{ "id": "ep0hr9dxky", "slug": "shut-up-and-sit-down", "title": "Shut Up & Sit Down", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Shut Up & Sit Down is a British board game review website and YouTube channel combining game criticism with comedy, founded in 2011 by Paul Dean and Quintin Smith.", "snippet": "Shut Up & Sit Down is a British board game review website and YouTube channel combining game criticism with comedy, founded in 2011 by Paul Dean and Quintin Smith.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016", "markdown": "# Shut Up & Sit Down\n\n**Shut Up & Sit Down** (SU&SD) is a British board game review website and YouTube channel that combines game criticism with comedy, founded in 2011 by Paul Dean and Quintin Smith and later joined by a podcast.[1](https://www.ecfriedman.com/post/shut-up-and-sit-down-amazing-star-wars-adventures-2014) Its reviews pair what the site itself calls trustworthy analysis with surreal visual gags, and more than one board game has sold out or seen significant sales boosts after a positive review on the channel.[1](https://www.ecfriedman.com/post/shut-up-and-sit-down-amazing-star-wars-adventures-2014) A 2024 quantitative study concluded that the \"Shut Up & Sit Down effect\" on BoardGameGeek ratings is real, attributing 20% to 60% of new ratings for a reviewed game to the video in the weeks after publication.[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Founded | 2011 as a YouTube channel by Paul Dean and Quintin Smith; a podcast followed in 2012[1](https://www.ecfriedman.com/post/shut-up-and-sit-down-amazing-star-wars-adventures-2014) |\n| First video | July 8, 2011, per TheTVDB listing; average episode runtime 16 minutes[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/shut-up-and-sit-down) |\n| Channel size | 462,000 subscribers and 115,583,375 total views across 725 videos (October 2026)[4](https://www.trari.com/en/c/shutupandsitdown/) |\n| Hosts | Quintin Smith, Paul Dean, Matt Lees, Tom Brewster, and Ava Foxfort[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/shut-up-and-sit-down) |\n| Measured influence | 20% to 60% of new BoardGameGeek ratings in the weeks after a review, up to 90% in extreme cases[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/) |\n| Funding | Almost entirely audience-supported: 3,950 Patreon members, 1,328 of them paid; no adverts and no payment for reviews[5](https://www.patreon.com/shutupandsitdown/about?l=en-GB) |\n| Publishing | The 'SU&SD Presents' line with publisher Play to Z, announced December 2024[6](https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/12/20/shut-up-sit-down-continues-push-into-game-development-through-tie-up-with-publisher-play-to-z-says-deal-will-not-compromise-on-our-core-values/) |\n\n## Format and hosts\n\nThe show reviews modern board games in a comedic, tightly scripted style. TheTVDB catalogs it as a humorous board game review show in the comedy genre, first aired on YouTube on July 8, 2011, with an average episode runtime of 16 minutes.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/shut-up-and-sit-down) According to how the site describes itself, it takes two things seriously: silliness, and producing entertaining criticism that also supplies viewers with enough context to decide for themselves which games suit them.[5](https://www.patreon.com/shutupandsitdown/about?l=en-GB)\n\nThe on-screen cast listed by TheTVDB comprises Quintin Smith, Paul Dean, Matt Lees, Tom Brewster, and Ava Foxfort, each appearing as themselves.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/shut-up-and-sit-down) Tom Brewster holds the title of editor in chief.[6](https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/12/20/shut-up-sit-down-continues-push-into-game-development-through-tie-up-with-publisher-play-to-z-says-deal-will-not-compromise-on-our-core-values/) The production style is heavier than the typical talking-head review: one commentary on board game media describes SU&SD's weekly video as a tightly scripted affair with performances, jokes, multiple scenes from multiple angles, and continuity, all of which takes considerably more time to make than a review of equal length shot in one take.[7](https://www.meeplelikeus.co.uk/inevitability-favourable-board-game-coverage/)\n\nAlongside the videos, the team produces a weekly podcast, which Apple Podcasts lists as active from 2017 to 2026 with 322 episodes and a 4.9 rating from about 1,600 listeners.