Table top games are easily everyone’s favorite. It could be in any type of setting or gathering and board games can never go wrong.
The popularity and fondness for these board games have been so popular that there are now online websites for the same.
Don’t be surprised, if I tell you there are over 140,000 board games online according to Board Game Geek, an online website where you can play different kinds of board games. Welcome to our board games statistics 2023 research.
The boardgame market is on the rise like never before. Now, it is not online tabletop boardgames that are accessible to consumers, the virtual online games are also equally on the rise.
Globally, the Corona Virus pandemic 2019 also enhanced the growth of boardgames.
Now, the choices for the users and, also the developers of the games are now limitless.
And the global boardgames market is expected to grow to a whopping 30.93 billion dollars by 2028.
The existence of board games no doubt starts before written history according to archaeological finds. From stone dice to now from the comfort of our homes on our screens, aren’t we so far into the limitless possibilities in the realm of board games.
No what century or era human beings are, we are all the same when it comes to doing something we love that brings the spark to our lives.
Thus, the existence of games dating back to unwritten history to now makes so much sense isn’t it?
Let us look into some of the amazing stats on board games. One would not believe a simple hobby such as sitting around the table with your friends and family or on your phone screen games could generate millions on a market around the world.
There are countless websites where one can easily find a good boardgame to play online or a good number of shopping apps or offline stores where you can buy boardgames if you are someone who likes owning or hoarding board games.
Chess is considered as the most common board game around the globe. Having said that, according to a survey done for July 2023, chess.com is the most popular and most visited site for Board and Card Games category.
The popularity of this board game is such that it has its own world class tournament also known as Chess World Cup organised by FIDE (Federation International des Echecs) translated as The International Chess Federation.
However, besides chess, there are thousands of other types of boardgames you can pick and choose from.
Nowadays, according to the research done between 2012 and 2018 by the National Institute of Health (nih.gov), parents and schools are opting for games that are helpful in effective in boosting a child’s memory power and also even for older students to help them in their reasoning and mathematic tricks and skills.
Also, tabletop games are the best times for older people who are retired at home or at old age homes where these kinds of game times refreshes their tired minds and helps them to curb their boredom.
Here is very interesting data on how different countries tried traditional boardgame to study its effect on different age groups and the scientific outcomes of the board game on the people.
| Countries | Study Designs | Subjects | Outcomes | Impact |
| Spain | Experimental study | An adult male | Decreased heart rate | Increased Arousal of cortical |
| Iran | Clinical study | Middle age male with panic attacks after PTSD | Clinical course | No panic attacks during or after phone game. |
| Thailand | RCT | Elderly Ska Players | Cognitive function | Had significantly better ska cognitive scores. |
| Japan | Clinical Case Study | More easy consumption of jelly-like desserts. | Frequent chewing for aspiration pneumonia prevention | Encouraged in the study and education of smooth and frequent chewing during eating. |
| The Netherlands | Database analysis on memory-based game | Children aged between 3 and 10 years | Acceptance of food with specific textures | More easy consumption of jelly like desserts. |
| USA | Study on Childrens memory | Kindergarten students | Easy knowledge of numbers 0-100 | Improved identification of numbers, counting skills improved |
| Uganda | Case study | HIV positive patients | Self-Awareness increased | Improved Uptake of STDs information. |
These are a few interesting analyses done across the world on how the controlled setting of games and the time of playing these games have impacted children and adults alike for both health and educational purposes.
Based on the results of studies on board games, it is very much approved that controlled indulgence in these games whether traditional or online can improve cognitive impairment in elderly people as well as behavior illnesses among children and adults.
Cognitive behavioral and psychological impairment are the two most affected and improved areas when it comes to the effectiveness and usefulness of board games.
Due to all these interesting findings on the boardgames usage, it is likely that real and virtual boardgames will become popular in the field of education and health in the future just as much as its popularity is on the rise at present times too.
Due to the popularity of boardgames for different educational, health, and leisure purposes, there is also a rise in the demand of real and virtual boardgames across the world.
The interesting fact about the way the global market for board games works is based on the age group, game type, and geography.
| Age group | 0-2 years, 2-5 years, 5-12 years, Above 12 years |
| Game type | Chess, Puzzles, Scrabbles, Reasoning Others |
| Geography | North America, South America, Africa and Middle East, Europe, Asia Pacific |
If we look into the reason why North American markets are at a higher rate of increase in the global market for board games is mainly because of countries like America and Canada. According to the research done by the Entertainment Software Association, about 45% Canadians mainly in the age group of 13 to 17 play board and card games as of 2008. Also, the adult age groups have the habit of playing poker and board games in bars and clubs as they hang out during the weekends and even on regular weekdays. Thus, these are the reasons why there is a huge revenue is generated from these regions.
Followed by Asia Pacific region, mainly India and South Korea where for example in India the National Government has full support towards the toys and games market. China too has its own revenue on boardgames rising annually. Thus, these figures from Asian Pacific regions show that it has the largest potential of the board games market globally.
As of 2022, the global market for board games was estimated at 18.93 billion USD. The market is expected to reach up to 39.99 billion by 2028.
To understand the growth report of the global market, here is a report to help the understanding of the market easier.
| Report Characteristics | Details |
| Market size (2022) | 18.93 billion USD |
| Market size (2028) | 39.99 billion USD |
| Forecast year | 2023 – 2028 |
| Base year | 2022 |
| CAGR (2022-2028) | 13.27 % |
| Market segments | Game type, geography, theme, distribution channels. |
Appropriate analysis has been done on the vendors to help consumers understand the market environment better. Here are some of the leading vendors in the global board games market.
With the peaking of tabletop games in the 80s, this scene is coming back again with a boom across the world.
