The Last Gameboard Closes $4 Million Seed Financing led by TheVentureCity with Participation from SOSV and Riot Games 

 DENVER, May 11, 2021 -- The Last Gameboard, Inc., the company building the world's first tabletop gaming platform that blends physical objects with digital gameplay to enhance social interactions and build community, today announced the closing of its seed financing round led by TheVentureCity with participation from SOSV, Riot Games, Conscience VC, Corner3 VC, and more. This round, in addition to previous funding, brings The Last Gameboard’s total funding to $4.8 million. 

Since launching the company in January 2019, The Last Gameboard has been dedicated to delivering a first-of-its-kind, purpose built, portable, 3D touch product to tabletop & RPG game enthusiasts. The beautifully crafted, 16" x 16" square design will give players unlimited 3D touch, network play, and takes each game night into a whole new dimension. The Gameboard will pair with a companion app for iOS, Android, and browsers, and will support interaction with physical objects like game pieces, cards, and meeples. 

“Growing up, tabletop games were my portal into a new dimension of gaming where social interaction, imagination, and story-driven action provided immersion no other platform could match,” said Shail Mehta, Cofounder and CEO of The Last Gameboard.”  

The Last Gameboard, which will offer an on-demand platform for tabletop games, has formalized partnerships with a growing number of digital and tabletop game developers, including Asmodee Digital, Dire Wolf Digital, Nomad Games, Auroch Digital, Restoration Games, the iconic Steve Jackson Games, Knights of Unity, Skyship Studios, EncounterPlus, PlannarAlly, Sugar Gamers, Zu Studios, Mellow Mission, and Cray Cray Games, with more on the way. Digital & analog Tabletop Games did $22Billion in revenue in 2020. 

At launch later this year, Gameboard will offer individual game ownership as well as unlimited access pay-per-month subscription models. In addition to traditional board, card, and dice games, Gameboard will support tabletop mainstays including role-playing games, paper & pencil games, and strategy games. Gameboard’s platform is open to game designers, publishers and developers who build in Unity, Unreal, Web or Native Android that want to bring their games to life and reach new fans in an enhanced play experience. 

“The Last Gameboard is reinventing the way we play board games thanks to its patented 3D touch technology; it recognizes real hand movements and it has the potential to create a whole new category. But it was not the technology that built our conviction to invest and lead this round, it was actually the founder/market fit we saw in Shail, Tim and their crew,” said Andres Areitio of TheVentureCity. “Beyond their passion for gameboards, they have very thorough understanding on what is the right go-to-market strategy and, more importantly, when is the right timing.” 

“Last Gameboard’s platform taps into what has made tabletop games such a lasting part of our culture,” said Garrett Winther, partner at SOSV “They are the first to effectively tie collaborative physical and digital gameplay together while not losing the community, storytelling or competitive foundations that we all look for in gaming.” 

"We love investing in products we’re dying to use and I can't wait to bring Gameboard into my campaign,” said Brendan Mulligan, Head of Corporate Development at Riot Games. “I know first hand that the tabletop market has one of the largest gaps between the passion of players and the ecosystem of digital products made for them. The Gameboard party has arrived just in time with a critical save to provide a gaming experience that fits into existing campaigns, rewards existing investment in miniatures, and truly elevates immersion. We were also inspired by Shail’s personal story and we are proud to support Gameboard as part of our Underrepresented Founders initiative.” 

The Last Gameboard plans to begin distributing Gameboards to the premium tier of backers July 2021 with wider distribution to follow. To order a Gameboard, learn about partnering with The Last Gameboard as a developer, or learn more about the company visit lastgameboard.com. 

About The Last Gameboard 

The Last Gameboard, Inc. is building the world's first tabletop gaming platform that blends physical objects with digital gameplay to enhance social interactions and build community. Its debut product is a beautifully crafted, 16" x 16" square tabletop game board that will give players unlimited 3D touch, network play, and take each game night into a whole new dimension. The Gameboard will pair with a companion app for iOS, Android, and all browsers, and will support interaction with physical objects like game pieces, cards, and meeples. Founded by Shail Mehta in January 2019 and led by a team of tabletop game enthusiasts and industry veterans, The Last Gameboard is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. 

For further information on Gameboard or its partners, please contact Lee Allentuck at lee@lastgameboard.com

TheVentureCity 

TheVentureCity are operator-led investors that support from first ticket to first round. Our mission is to make the global entrepreneurial ecosystem more diverse and with access to capital.

About SOSV 

SOSV is a venture capital firm with over $800 million AUM operating global accelerator programs: HAX (Shenzhen/San Francisco) for hardware, IndieBio (San Francisco/NYC) for life sciences, Chinaccelerator (Shanghai) and MOX (Taipei) for cross-border internet, and dlab (NYC) for blockchain technology. SOSV invests in over 150 companies per year and its two-decade track record puts it in the top 10% of VC funds in the world. 

About Riot Games 

Riot Games was founded in 2006 to develop, publish, and support the most player-focused games in the world. In 2009, Riot released its debut title, League of Legends, to worldwide acclaim. As League enters its second decade, Riot continues to evolve the game while delivering new experiences to players with Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, VALORANT, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and multiple work-in-progress titles. 

Conscience VC 

Conscience is an early-stage fund pioneering the intersection of consumer and science. We invest into technical founders building pre-seed & seed stage consumer companies embracing deep tech & data.