Play To Z’s board game bid proves Shut Up & Sit Down still wears the crown

The modern tabletop industry lives ever in the shadow of Shut Up & Sit Down. The group of enthusiasts behind the YouTube channel (often stylized as SU&SD) found fame by publishing reviews that featured a mixture of sketch comedy humor and genuine passion for board games and tabletop RPGs. In the 14 years since, they have become an ubiquitous voice as evidenced by the (currently on hiatus) SHUX convention and nearly 500,000 subscribers.

Board game media is arguably defined by video content—previews, how-to-plays, reviews, unboxings—and we can thank Quintin Smith, Tom Brewster, Matt Lees, and newest member Emily Roser for their significant part in solidifying that model (though Kickstarter and broad platformization take home gold medals). And in a world where influencer endorsements ring like gold, publishers clamor to see their box proceed that orange-and-yellow ampersand logo. 

Board game publisher Play To Z wants to formalize this process. Founder Zev Shlasinger has secured a partnership with SU&SD to reprint an annual curated title under the Shut Up and Sit Down Presents line. The first year will contain two boxes: Paolo Mori’s reprinted Dogs of War, and Pandemic designer Matt Leacock’s new Animal Rescue Team—the latter will hit crowdfunding in 2025. 

This new partnership carries more than a hint of irony. Curated reprints was once a staple of Shlasinger’s old studio, Z-Man Games, which kiboshed their line of Euro-style classics in no small part because of SU&SD’s gravitational pull on the tabletop market. In a 2021 blog post, studio head Steve Kimball claimed publishers can either rely on crowdfunding for success or “pray that any number of witty UK board game influencers take notice and give you coverage.”

Kimball’s words were laced with a bitterness that SU&SD itself attempted to leaven in a tweet, but Shlasinger’s explanations at PAX Unplugged 2024 were frank: Brewster, Lees, and Rosers’ influence is a force to be reckoned with. And what about the optics? The current team is stepping deeper into the realm of marketing, further blurring a relationship with their paying audience in the process. Folks immediately clocked a conflict of interest in the comments, spurring the team to directly address criticism of their new pseudo-publisher role.

Speaking to Rascal, Shlasinger was bluntly all business. He explained the logic behind the new SU&SD Presents line, his hopes for the future, and a no-nonsense view of tabletop promotion. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity.