For months, whenever I visit gaming sites I care about, someone is laying into me about Tabletop. Things like, “He doesn’t care about the fans” and “He took everyone’s money and didn’t spend it on the show” and “Nobody who is a real gamer takes this show seriously” or “I hate Tabletop because [thing someone decided I did, whether I actually did it or not.]”
I’m pretty good at not having a fuck to give about things, especially from power gamers who aren’t in my target audience, and who will probably never be happy with what I do. For the first two seasons of Tabletop, “Thank you for your comment. Please direct any further comments to that brick wall, and remember that we made this for free,” was my standard response. The people who loved what we did vastly outnumbered the people who complained about the show and about me and about all the delightful things people complain about. And that’s fine. Not everyone likes everything. My goal was to make more gamers in the world, and we’ve certainly succeeded in that. If we never make any more Tabletop, I’ll always feel very good about that.
There’s this thing that we talk about in production, in acting classes, and on the set. It’s this idea that if you feel good about something you made or worked on, and someone shits on it, who cares? You’re happy with it, you made the thing you wanted to make, and they made comments. You can stand by your choices. But there’s another side of it, and it’s why so many of my fellow creative people are as selective as they can be about the projects they do: when you do something that you don’t feel good about, whatever the reason was that you did it, and someone shits on it, it strikes a nerve. When you should have known better, and you didn’t trust your instincts, it strikes a nerve. When you count on someone to do the thing they were supposed to do, and they didn’t, it strikes a nerve.
So when I am accused, over and over and over again of not caring about Tabletop, not caring enough to get the rules right, not caring about the audience, or feeling complacent because of reasons — it strikes a nerve, because I work incredibly hard to be good to our audience. It strikes a nerve because I care a lot, especially this season, because for over twenty thousand people, it wasn’t free, and the only brick wall I care about has all their names on it. Written by hand, by amazing production assistants.
Yesterday, after being beaten up on r/boardgames yet again, I wanted to address that, and explain how things happened this season that are not up to my standards. It wasn’t my intention to do any of the things I’ve been accused of doing, but enough people I trust and respect have all said the same thing to me, so I clearly didn’t communicate my feelings clearly. I counted on someone who had never let me down, and they profoundly let me down, when it mattered the most. I feel that the backers of the show deserve to know what happened, why it happened, and how it made me feel. What I wanted to say was: this is what happened. This is why that happened. This is how it made me feel. I am angry, and embarrassed, and I kind of don’t even want to do another season of the show.
I didn’t do that well. I stand by telling the truth about what happened, but I wish I’d done it in a better way. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy Tabletop, because a lot of people worked very hard to make it the best show we could make it. In a lot of ways, I believe we have succeeded. In some other ways, we’ve clearly fallen short. I want you to know that I care. I cared during production, and I care now. I realize that this will continue to not be good enough for some people, unnecessary for others, and is unlikely to do anything other than prolong the Internet hatefest I’m presently receiving. But this is one of those things that I need to write for me.
I accept responsibility for my tone, and my words. I don’t apologize for being angry, embarrassed, and disappointed.
I feel like I managed to alienate myself from a community that I love and care about, and I may never be let back in. That hurts a lot, but if it’s a self-inflicted wound, I have nobody to blame but myself. I can’t even blame the dice.
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Here’s the thing. I watch Tabletop for the banter and the enjoyment of watching funny people have fun playing a game. I do not give a rats tukus if every little rule is right, because when my friends and I get the rare chance to play a game? We don’t really give a rat’s tukus about the rules either, we care more about having fun and playing the game!
We’ve played games with rules so obtuse or complicated it wasn’t fun, so we basically made up our own. Is it nice to get a preview of how a specific game plays? Yes, but in the end this isn’t (for me) a show about reviewing a game, or teaching someone how to play it. Learn to play it yourself. It’s a game about enjoying games in general and hanging out with cool people who also enjoy games and that you all succeed at very well, Mr. Wheaton. (And I am adoring Titansgrave!)
Yes. Exactly!My kids and I watch your great show not to learn rules, but to experience fun. We enjoy the joy and fun Tabletop embodies. The camaraderie, spontaneity, and creativity you, you guests, and the entire production team display demonstrates the true meaning of gaming – the heart of what I want to share with my children. So you got some rules wrong. Who cares? In fact, Good! For that is how games really get played. What is obvious is the love of the experience you all share. Please, don’t listen to a small number of rule-purists hounding you. Continue what you are doing. Continue to do it for the fun, for the joy. Abc we will join in. And dream (like my children do) of one day being able to pull up a chair to the Tabletop table, and join in the fun.
