"The Board Game Boom" Documentary 

The thing about games being social lubricant is spot on. I openly admit that I'm an introvert and have a really hard time interacting with new people, especially crowds. One day at my old school some people who I didn't know were playing a game and needed one more player. Even though I'd never played the game before and didn't even know any of these people's names, within two minutes it felt like I had known them for years. It was easily the best gaming experience I've ever had.

Modern board games are the best thing to happen to my life. They've brought me out of my shell completely, completing the task that Magic started. They've inspired me to try making my own ideas real. They've brought me a lot of fun and some really interesting people that I enjoy playing with. I think the future is looking pretty good for board games.

I remember playing Monopoly, Triopoly, Sorry, Uno, and Risk with my friends and siblings growing up. I remember the arguments and the laughs, what great memories! It is amazing to see how much tabletop games have changed over the years :-)

One interesting thing to note is that the video game industry has shifted away from the couch co-op or versus. It used to be standard for a lot of games to have 2-4 player modes where the screen is split and a few friends could sit on a couch and play the same game with or against each other at the same time. Now fewer and fewer video games are incorporating that. Now if you want to do that for the most part each player needs to bring their own tv, gaming console, and have an account with the game, and their own online access account if you want to play with your friend next to you.

I found out about modern board games only a year ago. They're a great school resource and our students love them. Most people, incl teachers, still have no idea how wonderful, educational and diverse these games are - that is why I believe game publishers should invest more in marketing campaigns.

Like many people, Monopoly was my first game. Then, I was told about Risk. I thought board games couldn't get better. In a Target nearby, I saw Pandemic. Bought it, loved it. Same Target, Axis and Allies 1941, and this is where my collection is close to exploding. I saw Ikusa, wanted it but I didn't know where to get it. Did some research, found 2 board game stores, one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. I bought Ikusa and from there, I now have 40+ games.

@6:10 she's speaking the truth. I remember growing up as single child not having a dad around. I'd always hear other kids talking about family time and how their parents would play anything with them. I would always dream of having that experience. I've always loved board games even though I never had any of my own when I was little. When board games became popular again and are part of people's lives more than ever due to how much board games evolved, my inner child became excited again. Then I had met a woman and she gave me my daughter. As a father now, sometimes I tear up a bit because I can't imagine a parent not wanting to be there for their child and not wanting to play with them no matter what just to see them smile or giggle, even if that smile or giggle lasts 5 seconds. It's knowing that you were the reason, you put that smile there or made them giggle. My daughter is only 4 but she has her own board game collection and she enjoys playing and I'm happy that I can give her something my father never gave me. My wife and I together as a married couple can give our daughter something I never had, a complete family that is not divorced. I can say my board game collection is a descent size and I can't wait til my daughter is a bit older so she can experience other and better games. My wife is a sibling of 5. It makes me happy that her siblings want to play games and that I was the one that introduced them into board games. Now on birthdays and holidays we come together and just play. No phones, no TV, no radio, and no distractions. We just have fun. I wish this documentary was longer. Great video.

One of my favorite board games as a kid was Electronic Talking Battleship (1995), my dad and I would play this game quite often, only thing was I was good at the game and my dad could never beat me. Now I'm 34 years old and my buddies & I play board games such as Ghostbusters: The board game (1&2), Castle Panic, Magic: The gathering, D&D, Jenga Boom! Western Legends, Trivial Pursuit, Sorry, Munchkin, UNO, etc.

The industry will grow as long as people are enjoying playing WITH one another, (not just playing AGAINST each other).

When I was a kid my older brother made board games out of paper and clay dice. Then we migrated to video games, I'm 30 now and I'm starting my own board game collection :-)

So here's my board game story: First games I ever played were Monopoly and Mouse Trap when I was about 10 years old then over my teenage years games like Scrabble and Rummikub. The thing was, these games were only brought out rarely, and I was usually much happier playing video games instead. I played a little Magic and Pokémon in secondary school but nothing serious. Fast forward to 2017 and I received the Dark Souls boardgame from Kickstarter. I love the game series and the boardgame demo looked cool, so I took the plunge. This "kickstarted" (pun intended) something new inside me. It was far, far more enjoyable than I had anticipated. Playing with either my brother or buddy, discussing tactics, potential builds, laying down the probability of success on each dice roll and having backup strategies if the percentage was too low, ending a session at the halfway point, keeping track of all our loot and coming back to it the next week, raring to go... I had no idea board games could be like this. After playing that for a while I started looking into other tabletop games, found out about The Dice Tower, Shut Up And Sit Down, Board Game Geek etc. I had no idea there was such a breadth of games out there. I bought Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective and my buddy and I played through the first case while his wife and kid were in bed, whispering theories and passing notes to solve it. I expanded to new genres and experiences, my love for tabletop growing, and even challenging my love for video games. I eventually bought: Clank in Space Arkham Horror: The Card Game Tzaar Yinsh The Fox in The Forest 7 Wonders Duel The Terrifying Girl Disorder Bunny Kingdom Scythe Kanagawa Tsuro Keyforge This War of Mine And... I plan on getting even more games in the future. Tabletop is amazing and I feel annoyed that I've missed out on so much, but I guess that's how it goes.

