Welcome to the first newsletter of the Tabletop Game Alliance of Washington State! The goal of this newsletter is to give our committees a place to report their work to the broader membership and to hi-light upcoming events & opportunities.
We are creators, educators, public servants, business owners, and community builders. Some of us work for large corporations, some of us work alone. Our challenge is to build an organization where the many faces of Tabletop Games in the State of Washington can find common ground.
I'm so grateful to be on this journey with you all! Sincerely, Ross Cowman - President
COMMITTEE UPDATES
Events & Trade (Beau Johnson)
The EAT team is planning a timeline for a Director of Projects and the recruitment of new people into the TGA. In flight is a February "All-Hands" Meeting that is planned and a "Day on the Hill" event in February. The Day on the hill will involve meetings with senators and constituents - as well as voting and presentation for our organization. The EAT team is currently in the research phase for the Tokyo Game Market event and what we (The Org?) would like to present at this event. There will also be an event at Steve Hobbs’ Elysian Gathering in the form of a TGS social hour / pre-game event ahead of the main event.
Action items in progress:
Tokyo Game Market - research, planning, funding, management of booth
Along with Secretary Hobbs, Stephanie Prentiss, and the Commerce Department, the Events and Trade team is exploring a trade mission to Japan centered on Tokyo Game Market. We believe TGA benefits from representing our member businesses in game-friendly markets and interacting with local officials and partners. Also, our member businesses benefit from exposure to markets they might not otherwise reach. We hope to have Secretary Hobbs open doors for us in governments abroad. To that end, we have identified two possible areas for trade missions this coming year: Japan and Germany.
For early 2024, we are focusing on Japan. There are two shows we're looking at: Game Market (May 13–14 in Tokyo) and Board Game Business Expo (in Osaka (March 23–24 in Osaka). Game Market is a consumer show, while Board Game Business Expo is a business-to-business con. We'll be looking at where we can get a booth and how best to show off our region's wide range of manufacturers.
In late 2024 or 2025, we hope to do a second trade mission to Germany. There are two conventions we can look at: and Spiel Essen (October 3–6, 2024 in Essen) and Nuremberg International Toy Fair/Spielwarenmasse (January 29–February 2, 2025 in Nuremberg). Spiel Essen is the largest tabletop games consumer show in the world, while Nuremberg is the largest business-to-business tabletop show in Europe. If the Japan trade mission produces good results, we will take a hard look at our options for a mission to Germany.
Step Grant Application
Membership (Nicole Lindroos)
The Membership committee has set a schedule for meeting regularly on a bi-weekly basis.
Action items completed so far:
Roughed out a membership structure for the TGA that would include voting members and associate/communicating/non-voting members and researched similar membership structures for comparable existing associations
Assembled a preliminary value proposition for members who would be considered as independent creators and small companies, as well as a smaller value-add list for retail members.
Action items in progress:
Creating a suggested Code of Conduct for the association for board approval
Creating a Membership Dues structure for the association for board approval
Creating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ideals for the alliance and from there suggested policy and procedure structures
LOCAL EVENTS
On Thursday, Nov 16th 6pm at the Elysian Taproom near SeaTac, an event was hosted, focusing on tabletop games and re-electing Steve Hobbs to the Secretary of State position. Folks had a great time playing games and chatting with tabletop movers and shakers of the industry.
If you don't know, Hobbs is a tabletop nerd like us! He frequents OrcaCon and DragonFlight (and serves on their board) and runs a tabletop podcast, Geeks of Cascadia. He is also actively working to highlight the tabletop industry and commerce in Washington. You all should meet him and introduce yourself if you haven’t already!
Secretary Hobbs rallied many of us to start the Tabletop Game Association of Washington. Nicole Jekich, Cassandra Witiver-Kawasaki, and others in the local tabletop community have been working to create this organization with the goal of connecting us, offering networking and resources for all tabletop roles, and being a group to advocate for policy and legislation for the tabletop industry.
30/60/90 Day Washington Convention Run Down
Nov 11 - Grit City Comic Show, Tacoma Convention Center
Jan 5-7 - OrcaCon, Hilton Bellevue
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Updates
We make DEI a priority in the work that we do and we are currently attempting to fill roles focused on DEI. As we grow and expand, we are also working to build out our anti-harassment policies. More updates to come on both of these fronts!
Tabletop Game Alliance Resources
Export Voucher Program Guidelines
This is different from the STEP grant, but may be relevant for events outside of the US
