In this episode, we talk to the producers of the new tabletop games documentary, GAMEMASTER, about how the film came to be.

TOP STORIES:

• Tabletop games Kickstarter business up in 2020 despite fewer projects.
• BGG.CON 2020 replaced by a second Virtual Gaming Con.
• CMON investigating the audit issues surrounding its annual report.
• "Magic: The Gathering" in-store play temporarily suspended.
• "The Once and Future Kang" sets his sights on "Marvel Champions."
• "Back the Comeback" charity auction to support retail comic and game stores.
• "Southern Rails" rolling into Rio Grande's station.
• Solo rules let "Sanctum" players face their demons alone.
• "Pandemic Legacy: Season 0" turns back the clock.

SPECIAL REPORT:

• Jasper talks with Jimmy Nguyen, Jason Rose, and Wally Schrass about the origins and challenges of making GAMEMASTER (Twitter: @GamemasterDoc), a new documentary about the world of tabletop games and the people behind them.

THE HOTNESS:

• Pendulum
• Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles
• Dead Reckoning

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• Spicy
• Keyforge: Mass Mutation
• Aztec
• Arkham Horror: TCG - The Blob that Ate Everything Scenario Pack
• Marvel Champions: TCG - Doctor Strange Hero Pack
• Legend of the Five Rings: In Pursuit of Truth Dynasty Pack
• The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth - Shadowed Paths
• Decipher
• The Great Cake Escape
• Black Rose Wars

KICKSTARTER:

• Catapult Kingdoms
• Enigmas
• Sorcerer: Endbringer

LINKS:

• Follow our Twitter newsfeed @DiceTowerNow.
• Catch up with Chris and Kitty's Tabletop Game Talk podcast.
• Dig in with Corey at Dice Tower Dish.
• Connect with Bree @BoardGameBree on Twitter.

This week, an ambassador for the hobby hangs up his hat, Corey takes us on a journey to learn what exactly a board game developer does, and Kitty and Chris discuss the Kickstarter campaigns for "Eila and Something Shiny" and "Hybris: Disordered Cosmos."

HEADLINES:

• "Wingspan" takes home the Dice Tower Award for Best Game of the Year, with "Maracaibo" and "Horrified" winning Best Strategy Game and Best Coop respectively.
• Stephen Buonocore to retire as President of Stronghold Games.
• Get ready to welcome the King and Queen in a new card game based on the "Downton Abbey" movie.
• Go off the top rope with "WWE Legends Royal Rumble Card Game."
• Return to Middle-earth in Reiner Knizia's "The Lord of the Rings - Anniversary Edition."
• Will Wheaton takes a ride with Bicycle.
• Plan B announces the final game in the "Century: Golem" trilogy.
• "Sonora" from Pandasaurus Games arrives in retail.

THE HOTNESS:

• Pendulum
• Lost Ruins of Arnak
• Dead Reckoning
• Godzilla: Tokyo Clash

SPECIAL REPORT:

• Corey talks to industry leaders to get to the bottom of what exactly board game developers do.

KICKSTARTER:

• Eila and Something Shiny
• Hybris: Disordered Cosmos

LINKS:

• Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates @DiceTowerNow.
• Check out Corey's interview with "Century: Golem" trilogy designer Emerson Matsuuchi at DiceTowerDish.com.
• Kitty and Chris take a look back at metagaming on this week's Tabletop Game Talk podcast.
• Connect with Bree on Twitter @BoardGameBree.
• You can now find us listed along with all the other great podcasts in the Dice Tower Network.

Welcome to our first episode as Dice Tower Now! Meet the team, and hear what we have in store for the future!

HEADLINES:

• Reiner Knizia's "My City" gets an English-language release.
• Queen Games teases "Stefan Feld City Collection."
• Cards Against Humanity and Wizards of the Coast clean house.
• Live murder mystery musical based on "Clue" heading to Twitch.

