#ilovetabletop

[writingsbyjose]

I donated $75 to season 3 of one of my favorite shows on YouTube. Excited to see what boardgames and RPG they have planned season. #boardgames #geek #tabletop #ilovetabletop

[frakbuddy]

Damn!  Suckered into pledging for the Tabletop Indiegogo.....again!

Lootcrate!yo

[tris10who]

goddessofdorkdom replied to your video:I know a bunch of you guys that follow me are...

I did the $75 pledge the other day :) I love both Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day! I wish I was rich so I could get some of the other perks! :D

Awesome! T-shirts are fun and any donation is fantastic! Thanks for helping out so much :))

[catalystgamelabs]

Why Should I Care About TableTop?

If you're not already well versed in what TableTop is, feel free to dive into dozens of wonderful videos showcasing tabletop games and how fantastic they can be!

However, TableTop ran into some problems with funding after 2 fantastic seasons and so they've just launched crowd funding to proceed with work on Season 3. 

If you're already onboard and supporting, awesome…thank you! I love games (and make them, of course) and the more people playing the happier I am.

If you're not on board yet, well, let me try and change you're mind (because I'm assuming if you're reading this blog you love 'some' type of games). And apologies right up front for my public pontification. I really find such things distasteful. After all, you don't want to read about my geek rage, you want to see the cool games we're making and play them. But every now and then I feel it's just too important to miss the chance (and seeing as how the last time I did this was 5 years ago, I'm feeling okay).

So apologies up front for the length here, but hopefully it'll be worth your time.

Why should you care about TableTop? Because in my humble opinion, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day and their whole team (such as Bo and others) have done more for the hobby we love than anything outside of the "German board game revolution" to raise awareness and increase interest in our "little corner."

As I snap a photo of my shelves and the boardgames over-flowing from ceiling to floor, the sheer volume of awesomesauce is directly attributed to the growth of boardgames. That growth really was born out of that "German revolution" starting with Settlers of Catan from over a decade ago, but it has continued to expand as game companies see the market of more and more people playing  and then produce a plethora of great games of every size, shape, color and theme you can think of.

Wil and Felicia and TableTop have only built on that great foundation, expanding awareness and sales. I know. I've talked with the companies involved. I've seen the numbers. It's astonishing. In fact, I know a distributor/marketer whose been in our industry over 30 years, who loves this hobby and is more knowledgeable than almost anyone I can think of and he stood in a long line at the Origins Game Fair 2 years ago just so he could shake Wil's hand and thank him for what he's doing for our hobby.

You should care because the more people that play our games, the more cool games will come. I've watched over the last decade as board games went from almost the red-headed step-child of the hobby (when compared to roleplaying games and miniatures games) to being the king. And if you love boardgames and want to see more cool boardgames, supporting TableTop is one of the best single things you can do (beyond, you know, buying and playing games).

"But I don't really play boardgames, I'm only into miniatures or RPGs. Why should I care?" Ah…so many reasons.

First, the adage "raising all boats" applies here. As one side of our hobby is lifted, it drags the rest of the hobby up with it. I've seen over-all awareness of RPGs creeping upwards. I've listened in game stores I've visited to people talking about how TableTop lead them from board games to dipping their toe into RPGs.

Second, and most important, if you've not done so already, review the TableTop Season 3 launch video again and pay attention starting at about 2:45. If they reach their million stretch goal they'll spin off a TableTop RPG show! 

Sweet! Can I get my RPG shelf over-flowing with cool, new games because an awareness of playing is driving new interest which will bring new, cool games and universes to my table?!

That's not to say cool RPGs are not coming out all the time. From brand new offerings such as Monte Cook's Numenara, companies such as Margaret Weis letting us play in TV shows we love (Firefly!) to a host of great Indie games: RPGs are still an indelible part of our hobby. And Catalyst supports RPGs with a vengeance as well, from our own Indie-style Cosmic Patrol to the massive success of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition released last year, to our recently announced  comics-based Valiant Universe RPG coming this year.

But there's so, so many more people that could be enjoying these games.

I mentioned at the start that I pontificated 5 years ago and if you're interested, I was venting my "geek rage" at so many people saying "TableTop RPGs are dead." A sentiment that still pervades.

Amazing to read that again 5 years later and see that almost all of my points are still totally valid. The computer games have only gotten more immersive and the graphics better and yet I see more people playing tabletop games than I have in long years.

When we started up a Shadowrun, Fifth Edition game just last week for my son and his friends, they not only talked about it endlessly for weeks before the first session, but after the fact the group of kids stayed up for hours till midnight crafting their characters. And my wife and I joined them, experiencing all the crazy cool fun and excitement of that unique experience that only an RPG brings.

Anyways, at the end of that blog I talked about "market penetration" And how do we put RPGs in front of kids that don't know they exist but would immediately step up and start playing?

My head…5 years ago I never imagined a show like TableTop, but it's exactly what our hobby needs: a way to show how great RPGs (and ALL games) can be in a forum that reaches far beyond anything game companies can currently pull off.

"But I only like miniatures games!" You don't think if a TableTop RPG show is successful that a TableTop Miniatures show might not be far behind?

"But they've raised $300k in 48 hours, they're going to do it. I don't need to support." Sure, they're going to make it easily and I'm not surprised. After all, I've spent almost two decades interacting with the gaming communities and you guys are just awesome. But I don't want 500k for them, I want a million…I want several million. I want them to have so much love and support that they continue to make shows for years, covering every aspect of our hobby so every "dirty little freak" out there can find his home and fit in and get his geek on far easier than I ever did.

If you can't provide financial support, totally understand…then just bang the drum and post on every social media you can think of; talk it up at your hobby store; talk about it with your friends; shout it out your front door….

From one long-time gamer to a host of long-time gamers as well as a slew of new ones…thanks.

Randall

[zoethegeek]

Help Wil Wheaton Make Season 3 of TableTop a Real…:

Yay I get a t-shirt and more! Wish I was rich enough to get to play with them. But still awesome!

[speakfandomtome]

STOP AND PAY ATTENTION, PLEASE

So, here's the thing. Wil Wheaton makes these really awesome videos about tabletop games for Geek & Sundry on youtube. They're superfun to watch and you get to know lots of incredible games and most of all, they are definitely a really cool way to make people understand that tabletop games are NOT just for children but they can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their age. If you have never seen any of those videos, you should just open youtube and do it, I swear you won't regret it. There have been 2 seasons of Tabletop and now they need funds for the third one so please, donate something and if you don't maybe spread the word? Here  you can find all the info (explained by Wil Wheaton, who is just so much better than me at it so, yeah, go check it out) and how to donate. Thank you for your attention #ilovetabletop

[blahblahnyborg]

Playing Dungeon Roll by Tasty Minstrel Games.