Tabletop Game Designers Association

Year 1 Accomplishments

I have not written about it that much on GameTek, but I am immensely proud of what we accomplished during the first year of the Tabletop Game Designers Association.

I sent this email to members a few weeks ago and wanted to share it with you here as well. If you design games, I ask that you consider joining TTGDA. As the industry faces new challenges, we need solidarity more than ever, and the more members we have the more clout we have, which will benefit everyone.

If you have any questions, you can reply here or email us at info@ttgda.org.

---

Members of the Tabletop Game Designers Association,

As President, I am excited to reach out to you with the first “State of the Association” message.

It’s hard to believe it has been a year since we launched in May 2024. Like most intense activities it feels both longer and shorter since our founding.

Before we launched TTGDA, we set targets for membership. Our stretch goal for our first year was 500 members. I am pleased to report that we have exceeded our goal, with 551 members as of today.

While we were originally founded to focus on North America, we have attracted members from all over the world. While the majority are from the United States and Canada, our membership spans 25 countries around the globe.

We are all building TTGDA on three pillars:

• Advocacy

• Education

• Community

I would like to share our accomplishments in each of these areas and update you on plans for the future.

Advocacy

• We performed over 80 contract reviews, and members have let us know that they generally get the enhancements we suggest from publishers. Doing these contract reviews has also enabled us to develop and push certain standardized terms and language across the industry, and cause change in a more subtle fashion. For example, a clause we have been including in all reviews is that the rights to the ‘as-published’ title should revert to the designer, even if the publisher has trademarked it. This helps you sell the game again, as you can leverage the name recognition.

• We assisted in about ten contract disputes and other issues. This ranged from having conversations with members about options they might have, to working with them to craft email responses, to TTGDA directly contacting publishers. The designers in question ranged from new designers to veterans, and all expressed that they were happy that TTGDA had their back.

• Several publishers asked us to review their standard contracts, both existing publishers and new imprints. We are happy to help publishers have a strong starting point for an equitable contract with designers.

• In response to our urging, Barnes & Noble changed their website to include designer names in game listings. This makes it possible to search for a designer and have their full works shown, similar to authors. We reached out to Amazon and other online retailers to follow suit with less success but will continue to push this.

• The initial launch of the BGG Hall of Fame and Origins Awards did not include designer names. We reached out to them and had that corrected. We recently had the same issue with the Mensa Select games and have reached out to them to add designer names and have been assured they are updating the website.

• We rolled out our Member Marketing benefit. if you launch a crowdfunding campaign or retail release, we will post about it on our social media accounts.

• TTGDA participated in a multiday strategic planning conclave with sister organizations SAZ (Germany / Italy / Netherlands), SAJ (France), and Ludo (Spain) to determine ways to work together to advance the causes of designers. A lot of great ideas came out of this and will inform our future planning.

• We sent out several statements of concern to members about publishers who were having financial difficulties or otherwise had issues that called for caution on the part of designers.

• Reporters and academics have reached out to us looking for information, and we connected them with appropriate people.

We have a number of initiatives in progress:

• We are working on a model contract for work-for-hire projects. Currently we only have a model contract for License Agreements. We are also looking at other agreements, including partnership and art commissions.

• We are partnering with GAMA to actively lobby for reduction or elimination of the current tariffs on Chinese imports to the US.

• The Publisher Directory is slowly being expanded and is going to be a focus for the upcoming year. We started to ramp up the effort just as the US Tariffs hit, so we put things on pause, as publishers are adjusting their business models.

• Reaching out to the Library of Congress to include board games in their collection

Education

• Hosted six webinars over the last year on a variety of topics. Note that all are available to members on demand.

• Ran two full days of educational seminars at BGG.Con

• Ran seminars at PAX Unplugged, GDC, Conjugar, Unpub, Metatopia, and GAMA Expo.

• We believe our website features the most comprehensive collection of resources for tabletop game designers in the world, and we are constantly adding additional content.

• Released a white paper on tariffs, with extensive information for designers and publishers.

• Worked with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to present tabletop-oriented webinars on trademarks, patents, and other IP protection.

• We include the Missing Pieces and Ask an Attorney regular newsletter features

Upcoming initiatives:

• White paper on key clauses for Licensing Agreements

• Expanding and increasing the frequency of the webinar program

• We have now prepared several premade presentations that can be given more widely at conventions globally by TTGDA leadership and members.

• Partnering with GAMA for the Trade Day Pitch Development Workshop

• Partnering with the Gencon Game Design Academy and Writer Symposium to offer several classes

Community

• Launched a Discord server, which started active and continues to grow

• Had a member meetup at PAX Unplugged

• Member directory for locating other members that have experience with specific publishers, or game types.

Community is one area we most need to expand on. Future plans include:

• More meetups at various cons, both formal and informal

• Virtual meetups via Discord

On the administrative side we have made progress on setting up responsibilities and procedures but still have a way to go. There are many policies and procedures that need to be formalized and (most importantly) documented. We are starting up committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) on a variety of topics, that need to be defined and staffed. And we have hired a part-time administrator to assist with day-to-day operations.

The other members of the Executive team and my co-founders – Elizabeth Hargrave and Sen-Foong Lim - have worked exceptionally hard over the past years to bring TTGDA into existence. The Advisory Board has also been invaluable in providing support, feedback, and advice.

But most of all the success that we have had to this point is due to you, the membership of TTGDA. By joining in numbers exceeding our goals you have given us the resources and power to create tangible and positive change in the industry for designers. Just today, as I am writing this, we were able to successfully recover over $2,000 in back royalties for one of our members.

We hope that you see value in the Tabletop Game Designers Association, both for you personally and for the entire industry. And we hope that you will continue your membership and become more involved in the organization.

There are many ways to increase your engagement and help us:

• Join and participate in the Discord

• Join a committee or SIG – or start one

• Give one of our pre-made presentations about game design at your local convention, library, or other event

• Run for a position leadership position

• Talk about TTGDA to your friends and colleagues

• Email us with ideas and feedback

Together we will keep making a difference.

Thanks for a great first year!

Geoff