Congratulations, #Tabletop!

My show, Tabletop, was included in Giga Om’s The Best Of Web Video 2012, one of only four program(me)s singled out by Liz Shannon Miller:

Tabletop

Part of the Geek and Sundry YouTube network (along with Felicia Day’s Flog and the whimsicalWritten by a Kid), Tabletop was one of this year’s case models for the concept that web video audiences are ready for longer content.

The Wil Wheaton-hosted series sat geek celebs like Alex Albrecht, Morgan Webb, Jane Espenson, Amber Benson and Ryan Higa to play a wide range of dice, card and board games, consistently reaching six-figure viewcounts (impressive for a half-hour long show). But what I find especially cool abut Tabletop is the gaming community that’s come out of it, showcased primarily via the Tumblr blog Seen on Tabletop, where viewers are encouraged to submit their experiences playing the games featured on the show.

The last new episode of Tabletop was posted November 1st, but “Seen on Tabletop” is still updating regularly: Right now, it’s flooded with posts featuring the post-Christmas gaming adventures of its fans.

I’m so proud of Tabletop, and so grateful to everyone who has helped make it a success. As a rule, I don’t care about being included in lists or winning awards — I believe the work is what’s important and that the work should just speak for itself — but this is different, because we’re on a very short list with My Drunk Kitchen and Daily Grace, two of the funniest and most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen anywhere.

And I really love that she singled out the Tumblr community I created, which is only awesome because my fellow gamers keep submitting their pictures and stories to it.

The most important thing for us at Geek and Sundry is to make Tabletop an entertaining show that’s worth your time to watch, so we work very, very hard to hit that goal. But my ulterior motives are twofold:

1) Make more gamers by showing anyone who watches the show how much fun it is to play tabletop games, thus inspiring them to get together with friends and family to play.

2) Give gamers something to show their non-gaming partners, friends, or family to help them understand why we love games as much as we do, hopefully leading those partners/friends/family to number 1).

The community that’s been built at As Seen On Tabletop has ended up being a very big part of serving my ulterior motives, and I’m very grateful to everyone who’s submitted pictures and stories to it.

Tabletop comes back with new episodes starting on January 3, and we should know for sure if we get a season two very shortly after. Fingers crossed!

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19 thoughts on “Congratulations, #Tabletop!”

  1. I love Table-Top. This is awesome.

    Congratulations Wil, Felicia, Sasha the Intern, and everyone else that make it happen or have appeared as a guest.

    Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! (*Kermit-the-Frog flail*)

    Here’s to more seasons!

  4. We love Tabletop! My ten year old daughters and I love to watch the episodes, and we’ve bought and enjoyed Tsuro and Ticket to Ride as a result. TtR was a Xmas present, and we’ve played it twice as a family so far–both times, my girls insist on doing the famous Anne Wheaton smash at the end! Family game time has been so fun so far, we’re thinking Settlers of Catan will be next, but we would never have gotten hooked without Tabletop. Looking forward to new episodes and a new season!

  5. I like complex board games: Eclipse, Mage Knight, Arkham Horror. It’s hard for me to find folks who are willing to invest 4 hours in an evening to play these boards games with me.

    Through Tabletop, I learned about simpler board games, including Settlers of Catan, Gloom, Fluxx, Castle Panic, Ticket to Ride, Tsuro, Zombie Dice. I followed John Kovalic’s advice and gave copies of these games as holiday gifts. Hopefully some of them will be encouraged to explore the advanced end of the hobby.

    Thanks Wil, for teaching me how to morph my friends from ordinary mortals into gamers.

  6. This is great news and I really hope the people who decided whether Tabletop will have a 2nd season take it into consideration! Oddly enough, I just finished watching “The Game” episode of TNG a couple hours ago. At the risk of being imaginary-racist, please don’t include any Ktarian games next season.

  8. I gave two of my nephews Munchkin games for Christmas. (Zombie and Bites, for the record, because they’re boys who love zombies and monsters, respectively.) My sister and I got to talking about the game and playing it and she and my brother-in-law both admitted to not knowing how to play well/not really getting it, but the boys seemed to have a handle on it just fine.

    I told my sister she should watch Tabletop to learn how to play. My eldest nephew piped up with, “That’s how I learned it! I love that show!” He’s not on Tumblr, so I thought I’d tell his story here. I’m happy to say that your reach far extends what’s known, Wil. Way to go!

    1. Btw, my younger nephew is dyslexic, and he struggles mightily to read well. My older nephew, however, is smart as a whip. Games with cards that require even a little reading are very helpful to the young one, and the older one is very good at helping him with reading in this context. He gets a little better all the time. Hooray games!

  9. Thanks to Table top, my new favorite game is Ticket to Ride. That episode was the first full episode I watched, and the game looked like so much fun it went straight on my wish list. My wife gave it to me for Christmas. It’s been played three times with completely different groups and everyone loves it. Here’s to more episodes and more great games.

  10. Tabletop deserves its recognition as a great learning tool and introduction to new games. Thanks so much for the effort you put into it, the guests you bring, and the fun you have.
    I’ve known of Tabletop for a while, but only recently started watching intently, because my boyfriend and I are starting to board-game again (our first date night was over boardgames, 2.5 years ago). I love watching it because I am not very good at understanding game rules except through trial and error and with Tabletop, I can see the trials and get used to the various playing strategies.
    Having received Munchkin as a gift last night, I celebrated New Year’s Eve with a game of Dominion and two games of Munchkin and I think it was one of my favourite NYE nights. Also, I almost won Munchkin twice.
    Happy New Year!

  11. Santa gave my almost-nine year old daughter Star Fluxx last week, and we have enjoyed non-zero games so far! Thanks @wilw for opening our eyes to games we might not have known existed before!

  12. Hi Wil!

    Tabletop is the first online show I really got into so it means a lot to me.

    As well as a fan I’m also a designer and illustrator in London. Thanks to a quiet Christmas, I thought I’d do an illustration, celebrating Tabletop.

    Here’s the link:
    http://goo.gl/fYXsF

    Now I’m not saying that you’re the Messiah, (that’s for history to decide) but there were too many similarities to pass up 🙂

    Hope you like it – also contacted Geek&Sundry with it but don’t know if it will reach you.

    Have a great 2013. It’s the future after all (except no anti-grav cars or blasters)

    Wayne Dorrington

  14. Huge fan Wil I can’t wait to see some more games! You’ve convinced me to buy munchkin! Do you think you will be able to play some D&D on there anytime soon?

  15. There are so many games I see in the store that I just do not know if I should buy or not, having no experience with them. What I love about the webisode, is that you show the full workings of many games that I would not get to experience otherwise. I look forward to another great year, and even more games to add to my list of what to acquire.

  16. I’ll definitely have to check it out. I miss some of my days geeking out around the table, my wife doesn’t really seem to “get” it. Luckily we have the perfect D&D table in our new house 🙂

    Just sailed over from your Stand By Me post…. I’m sure you count your blessing everyday realizing the amazing life you are able to live and the people you’ve been able to encounter… and affect.
    Thanks for it all Mr. Wheaton.

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