The drupa of the board game industry is the Spiel-fair held every year in Essen. The fair features six halls packed with game publishers’ booths and ample opportunities to try out the latest releases. And plenty of releases there were—the organizers cite a staggering 1,500 new games presented this year.

The global board games market (including puzzles and card games) was valued at $13.75 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of $30.93 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 13.7% according to The Global Board Games Market report from Skyquest. North America and Europe account for the majority of sales, but other regions are expected to grow faster.

The pandemic caused a boom in board gaming due to lockdowns and restricted leisure alternatives. That fast growth came to an end now and after two years of good growth, the market for games and puzzles in Germany started to decline in the first eight months of 2022. Still, revenues are noticeably higher than pre-pandemic and new customer groups started buying.