When Chris Stagno sits down to play a game with friends, often it’s Rising Sun—one of a new generation of tabletop contests that can arguably trace its roots all the way back to Dungeons & Dragons.
Like those sword-swinging sessions in Gen X basements, these games can go all day. But unlike D&D, there’s a lot more to buy than dice and a few books.
Rising Sun, a complicated battle for control of medieval Japan, sells for $100, but Stagno splurged for a purpose-built table that cost him $2,700—and that’s without the charging ports or LED lighting. He spent $1,600 on comfortable chairs and an additional $75 on a wooden organizer to store miniature figures, cardboard tiles, plastic tokens, cards and the game board itself.
Monopoly goes for $15 at Kmart, and being a Dungeon Master may run you $100. But if you want to play Rising Sun—and play it right—you could be out $4,500.
Rolling your eyes? Don’t. In addition to legions of players gathering to play these games at home, gaming cafes have been springing up all across the U.S. The industry has become big business, especially for artisans and equipment makers who provide discerning players with all the extras. And there are a lot of extras.
Stagno’s setup is made by BoardGameTables.com, and is about as far from a folding card table as you can get. It’s built from alder, seats six and measures 3 ½ by 5 ½ feet. Most of the surface area is recessed and felt-lined, like you’d find on a professional poker table. It also comes with cupholders that slide out from under the table’s edge. Stagno, 34, even ordered a removable hardwood cover so he doesn’t have to clear away unfinished games when it’s time for dinner.
He was moving to Pittsburgh with his wife and daughter when he decided to spring for the deluxe table. “I was going to buy a dining room set for the new place we were moving into, anyway,” Stagno said.
Sure, D&D is the grandfather of the genre, but a new golden age of hobby tabletop gaming is upon us. In North America alone, sales of role-playing games, boards, cards, dice and miniatures reached $1.5 billion last year, according to industry site ICV2.com. Globally, Research & Markets has forecast the segment could reach $12 billion by 2023.
Among some of the favorites are Pandemic, whose players cooperate to stop a worldwide disease outbreak; King of Tokyo, which features giant movie monsters fighting for supremacy; and Mice & Mystics, a storytelling game in which players lead heroic rodents through a fantasy adventure. Even D&D is having a renaissance, thanks to internet-famous celebrities who stream their playing sessions. One of the channels, Critical Role, has tens of millions of views.
Crowdfunding has played a huge part in the growth of hobby games, as many publishers and designers turn to Kickstarter to raise funds needed to make and distribute their creations. Tabletop games raised $165 million in 2018, the web site said.