I feel the same way, Jo, and I suspect that in this attitude we are in line with a huge chunk of the TableTop audience. But it’s possible that our host’s highly interactive (and usually awesome!) social media presence has exposed him to an extremely vocal minority of folks who care perhaps too much about such fiddly details, and since Wil also cares a lot about those things, it gets reinforced in a vicious cycle and blown all out of proportion to the audience’s actual number of collective fucks given.
From the outside looking in, this was a massive explosion of self- (and other-) flagellation out of a clear blue sky. It sent me on an emotional rollercoaster from “Yay! New Tabletop!” to “Ooh, Kingdom Buider!” through “Hm, we play that differently, not sure who’s right, but this should be interesting.” to “Whoa, what brought that on?”, the last in response to the post. Mr. Wheaton was clearly some combination of ashamed and apologetic and apoplectic (and possibly other A-words I can’t think of at the moment because I didn’t start out trying to be alliterative) to a degree that seems (again, from the perspective of an outsider) disproportionate to the actual circumstances.
It sucks when folks who are supposed to be demonstrating/teaching a game – especially to as many people as watch Tabletop – get the rules wrong. It sucks that this producer apparently didn’t do his job, especially when said job was also allegedly part of what kept him from meeting other commitments (tied to opportunities he got as a result of having the job, which makes the whole thing even more circular). I certainly understand Wil’s frustration. But calling him out on it in public – even “anonymously”, which was never going to last – just seems inappropriate. I feel like there must be a middle ground somewhere between a completely vague Reaganian “Mistakes were made” – or even a more responsibility-taking version like “We fucked up.” – and what we got, which read like “This one guy totally fucked things up and boy am I pissed about it!”
I totally agree. For me, TableTop is not there to show how a game exactly [i]works[/i] (that would be boring) – its whole purpose is to show how much [i]fun[/i] you can have playing it.
I still love the show and hope to see more. Despite any errors that came about, it’s still clear you had fun making it, and that’s what draws me to it more than anything. Call it the ‘House Rules’ season, maybe. It’s all about having fun playing!
Takes me many play throughs to get a game right, so this feels like a true experience to me. Tabletop has introduced me to and induced me to buy so many good games it would be a shame for it to end. Keep up the good work
Hi Wil,
Your love and dedication come out in every episode of tabletop. I thought your last post on the subject was heartfelt and showed that you were truly distraught about what had happened. You’ve introduced me to a bunch of great new games, and I’ve shared your episodes with family and friends. Thank you for Tabletop. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.
Whoa. Reality check: The only community that any subreddit represents is the people who choose to post on that subreddit. r/boardgames does not and cannot speak for the entire tabletop gaming community.
Each person’s opinion is valid for that person. There’s nothing wrong with listening to criticism and taking it into consideration. But as soon as someone starts saying “Everybody thinks…” “All gamers know…” “The community wants…” please please please just stop listening to them, for your own sanity.
Online communities are intensely self-selected, and reading multiple iterations of the same arguments and circle-jerks over and over again can generate a horribly distorted picture of “what everyone thinks”.
Don’t let the haters get you down. Nobody plays by the exact rules all the time anyway. Everybody has “house rules” that we use when the actual rules are unplayable, understandable, or just plain not fun.
So what, you got some of the rules wrong? Still looked very much like you had a lot of fun playing the game with your friends, and to me and my friends that’s exactly what tabletop games are all about…the fun, the interaction, and the sheer joy of spending time with good friends.
Don’t beat yourself up about this. Yes, I see your point, while you may not have been responsible, ultimately it was your show which makes you accountable, but you’ve acknowledged the error, you’ve apologised and now it’s time to move on and continue making one of the best shows on the web.
I have used your excellent show to introduce a number of my friends into the amazing world of tabletop games. These were people who never had time for board games because they associated all board games with muggle games like Monopoly or Scrabble. The same people who now come to visit us and make a beeline straight for the games cupboards to see what new games I’ve recently purchased, begging to “have a go” at the latest addition like Concept or Forbidden Desert.
I was more than happy to jump in and back this latest season when you were looking for funding, and I will be one of the first to do so again if needed. You add value to this world, please never stop doing what you do.
I’m so confused, why do we know any of this? Shouldn’t you have talked directly with your producer if you’re angry at him? Y’know, like an adult? And then your response is that you (the production staff) made a mistake? Using your platform to yell at him and then basically repeating that in your justification just seems like bullying. I mean, it’s one thing if you’re producer wrote an apology where he takes the blame. People respect that and understand when people make mistakes. It’s quite another to throw someone under the bus to be hanged in the court of public opinion…by the bus(?)
How do you know he didn’t talk to his producer about it?
How anyone could read your message from yesterday and think you don’t care is beyond me.