I enjoy board games more than video games these days. I've introduced my students to them and almost all of them seem to enjoy it. Catan, Armadora, Stratego, Connect 4x4, Clue, Skrimmish, Aggravation, Clash of the Cards, Battleship all seem to be liked. I wish I was able to play Betrayal at House on the Hill, Starcraft Risk, and D&D with them too. Very fun games.

I got back into board games about three years ago as a way to spend time with friends face to face vice through a headset on a video game console. I have been hosting two game nights a month and I have met so many awesome people through board games...more so than I would through video games.

I remember playing board games during recess when it was raining outside.

My first experience with board games were a lot of those well known board games such as cluedo,monopoly,scrabble etc. Ive never truly enjoyed those games .i find it really boring or slow and never considered buying or having the current passion i have for board games. My cousin introduce me to werewolf and damn did i have a good time. Thats when my passion for it grew. I've tried avalon, secret hitler, quadropolis, captain sonar and a ton more this year. I was astonished and amazed how much variety and different game mechanics/play in board games these days. Now i got my friends hook after a lot of persuading and they can never have enough of it xD

Great documentary Erin! As a hobbyist it's very exciting to see this industry continue to grow.

This was a great documentary!

Well done, Erin Dean! You've captured the aspects of modern board games I love.

Well done on this little mini documentary. I agree with the comments in the video, and I am constantly becoming more and more into the modern games vs what we grew up with. :) Love it.

Great documentary! One suggestion, for you or any other potential documentarians watching, is to please label all the cool games you show. I only recognized like a tenth of them, but would love to learn more!

It's a great video. Thanks Candlebox.

This documentary is really well made, good job!

Really enjoyed this! You have some great shots and some incredible interviews!

This was really fantastic! I have only gotten into the hobby in the last year or two and I couldn't be happier that I did. I shared this video in both Facebook and Twitter in hopes to show even more people how wonderful it is. Thank you for creating such a wonderful portrayal of such an enjoyable hobby. I hope you create a feature length documentary on the topic. I think it would be quite informative, interesting, and a real pleasure to watch.

Awesome documentary, Thanks for sharing!

Loving this guys! Reminded me of several of the reasons I got into playing and reviewing games myself. I've been amazed by the boom I've seen here and in other countries I've been to. Thanks for doing this! Are there any plans to do a much longer version of this somehow? I would love to see it!

Here's another tip for game publishers: TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS NEED MORE BOARD GAMES FOR LARGE GROUPS. 6-8 players max is not enough for our classes, 10+ is the ideal number.

I like them because it's a social activity. It gives people something to do when hanging out that's not watching something side by side and that's a lot cheaper than going out all the time. Sure, I love going on a hike with a friend or two, but sometimes the weather just doesn't oblige so you're restricted to pretty much going out to eat or going to a movie. I think this is part of why there's such a huge board gaming community in the midwest; there isn't that much to do when the weather is awful, and it's often awful. In gaming stores, the meeting new people over a common activity aspect is really enjoyable too. Also, I find constantly learning new games so frequently makes me learn better in general. Since a lot of the more advanced game have rather long rule explanations, they've really given me a far longer attention span, which makes learning anything easier.

Very nicely done! Subbed.

That first guy, John Coveyou? He was my Traditional Game Design teacher this year in college. ^__^

very nicely done.

Great li'l vid... thank you!

Great video! Keep up the good work :)

Great job!

Great minds ni- documentary. It looks like there are a few people interested in what games are being featured. Maybe you could put a timeline list of the games in the video description.

I started with board games back in the late 60's and early 70's it was a golden age of strategy games, with publishers like SPI and Avalon Hill. Cardboard counters, 4 colour maps and massive incompressible rules.

I feel a good starting point for this video is actually @ 2:48!

That was really great! Feature length in the works?

In addition to the Internet, another explanation for the board gaming boom over the past 50 years is that there are simply more people in the world who have more money to spend on luxuries. The market is big enough to support both popular new games but also niche games that wouldn't have found enough players 50 years ago.

