French gaming site Tric Trac, which started in 2000 (the same year as BoardGameGeek) is shutting down…which makes me wonder why I’m including a link to a site that will be dead at some point in the future, but TT is still live for now, so let’s keep going in that spirit for now.
In a December 15, 2022 editorial, editor Monsieur Guillaume notes that this is the third time the site is running a “death of Tric Trac” post, but this time it’s for real.
In March 2018, Flat Prod — the official owner of Tric Trac — was purchased by Plan B Games, which at the time was owned by Sophie Gravel. Then owner Monsieur Phal explained the reasons behind the sale in an editorial titled “Flat Prod est mort, Vive Flat Prod“.
In July 2019, Asmodee Group purchased Tric Trac from Plan B Games, a sale Monsieur Phal wrote about in another editorial: “Flat Prod est mort (encore), vive Flat Prod (encore) !” In that editorial, he noted that the intent behind the purchase was to remove the need to monetize various aspects of TT. Premium content would now be available to all; the only subscription offered would be one that removed ads from the site. In Monsieur Phal’s (translated) words: “We are going to focus only on our primary objective, to inform the players as best as possible about the ENTIRE sector. Asmodee wants strong media. They will therefore give the means to the Tric Trac teams to think only of information.”
That said, in December 2021 Asmodee Group was purchased by Embracer Group, and apparently plans for Tric Trac have changed since then. In his editorial, Monsieur Guillaume lists multiple reasons for why things have changed: original editors Monsieur Phal and Doctor Mops have left; Covid shut down the Tric Trac offices for eight months (and the Tric Trac offices were a stopping point for every publisher to present their games); the cost of its recent video efforts, specifically a nicely produced weekly show with a Parisian studio and external trips (I’ve included the most recent episode below); publishers deciding not to work with Tric Trac since it effectively gives money to the competition (Asmodee); and a change in the communication space in the game industry, with board game influencers having a different economic model for their content, which makes them an attractive choice for publishers.
Put all that together, and well, as of January 2023, Monsieur Guillaume says, “there will be no more Tric Trac, no new videos, no site…”