From what I could tell, you delegated, which is ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED of any leader, and you got bit. It happens. You learn from it, and vow to do a better job. (Or you quit, because you realize you can’t handle the impact of failing. You are an actor, however, and have dealt with rejection your entire career, so I don’t think you’ll be doing that.)
I say this as someone who isn’t into playing games, and only occasionally watches Tabletop: your enthusiasm is the reason I have watched when I have, and your sheer passion for it shone through yesterday like the sun on Mercury.
You’re going to end up a better producer from this, for whatever that’s worth.
Yup, I’ll start piling on here too. Wil, your passion for this show is obvious and it’s totally understandable that you got super angry when your (your team’s) creation didn’t reach the potential you expected of it.
If you take anything away from the other commenters, on this or your other post on this topic, I hope you take away the message that many, many people love the work you’ve done on Tabletop and don’t mind if the game rules aren’t strictly followed. I can understand feeling the pressure to perform at an even higher level when you have people paying you to produce but, hopefully, you’re able to step back in a few days and know that your fans are still here and appreciate what you do because of your passion for the massage you’re delivering (and, also, to see your terrible rolls show after show); that the message you’re sending to people isn’t watered down in the least because game rules were broken. In fact, the message that playing board (or card) games is all about the interaction and personal connections might even be stronger when the rules aren’t strictly obeyed.
Hope this post doesn’t sound patronizing and I hope you keep going with Tabletop. Personally, I don’t pay attention to when YouTube shows are released but I’ve known for a while now that Thursday evenings are Tabletop evenings (and I’ve also been loving Titansgrave!!)
I know, firsthand, how being blindsided by frustration, anger, and embarrassment can trigger all sorts of ill-advised behaviour. It’s hard to take ownership of that and mend fences afterwards and it takes time too. Keep at it! I appreciate all the work you and crew do on Tabletop and I hope that this doesn’t become a barrier to more good work.
Have you considered some method of screening or delaying posts when you’re not yourself to nip stuff like that in the bud?
I don’t know if you read these comments, but I think you have a lot to be proud of with Tabletop, despite the mistakes.
Thank you.
While I think you screwed up, and screwed up big with your actions on the previous post, I’m happy to see you understand exactly what you did to your former producer, and the effect it may have had on his life.
Still going to say I don’t think you deserve a lot of the crap you’ve been getting from nerds around the internet, but then, the internet isn’t exactly the nicest place around, even at the best of times, to a public figure. Hope it goes better for you, and even double for your former producer. I certainly know what it’s like to screw up a job badly enough to get fired, and I cannot imagine what it’d be like having it done publicly, so I hope you guys can make amends.
Seconded!
Wil,
I’m a S3 backer. I enjoy the show, and respect you and your team. If you choose to do an S4 at some point, I’ll back you again. You have my support.
That said, this feels like inside baseball to me. It feels like you’re throwing your (unnamed) producer under the bus. I know that’s not your intent–that you just want to keep us fans and backers in the loop–but some things really aren’t any of our business.
It is, for all intents and purposes, your show. Whether or not it’s reality, The perception is that the buck stops with you. The classy response would have been to say “I’m sad, I’m angry, and I apologize. If we make another season I’ll be looking at this closely.” and just leave it at that.
I understand why you went the way you did with your response, and you’re a good guy, but you’re not yet used to being the leader, and I think it’s showing here.
Respectfully yours,
SMQ (aka “just some random dude on the internet”)
Maybe you will see this and maybe you won’t, I really hope you do because what I have to say is important; I love the show, I love the games, I love the guests, I love the improvements over previous seasons, I love everything about it. Board games have become a critical part of my relationship with my 7 year old daughter and for that, to you Wil and to everyone who helped make Tabletop happen, I am eternally grateful. I can totally understand if you wanted to walk away from the show in an effort to suppress the shitstorm of opinions, and if you do just know that from here on out when my daughter slaughters me with 16 parrots in Catan Junior, I’ll be thankful to you for helping facilitate time at the table with my girl.
For what it’s worth, no amount of getting the rules right or wrong is going to keep my 7 and 8 year-old daughters from wanting to watch TableTop and now Titansgrave. They love the shows. And I love TableTop, too. Stop beating yourself (and anyone else) up. You are your own worst critic. Please take a moment to remember that.
Now, what can we do about that potty mouth of yours? 🙂 If I did have a criticism, it’s that I have to pre-watch the shows before letting the kids watch.
Wil, I can not say how much I love and support your shows, it is clear to me how much dedication you pour into them. Anyone who cant see it just doesn’t care and likes to hear themselves talk. I am a backer of this season and will back next season as well! Qapla’!
Wil, you don’t know me from Adam’s off ox. But here’s my 2 strips of gold pressed latinum.
