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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I can honestly say that before this whole thing I was definitely a fan of tabletop. I’m the very definition of a casual tabletop gamer (I only own Pandemic and Avalon for crying out loud) and I’ve watched every episode of Tabletop because it satisfies that desire I have to (vicariously) play all of the games that I just can’t get my friends to buy into. It’s been awesome, rule issues and all.
With that said, your response in the previous post and this one are flat out disappointing, to say the least. Regardless of who screwed up, it’s incredibly unprofessional to make that public just so that you can say “hey, it definitely wasn’t me!”
Even in this post you’ve continued to point the blame at a single person for all of this. You’re attempting to fall on the sword after you’ve pushed someone else onto it first in the hopes that the cut doesn’t go as deep, and that is something that I really do feel ruins watching Tabletop.
At the end of the day I’m just a single voice in the crowd, but I really hope that you at least rethink how you come across in the future because you’ve lost a long time fan because of how you reacted to this situation.
Your show introduced me to Tabletop gaming and in that way introduced it to my family.
My 9 year old loves watching the show with me (and don’t worry, he didn’t watch the “Cards Against Humanity” episode because I parent my kid).
Anyways, just keep doing what you love, hope for future seasons of Tabletop.
How do I feel about the other stuff from the last 24 hours? Too much drama… I watch to escape my own drama.
If I could weigh in,
It is okay to be disappointed, frustrated, even angry at people that you trusted to do a job, who did not do what was asked of him. And it’s also human nature to sometimes slip up and act in the moment rather than let the heat cool off sometimes. So you had a moment when you did something you didn’t intend. Guess what, internet? Wil Wheaton is a fallible person just like everyone else.
Okay, so the internet is divided in their attitudes toward you. I know this isn’t the first time on the “Wil Wheaton hate” train. And it sucks. Especially since you’re in a lot of ways the face of board games, and general nerdiness. Well, the reason that you’re a face in the industry that you so love is because you have a strength that lesser people don’t have.
You’re Wil Wheaton, a pretty awesome person. You’re not Wil Wheaton, Master of the Universe and everything within it. It’s okay for you to feel feelings. It’s okay for you to make mistakes, it’s okay to be what you are at the moment in time that you are that you are. (If any of that makes sense.)
In the end, people will still love the work you do, the life you’ve lived, and who you are. And people will hate these very same things. Keep being yourself. Keep learning from the mistakes that you make, and that others mistake. And keep playing more games.
I imagine that as a professional entertainer this type of thing must be very frustrating but I don’t think anybody but the rules lawyers will be upset by the oversights. When in doubt: house rules win.
I love your show and watch every episode, even if I’ll probably never get to play most of those games.
A community that does not let someone back in for acting human on the odd occasion is probably not a community that you want to be a part of…being the human you are and all.
That being said. Do not feel like an alien good sir! You are welcome at my table any day.
First off I’m a fan and of tabletop, and to my shame I didn’t back S3 and will back S4 just because of that.
Sure it was a bit off for Will to blame someone else but he didn’t name them.
He did say however how invested the production was he getting it right, they didn’t one film time person to just that. That is not a cheap or an easy option and it has track record of working in S1 and S2 .
Thus is what I read in Will’s post, not the shifting of the blame . it’s not like it a job that you can simply throw more resources at.
Will – forget about the Internets for a day and PLAY MORE GAMES.
Wil, the thing is. The rules screw ups don’t bother me much. What bothers me is the way you publicly handled problem. This was just not decent behavior towards your former employee. And this clarification post just seems defensive and unhelpful because it doesn’t address at all why people who look up to you are disappointed. The people who said you didn’t handle this well are probably not the people who said you don’t care about Tabletop, so there is no reason to throw them together and make them into this kind of mob who is out to tear you down. These are people who like what you do and want you to know that you have shown you can do better than this.
Wil, for what it’s worth, here’s my voice telling you I love the show and I understand that things went wrong that weren’t things you could fix. I would be sad if there was no more Tabletop, and I would be sad if it ended because a bunch of arseholes on the internet made it not-fun for you to do it.
But I would also respect any decision you made, and if you didn’t produce any further series of Tabletop then I know that’d mean your time would go towards something else awesome that I’m sure I’d enjoy. Because that’s how you roll.
Even though, sometimes, you roll badly… (did you see what I did there? A pun!).
