Closing over 400 transactions to date and in his company’s 20th year, Eric Hymowitz is the president of the Houston, Texas-based firm ROC Homes. In his spare time Eric Hymowitz plays board games with his family. Analyzing board games from 2010 to 2020 reveals some insights, reflective of consumers’ changing tastes.
The primary aggregator of data about board games, Board Game Geek, published an article containing data about the top 100 best-rated board games. The article revealed that in 2020, all except one of the top-rated games, Twilight: Imperium 4th Edition, were released in the past five years. With over 4,000 board games released annually on average, heightened competition drives developers to innovate, to continue to engage consumers and distinguish themselves from similar manufacturers.
Another apparent trend displayed that once-popular board games from decades past, including Tic-Tac-Toe, Chutes and Ladders, and Candy Land, now ranked in the bottom 10 of Board Game Geek’s list. Board Game Geek used feedback from players on its site to justify the rankings. Tic-Tac-Toe lacked true strategy, and games like Chutes and ladders relied purely on chance. Games like Monopoly created poor player experiences, because the first eliminated player sits and watches the others play, and cannot participate in any way.
