A New Home for the Canadian Heritage Collection

As many of you know, September is the month where the Canadian Heritage Collection typically releases its annual Master Catalog of Canadian Games. While I don't have a 2012 Master Catalog for you, I do have some good news that bodes extremely well for the Catalog's future as well as for the future of the Canadian Heritage Collection itself.

Back in July of this year, I entered into discussions with an Ontario-based organization called GamesForAll that is working hard to grow and celebrate boardgame culture in Canada through a variety of initiatives ranging from retail to event support to publishing and more. We've agreed that their spirit and intent is closely aligned with that of the Canadian Heritage Collection and that they're well equipped to continue growing and improving upon the CHC in the years to come. On that basis, I made the decision to transfer the rights and responsibility involved in the Canadian Heritage Collection over to their team and am now assisting them with the transition.

The GamesForAll team is still hammering out the details of how they intend to proceed with the Collection but possible directions include a narrower focus on Canadian designers (as opposed to the CHC's previous inclusion Canadian publishers), an overall rebranding of the initiative (a lot of the team comes from a branding & marketing background), and more of an editorial magazine approach celebrating Canadian designs and designers (as opposed to the current catalog listing approach). I'll continue to host the legacy CHC content here on my site until the transition is complete and, even after that, I'll continue to maintain my Gaming Canadian linklist separate from the CHC.

On a personal note, I'm at a point where I need to focus on launching my World's Smallest Sports Games project and I was worried that the CHC was going to suffer as a result so this has proven to not only be a great solution but also a well-timed one. I'm excited about the transition and by the talent, expertise, and enthusiasm they've brought to the table so I have high hopes for what they'll be able to accomplish.

But enough about me - what are your thoughts? Either respond here on my blog or get in touch with the GamesForAll team and help shape the future of the Canadian Heritage Collection in the months and years to come.