You’re human, things happened, things went pearshaped. Getting the rules wrong in a game happens all the time. You are one person, so you have to rely on a team to get everything done to produce a show. Sometimes teams don’t work right, mistakes are made. You can’t control everything.
As for the show, I watched it to see people play games, banter, and in general have fun. If rules were borked, well…I’ve yet to get a game done right the first time period.
You love gaming. You love geeks. Anyone who thinks different doesn’t pay attention. You’ve let us in your life, showed us a lot of nifty things. I hope you keep showing us the nifty you find.
Thank you. I’ll still be here with whatever you end up doing.
P.S. I’m sorry for the mean things I said about you as a teenager, I was jealous you got to pilot the Enterprise, and I didn’t.
I love the show, and I certainly hope you continue making it. You may not always get the rules completely perfect, but I can watch an episode and know, “This is something my family and/or friends will love playing!” or “We can give this game a pass.” I also know that I have something my teenagers want to watch and enjoy with me, and that is NOT a small thing. Sincerely, thank you so much for Tabletop!
Wow, was not expecting this post. FWIW, I love the work you do. It is inspiring, the effort you put into each show. Love Tabletop and love Titans Grave. Thank you for all you do and KEEP BEING AWESOME!!!!
Not sure if throwing another opinion onto the pile helps you parse all this, but I’ll do so in case it does:
I’ve liked, and increasingly like, your work. I do think the “tone and words” you refer to would have been best resolved privately, but I appreciate you following up on it here. Regardless, I read it as coming from a place of passion and frustration. You care about what you’re making.
I’ve not read the threads on /r, BGG, and elsewhere, but they don’t get to own the community’s sentiment – that’s a much harder thing to round up. Your work has been strong thus far, and you’ve plans for making it stronger. You’ve learned from the experience (both the mistakes and the discussions which followed), which is about all any of us can do, and so is more than good enough for this particular armchair internet viewer.
Tabletop has been one of my favorite things on Youtube or anywhere else online in the last few years. Before the show, I was pretty much oblivious to huge variety of new, different games that have come out in the past few decades. It has inspired me to drag my friends into gaming with me, so we’re more actively interacting with each other. It has introduced me to a ton of great games that I love. Because of the show I have been able to share those games with the kids at an after school program I tutor at (they love Zombie Dice and Qwirkle). Of any original web video series, I’d say it has easily impacted my life the most.
The show has never been about the rules to me, and not even really about the games. Of course the games are great and essential, and I’ve bought so many that I love cause I saw them first on Tabletop. But more than anything, I enjoy the show for the interaction of the guests, for getting to watch people have fun and take a journey together, outsmart each other or the game, or try their hardest to make everyone else laugh. That’s what makes the show special, and makes me want to force my friends to sit down and play!
Rules are always going to be overlooked or forgotten (until I got Ticket to Ride on my phone, I had completely missed that the face-up cards should be cleared when three wilds show up). Most other people I know who watch Tabletop are like me: new to the hobby outside of popular/traditional board games and trying to find interesting games to play/looking to be entertained. I feel like that attitude represents the majority of the viewing audience. Maybe not an overwhelming majority, but a majority nonetheless. The forgetting of rules would never have been noticed because we don’t know the game either, and if we did notice, we wouldn’t care cause we still get to be entertained. People who care too much about this kind of thing are missing the point of playing, which as you always say is to have fun! The show doesn’t need to be a perfect how-to guide for me (that’s what the rulebook is for). I just need it to show me cool games and some of my favorite content creators, actors, and internet personas interacting in ways that make me squee like the little geek I am.
I love this show a lot! Titansgrave is as awesome as I thought it would be (trying to figure out how to get my wife to watch it). I really hope Tabletop continues to exist in many varied and prolific forms. Your backers will be understanding and forgiving, if they were even upset to begin with. And for all the other haters, forget ’em! They’re not worth stressing over!
Don’t you dare stop making Tabletop. I didn’t even know about co-operative games until this show. And that matters to me because I can play a game like Forbidden Desert with my 6 and 8 year old and we can all have fun. I get to compete on a game I like that isn’t mind numbingly boring, they get to play a “Mommy and Daddy game”, and most important – we have a great family time. They don’t care about the strategy – they like to flip the tiles, get the treasure and help Daddy keep his feet dry.
Ask those hard-core gamers the last time they played a game for fun instead of to win. My kids and I are your audience.
Besides – I like seeing when you mess up the rules. Means that it’s real. And exactly how we all play games.