Stay hoopy, Mr Wheaton.
Having read the previous post re Kingdom Builder and the rules and why they weren’t played right; and having read the comments there I don’t think the ‘hatefest’ is deserved on Wil. I only started watching Tabletop after s3 started and I enjoyed it so much I went and binged on s1 & s2.
I’ve started playing tabletop games, I’ve started organising events to play with others, I’ve gone out and met new people and strangers just because of watching this show.
Sure, getting the rules “right” might be a bonus but having a handy owlbear to tell us that they’re not 100% correct is also just fine. It’s a shame that Wil was let down by someone he trusted and in the same situation I’d be livid too. I don’t think it was ‘unprofessional’ to explain the situation properly, I’d rather know exactly what happened than some vague “Oops, sorry” announcement.
Not everyone gets the rules right first time but if it’s someone’s specific job to make sure the show is getting the rules right, and that person has failed their job, I’d rather know that was what happened to be quite honest.
To Wil: I sincerely hope you go on to make a 4th Season of Tabletop. I didn’t know about the series when you crowdfunded for S3 but I would help you out for S4 in a heartbeat. The community as a whole isn’t going to cast you out. You know that when we start to think in absolutes like “everyone hates me” that we are inevitably wrong – take a step back and look around: you have more people supporting you than not. You’ll be OK.
First of all, I don’t believe screwing up the rules once in a while (or even consistently) is such a terrible mistake. I don’t think anyone can learn how to play a game by watching your show and I don’t think that’s the purpose of your show. The way I see it, you go over the rules so the viewers can more or less follow what’s happening on the table, but the purpose of your show, the way I always looked at it, is: 1) to be fun to watch and 2) to attract people to tabletop gaming. That you’ve done great so far, at least that’s my impression.
There are plenty of other shows dedicated to explaining how to play specific games and, if you watch those videos, you’ll see that the feeling and the format has absolutely nothing to do with Tabletop. Two completely different types of shows (you might even link to those from your show, for people interested in learning how to play the game but too lazy to search for themselves).
Regarding your public rant and blame throwing, I do believe that was a mistake. A mistake EVERYBODY makes from time to time. When you’re angry and you’re not thinking straight, if there’s an easy target it is way to easy to lose it and react badly. Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t that person’s fault, but I don’t think that s/he deserved public finger pointing. BUUUUUT, hey, we’re all human and we all make mistakes. You just apologize to that person, that person takes responsibility for his/her mistakes (all this in private) and we all forget this because we’re all reasonable and understanding people who don’t take this kind of things into account. If you did this every single time something goes wrong then man, you’d have a problem. But even if you’re a public figure, nobody can be subject to such standards of perfection. Do your thing, screw up, fix it as much as you can, ignore the haters and go on with your life. Don’t be too harsh on yourself and ignore those who are. Everybody has the right to make mistakes and learn from them, you too Wil, you too.
Your show is great (I’m really enjoying the RPG special) and I truly believe that you’re a great human being.
Well, as a 52 year old mom with six sons, I can say you are responsible for us initiating Board Game parties and buying a whole stack of games. My kids are super smart (just ask them) and they have been know to misinterpret the rules. We fix it next time and life goes on. What we couldn’t fix is if the time together was ruined by being so picky over the rules that it became a chore. I’m sorry you are enduring what I see as the scourge of our times; rude, hateful and unforgiving internet comments. If it matters, keep in mind that I have no idea what r/boardgames even means and wouldn’t know a reddit if it bit me. It’s such an odd thing, pixels on screens that go away if turned off are so real, and yet they are not. Can I be a mom here and remind people that if you wouldn’t say it to their face, perhaps you shouldn’t say it online? You share your life with your fans, so if you are angry or disappointed you share that as well. I appreciate your candor and openness and love your kid and pet stories! You matter in a good way.
Dude, I mean this sincerely, fuck those trolls. You’re making a solid show. Tons of cool guests. Tons of cool games.
I don’t see what the issue is with the first post about it. Especially not enough to need to apologize for your apology post.
The internet, and Reddit in particular, is a troll breeding ground. Know that most of us that enjoy things don’t usually take the time to go post about how much we enjoy them. We enjoy them and move on. Even those of us who blog or post regularly can’t get to everything.
Trolls however, love to take the time to post shit about how they hate X product because of Y problem/person. Probably they smell bad too.
