Episode 50 - Going Strong

Brainwaves Statement on the U.S. Protests Hello everyone, before we get to the cast proper we wanted to take a moment to address how the Brainwaves team feels about the current situation in America. We feel that even though our voice is small, it is important to speak up when events like this occur. As 3 white guys we will not pretend to understand what the black community has experienced worldwide during our lifetimes and for centuries beforehand. However we do stand with the protesters who are seeking justice for the killing of George Floyd and the countless other black Americans who have been unlawfully killed. The United States is being run by a fascist who wants nothing more than to line his pockets and those of his rich, white friends. He doesn’t care about people, especially those who look different from him. We hope his rule is brought to an end in November. Our own country is being run by people who foster the fear of ‘the other’ to score political points, to divide, and make money. Whilst they have not quite sunk to the levels of the Trump administration, it is all too easy to imagine a scenario where they would.  For our own part we will be endeavouring to highlight the work of BAME UK designers more. We are conscious of the fact that we have not had a diverse range of voices on the cast or in interviews.  We'll be striving to do better on that front over the coming weeks, months, and years. Our goal has always been to lift up smaller publishers and designers and we also need to add diversity to that goal. We, and games, are all made better by listening to and understanding diverse voices.  It is easy to feel powerless against what is happening in the US, and in the UK regarding Brexit, at the moment. We hope in our own small corner of the internet that we can do better, and that we can help lift up a diverse range of voices through our actions.  Black Lives Matter. Show Notes It’s our 50th episode! Before we break out the bubbly, the team bring you the choicest slices of tabletop games news from Magic competitions going digital to pintable trains. In a longer than normal cast, we look back on how the cast came to be, what the future holds, and chat about our experiences behind the scenes.  Headlines Spiel des Jahres nominations out https://www.dicebreaker.com/topics/spiel-des-jahres/news/spiel-des-jahres-2020-nominations Wizards of the Coast announces major changes to M:tG competitive play. https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/45828/wizards-coast-announces-major-changes-to-competitive-level-magic-the-gathering-events?fbclid=IwAR2SXWztpeqgqdkvYTc8MG_WtrsAKrqAsu5H_BGvaU3NRn9iiCJ4ZAbKWqI Gen Con online https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/News/gen-con-online-registration-to-open-1-june-2020   News Boardgame design lab hires J.R. Honeycutt https://mobile.twitter.com/BGDesignLab/status/1268505651522740224 Ticket to Ride Print and Play https://print-and-play.asmodee.fun/files/tickettoride/Ticket-to-Ride-Stay-at-Home-A4_en.pdf Aquelarre RPG now coming out in English https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/News/aquelarre-rpg-out-now?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=news&fbclid=IwAR36vxnSIpoRNLacCsxqRkNxw1b80uXhrovIpSfxYJfSAhp2dygGkSLTYkE   Retrospective Meeple People Podcast https://soundcloud.com/user-434999721 First Player Token https://twitter.com/1stplayertoken?lang=en Unlucky Frog https://www.unluckyfrog.com/ We’re Not Wizards https://werenotwizards.podbean.com/   Patreon Shoutouts Exec Producers: Lucky Sparrow Gaming Cafe https://luckysparrow.co.uk/ Our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thegiantbrain   Our Links Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thegiantbrain  Twitter: @thegiantbrain Instagram: giantbrainuk Facebook: The Giant Brain Website: giantbrain.co.uk Email: [email protected]