Hi Wil,
Just chiming in as one of the very silent majority who love TableTop and what it’s done for me, my friends, and a huge number of other people like us all around the world. I was a S3 backer (and would’ve backed at a much higher level if I was able to at the time) and am not disappointed in the slightest with what’s been delivered. You titled this blog post “critical failure”, as if you just rolled a 1 for this season after rolling 18s or 19s for the previous two seasons. In my eyes that’s way off the mark – clearly there have been mistakes in S3, no one/nothing is perfect, but in my opinion you rolled another 18 or 19 (obviously this is an analogy, we all know you wouldn’t ACTUALLY roll any 19s). Basically, in my opinion you should still be incredibly proud of what you’ve achieved with TableTop, both in the past and currently. I’m very happy to have backed S3, and if there is to be a S4, and if it’s crowdfunded again, I’ll be backing again without hesitation. I only hope that more people like me, who’ve sat back and enjoyed without comment in the past, will come out of the woodwork and say similar things.
And finally, this recent comic from Buttersafe is probably relevant, and will probably clarify how silly a lot of internet criticism is… http://buttersafe.com/2015/06/18/allow-me-to-share/
Best wishes,
Rusty
Before TableTop the only games my family owned were boring. Monopoly, Sorry, crap like that. We never played them. Since I discovered TableTop my wife, son and I regularly play Forbidden Desert. Various iterations of Pandemic, Escape, Stone Age, Castle Panic and we’re eyeballing about a half dozen other games at our local independent hobby store (which clearly stocks and re-stocks games that TableTop features). Tomorrow I’m going to pick up Libertalia so we can play it together on Father’s Day.
I don’t really know where it is you’re getting grief, because I don’t really do or pay attention to social media. I don’t know the gamer sites you’re referring to. I was surprised by the earlier post, but you know what? Fuck those people that are giving you such grief. Apologize to the people you feel the need to apologize to (as you did here). Those who will forgive, will forgive. Those who won’t… well… you’ve got us. We’re not hardcore gamers. Some of us aren’t even gamers at all. We’re just people who learned about games that were out there they otherwise wouldn’t have known about. We’re just people who went out and plunked down some money for those games. We’re just people who’ve had a laugh spending some time with our families and friends, remembering that playing games together is a great way to do that.
Tabletop made my life better. It’s that simple. I’ve had a lot of fun with my kid playing these games and I’m going to keep doing that as long as he’s interested. Clever, interesting Tabletop games that held all of our attention weren’t even known to me if until I found your show. You’ve given my family and I fun we wouldn’t have had otherwise. Maybe that doesn’t make up for the community you’ve alienated, but I’m damn grateful for what Tabletop has given me and my family.
Wil, please don’t beat yourself up too much over what happened. My husband and I love your show and its clear that you pour your heart and soul into each and every episode. If the rules are occasionally wrong, just think of those as the ones that were meant to be broken. You’ll never be able to please everyone, but you are making thousands of people extremely happy with what you do. Your vision is bringing people together around the world. International TableTop Day is a hit. It is okay to be angry when someone lets you down. I say all of this as a S3 backer. (Bobble Wil is the guest of honor at all of my game nights.) I don’t know if you read these comments, but please do not act rashly and cancel the show. If you do more crowdfunding, I will gladly donate again. You have so much support, and you didn’t disappoint us.
Hey Wil,
In case you see this, just a quick bit of hopefully constructive procedural feedback based on your blog yesterday.
In the blog post you outlined that in previous series you were “diligently reviewing the rules before every game like I’d done the first two seasons”. That’s admirable and understandable. I’m sure I would have done the same in your place, however what it does is unwittingly set up an expectation that you’ll always do it, and that they, consciously or subconsciously, don’t need to concentrate on it.
There’s a good quote from Dune that I rather like:
“Give as few orders as possible,” his father had told him once long ago. “Once you’ve given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject.”
That said, it would be hypocritical of me if I didn’t point out that I suck at this delegating lark. I make this mistake all the time, especially when it’s a project I’m passionate about. By not passing on responsibility and getting the expectations right from the get-go, colleagues are set up from the start to fail, especially because I frequently fail to let them know I’m about to stop doing or checking in on something.
Wil, I have a /lot/ of sympathy and empathy for the situation you are in. I’m an RPG developer, and have poured a lot of time and energy over the last couple of years trying to get my books complete and out the door.
Our game was a new edition of a game that as a small (but devoted) fan base. I’ve been a fan of the game for years, and the chance to take the help and steer it into the future was thrilling and daunting.
I recently found myself in a similar emotional space as you describe. I have a product that I have put a lot of effort into, and a small (but annoyingly vocal) contingent of people that seem devoted to nitpicking it and tearing it down.
Not constructive criticism, either (that’s one thing)… but a torrent of negative slush like you’ve recently talked about.
In brief, the emotion comes from a real place, and is — in my opinion — a real sign that you /do/ care. I mean, if you didn’t care so much, you could wave it off, or laugh your way to the bank or whatever.
