((We’re finishing off 2023–and the current incarnation of the DWP–with a trio of valedictory columns. Today, David puts in his final $0.02. Tomorrow we’ll be posting Nicole’s farewell. Sean will have the last work on the 31st.)) My first...
((We’re finishing off 2023–and the current incarnation of the DWP–with a trio of valedictory columns. Today, David puts in his final $0.02. Tomorrow we’ll be posting Nicole’s farewell. Sean will have the last work on the 31st.))
My first article for The Daily Worker Placement, a short piece entitled The Desert Island Collection, was posted on January 1, 2015. And now, almost exactly nine years and 284 pieces later, you are reading my final contribution.
The DWP has always strived to be more than “content creators”. When I started writing for it, the heart of the operation as I saw it were Sean J and Nicole H.
Sean was the founder; his vision was for people to write what they were passionate about, and not just chase algorithms and eyeballs. His masterful photography gave the site its distinctive look, and copying his style adequately is the most I can hope to achieve.
Nicole H’s critical eye and passion for the true possibilities of tabletop games was and continues to be an example I try to follow. Her pieces never shied away from challenging systemic issues in the hobby and our culture in general, and at times she paid a very hard price for that–which is only her story to tell. All I can say is that I miss her contribution and have tried to make up for it not only with bits of my own writing but also the people I’ve brought into the mix.
As for me, I’ve enjoyed writing reviews and commentary, but I’m actually most proud of my episodes of The Game Changers podcast (which will continue to be available, along with Table Talk) and the puzzles I constructed for our semi-annual contests. Why? Because no one else out there has produced anything like them. If you want reviews or previews you can go literally anywhere else in this hobby. Only a very few (Space-Biff and No Pun Included come uppermost in mind) give in-depth critique and thoughtful analysis–and even they’ve never set a cryptic crossword with a boardgame theme.
A lot has happened in the past almost-decade–to me personally, to the tabletop hobby, and to the world. We have all been through a lot. Many of us have lost a lot. For me, boardgames and the friends I’ve made through them have helped me both escape from and cope with my own setbacks. And writing for the DWP has helped anchor me during times when my life otherwise lacked structure and purpose.
I am grateful to Sean J for taking me onboard: first, as a contributor and then, in the spring of 2020, handing over the reins as Managing Editor. It’s been an honour and a hella opportunity. I’m also grateful to our newer contributors (Alice C, Bailey D, Taylor G, and Victoria D); their energy, passion, and shared vision kept me hopeful and energized and I am so grateful for that. They will be joining me in continuing the spirit of DWP in a new project called They’re Called Victory Points. Right now it’s just a bare Instagram page but as 2024 unfolds we hope you’ll join us there.
See you next time, and don’t flip that table.
