Gleemax: For Gamers of All Types

Wizards of the Coast is launching a Web site that aims to bring traditional tabletop gamers and computer gamers together under one roof.

The word “gamer” has become synonymous with computer gaming in the last decade or so, but it can also represent a much broader group, including tabletop strategy gamers, trading card gamers, and role-playing gamers. The company that owns the rights to many of these overshadowed forms of gaming, Wizards of the Coast, announced earlier this week that it will be building a nexus to serve as gathering spot for these types of gamers, and ones that fit the modern definition as well.

Wizards of the Coast has given the site the curious name Gleemax. According to the company, it will be built on the pillars of community, games and editorial content. There will be player profiles, interactive analog and digital community activities, message boards, employee and player blogs, game rankings and reviews, all with the goal of building an online social community.

“Deep down in the DNA of our company we know that the way to sell hobby games is to invest in the community of hobby gamers,” said Randy Buehler, Wizards’ vice president of digital games, in a statement. “We feel that Gleemax will provide a lasting infrastructure that supports not just our own customers, but the entire hardcore gaming culture.”

The site’s first order of business: building an advisory board. The company says they will be doing it through an ongoing “reality TV style” contest in the coming months. Gleemax.com has further specifics about upcoming features and the site’s ongoing roll-out.