This category focuses on manufacturers, retailers, and products associated with board games. These tabletop games use pieces, which are typically moved or placed on a pre-marked game board. They often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniature games.
Board games, including ancient games like Go and Chess, have been a source of entertainment for centuries. Newer games, like Catan and Pandemic, have been developed and marketed to appeal to a broader range of interests and preferences.
According to Verified Market Research, the top five board game manufacturers are Asmodee, Goliath Games, Grand Prix International, Hasbro, and Ravensburger. Through established relationships with game designers, these companies handle the production and manufacturing processes.
Publishers like Asmodee and Hasbro also play a key role in the board game industry. They collaborate with game designers, handle production and manufacturing, and manage marketing and distribution of the finished games. Publishers often manage a catalog of games, establish their brand identity, and cater to particular player demographics. For example, some publishers focus on family-friendly games, while others might focus on role-playing games.
Many publishers sell and distribute their products directly to consumers, but retailers also play an essential role in selling and distributing games to end users.
Some retailers, like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, carry a large selection of board games along with a much more extensive catalog of products, while others, such as BoardGameGeek, specialize in board games.
There are several ways in which board games can be classified, and most of these would involve considerable overlap. In 1999, David Parlett defined four primary categories: race games, where the goal is to be the first to move pieces to the final destination; space games, in which the object is to arrange the pieces into some special configuration; chase games, where players begin the game with different sets of pieces and objectives; and displace games, where the main objective is to capture the opponent's pieces. He also distinguished between abstract and thematic games.
Wikipedia classifies board games into fifty different categories, some of which include subcategories.
Board game manufacturers, retailers, the games themselves, and other products associated with board games are appropriate for this category.
Recommended Resources
Affiliated with the Regency Chess Company, the UK-based retailer offers a variety of chess sets and other chess products, such as storage cases, chess clocks, chess pieces, and so on. Board material, piece material, piece sizes, or board sizes may browse chess sets. Included are wooden chess sets, luxury chess sets, vintage chess sets, themed chess sets, or Isle of Lewis chess sets, and chess pieces made from various materials and in multiple forms. Chess rules and care guides are included.
https://chesssets.us/
"City of Mist" is an urban fantasy detective tabletop role-playing game (RPG) designed by Amit Moshe and published by Son of Oak Game Studio. Begun as a crowdfunded project, it was released in 2017 and picked up by Modiphius Entertainment in 2018. It is available in a Starter Box, The Core Set, and The Ultimate Set, each of which may be purchased online via PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, Meta Pay, or Venmo, and ships from the U.S., UK, EU, or Canada.
https://cityofmist.co/
Dedicated to providing a large variety of historical tabletop war games, Historical Board Gaming provides games that cover various periods of history, including World War I, World War II, and others, including earlier periods. Popular titles include Global War 1914, Global War 1936-1945, Midway (simulating the Battle of Midway), The Roman Empire: A Time in History, and Global War 2025: Meltdown, each of which is highlighted here, along with expansion packs, and game figures.
https://www.historicalboardgaming.com/
The company specializes in creating miniature games with simple, one-page rule sets, offering a variety of games, including Grimdark Future, Age of Fantasy, and variants of these games. 3D-printed miniatures are available as STL files for 3D printing, and printable paper miniatures are available on platforms like DriveThruRPG. Detailed terrain pieces and other gaming accessories are also available. Purchases may be made directly from the site, while Patreon subscribers receive exclusive offers.
https://www.onepagerules.com/
Dedicated to tabletop wargaming, OnTableTop provides battle reports, unboxing videos, game reviews, game ratings, discussion forums, gaming news, and gaming community spotlights, as well as an online store where customers can purchase various wargaming products, including miniatures, terrain, and rulebooks. Shoppers can browse its web catalog by channels, projects, games, sale items, and special offers, companies, professionals, places, or crowdfunders. Contacts are available.
https://www.beastsofwar.com/
The small game publisher is located in Manchester, New Hampshire. The privately held company crafts and publishes board games under various brands, including Starling Games, Victory Point Games, Sparkworks, and Flying Meeple, and also produces dice under the PolyHero brand. Its products include Everdell, a worker-placement and tableau-building game, and Everdell Duo, Everdell Expansions, Everdell Farshore Collector's Edition, and other tabletop games. Purchases may be made from the site.
https://www.tabletoptycoon.com/
Based in India, the board game store offers a wide range of board games, including titles like Aftershock, Agents of Mayhem, Animal Kingdoms, Architects of the West Kingdom, Arctic Scavengers, Azul, Bohnanza, Calico, Cryptid, Decrypto, Dixit, Dominion, Fluxx Anatomy, Imperial Struggle, Monty Python Fluxx, Scythe, Tapestry, Tekehnu, Terraforming Mars, Tikal, Tiny Towns, Underwater Cities, Wingspan, and others. TTU also has unique games for gamers of all ages, languages, and skill levels.
https://www.tabletopuniverse.com/
The independent game publisher is known for engaging tabletop, roleplaying, and board games. Its titles include Mothership, Nirvana on Fire, That's Not Lemonade, Two Rooms and a Broom, Werewolf in the Dark, and World Championship Russian Roulette. Highlighted games, new releases, and expansion modules are spotlighted. Other products include branded apparel, patches, pins, accessories, and mobile applications. Links to its Tuesday night podcast are also provided.
https://www.tuesdayknightgames.com/
