Board games and the big launch for Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition kept the game category steady to up a little in the hobby channel in the second quarter, according to the ICv2 Guide to Games #58, released at Gen Con. With high gas prices driving a trend toward in-home entertainment, and a good value proposition in terms of hours of entertainment per dollar spent, board games may even be benefiting from economic conditions.
D&D blew away expectations, with almost everyone we talked to surprised by how well the launch of 4th Edition has done. The success of 4th Edition also spilled over into sales of D&D Miniatures, which have also done well recently.
Collectable games are feeling the pinch, both from the relatively high cost to participate and from declining numbers of store visits, which are required to keep feeding collectable game purchases.
In addition to our market reports detailing and providing background on sales in all key tabletop game categories, this issue of the ICv2 Guide also includes ICv2's best-in-the-business bestseller lists in five game categories over the last three months, as always. All rankings reported reflect sales in the hobby channel only (although we do have mass and over-all rankings for CCGs in the magazine). Here are the ICv2 Top Fives (longer lists are available in the magazine):
ICv2 Top 5 Hobby CCGs
1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Yu-Gi-Oh!
3. World of Warcraft TCG
4. Pokemon
5. Legends of the Five Rings
ICv2 Top 5 CMGs
1. Dungeons & Dragons
2. HeroClix
3. Star Wars
4. HorrorClix
5. ActionClix
ICv2 Top 5 Board and Family Games
1. Settlers of Catan
2. Ticket to Ride
3.
4. Descent
5.
ICv2 Top 5 Non-Collectible Miniature Games
1. Warhammer 40K
2. WarMachine
3. Hordes
4. Warhammer Fantasy
5. Reaper Dark Heaven
ICv2 Top 5 Role-Playing Games
1. Dungeons & Dragons
2. Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy
3. World of Darkness
4. Shadowrun
5. Exalted
For info on how to get your copy of the ICv2 Guide #58: Games, with the full market reports and size estimates, bestseller lists, and reviews, see “ICv2 Releases Guide to Games #58.”