Great job on putting together such a short yet informative peek into rise of board gaming!

Awesome short doc! What game is at the 3:30 minute mark?

I loved the video ! What is that really big game with spaceshipz those two guys are playing ?

amazing video

I like board games because there’s no such thing as a ‘freemium’ board game, or at least I haven’t found one yet.

Thanks for letting me interview you Erin! If anyone wants to check it out, you can find it at bit.ly/ErinDeanInterview

Nice video

Really awesome documentary! Fun to watch :) my only complaint is that the music is a bit on the loud side.

I would also say that at the same time, the video game industry exploded and more people are into video games now than ever before. When you have more gamers you are likely to see some people crossing over. That being said, it seems the two industries are getting more and more intertwined. Video games turning into board games and board games going digital.

awesome!

Enjoyed this very much! Can you tell me what game is being played at 8:06? I don't recognize the cards. Thanks!

I think the Coronavirus has hurt the boardgame hobby, but it may result in a greater surge of activity afterward!

Josh Lobkowicz has a voice like spun gold. I'd love to hang out with that guy!

My favorite board games is rolling stones rock n roll party game and chess and Checker set and Monopoly.

Now board games are blooming alright but not among the youngsters i think..and that makes me worry about the future of our beloved area..

Sadly im on my way out and need to get rid of about 400+ boardgames. Have everything from the 50's to 2020 (kickstarters).. . . I will still keep about 200, but 400+ needa go.

What is the game at 4:00 with the grid and corner grid spots spotted around the board, and the 3 red green and purple pawns?

The Video game industry could learn a thing or two from board games. There has to be at least a few handfuls of people that are into board games because they're tired of the crap with video games these days (myself included), with big AAA publishers trying to have their cake and eat it too

What is the store of 3:38?

hey what game is that where they pulled out the guns to eachother??

There's some falsehood on one of the reviewers comment, how board games no longer break up friends. I guess he never played Diplomacy.

where can I get my hands on that wooden catan board?

Brilliant! What's the game at 6:35?

5:55 what game is this one with the guns?

Very unfortunate this isn't captioned properly

What game is at 5:52 ???

5:52 Long shot but what game is this?

What game is at 3:10

Ok ok I agree, but these damn tokens and hexes grid, they need to go!!

doubt it will become mainstream anytime soon, maybe in the us or europe. but elsewhere, it will remain niche. first of all, these board games are waaay too expensive outside the us. $30-70 might be cool for something you play with friends and family over there where a day’s work earns u $100. but converted to many currencies here, that can be a month’s worth of grocery or rent. so boardgaming becomes a luxury most simply cant afford. secondly, english texts are not immediately accessible to non english speaking countries. and a lot of those upper level games need a lot of reading, and frankly medieval or fantasy themes are not really popular outside us/europe and a lot of games circle around that theme. outside of watching LOTR movies, most here just dont care about orcs and dwarves. that’s like asking a caucasian to try and enjoy a game based on ‘romance of the 3 kingdoms’ or ‘journey to the west’, a popular fantasy/historic epic in asia. ‘what’s that? why would i want to play a game based on a culture im not familiar with?? pass.’ to become mainstream you need to win over the world. or most of the world. and the americans have the tendency to think usa is the world. boardgames might become more and more popular in usa, sure, but all i see in documentaries about boardgaming is always more white people. pan the camera elsewhere and i doubt you will see the rest of the world are doing the same.

Where is that awesome game store? I would be broke if that were in Utah.

What, no W40k? HERESY! lol jk, nice video.

App integration would ruin board games for me. I play a board game to get away from the noise of technology. Can we do anything without our cellphone or Ipad? I only wish humans could see that we are losing our autonomy to machines.

Hi

I mean board games are fun... am i missing something here? why are they exploding? cause they are fun people like fun. this is a great creative avenue for finding more fun. so yeah BOOM! fun.

Nobody: Not a single soul: Android users: 0:07

Troyes Troyes Troyes Troyes Troyes Troyes Troyes Troyes

3:42 "how much we have evolved from Monopoly/ old games" (shows plain 6 sides dice). I'd say show one of many unique things in gaming instead. Thanks.

I agree wholeheartedly with Tom sentence that compare boardgames abd technology, games are getting better. Don't advice new players to buy Catan just because you started there 15 years ago. There are better options, I wouldn't even advice someone to buy a game older than 5 years (except for party games that focuses only on one specific mechanism, for example Codenames I think will always be super fun and accessoble)

I foresee the key breakthroughs to really make this mainstream will need to be: 1) Teaching rules without the terrible rules manual. RU-vid vids are a great step, but technology will soon enable a more personalized tutorial experience on how to learn/play a game. 2) Setup/Cleanup. This may take longer. At a minimum the unpunched punchboards need to die soon. Later on technology should enable automated ways to setup and put away the game, so you spend time playing and not learning and dealing with a thousand scattered pieces.

