It honestly amazes me that The Game of Nerds has been around for almost a decade. I started The Game of Nerds in my hospital bed while recovering from multiple diagnoses as a way to talk about the television, books, and movies I was going through, like Tic Tacs. I honestly should have seen it coming when we had to switch from Tumblr to WordPress in 2017. Never in my wild dreams did I think we would amass over 150 writers, 12,000 plus articles published, and nearly 2 million fans through our doors each month. But we have, and that’s a testament to our fantastic staff and fans.

The world of media and fandom life has changed so much in the past nine years. Hell, even I’ve changed a lot from the days when I would sit during date nights coding The Game of Nerds while other parents and children slept. Now I’m answering emails and enjoying way more children’s television, thanks to my daughter Marvel. She actually shares her birthday with TGON, too, as if the universe was trying to say, “THESE ARE YOUR BABIES”. The days of Live Tweet parties when new episodes aired are long gone, and midseason hiatuses have now turned into more extended hiatuses as we wait for a new season to arrive. Due to streaming television, we are now spoiled with binge-watching and unlimited show options. Watching the nerd life become mainstream has been a blessing and a curse. The once bullied adult nerds are happy to see that being “a nerd” is now cool and their favorite fandoms expanded from their childhood days. This explosion of nerd life has also brought challenges to The Game of Nerds. There are now too many things for us to cover, and there are plenty of nerd websites out there competing against us.

With new things to cover, it means we are always looking for new writers. I think the most amazing part of The Game of Nerds is seeing the variety of writers who walk through our doors. Everyone comes from a different background and walk of life. We’ve got new writers looking for experience, moms needing an outlet, and professional writers who just want to write about the things they love in the nerd world. No matter what you need, I guarantee The Game of Nerds has something for everyone. Everyone on staff brings something new and interesting to the table. Sometimes it can be an insight into a series that larger media outlets rarely cover. My biggest rule as a founder from day one of The Game of Nerds has been giving the writers the ability to choose their topics each week instead of being ordered to write on something they know little about. I genuinely believe our writers’ passion for the subject is what makes our articles so amazing because they are full of nothing but passion.

A lot of friends and staff have asked me where I see the future of The Game of Nerds, and the honest truth is that I want it to stay humble. I want it to stay true to its roots at the nerd’s table. We are like the hobbit hole you always want to return to after a long adventure in the real world. It’s the company that’s showing my three-year-old that you can be super passionate about “silly things” and that moms can do anything. Frankly, I would love to see The Game of Nerds continue to grow in the leaps and bounds that it already has. This year alone, we’ve renovated our website with a new theme and increased our traffic from last year. I can only imagine what the next year has in store for us. So with that, Happy Birthday, TGON.