Board games or as they’re now called, Tabletop Games are big business and it’s all thanks to the internet! The global board games market is worth over 3.2 billion this year and is expected to grow to over 8 billion by 2021. And we can thank the internet for that!
Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: TNG) hosts a very popular show called Tabletop on Youtube where he has celebrities join him for a new board game each week. The show’s so popular that game stores experience what’s called the Tabletop Effect and sell out of whatever game they’ve played.
Websites like Board Game Geek, The Dice Tower and Shut Up and Sit Down review board games and give recommendations for new ones, while podcasts are a gold mine of information -So Very Wrong About Games, This Game is Broken and The Secret Cabal are just a few worth checking out.
If you think you would like to get back into board games, two great “gateway” games are Carcassone and Settlers of Catan.
Locally, Art Happening Bridgewater was trying to get a Tabletop games night once a month, but I’m not sure of it’s status at this point. There may be an informal board game night going on in your community so check the local bulletin boards!
