considering the company has a 70%+ ratio of men running the place with nearly 100% men in the executive branch, diversity at Games Workshop and as a result in Warhammer 40k is impossible. You want more diversity in your game, maybe start by having more diversity in your company!

Here is my point about the drama and the push for diversity at GW. It’s bullshit, it’s a bunch of virtue signaling while they continue to operate their company as they always have, an exclusive boys club. Meanwhile, they shake their finger at the community and call them sexist because the community gets pissed off about some irrelevant lore retcon and how GW handled its introduction into the game.

A brilliant political move designed to divert attention, I will grant you that, but, an asshole move just the same, one that doesn’t address diversity in gaming at all.

The Reality and Problem of Woke Politics in Gaming

The truth is that the fan base doesn’t really care about the fact that GW decided to add female characters into the lore of the Custodes, this is not at the heart of the problem. Women in Warhammer 40k is neither a problem or a concern for the fan base, they have always been welcome by the community. We love women in gaming, in fact, most gamers will go out of their way to make it as comfortable and pleasant an environment as we can. Gamers are among the healthiest and most forward-thinking people you will ever meet, despite media painting a picture to the contrary. It’s why women are attracted to the scene and why each and every year we get closer to a 50-50 split between male and female gamers in all genres. This happens despite, not because of the diversity push of game publishing companies and despite the fact that these white washed companies continue to maintain their organization as a boys club.

The issue is that though women are welcomed in tabletop gaming, they have never been welcome by the industry and organizations. There has never been much in the way of complaining that there are not enough women playing Warhammer, least of all by women. The complaint is that women are not welcome to work at GW and the few that exist, do so in low level, limited influence positions. It’s a male-oriented hobby because GW ensures its a game marketed boys and men because that is where the money is because that is who has the most interest in it. It’s really that simple and there is only so much that can be done to get girls and women interested in painting plastic soldiers and playing pretend war.

GW nonetheless, is solving a problem that doesn’t exist, it’s a problem they invented and are now solving in the most public and loudest way possible to ensure they maximize the internet attention and very much on purpose. The goal very clearly here is headlines, not change.

The core issue is that this very public forcing of woke politics into the game as a message to create a new truth is a method of narrative control. It’s a way to control the conversation and to paint a picture of themselves as a “morale” company in the eyes of people outside of the hobby while they gaslight the community and vilify those who disagree with them to illustrate their commitment to this new moral direction they are pretending to take.

The infusion of these politics and the method of injection of these politics is a new practice that companies that have a lot to hide employ to raise their profile, without making any actual change to their operation. By deflecting the focus of the conversation away from reality, into the realm of fantasy they get the headlines they want “Games Workshop goes woke”, but it does not require them to make any internal changes. A practice that has become the new standard for creating positive headlines for a company with an image problem.

If you want to know how this plays out long term, just look at Wizards of the Coast, the makers of Dungeon and Dragons which has been pushing diversity for over 5 years now using this virtue signaling approach. Their franchise was struggling terribly after releasing an edition of the game that sucked balls and no one bought it (4th edition) and they wanted to push better headlines for themselves for their new edition (5th edition). They however had a major image issue, D&D was seen as a male hobby, because, effectively, it was because that is how the game was marketed for nearly 5 decades.

They made all manner of gestures publicly to appeal to a vocal minority in the hobby but mostly outside media to garner as much positive attention as possible. In the course of these 5 years, however, Wizards of the Coast has made very little meaningful change in diversity, in fact, the more things changed on the surface, the more they stayed the same internally.

Below you will find a picture of all the executives at Wizards of the Coast today, the company of diversity and virtue signaling. Yes, it’s just a bunch of white dudes with a few women sprinkled into the mix into irrelevant made-up positions like head of Kids Studio. Not a single dark-colored person in the entire bunch, it’s a White-Male run company. 5 years of virtue signaling has changed nothing about how the company operates, who controls it or who is in charge. Yet Wizards of the Coast wins awards for their efforts in diversity and is praised for it by a wide range of Social Justice Warrior groups. They even invented an entire diversity organization so that they could award themselves titles like “most diverse company of the year”.

What is the point here? Well the point is that Games Workshop gives zero fucks about diversity, they care about controlling the narrative and message of diversity, and they care about the headlines. You can expect, like Wizards of the Coast and other companies like it, that the company will continue to be the white-male-run boys club it has always been. They aren’t serious about real diversity, they are interested in making sure you think they are.