[8](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shut-up-sit-down/id1260504024) The BoardGameGeek podcast page features Matt Lees, Tom Brewster, Quintin Smith, and Ava Foxfort.[9](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepodcast/25985/shut-up-and-sit-down)\n\n## History\n\nThe channel began in 2011 when Paul Dean and Quintin Smith, who had worked in the video game industry, decided that not enough people were talking about board games; a podcast joined it in 2012.[1](https://www.ecfriedman.com/post/shut-up-and-sit-down-amazing-star-wars-adventures-2014) Smith and Dean were later joined by Matt Lees and Brendan Caldwell, and the site became one of the internet's prominent destinations for board game fans.[10](https://www.fandom.com/articles/interview-matt-lees-shut-sit) The team has described its origin as a group of professional video game journalists who realized, with some shock, that modern board games are remarkable and hardly anyone was covering them.[11](https://blog.ropecon.fi/goh-interviews-2023/)\n\nThe channel has run continuously since; TheTVDB records yearly seasons from 2011 through 2026, with 48 episodes in 2016 as the busiest listed year and 9 episodes in the partial 2026 season.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/shut-up-and-sit-down) A recurring flagship project is the \"Top 100 Board Games of all Time\" series, in which hosts Matt and Tom attempt to rank the best board games.[12](https://www.boardgamevideo.com/channels/UCyRhIGDUKdIOw07Pd8pHxCw-shut-up-and-sit-down/lists/all-time)\n\n## The \"Shut Up & Sit Down effect\"\n\nAnecdotes about the channel's commercial power have a quantitative counterpart. In March 2024, Markus Shepherd of Recommend.Games, a board game data science project, published a synthetic control analysis of the channel's impact on BoardGameGeek ratings.[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/) The method builds a counterfactual: it samples 300 games similar to the reviewed game in pre-video rating counts, finds a weighted combination of them that tracks the reviewed game's ratings up to the video's release, and uses that combination to estimate what would have happened without the review.[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/)\n\nFor the case study of John Company, a game by designer [Cole Wehrle](https://www.edgepedia.org/cole-wehrle) that already had substantial attention, the fitted synthetic control weighted games including [Libertalia](https://www.edgepedia.org/libertalia): Winds of Galecrest (30.7%), Tribes of the Wind (20.9%), and Kingdomino Origins (18.3%).[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/) Across the games studied, 20% to 60% of new ratings in the weeks after a SU&SD video could be attributed to the review, rising to 90% in extreme cases, and for some games interest increased tenfold.[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/) Shepherd noted the caveat that another intervention coinciding with the video, such as a crowdfunding campaign or another influencer's mention, cannot be excluded.[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/) The John Company review itself was a 48-minute video essay containing both praise for the design and caveats about who the game suits.[2](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/)\n\nThe channel's reach also shows in its scale relative to peers. BoardGameVideo lists it with 462,000 subscribers, ahead of The Dice Tower at 363,000, with 253 reviews in its catalog covering 223 games at a median length of 15 minutes.[13](https://www.boardgamevideo.com/channels/reviews?sort=subscribers) In December 2024, BoardGameWire described its subscriber base of 439,000 as almost as large as The Dice Tower and Rahdo combined.[6](https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/12/20/shut-up-sit-down-continues-push-into-game-development-through-tie-up-with-publisher-play-to-z-says-deal-will-not-compromise-on-our-core-values/) Its reviews have entered academic and industry writing as well: an IEEE paper on board game design cites SU&SD's praise of Pandemic Legacy for its constant surprises and the way decisions in one session affect later ones.