Shit happens, and sometimes we don’t handle it in the best way. The ability to recognize that fact, be honest about it, and move forward with the intent to try harder, be better… it’s a sign of strong character, in my view.
I will continue to watch Tabletop and Titansgrave, and if you decide to do a S4, I will back it.
(P.S. – I was there when you won the Diana Jones Award at Gencon 2013. Remember that past success as you try to improve on the future.)
Wil,
I love your show. I found it a couple of months ago (came late to the party, was used to introduce me to Cards Against Humanity), but I can tell you love what you’re doing, and you do everything you can to make it FUN for the players first and foremost. You’ve always said it’s not about winning, it’s about having fun.
I am behind you 100%. You’ve done your best, and I know you’re going to keep putting out your best. I know you will. And I’m looking forward to seeing the next season (please don’t stop–this show is a great way for me and my family to find new games–and my wife and I very much enjoy watching the show together)!
Another big fan of Tabletop and someone who is a proud backer of Season 3 here. I’m also a writer who knows what it’s like to put things out for public consumption, although certainly not to the level of consumption you have. I have people I rely on, both writers that I work with and editors that I have worked with, who have let me down in some way. So I know what it’s like, at least in some capacity, to put something out there and have it be less than ideal, and to be frustrated with how it turned out.
What you did was a perfectly human thing that was intended well but came across somewhat less well. It happens. I don’t think that reasonable people will be unable to forgive you for that, because it’s about being a human being and being fallible.
I’ve learned over the years that all but utterly unhealthy relationships can be fixed. I don’t think that the relationship you have with the gaming community is unhealthy, and I don’t think you cannot fix it. You acted as you did because you cared. People reacted to that in the way they did because they cared too, about the show you make and about you as a performer (and hopefully as a person).
I love TableTop, and I know many others who do. We all respect you thoroughly as a writer, an actor, a host and a human being. Everyone trips from time to time; it’s what makes us people. You certainly haven’t alienated anyone I know with this, and should the opportunity come up again I would be ecstatic to donate to a season four. Or a second season of Titansgrave. Or whatever else you may present.
Hey Wil,
As a backer, watcher from the first episode, and (now) huge boardgame geek I have two main thoughts:
1) Tabletop is amazing and positive and has a huge balance of “good” in my book. It has changed my life in so many significant ways it’s wild to think about. Two of my good friends are my friends because I watched the episode of Star Trek Catan, it came up in a random conversation with some aquaintances at a bar, I found out one of them owned it, and we decided to spend the rest of the night playing it. Thanksgiving had always been a difficult holiday for my family (yay history of dysfunctional family holidays) and after Tabletop we turned it into a boardgame holiday, where we cook together and play games and it’s now my favorite time of year. Getting into gaming reminded me how much I love tabletop and RPG games and I’ve started working on some game design myself, and while it might just be a hobby, it’s brought a lot of joy and fun at really difficult times in my life.
What you and the whole Tabletop crew do obviously takes a lot of work, a lot of passion, and I don’t want the suck of the now to overcloud that.
2) As I read your posts and tweets, then read reddit, I was strongly reminded of some great advice I was once given: “Failure is feedback.” Failure is not a judgment, it is not tied to our worth as a human being, it is not a reflection of how much we care or try, it is simply feedback that we did a thing and it didn’t work. The key is to discern what is the correct feedback from this failure.
Maybe when you read reddit at a different time, when the sting of the very loud and public rebuking has faded some, it’ll be easier to figure out what feedback you need from this situation. In my read, it doesn’t seem like a ton of people hate you (though some do, cause: humanity, yay!). It seems like people are having empathy for your former producer, thinking “Geez, it would suck to be publicly called out like this by my boss,” and thinking, “Could there have been a different way to address these concerns that didn’t set up one individual to look really, really bad?” Yes, some of the response are harsh and unhelpful—and also, it seems like many of them come from less of a place of hate towards you and more of a place of empathy towards your former producer.
I think it makes sense you were angry and upset when you wrote the first blog and even more upset and maybe even ashamed after the internet backlash, and I hope all of those sucky emotions don’t completely cloud out whatever feedback you need from this failure. (Failure in the totally de-stigmatizing sense of: we all have things go wrong. We all have things we need to learn. It’s just life.)
Tabletop is amazing and so is Titansgrave. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You, your guests and the production team do an amazing job.
I hope Tabletop never ends.
Tabletop opens up new games to me… I gave my brother ticket to ride last year, after seeing it on your show, and this year he gave a copy to my parents. He’s getting an S3 game (I haven’t figured out which yet) this year. The show that you and your team put out there is fun and entertaining, and shares your love of games with a larger audience. I supported the S3 campaign, and I would again.