You want to be pissed about the lack of diversity in gaming, get pissed about that.

How to do diversity the right way

The answer is less obvious and likely unpopular by both the left and the right because it requires that you care less about appearances and more about reality. It requires that you understand that diversity used like a machine gun targeting everything and everyone at the same time, is actually a really terrible and destructive thing that serves no one.

The problem has been and always will be that anyone who see’s unfairness and demands social justice is easy to manipulate and their targets are always the most obvious places where there is an absence of diversity without investigating why or asking whether or not there is a good reason for it.

So far as the Social Justice Warriors are concerned, this latest fiasco at GW is a win for diversity. Games Workshop forced a female character in an all-male faction in a fantasy game in which grown men paint and move plastic soldiers around, take that! The fans are pissed off, the SJW’s are celebrating a victory, meanwhile, women got a grand total of jack and shit out of it. Is the pay gap fixed? Are more women working in gaming? No, they are not and the scene is setup to ensure that GW doesn’t have to alter anything at all about their operation as far as diversity goes. They changed some text in a book few give a crap about and now they just became the diversity good guys publicly. The fact that women still get paid 10% less than men and GW is controlled by middle-aged white men, no longer needs fixing.

Ask yourself, who won here? Did women win? Did diversity win? Did the fan base win?

Real change takes place when the monopoly on power on the organizational level changes and diversity exists from a natural evolution of the company’s real desire to change, to be inclusive by handing over creative power to a diverse fan base and the audience’s desire to consume the changes.

The point here is that diversity can’t be implemented through company image and making minor changes to artwork or fiction. Unfortunately the left wants to implement diversity in this fashion strictly because it pisses off the right. This is about shallow political victories which are notably battles fought by two sides mostly made up of outsiders (people who don’t play or give a shit about Warhammer) doing little other than degrading the quality of the franchise and in the end facilitating the destruction of it. When the dust settles, these outsiders will simply move on to the next political battleground, leaving the 40k franchise a pile of smoking ash for the few fans that remain.

Exclusivity is a good thing

Games like Warhammer 40k are boy’s clubs because they have been cultivated by boys for boys for decades. This is why 40k is so successful. The people making the game are also the target audience. They know what they are making, who they are making it for.

If women want to participate in this world, they should be given the opportunity to do so but its important to understand that the reason its a boys club is because women have shown very little actual interest in it. You need female fans that love Warhammer to get involved, they need to help create a version of the game for themselves out of love for the content that they consume, that they nurture. We need content created by female fans for female fans.

Infiltrating the boys club and trying to turn it into a girls club doesn’t work. Think of it in other areas. Why is basketball dominated by primarily black men? It’s because they grow up with it, they live it and love it every day of their lives and when they become adults they are your super fans and so naturally many of them transition it into a profession. Should we have more forced diversity in basketball? You can’t suddenly say, ok from now on 30% of all basketball players have to be Asian because of diversity. Asian people don’t have the same history with the game, the same culture of playing it every day on the street courts in the sun, they don’t consume it and love it the same, its why they are underrepresented.

Do you get it now? Warhammer 40k is a boys club it has exclusivity and that is ok. There are lots of things that have exclusivity for good reason. Black History Month, gay pride parades, girls soccer, the para-Olympics and so on. There is nothing wrong with that and that exclusivity doesn’t exist to gate keep people out of it, its simply focused on a specific group of people who it is intended for because it was created by and for them.

As a straight white guy am I not allowed to enjoy and celebrate black history month? Am I not allowed to go watch the gay pride parade or enjoy watching female sports? Of course I am, but its not really made for me, these are exclusive things designed to create a space for certain groups be it black people, women, gay people or whoever. Its ok, it doesn’t make you a bad person because you want your own parade.

Well 40k is a boys club, it’s for boys made by boys and that is ok. You don’t need to fix it, you don’t need to change it. Its not broken. Does that mean women are not welcome? Of course not, but it also means you can’t enter this boys club and decide that boys clubs are bad and make it your mission to destroy it and turn it into a girls club. That is unethical and its wrong, your not creating diversity, your destroying something that wasn’t made for you simply because it exists.

I’m not against diversity, but if your going to do it, let it be a natural evolution. Don’t force diversity into the game for the purpose of showing how diverse you are as a company. You want to prove that, pay women their worth, hire more diverse talented people into the executive branch. Do that and diversity will be born naturally without any effort or publicity stunts required. Diverse creators, will create a diverse game.