For each one of them there are hundreds of people who enjoyed it, maybe clicked Like, maybe didn’t, and then moved on.
Keep up the good work.
I thought that the last season of tabletop was fine, and enjoyable. If one was going to bash you over the head, that it was not as enjoyable as the previous seasons, it is because your mind was already preparing for the RPG show, “TITANSGRAVE: THE ASHES OF VALKANA”, which has been superb, so far. You are a deep thinker, and haters love to pick on the innocent. Keep up the good work and I appreciate all of the creative works that you have been involved in. If I did have a request, it would be to find the time at some point to record another radiofreeburrito podcast, other than that, thank you.
All the best,
James
Please don’t be so hard on yourself; espcially not because of some complaints on reddit. I love what you did with season 3 and if I had the money, I would buy pretty much all the games you play on the show. Who cares if you guys played with different rules at times — that happens all the time to gamers. I talk to my friends about Tabletop a lot and everyone who I’ve talked to about the show so far has either become very interested in it or they told me how much they loved it and especially that there’s a crowdfunded season 3.
I know you care, a lot of other people know you care and we very much enjoy season 3. Most of us would not even have noticed you being off with the rules at times if you had not mentioned it on your blog. It’s really no big deal and I don’t even know the games yet anyway.
Regarding publishers, I think they will still be happy to have their games on the show. I cannot imagine it being anything else than a big boost in saled.
So keep up the good work and I really hope that later this year, you will be up for starting another round of crowdfunding for season 4. 🙂
Good Morning, Wil, just wanted to chime in that when it comes to Tabletop you have nothing to be ashamed of or embarassed about. Everybody I know who has watched the show has enjoyed it a great deal, in large part because the show is as much or more about the sense of camaraderie everybody experiences playing games around a table, laughing and joking at the ups and downs of it. It’s about the people who play the game and not as much the dice or components or rules.
And what makes the show a success is, in large part, that you do reflect a sincere admiration for everything you play and do on the show. Nobody complains that you don’t care about the show or that you don’t like games or thinks that you don’t do Tabletop out of a sincere love of gaming with friends and family. If anything, the recent brouhaha is reflection that you care so deeply about it that when you feel like you’ve made a misstep you become depressed or angry. Trust me when I say no reasonable person is criticizing you for a lack of caring or worrying or effort or time you have put into the show. Just a glance at the credits shows how impressive a team you have helped put together to produce one of the highest quality shows in this otherwise overlooked genre, probably ever.
Really the only criticism anybody I know has had recently was in publically redressing your employee in your blog. From a professional standpoint, in my opinion at least, that sort of thing is best left behind the scenes. It’s ok to be mad with an employee or professional acquaintence and if they aren’t living up to expectations then it’s perfectly reasonable to address the issue or replace them if needed, that’s an integral part of managing a business. But the best course is to do all that privately, angrily calling them out publically only serves to needlessly embarass them further and casts the outcome in an otherwise negative light. In other words, speaking for myself, I’m not disappointed in Tabletop and believe you that your producer let you down behind the scenes, my disappointment is simply that you chose to point them out in public rather than simply saying, for example, you were taking steps to ensure there were less rule mistakes moving forward and leaving it at that. I’m just hoping that you hear my possibly unasked for advice as being just that, only advice that when you run into this sort of situation it’s best to simply speak in general terms without signalling out other individuals for public pillory.
Anyway I hate to leave things on a negative note, so I’ll end by saying I believe you do care about your work and the crew you stand beside every day. If you didn’t you wouldn’t have already done three great seasons and ran a successful fund raising campaign. And hopefully for the sake of your fans, your crew and possibly your own sense of satisfaction at a project you clearly put a lot of dedication into, you’ll continue to Play More Games for many more episodes to come.
Take care!
I read your previous post explaining what had happened and why, and my strongest reaction was gratitude that you respect your fans enough to a) be upset about the fail and b) explain it and apologise to us. I do not know the games well enough to have ever realised there was an error, but I respect people who respect others enough to own it when they make a mistake, and I admire that you did so.
I’d love another season of Tabletop, but only if it’s still fun for you and the rest of the team who make it, because watching you guys have fun playing games is what makes it such a great show to watch in the first place. If you choose to make another series I will be delighted, but if you choose not to I will simply cherish the fact that we got three whole seasons, and that you’ll surely go on to create more awesome things in future.