We all have days when the stress gets to us. You just have a much larger audience when it gets to you than most other people do… Please be kind to yourself.
Tabletop got me to do exactly what you implore at the end of every show: “Play more games.” I wouldn’t have discovered this amazing hobby if it wasn’t for Tabletop. I wouldn’t be anxiously awaiting a new copy of Imperial Assault for Father’s Day so that I could paint the figures with my daughter and run through skirmish scenarios with my son without Tabletop.
You’ve done a great thing with Tabletop and you have every right to be proud of it. It’s telling that your passion got the best of you yesterday – you care. A lot. And that means a lot to me as a fan of the show. I hope that you’re able to work things out with the production crew and find a way to keep that flame burning.
Thanks, Wil. And thank you to the crew that have helped bring us three great seasons.
I’ve been watching from season one, and I was a backer on season three. Most of my game closet is thanks to you guys. I love the show, and will definitely be there to back season for if there is one. Don’t let assholes on the internet get you down, everyone makes mistakes.
One of the silent majority here, as Rusty said it. I have been loving Tabletop from season 1 and still loving it. Titansgrave is also amazeballs and I just can’t wait to see what happens next! I watch the shows together with my boyfriend and we have been gamers since the 80’s. Tabletop has brought so much joy to us and it has introduced a lot of amazing games to us that I just had to comment.
I really don’t care if the rules are not 100 % correct, the nerdy owl does a great job correcting the mistakes. It just makes the show that much more real, because we all f up the rules occasionally even when the game is familiar to us.
Eric’s comment was spot on: “r/boardgames does not and cannot speak for the entire tabletop gaming community.”
I REALLY hope there will be season 4 and I will definitely back it if it needs funding!
I haven’t watched too much TableTop yet, simply because I don’t often have a block of time to watch whole eps at once (and I’ve found that trying to watch piecemeal “I’ll finish it later” just loses the flow), but I can say this without reservation:
Anyone who thinks you don’t care about TT clearly has not been watching the same show I have. It comes through so clearly that this is important to you, that you want to make the show as fun and informative as possible — tattooing “I F-ING LOVE GAMES!” on your forehead couldn’t make it any clearer.
You do good work, Wil. Don’t give these people another minute of your brain power. 🙂
Wil, look in the mirror. You are an awesome person who has created and continues to create something wonderful. It has brought family, friends, and strangers together in a time when there are so many distractions to pull us apart. Don’t let anyone take one shred of that away from you. For every one person being an loud mouthed idiot there are ten of us that support you.
I think this is not a healthy way of looking at things – us vs them. Wil has made awesome stuff – that doesn’t mean people who criticize him for how he publicly handled this situation are loud mouthed idiots (if they stayed civil and didn’t throw insults).
I’m not a huge game fan, but I enjoy the show because it’s friends having fun, playing a game. I hope you don’t walk away from it.
I second that.
I have two 12 year old sons who adore Tabletop (I’m a fan as well). They not only have found numerous games to occupy their minds and time, but get a great view on how to play a game and have fun doing it. Which means things aren’t always perfect, or exact to the rules, or go the way you hope. But they watch and they have learned to be good sports, to rib on fellow players but do so in good fun, to lose with grace. You’ve made a great space for young (and old!) geek minds to connect and that’s amazing.
Wil,
I was a backer. If given the opportunity I will back Season 4 and/or Season 2 of Titansgrave, not just for me but my 10 year old daughter adores both shows as well.
As a backer I wanted to see you and the guests enjoy yourselves at the hobby you love and see the “flavor” of some new games. I don’t go to Tabletop to see a rules breakdown, plenty of other spots for that.
If you can’t shake the icky feeling, just do a quick video to cover the game rules that were wrong or unclear. You have the platform, it doesn’t need to be fancy.
Don’t beat yourself up, don’t ruin a good thing. Evaluate how the issue occurred, fix it, have a beer and play more games.
Non-judgemental ninja… I summon thee!
But seriously… I backed S3, would happily back S4, and am simply saddened that your passion for the project has made you vulnerable to criticism from random denizens of the internet. Please take a moment to remember the silent majority… we really enjoy your work, and want you to enjoy it as well.
My kids and I watch your show to laugh, see a preview of a game, and get an idea of how it plays. We sometimes make up our own rules as we go along. Thanks for all that you do.
Mistakes are bound to happen. And to be honest, I have bought some of the games you featured on Tabletop and after digging into the game myself found you err’d on the show. But so what. Can any of us say we haven’t ever enjoyed a game a few times before realizing he hadn’t been following a rule exactly right.
