Recently during a Discord hangout for patrons of Gaming Geek, someone asked the question about who they went to for board game reviews and playthroughs. And that got me thinking about just how many options there are these days in the realm of content creators. We are living in the golden age of self produced video content. Some Youtube stats that might (or might not) blow your mind:
- YouTube has more than 2 billion logged-in monthly users
- 74% of adults in the U.S. use YouTube
- 77% of 15–35 year-olds in the U.S. use YouTube
- 80% of U.S. parents of children 11 and under say their kids watch YouTube
- 94.5% of OTT watchers in the U.S. are watching YouTube
- 16.4% of YouTube’s site traffic comes from the U.S.
And that’s just Youtube. There are a lot more platforms available for someone looking to get their content out to as many folks as possible.
When it comes to those I choose to spend my time with, I have what I feel is a good list of channels to get my information from. However, there is always room for adding something new. I have fallen into the trap of getting my curated list of items and then going home. And since I’m not getting any younger, it’s a trap I’m statistically more susceptible to. So in an effort to keep myself in the right mindset, I’m making it policy that I be open to new things, and that includes my go-to content creators.
So without further delay, here are my current favorite creators.
Board Games
I break board games creators in to two categories, reviews and how-to-play/playthroughs.
Shut Up & Sit Down
My oldest and most favorite board game review site. I’ve been watching SH&SD for years. I can’t get enough of that lovely British humor they interject into their videos. And I find that their view on a game will almost always line up with mine.
No Pun Included
I don’t remember how I came upon the No Pun Included channel, but it only took one viewing and I quickly added it to my regularly scheduled list of creators. Efka and Elaine’s thoughts on games are well thought out and like SH&SD, I oftentimes fine myself agreeing with their thoughts on games.
Watch It Played
If you want to learn how to play that new shiny board game you just picked up, Rodney will more than likely have a video for that. And his how-to-play videos are the best at showing you how to set up the game, and get playing. No one does a better job at this in my opinion.
Honorable Mentions
- Game Night – I enjoy the BGG Game Night series, I just rarely last through the entire video
- Meeple University – MU has some nice videos. Especially like the Stella short and sweet series
Miniature Painting
Sam Lenz Artwork
Sam is my Heavy Metal miniature painter tutor extraordinaire. His work continues to impress and inspire me to do better paint jobs. He does a good job of explaining his methods and taking the viewer along with him as he does pieces. Highly recommended.
Dana Howl
I don’t play Warhammer. But Dana’s channel is on my short list because she does fantastic work. Plus, I just enjoy how she puts videos together with editing and music/effects. Plus, she has also a tendency to diverge off of just mini painting into other areas that surround painting.
Sarastro’s Painting
Sarastro has quickly moved up my list as his videos are very well produced, he does a great job of teaching while painting and his silky smooth British accent I could honestly fall asleep to. I thoroughly enjoy his work and can’t wait for a new painting series from him as they become available.
Tabletop Minions
Did I mention I don’t play Games Workshop games? Yet, Tabletop Minions is on my watch list simply for the fact that Atom Smasher’s videos hold a lot of universal truths that aren’t restricted to just Wargamming. His insights and thoughts are refreshing and honest and I will continue to watch as long as this channel is ongoing.
Honorable Mentions
- Squidmar Miniatures – Squid makes great videos, I just sometimes forget to watch him.
- Jay Adan – I like his work, but he puts out videos very infrequently.
- Mini Junkie – Same problem with Jay’s channel. But enjoy it either way.
3D Printing
Gaming Geek
Gaming Geek took everyone by storm when he uploaded his “Custom gaming table for $150” back in 2016. Fast forward 5 or so years, and his channel is going strong, with weekly videos covering 3D printing, terrain and miniatures, laser cutting and various other geek hobbies. His videos are great at making 3D printing accessible for people looking to get in the hobby. Plus he has cultivated a great online community.
Tomb of 3D Printed Horrors
Fat Dragon Games has a wonderful Youtube channel, which features the companies owner, Tom Tullis. In said videos, he has all kinds of information about the 3D printing world, including assembly, maintenance/upkeep and upgrading your printer if so desired. He is the best at putting together easy to follow, understandable how-tos for all levels of printer hobbyist. While he does focus on the Creality line of printers, a lot of his content is make/model agnostic.
Uncle Jessy
Uncle Jessy is a big, huge nerd. And his channel oozes that through every video he produces. He also does a great job of showing and highlighting the 3D printing hobby and gives concise and honest feedback on all areas of the hobby.
Role-Playing Games
Web DM
Web DM is a great channel for getting all kinds of RPG information that isn’t necessarily tied to a single system. Which is a good thing. The RPG content world seems to be very silo’d into game system buckets and that can make it hard to find channels that cover larger swaths of the RPG world. Web DM is one of those places, and worth a look.
Geek & Sundry
G&S is another system agnostic RPG channel, that has a lot of great content, even beyond in-game information. Plus, Matt Mercer, so yeah!
Me, Myself & Die
This entry on my list is a little bit of cheat, in the fact that it’s not really a channel for RPGs themselves. But I really like what the channels creator has done with his content and I always look forward to new content as he releases it. I don’t want to spoil what his channel is, so do yourself a favor and check it out. You won’t be dissapointed.
Film & TV
Red Letter Media
I love the RLM guys. They have the job I wish I did. Nothing would beat sitting around and talking about movies and getting paid to do so.
Robservations
Always with great insights into Film & TV, Rob’s channel is a great place to hear about all different areas of the industry. Plus Rob is a huge Trekkie, so you get lots of Trek sprinkled in with his videos.
Screen Rant
Honestly, I mainly put SR on here just for the Pitch Meeting videos. They are great!
And that’s my list. If you have something on your list of must watch creators, post a comment and let me know that I need to check it out.
Until next time, LLAP!
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