Wil,
There’s no way you would alienate your core fans. As you’ve explained to the public at large over and over, being a nerd is being more passionate about your interests. Do you really think you’re the first nerd who publicly boiled over instead of resolving a situation like “professional adults” do? Yes, it’s painful to watch, but we’ve all done it.
Now that you are marketing (sorry sorry sorry) gaming to a wider audience, maybe you do need to adjust. Having someone who cares about you (hint hint Anne) read your posts before you post them does seem like good advice from the people who commented above. This isn’t editing yourself, it is just to prevent situations where you are having a bad day and you are about to do something that will just cause anguish later.
Huge fan,
Ammo
So what if you don’t follow the rules in the box? When my friends and I play games, we play with house rules all the time. Maybe because it makes the game play better, or faster, or just makes it more fun. Rules natzis just need to understand that just because something is written on a piece of paper in the box, it is not how everyone plays the game. Just put a disclaimer at the front of every show that house rules may be in use, and if that bothers you, don’t watch. If someone gets stuck up on the rules, they are missing the point that a game is first and foremost suppose to be fun.
Wil. You are responsible for about 85% of the games I own currently on my shelf. My wife and our friend and I spend weekends playing games. I’m looking to start up a more robust experience because of it. I’ve branched out into other games you haven’t played because they’re related or recommended. You did nothing wrong in Tabletop worthy of the excoriation you’re getting from r/boardgames (and seriously, screw those guys, they’re rules lawyers out there more than they’re Tabletop fans.)
None of the people in the previous thread saying you did wrong were complaining about the rules. And TBF, the screw up got you maybe an extra 4 points, Yuri an extra 4 or so, and the others maybe the same amount. It wasn’t bad, and everyone made the same mistake.
The issue was always regarding your shaming of your producer. Like it or not, you are the face of Tabletop. If something goes wrong in Tabletop it’s not Bob’s fault, or Jen’s fault, it’s your fault. You own up to the issue and you own up to the mistake. Who would want to work with you in the future season if they know you’re going to splay their mistakes out in a blog post for the world to see? (And no, the fact you didn’t name your producer didn’t help. We know who it was.)
Wil. I just want to say, as one of the people on r/boardgames, that I think I speak for the vast majority of us when I say this:
We had no intention of beating you up. We all said what we said for the same reasons that you did. We all love you. You’re amazing and we really appreciate what you do! We just didn’t want to see you publicly hurt your image because honestly, we want to see so much more of your show! I completely agree with what you said about telling us exactly what happened and being honest. We just wanted to preserve your image.
I apologize for the rude people. They are a minority
We love you Wil Wheaton!
-Andy. (And the rest of the Meeples!)
This
You’re not landing jets here. The only consequences of getting the rules wrong is that you have fun a different way, and some internet ass-hats can be “right” about something while making other people feel bad. Games still come with rulebooks, and there is no shortage of video tutorials and walk-throughs for the non-rule readers. You haven’t taken anything away from the gamers.
I enjoy tabletop. Seeing you guys get a rule wrong is no different than seeing my friends or family get a rule wrong. I don’t feel the need to be a jerk and berate them for it.
You took a chance. You worked hard on something and put it out there for the world to see. You did really good work that most people couldn’t do. I get that you wanted it to be perfect, but you have to understand the real value of the show is in the sense of enthusiasm, fun and community that you folks bring to the games.
You’re so cranked up because someone said you didn’t care. I watch precisely because tabletop shows how much you do.
Hi Wil,
One of many of the folks out there in the wild west that is the Internet who watches your show, and who thoroughly enjoys it–rules mistakes included, as I rather like the owlbear (and that’s a clever and cute way of admitting to a mistake, by the way)!
I do agree with many that publicly blaming an employee/colleague/whatever the relationship is is not something I would have appreciated happening to me, and I don’t think it was the best way to handle it. In fact, it made me angry enough to consider not watching Tabletop for a bit–I’ll come back to that in a second.
I appreciate the attempt at the apology, and that you’re also still upset. We don’t always act rationally and perfectly clearly when we’re upset, especially on the internet, where there is no tone clarity. Could you have handled it better? Absolutely. Are you attempting to try and apologize/move forward from it? Absolutely. And for us, as an audience and a community, to (as you put it) ‘not let you back in’ would be equally unacceptable.
