Millennials are driving the board games revival
Games benefit from a ‘growing desire to interact and socialise away from screens,’ say publishers
Board games are returning as a mainstream entertainment among families, kids, and even childless millennials looking for a new way to socialise with friends.
The board game boom has not only led to the creation of new games but also to cafes and bars focused on gaming.
Global sales of games and puzzles have grown from US$9.3 billion in 2013 to US$9.6 billion in 2016, according to Euromonitor International, with expected year-on-year growth of more than 1 per cent this year.
The interest in board games is at a significantly higher level now than it was five years ago, says Peter Wooding, owner of independent board game retailer Orcs Nest in central London.
“The renaissance of board games interest started around five or more years ago with the big increase in interest in Euro Style games. In the past two or so years it seems to have hit a plateau and the market has become more or less saturated, with some products being very good and innovative, but a lot of not so good items that are just really bandwagon jumpers,” Wooding told CNBC via email.
Euro Style games are a genre of board game which generally emphasise strategy and co-operation over conflict and luck, and often revolve around economic themes.