Things have changed

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Two years ago, I made a video saying I was struggling to keep the channel afloat, and the response was amazing. So many of you from the actual community stepped into hell. Thank you to everyone who pledged money back then. It's thanks to you that all of these videos exist, and that anyone can watch them for free.

[00:00:17]In that time, I've recommended over 250 games, made 400 jokes, and 500 analogies, which is like if Mozart made 500 analogies. But 2 years on, the Patreon numbers have dwindled and we're back on rocky ground. The Patreon is now making £1,000 less per month than it was back then. And those money worries are getting in the way of me making videos.

[00:00:40]To cover the deficit, we've been relying on sponsored ads, which we can't always get. And as soon as those companies see we're getting less views, they want to pay us less or not work with us at all, which is killing my creativity because it's forcing me to make the same types of videos because I need them to perform. Last year, I started a new series, Shelfhelp. And people in the comments seem to really like them, but because they're getting half the views of a top 10 video, it impacts every sponsorship deal for the next 10 videos.

[00:01:09]We currently can't afford to keep making them. So, I'm asking for your help today to keep Actual going for another year by pledging your support on Patreon. If you get excited when a new Actal video pops up, then please donate so that they can keep popping up for everyone. But what do you get in return? Well, if you give $5 a month, you become a friend of Actual. You'll get a monthly newsletter where I tell you about games that I don't talk about on the channel and ward you off the terrible ones. And you can join our Discord community where I've gotten to know everyone by their awful usernames and even have minor beef with some of them because they beat me in music league. Darius, sorry, private joke. You have to pay $5 to get it. But if you want more videos, pledge at the benefactor level for $10 a month up until now. any extra videos were exclusive to patrons, but I feel like it would be better to have more videos for everyone, and there's currently a window of opportunity for that to happen. My wife, Serena, got made redundant earlier this year, and she's been working on the channel doing all the things that slow me down, like shooting B-roll, when I could be writing or filming. If enough benefactors sign up, I can get her help, and you will be gifting more videos to everyone. If we can get 200 new benefactors, we will launch a new side channel where we can continue to experiment with videos like ShelfHelp without having to worry about view counts and algorithms. As a thank you, your name will be in the credits of every video, and you get to vote on which games I review in the newsletter.

[00:02:38]Or if you pledge at the VIP tier, then you can play a live game session with me and other VIPs over Zoom. At any pledge level, there's a 10% discount if you pay for the year all at once. Thank you to anyone who does that. That kind of support helps us plan ahead so we can invest in trips to conventions and filming equipment. Over the years, I found a niche for making board game content that isn't obsessed with the next big thing where I can share my advice on overconumption and encourage a mindful approach to board gaming. And Actual is an entry point into the hobby for new gamers. My love letter to modern board games, 10 reasons board games are better now, hit a million views this year. I want to tell the whole world about our hobby, and I try to do that by being approachable and entertaining.

[00:03:24]Plus, I'm one of the few YouTubers that don't take sponsorship from board game companies. I think it's really important to maintain that independence so that you can trust what I'm saying about a game. I love my work, but I hate making videos like this. It's why it's taken me 2 years. The last time I got so many angry comments, it was miserable. But I know that to reach the people who care, I also have to speak to the people who don't. And to those of you who I offend by asking for money, I'm sorry. As way of an apology, please watch all of my videos for free. Before I go, I do want to take some responsibility. I don't think my videos over the last two years have been consistently good enough.

[00:04:02]There are reasons for that. In fact, you can see on my video page exactly when I moved out of London and did an unscripted top 100 series to cover the gaps. And when I moved house and studio again earlier this year, I released a compilation video and two tier ranking videos. I can't take paid holidays, so I had to find creative ways to fill the gaps. But now we're settled. My daughter is sleeping mostly, and I'm back to making proper actual videos again. The top 10 of last year, the Kax Cube collection. That's the level you can expect. So, if you want to see more like that, you know what to do. Thank you for 11 years of watching, liking, subscribing, and supporting. It's the best job in the world. I hope you'll renew my contract for next