You still have a great show. You still expose me to games I like but probably never would have been exposed to otherwise. You do great work and I thank you for it.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. You failed no one. The exact opposite, in fact! You’ve created something great, enjoyed by millions (if not yet, well, you’re not taking them down and the Internet is timeless, so just wait a while) and if it’s not perfect, well… what is? Haters gonna hate – but what have they done to make the world better lately? Heck you created not just a new show, but essentially a new genre of show – and then followed that to it’s next logical step with Titansgrave, which I’m also massively enjoying! You have my humble, heartfelt thanks. And remember for ever hater, there’s a hundred or a thousand silent majority who watch and smile and bask in the obvious joy and warmth you bring to the shows.
Wil,
I was someone who didn’t think your tone and message were the best in your last post, but even though I don’t know, I trust you’re a good guy. I remain a fan of both you and your show.
Keep doing the great work you do. Many of us really appreciate it!
You have nothing to apologise for. You make a great show and people enjoy it. If some rules are wrong, so what? You guys have fun and that in turn gives us enjoyment.
Please keep making Tabletop – I only found out about it after the Season 3 backing campaign closed. If you do a Season 4 I will definitely back it. Because of Tabletop I have bought more than a dozen new games that I share with my friends and even started playing D&D because of the Dragon Age episodes.
Please, if you can find a way to keep enjoying it, please keep doing what you do. We, the unnamed masses, appreciate you and your work regardless.
Thank you Wil Wheaton.
Wil,
Years ago, I somehow stumbled on your In Exile blog and became a casual fan of what you did. I can’t say I read every post or watched everything you’ve been in and/or made, but I throughly enjoyed what I did come across. In all of the things you’ve made or participated in, you’ve always struck me as sincere. I may not think every single thing was the greatest ever, but you’ve put yourself out there and are brave enough to share who you are with the internet at large.
I love Tabletop.
I don’t watch every episode. Maybe I don’t like the guests or the game, but the episodes I watch are delightful. I’ve laughed so hard at moments such as when Anne smacked the table during Ticket to Ride or the complete mindfuck that was the Resistance. Thank you for making a show that just wants to tell the broader public what a cool hobby board gaming is. Between Tabletop, Shut Up & Sit Down, Cardboard, Dice Tower, and more, it’s a great time to be a board gamer. Thank you.
Obviously, you have to make the decision that’s right for you about the show, but please know that there are lots of us out there that love this show and your work, even when things get messed up (we’re all human, it happens). I think the people who really enjoy Tabletop are a silent majority. It’s unfortunate that we only come out when a lot of people are hating, but we’re here and we like you.
Thanks,
Andrew
Sometimes tone can be lost in translation, especially over the internet, since we’re not actively hearing your words, and reading typed messages can result in something coming across completely different than the way it was intended.
I understand where you were coming from, and I sincerely hope that people can realize what you meant in regards to TableTop.
Someone would have to be incredibly unobservant and oblivious to not see how much you love the show, and the amount of effort and heart that you’ve put into all of your work with geekandsundry.
all of the internet hugs
Worked in an office once where we lost a server data drive. The I.T. guy’s response? A very relaxed “Well, you can’t back up everything.” I have never so wanted to throttle someone as I did right then.
Personally, I think this is an unfortunate situation where personal and business lives overlapped. This blog is a place where you feel comfortable to express yourself. You have been very open about yourself in previous posts. Most of us would maybe head to the bar and grab a beer, discuss it with friends. The way I see it when you post something here, you are discussing it with friends.
I don’t think there was any ill intent in your last post. I honestly believe that you were trying to explain the situation and also how it affected you personally. Yeah, maybe it could have been worded differently. You’ve stepped up before to explain or handle issues (episode release schedule, indiegogo perks) without assigning blame and maybe that has something to do with some of the reaction.
You have taken the time to clarify things with this post and I think that’s all that you can do. Hopefully this will help to settle things down. If not, well, don’t keep beating yourself up about it. Apparently the internet will do that for you. Who knows, maybe tomorrow someone will post a picture of a dress and everyone will start arguing about what colour it is.
Tabletop is a great show. Thank you for making it, and for caring so much about it. It wouldn’t be as good if you didn’t care this much.
Wil,
I don’t exaggerate when I say this. You are single handedly responsible for my board game collection. I can’t count the number of times I have been on the fence about a game and Tabletop sold it to me. My daughter and I love watching your show. Because of all that is going on, I would understand if you just want to take a hiatus for a while. But I want to echo what has been said here. Don’t let a few faceless internet people dictate your life. You are an important part of the gaming community. You have your own cards in Smash Up, which is beyond awesome. And they can never take that away.
I think it’s too easy to make the people who are disappointed in how Wil handled this situation into unreasonable “haters”. Nobody wants to take anything away from Wil. I have followed him for years and he has brought me great joy with the things he did. But I am disappointed that a person I am looking up to decided these kind of blog posts are OK.