So, TL:DR: I will continue to watch and support Tabletop. I never minded the mistakes–for crying out loud, that’s not why I watched the show, I was looking for A) which cool games can I introduce my friends to, B) which cool games make people have the most fun, and C) what fun shenanigans can I expect this week? So, please don’t beat yourself up over the rules. Admit an error, put in the owlbear, or make a quick ‘oops, here’s the errata’ post or video, and be done with it. Please also try to find a way to repair the relationship with your (former?) producer–mistakes do happen. On both sides.
So, until next time, please keep playing more games (and making more Tabletop and Titansgrave).
–Chris
PS: Titansgrave is incredibly well done! Keep it up!
YES. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment.
I have always loved tabletop gaming. As a child my brother and I would play your basic Milton& Bradley games. As I got older, I would buy tabletop games that looked cool and force all my friends to play with me, even though none of them were “gamers”.
Tabletop is something that I was so excited about when it came out. It introduced me to so many games I never knew existed because even though I considered myself a gamer, I did not live in a world that facilitated that. After the first season I bough about half the games that were played and made my wife play with me. It all started with Ticket To Ride. I downloaded the iPad version so that I could play whenever I wanted. All my friends made fun of me for playing this ‘train game’ and they just couldn’t understand how it would be fun to play. As I watched Tabletop every other week for two seasons I gained more confidence in the belief that anyone could be a gamer, I just needed to find the right game to play with them. Ticket to Ride was my gateway game. I convinced my wife to download the iPad version so she could learn to play. She became addicted. And we finally played the tabletop version I had purchased months previously. When she started telling our friends how fun it was, they wanted to play. We have game nights on a regular basis now.
We always mess up the rules when we play at our house. And you know what, that is OK. We still have a GREAT time playing the game, and being with each other. I know the internet trolls can ruin a lot of things. But I hope my voice is heard through the screaming trolls. My life is better because of Tabletop. My friends lives are better (they have their own game nights now too). Even if you don’t make another season of Tabletop (which I hope is not the case), the work you have done is phenomenal. It is normal to beat yourself up when mistakes are made. But the good that has come from this show greatly out weighs any of that.
I feel like I was the target audience for this show. A secret gamer who didn’t really know where to start, and I think you have done a great job. To be honest, I didn’t even notice all the rules mistakes until you wrote a blog post about it. Even after I know, it doesn’t change my experience. I don’t feel cheated. I am a backer of season 3 and I feel that my money was well spent.
Please don’t let this leave a bad taste in your mouth. You really have touched so many lives for the better. FUCK THE TROLLS, keep being awesome.
Thank you for Tabletop.
Okay, so I just read all the comments (as I did with your previous post) and I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s a cultural thing or something. But I just don’t get why people would hate on you (which I have also read in multiple places – just, why?? for using your own PERSONAL blog to express your PERSONAL feelings. I just don’t get it. This is you blog. You write about your family on this blog, amongst other things. In my opinion, you should write whatever the hell you want on your personal blog. Including your feelings about a person you trusted who turned out to not be worthy of your trust. Why are people upset about this? You didn’t even name names, you just had to write your feelings down somewhere. I’m sure most of us know the feeling. I sure do. People need to stop taking everything so freaking seriously…
So what I’m trying to say is that it’s not your fault that people suddenly hate you. You know how it is, on the Internet. Next week they’ll love you again because Titansgrave is freaking awesome. You should not beat yourself up about this more than you already have. It’s really not worth it (I know that’s easier said than done, I have anxiety problems too and I tend to overthing basically everything).
As for the inital rule-problem – I, as a German, forgive you. And you know that we love rules more than everything else in the world. Rules and board games, for that matter. But seriously, it did not make the episode less fun to watch at all. I hope you will find your love for TableTop again because I’d be very sad to see the show end. I love the show. And Wil, you’re doing a great job at entertaining people and at bringing joy into the stupid Internet world. So I want to end this by saying thank you for everything you’ve done.
The internet shitstorm won’t last long. Give it a few weeks and someone else will fuck up and their hate will turn that way and they’ll forget all about this. Internet haters are notoriously fickle like that. I’m sorry the shitstorm has struck your home though, and I hope the damage can be repaired. Please keep making Tabletop. Please please please. Don’t let a bunch of fucking redditors ruin this for the rest of us.
