Board Games hit Big Time with TableTop
We don’t know if you’ve noticed, but board games are surging big time. Last year we wrote about how more designer and strategy board games and card games are showing up on big box retailer shelves like Walmart and Target. Even Barnes & Noble, a major book retailer has greatly expanded their board game section over the last year.
Well, these great family board games must be doing well because that surge is still rolling. So it’s no surprise that a new online TV show dedicated to board games is getting such a large audience.
TableTop with Wil Wheaton is a web series that’s part of Geek & Sundry – a new online TV channel that launched in April 2012. Geek & Sundry is an internet community centered around web videos with shows about comics, games, books, hobbies, and more. From the outset, TableTop became an instant hit.
In every episode of TableTop, one or more board games are explained briefly by Wheaton and then he and his guests, usually web or TV personalities, play the game. It’s been a fantastic way to show the fun of sitting down with friends to play board games.
The first episode of TableTop was their episode on Small World and it’s great. I could tell right off that the show would be a hit. That’s why I’m not surprised to see that the Small World episode has over 700,000 views. I’d say that’s definitely the most watched board game YouTube video ever.
To get a quick feel for the show, check out the trailer for TableTop.
It’s easy to see how big a hit TableTop has been because Target is now promoting the bunch of board games featured on TableTop.
So far TableTop has covered these great games:
- Small World
- Ticket to Ride
- Castle Panic
- Munchkin
- Settlers of Catan
- Zombie Dice
- Say Anything
- Gloom
- Fiasco
- Elder Sign
We’re really looking forward to the next season and even more shoutouts to fantastic board games!
