Great Board Games at Big Box Stores
A lot of the board games that we review and love can only be found at hobby game stores or online. Typically the games you could find at WalMart, Target, and other big box stores were only the ones put out by Hasbro and Mattel and such.
But that’s no longer the case!
Tonight Michelle and I were walking through Target looking for some Christmas gift ideas. And of course, I had to take a detour through the game section to see what they were selling. And sure enough, I saw what I expected to see – various versions of Monopoly, Sorry, Battleship, Clue and Risk. I also saw some slimmed down versions of Candyland, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Twister, and Cootie.
But then my eyes caught on something that I got excited to see – Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride!
I was blown away to see these amazingly popular hobby board games on the shelves at Target. Of course, with the huge popularity of these two games it’s about time that they hit the mainstream shelves. After all, designer board games have been rising in popularity over the last decade. And Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride are often talked about as “gateway games”.
“Gateway games” are generally considered games that you can introduce the masses to. You can easily introduce them to people who don’t have a lot of experience with board games and they’ll be hooked. Likewise, we can say that these are a couple of the games that also got us hooked again on great family board games years ago.
The other modern board game that may have had an even bigger impact on our family is Carcassonne. When we played that for the first time, we knew we’d just played a very unique game that opened up a new world of game playing to us.
A couple other games that I was excited to see on the shelves at Target were Say Anything and Wits & Wagers. These are two fantastic games by North Star Games. They had told us that those games were going to be available in Target this year – so I was happy to seem them come through. And we think your family will love these group games as well.
So if you don’t have a hobby game store nearby, just head on over to Target and pick up copies of these great family board games!
(And let us know when you see Carcassonne in these big box stores…we’re anxiously waiting.)
I have mixed feelings over this. While I’m happy to have greater access to fantastic games and broader fan bases, I’m worried that a certain something special will be lost if the trend continues. I’m not speaking about snobby exclusivity here but rather that certain intangible feeling that comes from a hard fought quest to locate that hard to find game. When it comes easily, do you appreciate it as much?
I recently purchased a game called Cleopatra And The Society Of Architects. The quest to find this ‘out of print’ game was somewhat difficult, and I often felt an anxiety in the pit of my stomach that I’d never get my hands on a copy. When I finally found it and played it, it was a *huge* rush. Like I’d conquered the game within the game if that makes any sense.
So yes, I think it’s really great that these games are becoming more accessible and will ultimately bring more gamers into the world of designer games. I just hope the fringe stays a little fringe. There’s just nothing quite like a hard fought quest in a world that’s ever more increasingly filled with instant gratification.
Now off I go to Target … heh! ;oP
We can see where you’re coming from, but we don’t think you’ll ever see the amazingly wide selection of board games at the big box stores that you can get at a board game specialty store. With over a thousand new board, card, and party games that come out every year there’s no way even a specialty store can get them all on their shelves. So you’ll still be able to have some happy hunting for games.
Good article! These games are starting to crack the mainstream market. Another game at Target is Qwirkle, this years Spiel des Jahres winner.
Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million outlets are bringing in more games for the holidays, too!
Trent – Although it is good seeing these great games get the attention that they deserve, I can’t help wonder what will happen to the FLGS.
As an owner of an online FLGS I can’t purchase many of the games that are in the big box stores (Hasbro etc…) and those that I can get I can’t BUY for as low as the big box stores SELL them.
Example At Walmart you can buy Quelf for $22 at my distributor it cost me about that same amount. When it goes through me I have to mark it up to cover my cost, and in the end the consumer can get a better price there.
With the buying power of those stores, their consumer reach, and new found interest in “designer games” I wonder how long until FLGS fall off the face of the earth?
On a side note I saw Game of Thrones at Target.
I agree that big box stores put pressure on specialty stores – no matter the category. So it does put pressure on hobby board game stores (FLGS – Friendly Local Game Stores). But in the fights for shelf space, I don’t see Target or Wal-Mart dedicating more shelf space than they already do to games. That being the case, they will be able to add the most popular hobby board games, but will have to stop there.
And I think you’ll have to go to FLGS to get any game expansions (big box stores will stick with base games since they sell a higher volume than the expansions).
On another note, I don’t ever see the big box stores setting up tables in the aisle for people to come in and play games in the store for hours on end.
Hi Trent,
Great points. I agree that the pressure will be on the local specialty stores to compete for the popular games.
On your other point I think a place to come play, demo, and learn new games is what is keeping the local stores alive as it is right now with the internet competition.
I know this is sort of a dead issue now, but I wanted to say that I finally made it to Target today. No small feat as it involves a public bus ride *shudder* what with Target being many long miles away — no need to own a car when you live in a city. I was all anxious to check out their board game section, so this was sort of a special trip just for that purpose having read your post here.
I have to admit it was kind of exciting to see all those popular titles sitting on the shelf. We spotted a few new ones (to me) from Fantasy Flight as well. They had Lord of the Rings, Rune Age and (the one that found its way into our shopping cart) Deadwood. It was my first exposure to those titles, and I’m so glad I made the trip. Thank you so very much for the tip.
I think my attitude might’ve shifted a little on this issue. 😉
Ralph – You’re never to late to add your thoughts on a topic.
Getting some Fantasy Flight titles on the shelves is quite the step.
Enjoy your games!