In what must be a difficult week, I just wanted to thank to all of you at Geekandsundry for making Tabletop–mistakes or no mistakes. My husband and I have really enjoyed watching It gives us a chance to enjoy gaming together, even though dissertation writing makes it hard to play games as much as we would like.
We’re loving Titansgrave too! So thank you!
Wil,
Tabletop has been a blast for the last 3 seasons. It’s been filled with people who many of us never would of watched or really interacted with. You brought your love of games, and fused it with the lessons that Wil Wheaton has learned on his journey through life.
We’ve watched you grow up in Movies, and TV. We’ve seen you get shat upon for the writers of TNG, failing to understand the human empathy they imparted to Patrick Stewart (Picard), and instead wrote you as a knowitall snot nosed pain in everyone’s sci-fi ass. Yet you rose above that, and those emotions. You reconciled yourself with your fame, and figured where you wanted to be in life.
We’ve read your blog, and listened to your Burrito shows. You’ve written books, and became a beacon for gaming. Your acting career was reinvigorated, and you brought all that with you to Tabletop. You and the wonderful crew behind the show.
Very few people will ever know the stresses you’ve experienced. We readers of the blog care. We the silent masses watch Tabletop, to see if this week, will allow you a break, and a possible win? To see yet another brand new game that shows how cool it is to “Aggressively Breed”.
You’ve shared with us, the dark side of your depression and the crushing loss of your loved ones. You’ve shouldered a massive load as the face of Tabletop.
This blog is your place to reveal your observations and lessons, your catharsis if you will for getting whatever that is inside you, out. Quite a few of us have been here along for the ride.
So when we say Thank you Wil for working so bloody hard for us. Thank you. We mean it. Errors happen in all arena’s. You vented your heartfelt pain at someone profoundly failing the team. So be it. That wasn’t a fault. That’s experiencing the emotion and getting it out. Because you DO feel beholden to 20,000 people.
A few minor errors like these rules issues will pass. They’ll be forgotten, as a key factor OF every game that is ever played. Sometimes the rules are imprecise and difficult to understand. Obviously you have to consider one other factor. You’re catching these issues in post. Okay, great, you put up the info letting us know the correct rules, and away we go.
So Wil, you can let your burden be lessened in the knowledge that while events happen that are outside of your control, even when YOU are the leader, that it’s okay to fail from time to time, it is through our failures we grow and learn.
I wrote this back in April, 2015.
“A key lesson to remember in life. Be it Romance, Business, Leisure, Adventure, or anything else for that matter.
When you try something, whatever it is, regardless of outcome, remember you tried, you made an effort. Failure is absolutely acceptable as an outcome. Keep on moving forward, put a smile back on your face or at least a wry grin, and know there will be other opportunities. Each one is new, and past performance or experiences simply remain those past performances, and experiences.
Each new attempt may have a completely different response. In the context of skills, a master has failed more times than a beginner has ever tried.
You, just have to reinforce your own personal self-esteem. Tried it, it failed, and you got a story out of it. Look objectively at it and then, put it away, and move on.”
Sometimes the only voices we hear in life (and especially on the internet) are the negative ones so here’s another drop in the positive bucket: Will, you are awesome. Thank you for doing what you do and continuing to do what you do regardless of the haters. That’s all that matters to most of us.
Wil, just want to say that after a decade and a half of mmorpgs and video games I was completely unaware of how much board games had progressed since 2000. As a direct consequence of your show I found out about these newer games and decided to join a local board games group.
Best decision ever.
This is the highlight of my week now and I enjoy playing new games every week and I’m making new friends too.
To be honest I’m not quite sure why you are embarrassed, angry and upset at a few rules mistakes. Owl bear deals with that in a perfectly acceptable way. What I want too see when I watch tabletop is some people having fun playing a game. I want a loose idea of how the game plays so I decide if I want to try it out myself. I am not looking for a rules tutorial and in any case, lets be honest, despite play testing the rules the games maker chose are not necessarily ideal. That’s why people house rule stuff all the time!
That said it was not cool to explain who was to blame for these (frankly inconsequential) errors. You are the face of tabletop. You benefit more from its success than your producer ever will and likewise if it goes wrong you have more to lose. If there are problems, you ought to deal with them internally.
In any case, ignore the rules merchants. They are a bane to gaming. The show is perfect. Keep going!
