A new board game cafe has opened in Teddington as the industry witnesses an “unprecedented era of growth”, according to market research.
OCAD University in Canada predicted a doubling of growth from 2023 to 2024, reflecting unexpected boom in the industry.
Since Covid, there have been consistent reports of the growing popularity of games, from old classics returning to the table, to thriving indie board game companies and a growing audience for role-playing games (RPGs).
Head of Brand at British tabletop game company Modiphius Entertainment, Samantha Webb said: “In a society now where we’re more on our phones, and we’ve been, my generation in particular, living in digital spaces for ages.
“Any kind of analog game, board games, tabletop role playing games, provide an experience nothing like that.”
“What it provides is the fun and joy of playing games combined with that kind of shared experience of, being in the same place and playing the same thing.”
Webb explained that she had seen a surge in popularity before Covid, in 2015/16.
She talked about Critical Role, a show which started in 2012 where a group of American voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons with the audience invited to watch.
She described it as an ‘active play’ which has introduced a younger generation to RPGs.
Previously, even if a person was curious about this genre of tabletop games, they might not have been able to play unless they were introduced to it by a friend.
Webb attributed the Covid boom to virtual board games via zoom calls and a lack of other things to do.
She said: “I think a lot of those kind of lapsed dungeon masters or Game Masters had time to put together another game and so groups could log in onto a zoom call or something like that.
“I put together a game with friends, and it was another way to see people.”
Tabletop games are not just increasing in number in people’s homes but on high streets too.
A new boardgame café, Drinks and Dice, opened last week in Teddington, south-west London.
Founder Robbin Kerremans said: “I have always loved board game cafes, and when we moved to the area, me and my partner, there wasn’t one around.
“We saw this place was up for sale, and I thought it would make a great board game cafe. So that’s what I did. I went for it, and here it is.”
So far, he says, the cafe has been popular with a real mix of people, from hardcore gamers playing complex games to families, friends and curious older people.
They currently have 80 games but would like to expand the collection to over 100.
He sees board games as a special way of bringing people together in person.
Kerremans particularly likes the Forbidden Island series, which are collaborative games where everyone works together to win.
Web also likes collaborative games; she enjoys the free-form game Fiasco and says she likes to make up crazy Coen Brother-style stories with theatre friends in two acts, with a tea break in the middle, after which everything can go wrong.
There have been stereotypes about who plays board games, from traditional chess to RPGs, suggestions they largely attract a straight, white, nerdy, male audience.
Webb said people from diverse backgrounds have always been involved in the hobby and talked about the growing number of people taking part, especially in the last 15 years.
She said: “Now there’s such a rich tapestry of different games and stories that are being explored, particularly in what we’d call the Indie space, where people are self-publishing games. It’s kind of a cottage industry.”
“The hobby is incredibly welcoming to LGBTQIA+ people as well, RPGs are a safe, welcoming space that allow people to explore their identities and orientations or just be loud and proud.”
Actor Callum Pardoe plays Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), the game, many credit with founding the RPG genre.
He said: “Board games were always kind of a bit of a mainstay in the house, when I was growing up with my family, we never tended to play many very good ones.
“It was a lot of monopoly and other such things of its ilk, which I just, truth be told, can’t stand.
“It’s only now recently, having gone to board game nights with friends of mine that I’ve realized there are actually more board games out there that are significantly better.”
Pardoe started playing D&D in 2017 with people from his university improv group, who became close friends.
He explained he was interested in D&D, and when a friend suggested the idea, he was excited to join, and their campaign within the game lasted about four or five years.
He cited hit Netflix series Stranger Things, which featured the game, as having sparked his curiosity.
Pardoe said: “It’s a bit like theatre, I think that’s why I like it as an actor, because it’s so alive, and anything can happen.
“When you play a video game, and sure, you can play one of the biggest role playing games out there, but there is still a finite number of choices to make, in tabletop D&D, of course, there’s a framework that the Dungeon Master sets out.
“But, within that framework, your options are pretty much limited only by your imagination, which I think is really, really great.”
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