HOTNESS:

• Gloomhaven: Jaws of Lion
• Domination
• Roll Player Adventures
• Back to the Future: Dice Through Time
• Unmatched: Cobble & Fog

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• Cosmic Encounter: Duel
• Freedom!
• Everdell: Bellfaire
• Everdell: Spirecrest
• Dune: Ixians & Tleilaxu

KICKSTARTER:

• Canopy
• Roll Player Adventures

LINKS:

• Follow us on Twitter @DiceTowerNow.
• Connect with Bree Goldman on Twitter @BoardGameBree.
• Corey Thompson serves up fresh interviews at DiceTowerDish.com.
• Check out TabletopGameTalk.com for more podcast goodness with Chris Steele & Kitty Langley.

Dice Tower News has become Dice Tower Now. With this great power comes great responsibility ... to bring you the biggest and best stories from the world of tabletop gaming.

Follow us on Twitter @DiceTowerNow.

Beginning next week, this podcast will be renamed Dice Tower Now. We've got a lot of great new stuff in store. Subscribers should automatically be updated to the new podcast, but if for some reason that doesn't happen, come find us!

HEADLINES:

• "Hedgehog Roll" wins the 2020 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
• Unlock some adventure with "Star Wars Escape Game."
• Get ready to dive into "Aquatica."
• GAMA elects new officers.
• Dial up your deduction with "Ultimate Werewolf Extreme."
• Put on your princess crown in "Munchkin: Disney."
• The "Nemesis: Lockdown" KS finishes big.
• Matagot turns green into gold with their "Kemet: Blood and Sand" KS.
• "CMON Comics Vol. 1" breaks KS records.

THE HOTNESS:

1. Imperial Struggle
2. Godspeed
3. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
4. Terraforming Mars
5. Gloomhaven
6. Wingspan
7. Race for the Galaxy
8. Monumental
9. Root
10. Terraforming Mars: Big Box

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• Godspeed
• Endangered
• Detective: Signature Series - Dig Deeper
• Stringamajig

KICKSTARTER:

• The Dead Eye
• Age of Atlantis

HEADLINES:

• Origins Game Fair cancels after backup plans fail.
• Origins Online cancels following numerous drop outs.
• The Op joins with Asmodee to create licensed versions of "Drop It!" (AKA, "Dobble").
• Race dice with AEG's "Cubitos" from John D. Clair.
• Wizards of the Coast bans seven Magic: The Gathering cards it deems racist or culturally offensive.
• Arcane Wonders and Greater Than Games announce "Freedom Five: A Sentinel Comics Board Game."
• Registration for BGG's and the Dice Tower's Virtual Gaming Con now open.

THE HOTNESS:

1. Terraforming Mars: Big Box
2. Monumental
3. Terraforming Mars
4. Gloomhaven
5. Disney's Jungle Cruise Adventure Game
6. Heartland
7. Wingspan
8. Nemesis
9. Brass: Birmingham
10. The Crew: The Quest for Planet 9

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• Forgotten Waters
• Nevada City
• Succulent
• Marshmallow Test
• Modern Art: The Card Game
• Marvel Champions: TCG - Black Widow Hero Pack
• TLOTR: TCG - Under the Ash Mountains Adventure Pack
• Arkham Horror: TCG - Weaver of the Cosmos Mythos Pack

KICKSTARTER:

• Crash!
• Mini Rogue

HEADLINES:

• The gaming community speaks out in support of diversity and Black Lives Matter.
• "Pandemic: Hot Zone - North America" to be the first in new series.
• Funko cuts 25% of its workforce.
• "Kemet: Blood and Sand" Cthulhu expansion sparks fury amongst backers.