Very very cool video. Can I ask our gaga.ru translate it for a Russian-speaking audience? You do not mind that?

Board games are for tournaments, calculating combinations, and strategy, especially wargames....Not some shit wich you play with coffee on a floor and that's for luck so you roll dices... They are to make a science of themselves and masters.

Christian parents: back in my day we played board games and not glued to the tv. Me: start playing dnd Parents: we said board games not satanism. BTW I love my parents i am Christian as well they were just miss informed unfortunately

The MTG relation to the BG boom is an interesting observation by TomV. On first impression, I couldn't believe that TomV credits MTG with keeping BG alive. Watching one of the first alpha(power 9 etc.) comic book/BG/MTG stores in Ames Iowa completely push all interest in BG off to the side with the advent of MTG, I couldn't disagree more with the conjecture. With nearly every "BG" $ spent going to WotC/MTG and nearly every other BG/RPG company going under trying to compete with its own lottery style distribution card game; nearly all failed to make the transition - essentially a winner take all for WotC/MTG and this was reflected in the massive industry consolidation that ensued with the near complete loss of AvH's and SPI BG libraries as well as many others. Essentially I think MTG nearly destroyed the BG industry that Tom credits it for keeping alive. Perhaps this was just the Hate beginning of a modern day Love/Hate relationship with MTG and BG. Perhaps today TomV is accurate in that MTG is a gateway game for consumers to get into contact with the BG world of today. Perhaps MTG's approach to seasons and folks willingness to separate out the lottery into distinct competitions reduced the sense of panic players had to pay to win. I do agree that Catan was a turning point to bring BG back to the USA (and most would argue BG never left Europe for MTG); they could easily have added Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne to that description. That said, in order for BG to compete with MTG they had to get better (perhaps through "technology"/shift in mechanics (luck to agency ; no elimination, co-op,etc. as mentioned by many in video ), appeal to a broader audience then just the typical game of back in the day (AvH, SPI, GamesW., etc.). IMHO the baseball card style lottery component of MTG (and its like) card distribution was likely one of the most unregulated "legalized" gambling operations in recent history. While I understand TomV's point that most of a BG stores revenue is indeed still derived from MTG sales and helps them sustain offering BGs like book stores sold magazines (basically throw as many magazines on the stands as you can and see what sticks) at the end of the day each $ spent on the gambling addiction that is MTG is one less $ spent on a BG. I rue the day that MTG arrived. I long for the pure BG store without reliance on a comic book or MTG addictions as a source of funding. Any game with a lottery mechanism for purchasing winning components aka pay to Win should be met with torches by the gaming community and immediately burned at the stake and their designers tarred and feathered at the next gaming convention. That said I do think the number of games released has gone completely out of control. TomV didn't mention the shift from seeing folks play the same game over and over again (Careers, Life, Monopoly, Clue, etc.) to folks just playing a game once or twice and moving on like they would with a movie or book but this is another theory of his. Given the cost of many board games this is a bit daunting to spend $40 to play a game a few times to move on to the next but given the sheer inventory of board games now available I understand the tug in that direction. This would certainly support the Pieces board game cafe approach of grabbing one off the common shelf. This could also be accomplished by sharing the cost of this library of games by encouraging library's to stock board games instead of books, music, or videos that are all rapidly being replaced by digital content viewers. Given the 3 dimensional aspect (pieces and card play) required by most board games it may be much more difficult short of a full VR conversion to digitize the board game experience. Although I think VR could certainly give this approach a run for its money.

The loss aversion is, and will continue to, limiting the board gaming hobby.

I was really looking forward to watching this but the part from 1:05-1:30 absolutely sickens me. This kind of person is what drives people away from gaming. I cannot believe that someone heavily involved in gaming actually has this attitude. When teaching people to love and enjoy games, this “me first” spirit that wants to dominate and derive pleasure from others’ pain, in a way that they can get away with that is socially acceptable...this is something sick and wrong that should be driven as far away from gaming as possible. This is the attitude of a schoolyard bully or a psychopath. Seriously, what the heck??

Board games have been boring for decades, it's not until recently that board games have actually made it worth playing multiple times over! Way more Co-Op games and solo with way more themes and different tactics that gets away from roll a die and move. Or just plain cards.