Over the next few months, this web community and platform is going to be getting a new name and identity...

Why?

As the development of the new BoW 2.0 progressed we realised that the whole environment was going to evolve into more of a shared space, where you could share all kinds of projects, and with the channels functionality in the works, we are hoping to share and develop other new and existing content creators.

Couple that with the massive changes taking place in our industry and the diversification of styles and genres in Tabletop Games - and our stats showing that you guys are enjoying a much wider variety of games than ever before - we felt that a new top-level Name and Brand for the community, one that was more all-encompassing and inclusive, felt like a good idea.

So, we decided to develop a new and inclusive brand for us all as a community to feel like we can take ownership of and work alongside.

What About Beasts Of War?

Don't worry, Beasts of War isn’t going anywhere. It will gradually become one (or more) of the selected channels here on the platform and will retain its focus on miniature gaming (and the odd willy joke) and will not allow any of our genres or interest groups to fall by the wayside. We are still completely committed to Historical, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and the PPHW genres in miniature form.

How Was The New Brand Developed?

We started about two years ago, around the time we had solidified what the specification of the initial 2.0 launch was going to be and spent a few weeks on and off brainstorming and conceptualising in-house. We wanted to explore lots of possibilities and all sorts of wacky ideas, but there came a point where we really wanted to bring in some outside perspective to help solidify our thoughts and settle on a direction.

We then had the good fortune to hook up with a group of Branding Mentors and a Brand Developer, David, from Bag of Bees. David is a wonderful chap who spent a lot of time with us and with you guys in the background browsing around and reading. He instinctively ‘got’ the changes the industry and community were going through and the opportunities we hope to create with you guys.

He then, in true ‘designer’ style, promptly took all our hard work on ideas…and chucked them in the bin!

He and his team then came back with the concept of OnTableTop, and while of course we were uncertain to begin with, something about the concept and how we could use it really struck us.

For anyone who has ever been involved in this kind of thing, you will know that, as with all things in life, there is no perfect solution, and Brands and Identities take time and effort to build and establish. However, the key is finding a Brand that you can ‘work’ (or in our case ‘play’) with, and do interesting things with to communicate what you are about rather than just a badge to stick on stuff.

OnTableTop ticks a lot of those boxes...

It feels like an inclusive identity that can easily sit alongside the developing brands of other creators on the platform.
It is open and encompassing of the much wider diversity of games we play today and who we play with.
It is to the point, short, descriptive and meaningful.

Its primary feature that will be used in our visuals etc. is the circle, a powerful symbol that represents:

Inclusiveness - Wholeness
All-Encompassing (you’re getting everything about a game) - Totality
A circle of friends (a community) - Oneness
A Zero, a Starting point - Potential

Within the circle we then have the representation of the TableTop, the place where we all meet, compete, build stories and friendships together.

So What's The Plan?

The whole process is going to take some months to fully pan out, and a big part of that is we are in no rush and want to gradually work on this with you guys in the community and give it all time to settle in.

In the meantime we will be giving the identity a bit of a tour at the major conventions for the rest of this year, beginning with its first live unveiling at UK Games Expo next week. We believe this Brand will work well in the diverse environments of UKGE, GENCON and ESSEN etc.

We will be live streaming and live blogging all next weekend, while sporting some very fetching new OnTableTop threads...trust me, we can scrub up well!

So this one's for you guys; especially for you budding content creators who fancy showcasing the aspects of the TableTop Gaming hobby you love.

Let’s see where we all go with it and thanks so much to our wonderful community who has supported us every step of the way.

We have a big new leap into the unknown before us and we can’t wait to share that adventure with you.