We have a longer than usual cast for your this week as we take a look at the controversy around Simon Lavender, a UK board game influencer. It is our only headline this week, but we still cover the business of the industry with new hires at Restoration Games, Asmodee, financial hits at CMON, a series of competitions and more!    Headlines   Influencer Simon Lavender accused of bad practices   https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3352419/a-simon-lavender-review-what-to-do-with-dishonest/page/1   The accusations at the centre of this are on page one of the link above. There are a large number of screenshots we have saved in regards to this story that will appear in a separate document linked to below. These include Simon’s replies in the thread above and my conversation with Simon.   SCREENSHOTS   Amass Games channel page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg-md_i730k&ab_channel=AmassGames   Amass games video on The Strange Forgeries of S.C. Rheber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg-md_i730k&ab_channel=AmassGames   News   Paul Sawyer shares Terminal Diagnosis https://www.gofundme.com/f/make-dads-remaining-months-happy-comfortable?fbclid=IwY2xjawFT-cpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQvSDcadl8ZKhx_ot6aKqXHrqxSh98KtBWnbqvfKm_3U4kPIOy8AYZoMyA_aem_jNk6ocdlIkXyv0UEKJ3ysg   https://store.warlordgames.com/products/sergeant-sawyer-charity-figure?utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Introducing+the+Sergeant+Sawyer+Charity+Figure   Tabletop Workers Union subject to Union busting https://www.rascal.news/tabletop-workers-union-protest-alleged-union-busting-hex-co-management/   Thomas Kœgler appointed as New Chief Executive Officer of Asmodee https://corporate.asmodee.com/news/thomas-koegler-appointed-as-new-chief-executive-officer-of-asmodee/   Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks talks AI https://www.enworld.org/threads/hasbro-ceo-chris-cocks-talks-ai-usage-in-d-d.706638   CMON Profits Take a Hit https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/09/04/cmons-h1-revenue-falls-almost-25-year-on-year-amid-heavy-slump-in-wholesale-earnings/   Tabletop Scotland goes large https://bsky.app/profile/tabletopscot.bsky.social/post/3l3xcqlecdx2g   Jobs, Opportunities, and Events   https://www.facebook.com/groups/TabletopJobs   2024 Traditional Deck Game Design Contest https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3360317/2024-traditional-deck-game-design-contest   2024 Roll and Write Game Design Contest https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3353041/2024-roll-and-write-game-design-contest   The Game Crafter VHS Challenge https://www.thegamecrafter.com/contests/vhs-case-challenge   Patreon Shoutouts   Kevin Bertram https://www.fortcircle.com/   James Naylor https://naylorgames.com/   Shaun Newman game-a-lot.fun/en facebook.com/gamealotboardgames   Our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thegiantbrain   Support Us https://giantbrain.co.uk/support-us-new/   Fanroll https://fanrolldice.com/ref/2783/ Sir Meeple https://sirmeeple.com/collections/the-giant-brain   Outro   Map-nopoly https://www.worldofmonopoly.com/otherpages/map.php   Our Links   Thanks very much for listening. If you like what you’ve listened to then the best way to help us out is to share the podcast and drop us a review and rating on itunes.  You can also follow us on   Oliver: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/3bMx2HK75r Blusky:https://bsky.app/profile/giantbrain.co.uk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giantbrainuk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegiantbrain Website: https://giantbrain.co.uk/ Email: giantbrainuk@gmail.com