In a age when so many people refuse to acknowledge mistakes, make non-apology apologies and then act the victim when other folks point out “There is no ‘Sorry’ in your ‘Sorry,’ dude,” you stood up and took responsibility. Even though the mistake wasn’t directly yours – you trusted an employee to do their job – you acknowledged that as the Captain of the Ship you are ultimately accountable for everything under your command, and you accepted the blame. That’s not just called Leadership – that is called Integrity.
If the entire season had been a train wreck, your last two posts would still make me extremely proud to have been a backer with my lovely wife. Please don’t listen to the haters – you are a class act, sir.
I just wanted to say that I love how you used the Owlbear to let everyone know about a mistake with the rules. This was a brilliant idea.
I know you goal with Tabletop was to introduce new people to games and introduce those who are already gamer’s to new games. Mistakes happen, I’ve made numerous mistakes with game rules when playing with friends, that itself is a part of gaming and can lead to amusing situations.
Over and over again you have convince me to pick up games that I’ve been thinking about but wasn’t sure if I would like. Seeing a game played first makes my decisions easier.
Keep up the good work and don’t let mistakes (rules or angry post’s) keep you from making awesome content that you want to make.
I thoroughly enjoy watching tabletop, mistakes or not. It’s fun to watch you and your friends have a great time playing games. I’ve been able to introduce games to family members. The last time my sister and friend got together to play, the friend said “Let’s play that ‘train game’ again.” She meant Ticket to Ride of course which I discovered from watching Tabletop.
I will be sad if Tabletop doesn’t continue beyond this season but thank you for introducing us to new games, Wil!
Wil, I hate making mistakes about something that I feel I am supposed to be good at. There are so many times where I can say, “oh well, nobody is perfect.” But when it is something I care about and I mess up, I just feel like a total loser.
My children’s preschool teachers have given me a mantra to work with. “Mistakes are opportunities to learn.” So figure out what you need to learn from this and then let it go.
You are a caring person with a kind heart and you work really hard. As someone who has enjoyed TableTop (and bought several games because of it) and Titansgrave I hope that you will continue your good work.
Just one thing to point out: That thread hit /all, and most of the really vile stuff happened to be from people without /r/boardgames flair. What you were experiencing (for the most part) was not /r/boardgames hate, but your average, unfortunately everyday internet-hate-bile that comes with being an internet celebrity.
As for everyone else…I think people were critical of your blogpost, but not critical of you. People still love tabletop. I hope this one incident doesn’t dissuade you from continuing.
My advice? Turn off the computer and do something else. Go for a walk. Brew some beer. Maybe in time, play a game or two and remember why you love the hobby so that internet assholes don’t take it away.
Wil, I know that the negative comments have a deeper impact than the positive ones, but I hope you do hear us voices which are praising your actions. While I don’t personally watch a lot of table top, I’m not the target audience, I definitely appreciate the work you put into it and I think owning up to a problem is the right thing to do. It takes courage and demonstrates not only that you recognize the issue but also that you will address it. I sincerely hope that you continue to do the show, as it has been a huge boon to the hobby. Don’t let internet trolls tear you down. You are a great man.
This is the internet. Everyone will have forgotten in less than a week. What everyone will remember in 5, 10 years or longer perhaps, is the fact that Tabletop got people into board games. That is your legacy.
Also Titansgrave is great and is going to get people into RPGs in exactly the same way Tabletop did with board games.
Hi Wil,
Your show is one of the main reasons I became interested in tabletop games earlier this year. I’ve since bought a dozen or so games, supported local game stores and cafes, started game nights with great new friends, and introduced old friends to the hobby.
Your efforts to spread the fun of gaming has had a tangible impact on my life. Thanks for that. I can’t say that about any other show or person from TV or the internet. I think that’s meaningful.
I’m not a power gamer and probably never will be. I also never read or write comments anywhere on the internet because I don’t care what strangers have to say, especially when they are just trying to be inflammatory. But I’m taking a moment to comment here because I want to convey my appreciation at a time when it seems like positivity could help.
Hey, I just wanted to say that I was one of the people reading your apology on /r/boardgames.
Apology accepted. And apology for the apology accepted. 🙂
It did seem a little harsh, but I also had no idea what went on. I’m pretty sure that I’ve posted (or e-mailed at work) when I was mad…
Either way, we still love your show, and we still love what you do.
Don’t give up on the show.