[14](https://ieee-cog.org/2021/assets/papers/paper_197.pdf)\n\n## Funding and game publishing\n\nThe operation is almost entirely audience-supported. Its Patreon page states that the website carries no adverts, that the team does not accept money in exchange for reviews or [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) kickbacks, and that supporters can also give through the site's own Braintree and PayPal system, which keeps an additional 10% of the donation for the team.[5](https://www.patreon.com/shutupandsitdown/about?l=en-GB) The Patreon counts 3,950 members, of whom 1,328 are paid.[5](https://www.patreon.com/shutupandsitdown/about?l=en-GB)\n\nIn December 2024 the team moved further into game development through a financial tie-up with publisher Play to Z, founded by former Z-Man Games founder Zev Shlasinger. Under the 'SU&SD Presents' line, the team selects and streamlines out-of-print designs and consults on removing plastic bloat and on theme and art direction, with plans for one title per year and a 2025 launch of two games: Animal Rescue Team, a new design by [Pandemic](https://www.edgepedia.org/pandemic-board-game) designer Matt Leacock with Lisa Towell, and a remaster of Paolo Mori's Dogs of War.[6](https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/12/20/shut-up-sit-down-continues-push-into-game-development-through-tie-up-with-publisher-play-to-z-says-deal-will-not-compromise-on-our-core-values/) Editor in chief Tom Brewster acknowledged that the deal would mean \"additional caveats, conversations, and potential complications\" for the review work, and the trade press noted that new disclosure guidance asks reviewers to clearly disclose free products or financial backing from a company.[6](https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/12/20/shut-up-sit-down-continues-push-into-game-development-through-tie-up-with-publisher-play-to-z-says-deal-will-not-compromise-on-our-core-values/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Shut Up and Sit Down, \"Amazing Star Wars Adventures\" (2014), E.C. Friedman](https://www.ecfriedman.com/post/shut-up-and-sit-down-amazing-star-wars-adventures-2014)\n2. [Measuring the Shut Up & Sit Down effect, Markus Shepherd, Analysis Paralysis (March 17, 2024)](https://analysisparalysis.games/posts/susd-effect/)\n3. [Shut Up & Sit Down, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/shut-up-and-sit-down)\n4. [Shut Up & Sit Down channel statistics, Trari](https://www.trari.com/en/c/shutupandsitdown/)\n5. [Shut Up & Sit Down | About, Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/shutupandsitdown/about?l=en-GB)\n6. [Shut Up & Sit Down continues push into game development through tie-up with publisher Play to Z, BoardGameWire (December 20, 2024)](https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/12/20/shut-up-sit-down-continues-push-into-game-development-through-tie-up-with-publisher-play-to-z-says-deal-will-not-compromise-on-our-core-values/)\n7. [The Inevitability of Favourable Board Game Coverage, Meeple Like Us](https://www.meeplelikeus.co.uk/inevitability-favourable-board-game-coverage/)\n8. [Shut Up & Sit Down, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shut-up-sit-down/id1260504024)\n9. [Shut Up & Sit Down podcast, BoardGameGeek](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepodcast/25985/shut-up-and-sit-down)\n10. [An Interview with Matt Lees of Shut Up & Sit Down, Fandom](https://www.fandom.com/articles/interview-matt-lees-shut-sit)\n11. [GOH interviews 2023, Ropenomicon (Ropecon blog)](https://blog.ropecon.fi/goh-interviews-2023/)\n12. [Shut Up & Sit Down - The Top 100 Board Games of all Time, BoardGameVideo](https://www.boardgamevideo.com/channels/UCyRhIGDUKdIOw07Pd8pHxCw-shut-up-and-sit-down/lists/all-time)\n13. [Board game review channels, BoardGameVideo](https://www.boardgamevideo.com/channels/reviews?sort=subscribers)\n14. [IEEE CoG 2021 paper on Pandemic Legacy and legacy game design](https://ieee-cog.org/2021/assets/papers/paper_197.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 1999 to 2016*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Shut Up & Sit Down\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Shut Up & Sit Down](https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down](https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Shut Up & Sit Down\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/shut-up-and-sit-down. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Shut Up & Sit Down is a British board game review website and YouTube channel combining game criticism with comedy, founded in 2011 by Paul Dean and Quintin Smith." }