With what started as a simple pass time leisure, tabletop games are becoming so famous that there are now tabletop game tournaments here and there in every part of the different countries in the world.
There is also rise in the café and bars introducing tabletop game options for their customers. This tradition is competing with the already existing and famous cyber gaming cafes.
That includes New Zealand in the fast-growing scene of tabletop game leagues and tournaments. New Zealand hosts KiwiRPG week. This is a week long hosting of table top games. It runs from May 1-8 and people come far and near to participate and enjoy tabletop games.
The primary goal of KiwiRPG is to bring together RPG podcasters, game developers, and fans. This is to showcase the game scene which is as rich as any communal culture celebrated in the world. To showcase the tabletop game culture globally more widely.
The internet is definitely an obvious platform for tabletop gaming. The internet makes it easier for game developers and users easy access into each other’s world.
In New Zealand, through the internet, the Crowdfunding campaign for tabletop games apparently made up over a third of the revenue previously made, that is the revenue of 2021.
The creator of this KiwiRPG said that almost 80% of the contribution is done by the oversee clients and thus their primary goals are being met. Bringing the world together like any other enjoyable things bring it together such as music and food. In the same way, tabletop games, traditional or online should be bringing the world together while enjoying the same.
Here is a data survey done by the 39 New Zealand Game Developers Association for the financial year ending of March 31, 2019.
Along with the rising board games popularity, the Kiwis are upping their take and initiative on making leisure into the global market and global interest.
Thus, this is making interactive media the fasting growing tech sector and creative industry in New Zealand.
The old family tradition of playing board games over the holidays is back but this time with a twist in New Zealand.
The average board game hoarders own at least 70 board games literally. The people are engaging in these games more than just leisure or childhood hobby.
The emerging market scene in the café and bars hosting board games as part of their service for their customers and clients is attracting more and more adults into the tradition and enjoyment of playing and indulging in the different kinds of board games.
An online retailer, Mighty Ape reported an increase leap of about 25 percent in the board games.
About 15,000 new board game players are also on the rise yearly.
Another retailer, Trademe saw 10 percent of increase in the purchase of board games than the previous year. This was a report done in January of the year 2018.
According to the website Board Game Geek, a renowned board game database website, here are some commonly loved board games across the world:
Board games scene as we have been discussing earlier is on the rapid rise across the world and we have specifically been focusing on the Kiwi market and community scene with regard to the board games.
Here are some of the favorite websites where players can actually rent games or play them online:
Also, Toyworld and Whitcoulls are nationwide favorite stores.
An estimated 7.55% of Compound Annual Growth Rate is to grow between the years of 2023 and 2027.
And the board game’s global market size is expected to increase by 3423.69 million US dollars. All of these estimated growths in the global board games market will also be dependant on other factors like the content quality of the games, the success of the crowdfunding campaigns, the growing numbers of board game stations such as cafes and bars nationally and internationally in all geographical segments, be it North America, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific regions, Europe.
The constant improvement in the game content is one of the key driving factors in the growth of the global market in board games.
The developers and game designers are moving towards building and creating games which will allow the players to engage in a non-superficial manner and a longer game time keeping the players engaged in the game and with others players throughout the day.
We see the changes made in the classics such as Scrabbles, Monopoly, and Clue have undergone some changes in order to meet the growing demands of the players and the fast-evolving alteration in the board game market globally.
Thus, the rapid updates and development in the game contents is the major expectancy to drive the growth of the global market.
With the technological touch in any field, even the board game realm has been rapidly growing in digitization of the games.
The developers are opting to incorporate mobile apps in their game building in order to leverage their revenue.
One of the main reasons why they feel opting for incorporating mobile application is because they see the rise of users opting for online board games too.
One cannot say whether traditional board games are better than online board games and vice versa but definitely, there are some easy benefits to opting for online and virtual board games over traditional tabletop board games.
One huge advantage however in opting for online board games over the traditional tabletop ones is that it allows you to play with your friends or users from anywhere in the world regardless of time, location and other circumstances that hamper the game play when it comes to the traditional tabletop ones.
The digitization of board games is also another booster to the growth of the global board games market. What do you have to say about that?
Also, which one would you prefer? A traditional table top or an online board game?
The increase in the other gaming platform is a major threat towards the board based games.
The wide range of mobile games on the app stores that are easily accessible to the users along with a wide selection of game types and contents is a threat to the board game market globally.
Besides mobile app games, other gaming platforms like PC and console games are also another big threat to the global market of board games.
The tabletop board game segment is the fastest-growing segment in the market of board games globally.
The old-fashioned games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, and even the most loved sports like cricket and football are played based on board games. The crowd’s favourite tabletop games include carrom, checkers and even The Settlers of Catan.
In the year 2017, tabletop board games were estimated with a value at 3653.37 million US dollars and it continued to grow till 2021 and still estimated more growth in the coming years.
The demand for tabletop board games is on the rise due to the opening of cafes and bars that allow customers to play cutting-edge board games at a very reasonable fee.
This has easily given a boost in the rise of the demands of tabletop board games thus increasing the rise in the revenue value of this particular segment in the board game market globally.
Although the majority of revenue contribution is done mainly by the US and Canada and we see growth in the APAC regions.
It is estimated that Europe contributes 32% of the market globally in the board games market.
The existence of board game cafes in major European countries like the UK and Denmark contributes to the growing revenue in the global market of board games when it comes to region/geographical segment.
What seems like it will only remain as our childhood hobby or a lazy pastime indulgence. Yet, board games came with a lot of other things to deliver to the world.
Board games have many scientifically proven medical and educational positive effects on patients and students ranging from any age group.
Board games also play a good factor in bringing nations together.
In this article, we have interestingly discovered the market stats of board games and even brought a big personal revelation of one particular nation, New Zealand.
Thus, proving the fact that it does bring the world together.
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