Tabletop Gaming magazine is 11 years old today, having launched at UK Games Expo in 2015! Former Editor Matt Jarvis reveals his highlights…
As Tabletop Gaming turns 11, former Editor Matt Jarvis looks back on his time shaping the magazine, from landmark interviews and live events to the games and industry shifts that defined his era.
MATT JARVIS
Issues 7-35
September 2016-October 2019
I was lucky enough to speak to game-design legend Francis Tresham shortly before his passing, about one of the most influential games in any medium – Civilization. I say “speak” but Francis wasn’t able to hear over the phone and didn’t use email. Instead, I had to conduct the interview via letter, receiving hand-written replies with some amusingly blunt observations – it made choosing memorable quotes for the article very easy!
Aside from many, many Essens and UK Games Expos, it has to be the very first Tabletop Gaming Live! A huge amount of work and passion went into our first live event and I’m very proud of what we achieved in the exhibition hall and on stage.
I took over Tabletop Gaming in mid-2016, the year after Pandemic Legacy ignited probably the defining genre of my era: the legacy game. The biggest immediate successor – in every respect – was Gloomhaven. It was fascinating to see the legacy idea taken in so many directions in the years after. Not all successful, but almost always interesting.
Root holds a very special place in my heart – I even have a tattoo of the Marquise de Cat on my arm. For me, Cole Wehrle is the closest thing boardgames have to a true artist. He’s a genius designer who is also thoughtful and aware, able to balance thematic depth and rich emergent narratives with mechanical complexity.
So many! Keeping up with that many new games a month meant little time to go back after the review period, and I have a particular love for big, crunchy strategy. Diplomacy was often high on my wish list, though finding a handful of people with half a day to spare wasn’t especially easy.
Happy Salmon has become a game I recommend to literally everyone. You can explain it in 30 seconds, play in five minutes and laugh for hours. I’m very protective of my North Star Games edition, which came in the original fish-shaped bag.
Despite tabletop games making increasing millions on Kickstarter, they still hadn’t broken through to the mainstream in the way that they would in the years to come. The industry was still maturing, with incredible games and creators sometimes let down by
a lack of proper support.
For better and worse, the boom in licenced games and video game adaptations. Dark Souls: The Board Game’s record crowdfunding success at the time led to the flood of spin-off boardgames, TCGs and RPGs that we see today. It brought more players, creators and attention to tabletop gaming – which is ultimately good – but there were certainly some missteps and opportunists along the way.
Don’t read the comments! I was so keen to do right by readers, writers and the industry that I tried to take in every piece of feedback – good and bad. It was often overwhelming and downright impossible to be all things to everyone. Hopefully, the ambition of being genuinely passionate, honest and wanting the best for tabletop gaming – the magazine and the industry – came through on every page.
Hear from the other magazine Editors from Tabletop Gaming’s 11-year history:
Rob Burman: Issues 1-6 (Summer 2015-Autumn 2016)
Christopher John Eggett: Issues 36-79 (November 2019-June 2023)