Column : W. Eric Martin: Calling All Gamers!

"If you build it, they will come."

Traffic is up since the debut of the new Boardgame News site on July 7, 2010, with more people visiting each day and those visitors spending more time on the site. Reader response to the design has been generally positive.

The only downside is that despite all the positivity, donations in 2010 are not keeping up with membership fees in 2009. I knew this might happen after switching to a donation model in March 2010, but BGN readers in a January 2010 survey had said they donated and paid for memberships more to support the site itself than out of a desire to see the Spiel and Nuremberg convention previews, which were locked away behind a paywall. So I decided to test that claim.

While I'd prefer to keep everything open on the site, if support continues to be low I'll have to start charging again for access to the previews and special features. Expenses are up thanks to a new dedicated server to handle all the nifty features on BGN – not to mention the wonderful surge in visitors.

If you spend any amount of time on this site reading about new games, checking out game news, or surveying the extensive convention previews, please donate to BGN. Your support ensures the survival of this site and the editor's ability to devote the time needed to post game announcements, reviews and other material.

Along those same lines, if you're a publisher or work for one, please look into advertising on BGN. If you're a designer, encourage your publisher to advertise on this site. That financial support is vital to BGN's survival, and you get to show off your creations to thousands of readers who want to know what's coming from you.

Thanks so much for being dedicated readers of BGN. I love having you here and hope to be able to continue serving you in the future!