I got my girlfriend and her family into a lot of board games because of Tabletop. “We don’t like cooperative games!” they said. Now we have Pandemic and Castle Panic at the top of our playlists. Dixit was mindblowing for the group. Resistance is also a hit.
I’ve enjoyed TableTop ever since it started. Is it perfect? No. However, it is definitely close to how I play boardgames – having fun with friends despite screwing up the rules once in a while. In the end, I still love those games and I see in TableTop the same experience, warts and all (not that many warts, to be honest). That’s why I contributed to the S3 campaign and I don’t regret it one bit. Despite what transpired recently, this is still a good show.
By the way, I “blame” TableTop for half the games in our collection. Money well spent on a hobby that brings people together.
Wil, don’t sweat it. For every person that gives you guff over rules, there are thousands of happy people watching your shows, being entertained, and learning that board games aren’t just for kids anymore. Don’t stress it.
Wil,
Shut up, you’re awesome.
Thank you for hours of entertainment. I deeply appreciate the effort you have put into making a fun and lovable series.
Quit harshing on yourself dude.
This.
$40 backer here. I don’t give 2 shits that the rules were not perfect. I enjoyed watching the most recent episode of tabletop. It was entertaining, and that is the most important part. They **** up the physics on Star Trek/Wars/gate all the time. It is still fun to watch.
I like TableTop, I love Titansgrave and I do like you as a person.
That will not change because of this!
What I don’t like is, if the mishaps of a person are drawn out into the open, in the way you did it yesterday. You are better than that!
I really get it. You’ve been criticized because of the mistakes of another person and you lost your composure. Everybody over 40 has been through something like that, at least once in their professional life and many of us, include myself, have over – reacted in a bad way in those situations.
Maybe it’s still possible to save the relationship with that person, at least on a personal level. A dinner is always a good opportunity to clear the weather and to reconnect.
Oh, and sorry for my bad English.
All the best. Joe
don’t let the trolls get to you. they’re just being dicks and they’re getting attention for it, so they continue to be dicks.
the shows great and it wouldn’t be a boardgame show without an occasional rule goof 🙂
Games, and everything about them, should be fun. That’s what you’ve managed to communicate through Tabletop (and Titansgrave). International Tabletop Day is a thing largely because of your enthusiasm. I’m first in line, cash in hand, for Season 4, as I was for Season 3.
Wheaton’s Law may be “Don’t be a dick” (something r/boardgames should keep in mind) but I hereby dub “Play more games!” Wheaton’s Admonishment.
Thank you for clarifying. I have enjoyed your show for about a year now, and am still working my way through the back episodes, but I was a bit miffed by your post about quality control the other day. I don’t think there is a need to go into the details of why I was miffed; plenty of folk have already done so, and that time has now passed.
There is nothing wrong with being hurt and angry, and I do appreciate this update. And, I will continue to go to your program for an entertaining look at games I would not otherwise be exposed to.
Hey Wil!
You make fantastic content! Tabletop and the RPG are great, warts and all! Try not to beat yourself up too much. You made a mistake. The producer made a mistake. It happens. Take a deep breath and strive to be better, do better next time. That’s all any of us can hope for.
Head to Gencon (if you aren’t already) to refresh, renew, and revel in the nerdity! It’s always my favorite time of the year to be around people I care about who are equally passionate about the same things I am!
Jason
Portland, OR
Wil, the only reason I got back into boardgames was because of your show. Simple as that. It has brought my family together and made our relationships stronger.
Praise in public, criticise in private is what I was always told.
But in a situation like this, with the whole thing funded by the public the line gets a bit blurry.
This is something you are truly passionate about, and it went wrong. As it’s your baby as it were, you are annoyed (rightly so) and wanted to explain what has gone on to all those going “Why so many rules errors?” Could you have gone about it a bit better? Definitely. But personally I think you heart was in the right place.
I still love Tabletop, and Titansgrave, and you in general Wil. I loved you since I was watching Star Trek The Next Generation, I loved your two autobiographies, and I continue to love seeing you do well.
So all the best, you’re still awesome, and please, please, play more games. 🙂
I hope you continue tabletop. I’m a casual gamer, and in reality, don’t have enough friends/co workers that would be into games like this, so I’m unable to play. I enjoy watching you play and your guests are also people I love, so it makes me enjoy this even more. My husband and I watch together and I’m so happy you did this project. Internet trolls are aholes… that’s all any of this comes down to.