FUN WITH BEST SELLER LISTS PART 3 - GAMES!
Hi everyone! So it looks like this series will turn into four parts, with games on tap for today. The final part I’ll just highlight some various items around the store that were big hits in 2019.
The important caveat with this list is how we classify games. Generally speaking “Games” as a category to us means non-collectible games. So that means no Magic, no Pokemon, no Keyforge, or Star Wars Destiny. The other thing is I generally did what I did with Comics in the last article. Instead of having half the line items be a game and its expansions, I condense them into one line item. The examples of what items will become apparent quickly. With that out of the way, here’s More Fun Comics and Games biggest games of 2019!
Cards Against Humanity
Dungeons and Dragons
Coup
Exploding Kittens
Ravine
Someone has Died
Secret Hitler
Sushi Go
Battle for Rokugan
Superfight
Munchkin
Boss Monster
Iota
Catan
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Pandemic
What do You Meme
Rick and Morty Total Rickall
Gloom
Joking Hazard
Cards Against Humanity, after all these years, is still at the top of the heap. The base game was still our best selling game all year, with scads of expansions scattered throughout out top seller list.
To me, though, the amazing story here is Dungeons and Dragons. Wizards of the Coast published the new edition originally in August of 2014 and it sold reasonably well. People were very concerned after a fourth edition that left many feeling cold. Fifth Edition was a welcome update, but the sales went through the roof two years later when the series Stranger Things prominently featured Dungeons and Dragons, and the game hasn’t slowed a bit since.
The Player’s Handbook on its own was just barely second place on our list behind Cards Against Humanity, and the Starter Game set was in third place. There’s D&D books all over the top 100 list, and that doesn’t even count sales of things like minis, mats, and dice. The ascendancy of D&D has been an amazing thing to witness after so many years of it being considered a relic being overwhelmed by card games and video games. People like playing games in person with other people, who knew?!
After that, we get into fast paced card games and party games all over the place. Someone has Died, a game where you are trying to talk people at the reading of a will into giving you as much of the dead person’s estate as possible was our breakout hit of 2019. But there’s several games like Exploding Kittens, Ravine, and Superfight that will make for a great night of gaming with family and friends.
One thing that seasoned gamers may notice is the lack of more bigger, more complex games like Wingspan, Dominion, and Mysterium. These games all sell well, just not in the numbers that the top of this list put up. Before Stranger Things, those games sold much more, and I think there’s a real case of people simply not having enough hours in the day to play every great game. It is an embarrassment of riches in the board and card game market these days, and everyone wins when there’s so much to try out!
See you soon for part four - the other stuff!
-Tim