It Is Wise for GAMA to Seek a New Executive Director

by | Aug 29, 2018

I was elected to the board of directors of the Game Manufacturers Association about 14 months ago. I’ve been a fan of the organization for longer than that, and have been attending its conventions — the GAMA Trade Show and Origins — for the last 20 years. From time to time, I had been publicly critical of this or that bit of GAMA logistics or execution, and a few voices suggested that if these things concerned me, I should get involved. So, I ran for the board. What I Think GAMA Is For For many, GAMA is synonymous with the GAMA Trade Show and with Origins. For them, the organization maps directly and entirely to putting on those two shows. However, GAMA is much broader than that. GAMA has a clear and written mission, purpose, and vision. They’re publicly accessible on the front page of gama.org. All three were updated by a special committee in 2016, and those revisions ratified by a vote of the members, so these are not irrelevant, unexamined statements from the before-times. They reflect recent thought, and the organization’s active assent. GAMA’s purpose is its reason for being. It serves the hobby games industry in three ways: Advancing its members’ interests Providing educational programs and opportunities Promoting our unique form of quality social entertainment GAMA’s mission is its ambition for action. Under the umbrella of being an essential nexus for new and experienced game industry professionals, it aims to: Increase adoption of and engagement with hobby games Foster networking Foster sharing of best practices and innovations Pool resources toward common goals Host trade and consumer...

July

by | Jul 23, 2018

At Atlas Games, we launched the Kickstarter campaign for a new edition of Over the Edge, the classic RPG of weird urban danger. ¶ Friendly Local Game Store, which I edited, was nominated for an ENnie...

June

by | Jul 3, 2018

Origins happened! ¶ Our family bought a new house across the school district and moved into it, which made for a very busy month....

May

by | May 22, 2018

Friendly Local Game Store and Beating the Story saw their public releases on the first of the month, right on schedule. ¶ A fan-created Tabletop Simulator extension for The White Box was released. ¶ The kids’ sports schedules got underway in earnest, and we had an offer accepted to buy a new house (just across town, this...

April

by | Apr 23, 2018

I got the chance to give a presentation on creativity and tabletop gaming at CreativeMornings/Minneapolis. ¶ Preorders were fulfilled right on time for new Gameplaywright releases Friendly Local Game Store and Beating the...