“Monopoly”, “Cluedo”… Is another playful world possible?

• Between releases of old games from the 1990s and stable sales of a few great classics, the world of board games seems conservative.

• However, the success of quick and easy games like

  Skyjo

  or

  Blanc Manger Coco

  show that another playful world is possible.

• The supply and demand for board games are constantly increasing and allow a few titles to become new must-haves.

Hotel

,

,

… If these names mean nothing to you, you probably didn't grow up in the 1990s (or else you had a very sad childhood).

Lansay has chosen to bring out these cult board games.

Even

whose goal of the game is to cover the planet with cement to build buildings?

Yes.

Even

and its dubious ageist morality?

Yes.

Even

and its racist puns.

Yes yes…

"It's the 1990s, it doesn't always work," admits Corinne Grenet, Product and Marketing Director at Lansay.

A few years ago, we brought out

, which had been a hit in 1995. And it was a complete flop.

The name has not passed, the concept had aged: spending money on futile things.

We must be attentive to the new expectations and aspirations of today's parents.

»

So why bring out those old games?

Simply because they are likely to sell like hot cakes and installing them at a multi-generational gaming table is almost always synonymous with success.

“When children become parents, they like to rediscover their memories.

With each generation, we like to share our games with our own children, explains Corinne Grenet.

And then these are reassuring products, safe bets.

With a game that we already know, we know why we spend our money and that we will enjoy playing it.

»

Two dice and millions of euros

With more than 30 million boxes sold in 2021 and an annual increase of more than 15% in recent years (and - what does not spoil anything - margins of more than 40%, unique in their kind in the world of publishing ), board games are a pillar of French cultural industries.

The country has two giants, Hachette and Asmodée.

To these we must add a host of smaller publishers, even toddlers, who feed the ecosystem with their creations.

Despite this playful

, the top best-selling games have been marked by the same titles for decades:

,

,

... "These great classics continue to sell very well no matter what," explains Pierre- François Periquet, Communication Manager France at Hasbro.

There are about ten games that are absolute classics.

They are recognized by the regularity of sales.

or

is around 200,000 copies each year.

For some games, we release versions with "portage".

For example, there were

or

recently.

We adapt to fashion to make the brand last.

Although I think

will always be around…”

Adapt and go through the Reissue box

“We do not copy and paste, defends herself, however, Corinne Grenet, from Lansay.

You still have to adapt to today's children.

For

, we created a version with more fantasy, ghosts… Often, we change the design of the board, the characters, to modernize them.

And when we can, we lighten the rules so that the games are shorter.

Because today people have less time for family games.

A game of more than 40 minutes is too much.

»

These changes in player habits have been a chance for several new games and publishers who have successfully launched new titles.

Yoann Laurent, creator and director of Black Rock Games, publishes, for example ,

,

and

.

Games with phenomenal success… “These games have great potential, recognizes Yoann Laurent.

They are reminiscent of classics like the

and reassure the general public.

And for players, rather than offering

to friends who don't play, there is the possibility of releasing these very fun games, the rules of which you learn by playing.

»

From the aperitif to the Intermarché, itinerary of a successful game

These games, sometimes called "aperitif", also have the merit of attracting new customers to the world of board games.

A trend accelerated by confinement, which has seen demand explode.

"There are a lot of fairly recent games that have made themselves known to a wider audience than just experts," says Yoann Laurent.

The environment has become more democratic thanks to the development of game bars, fun events, festivals... And above all the network of specialized shops.

»

Vanessa, a saleswoman in a game store in Lille, prides herself on selling “almost always recent games rather than

”.

His recipe?

“Tell a game.

Today's games are packed with emotion.

While, frankly, everyone is bored with a

.

»

"The classic route to a successful game is through word of mouth initiated by specialist stores," explains Yoann Laurent.

This is where it all begins, and where we publishers focus our efforts with sales people in constant contact with them.

You also have to be at trade shows, especially those that give out prizes.

Some games, such as

,

or

, have built their success on these prestigious awards.

And finally, if the game is really a success, it can integrate the GSS (specialized supermarkets, Fnac or Cultura type) and even the GSA (supermarkets food).

There are more and more brands that are opening up to board games…”

New classics, old players

But what is a good sale for a board game?

A publisher generally covers his costs from 5,000 copies.

But below 30,000 copies sold the year of the launch, the game is likely not to settle and disappear from the shops.

On the other hand, a game with 100,000 copies is considered a big success.

Thus, in recent years, board games have become new classics that are developing in multiple extensions:

,

... "These games have paved the way for modern board games, which affect adults, continues the creator of Black Rock Games.

About twenty years ago, these titles, with a very important mathematical and statistical side, affected a very particular socio-professional category: computer scientists, engineers, teachers…”

We are talking here about ex-geeks, who have become parents, and who allow the success of many cultural universes, in particular science fiction and fantasy, but who are also very conservative in their tastes.

“It's true that I sell the fourth

expansion or

more easily than a totally new game, sighs Vanessa.

There are, however, incredible novelties:

,

,

... But the game is also a collector's environment, and not everyone wants to learn new rules all the time..."

Return of the HeroQuest

“Trying to create new classics takes a lot of work,” explains Pierre-François Periquet.

There are between 2,000 and 3,000 games that come out per year, and there are 10% max that remain.

» For a

or an

, recent huge successes, there are hundreds of games that disappear from the shelves a few months after their release.

But who knows?

Maybe they will come back in a few years...

This is the strange fate of

, a cult miniatures game from the 1990s released in 2022, where players embody heroes - warrior, dwarf, magician... - who face monsters in a dungeon.

Disappeared five years after its release, the game had kept an aura among some heroic fantasy fans.

In the 2010s, attempts at a new edition had failed.

But in 2020, Hasbro bought the brand and launched a kickstarter to gauge the wait.

“We quickly understood that the enthusiasm would allow us to release the game in stores, says Pierre-François Periquet.

The game is expensive: 100 euros today against 50 francs at the time.

We are targeting adult collectors but we also have the ambition to make it discover to children who had never played it, because the game, cooperative before it was fashionable, remains very modern.

We are also taking advantage of the renewed interest in fantasy.

Now, we are preparing a completely new extension for 2023!

Even dead and buried, the games of the 1990s are coming back to haunt the gaming tables.

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