Episode 373

Episode 373: Zev Shlasinger, Play to Z Games

Published on: 17th November, 2025

Zev Shlasinger has been in the hobby game industry for almost 30 years. He founded Z-Man Games in 1999, sold it in 2011, then worked for the new owners until mid-January 2016. At the end of January, he took the position of Director of Board Games with Wizkids. Some of the titles you might be familiar with are: Pandemic, Fantasy Realms, Agricola, Sidereal Confluence, Clash of Cultures, Merchants & Marauders, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Shadow Hunters, Arboretum, Tragedy Looper, Grave Robbers from Outer Space, Tournament at Camelot, Super Skill Pinball, and a host of others.

To learn more about Play to Z games, click here: playtozgames.com

To check out the late pledge for Dogs of War, go here: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/play-to-z/dogs-of-war

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About the Podcast

Board Game Binge
Bingeable board game content from across the industry.
Do you love board games? I do! But do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes?

How do meet-up groups get organized? What is the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign? How do publishers get their games to market? How are people reaching their market in an ever more competitive market? What type of social media personalities are springing up in support of this industry?

James interviews experts from across the industry and takes a peak under the hood in his quest to understand this far reaching community. Each episode is bite-sized, clocking in around 30 minutes, so you can take nibbles, or binge several episodes at once.

About your host

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James Staley

James is the president of Tin Robot Games, the publisher of 4 successful board Game Kickstarters; Tanks, but no thanks!, Queen of Scots: The Card Game, and Nutty Squirrels of the Oakwood Forest.

James is also the host and creator of the Board Game Binge Podcast, a short-format podcast dedicated to showcasing the personalities and professionals from across the board game/tabletop industry.

You can listen to past episodes of the Board Game Binge podcast on Spotify, YouTube, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, iHeart Radio Podcast, TUNE IN Podcast, and Stitcher Podcast. You can also join the podcast live on the Board Game Binge YouTube channel most Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 pm EDT.

Look forward to many more exciting and fun games to play with friends and family, or even solo!