THE HOTNESS:

1. Terraforming Mars: Big Box
2. Terraforming Mars
3. Merchants of the Dark Road
4. Back to the Future: Back in Time
5. Nemesis
6. Gloomhaven
7. Crystal Palace
8. Brass: Birmingham
9. Wingspan
10. Root

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• Space Battle Lunchtime Card Game
• Ride the Rails
• Deranged
• Adventure Mart
• Killer Bunnies
• Sheriff of Nottingham (Second Edition)
• My Little Scythe: Pie in the Sky

KICKSTARTER:

• Merchants of the Dark Road
• Dice Miner
• Chai: High Tea

HEADLINES:

• You'll have the power with CMON's "Masters of the Universe: The Board Game."
• Solve groovy mysteries with CMON's "Scooby-Doo: The Board Game."
• Run, Danny! From the Op's "The Shining: Escape from the Overlook Hotel"
• Frosthaven's charitable acts ruffle feathers.
• "Warhammer 40,000" gets a 9th Edition.
• Board Game Expo sets its sights on 2021.

THE HOTNESS:

1. Nemesis
2. Western Empires
3. Merchants of the Dark Road
4. Nemesis: Lockdown
5. Terraforming Mars
6. Gloomhaven
7. Wingspan
8. Kemet: Blood and Sand
9. The Crew: The Search for Planet 9
10. Kepler-3042

KICKSTARTER:

• Nemesis: Lockdown
• Kemet: Blood and Sand
• CMON Comics - Vol. 1

LINKS:

• We love feedback! Please leave any you have on our BGG Thread.
• Find food, interviews with game designers, and Corey Thompson at DiceTowerDish.com.
• Connect with Jesse on Twitter @TheJesseWheeler.
• Check out TabletopGameTalk.com with previous hosts, Chris Steele and Kitty Langley.

HEADLINES:

• Nominees for the 2020 Spiel des Jahres announced.
• Spiel and Gen Con canceled.
• The Dice Tower and BGG team up for Virtual Gaming Con.
• Search for pearls in Reiner Knizia's "Whale Riders."
• Funko Games adapting everything you love.
• "Gudetama: The Tricky Egg Card Game" slides this way.
• We look at Kickstarter fails from a new point of view.

THE HOTNESS:

1. My City
2. Gloomhaven
3. Terraforming Mars
4. Nova Luna
5. Nemesis
6. A War of Whispers
7. The Crew: The Quest for Planet 9
8. Santa Monica
9. Wingspan
10. Cartographers: A Roll Player Game

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• The Mind Extreme
• Deep Vents

KICKSTARTER:

• Euthia: Torment of Resurrection
• Railroad Ink Challenge

LINKS:

• We love feedback. Please leave yours on our BGG Thread.
• Check out Dice Tower Dish for food and interviews with the game industry's top designers.
• Connect with Jesse on Twitter @TheJesseWheeler.
• Find previous hosts Kitty and Chris at TabletopGameTalk.com.

HEADLINES:

• "Disney Jungle Cruise Adventure Games" travels to Amazon's exclusive waters.
• Asmodee USA Distribution to release 40 new titles in June.
• CMON makes progress with its audit issues.
• Baby Yoda waddles to a table near you.
• "Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery" to get a second edition.

THE HOTNESS:

1. Small World of Warcraft
2. Maharaja
3. Tiny Epic Pirates
4. Gloomhaven
5. Under Falling Skies: A 9-Card Print-and-Play Game
6. HEL: The Last Saga
7. Terraforming Mars
8. Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale
9. Wingspan
10. Maharaja: The Game of Palace Building in India

NEW & UPCOMING RELEASES:

• Santa Monica
• The Magnificent
• A Touch of Evil: 10-Year Anniversary Edition
• Western Legends: Ante Up

KICKSTARTER:

• Battle of the Boybands
• Adventures in Neverland

LINKS:

• Connect with Jesse on Twitter @TheJesseWheeler.
• Dig into DiceTowerDish.com with Corey Thompson.
• Check out TabletopGameTalk.com with former hosts Kitty and Chris.
• We love feedback! Please leave any on our Official BGG Thread.