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from strength to strength. Beginning life on Kickstarter, the magazine now thrives on online orders and subscriptions, at a pace of three issues a year. Senet is named after the oldest known board game, which dates all the way back to ancient Egypt. The choice of name highlights the significant role that play has had in human culture. Indeed, with the boom of the video games industry and increasing popularity of tabletop gaming, games have become fully embedded in the cultural zeitgeist. Apart from the enormous financial size of the video games industry, there has also been greater academic attention being paid to games in cultural studies as well, which builds upon early works of scholarship such as Homo Ludens by Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. Design is a key feature of magazines, given its importance in creating an attractive product. Luxuriously printed and beautifully designed, Senet lives up to the cutting-edge graphic design and production values of the tabletop games today. Further, it supports Senet’s insistence of a physical format. Indeed, the magazine is available only in print. In fact, there is no digital version of the magazine – something of a rarity in this age, and certainly for a product primarily sold online. One cannot help but imagine that this is a deliberate effort to echo the tactile experience of playing a tabletop game today. At some 60-odd pages, each issue of Senet is crammed full of fascinating content. Each issue of the magazine is structured according to sections. Previews showcase the most exciting upcoming games. Feature stories profile notable artists and designers in the industry. Issue 3’s interview, for instance, features Kyle Ferrin, whose art has been a feature for the popular board games of publisher Leder Games, including the exceptionally popular Root. The magazine also features regular looks at various tabletop game genres, from deckbuilding to tile-placement to the burgeoning genre of zombie games. Senet’s reviews, on the other hand, are short and get straight to the point, offering incisive commentary in a concise format. Near the end of each issue, the brief “How to Play” feature turns the focus to the subjective experience of play. All in all, the magazine is a statement on the diversity and vitality of the industry. Evolving Industries Tabletop games have seen something of a renaissance in recent years. The popularity of the hobby has surged in the past two decades, fuelled by the runaway success of games such as Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride. In recent years, boxed board games have benefitted from the increased visibility afforded by the internet, from YouTube channels dedicated to the hobby to dedicated websites such as Board Game Geek, which are both new marketing channels as well as the basis for hobbyist communities to grow. Funding methods have also evolved, with crowdfunding platforms seeing massive amounts of money being put into the production of promising tabletop games. In 2020 alone, crowdfunding site Kickstarter reported that board game projects raised US$234 million. This has opened avenues for independent game designers. More than simply being a new source of funding for designers and producers of tabletop games, the more open ecosystem of the industry has seen greater diversity in genres, themes, and creators. 1 3 13 37 7p p o op p u ul l a ar rn n e e w w s s - -4 4 3