Sunday, September 25, 2011

Top Board and Card Games 2011

Each year around this time I compile a list of our top selling board and card games. Usually I separate this list, which although appearing convenient, often devolves to discussion of what's truly a board game and truly a card game (not to mention LCGs and other models). So here they are together, as most game stores track them, as I've learned.

A few things. First, the top selling game is on the top left. Game 51 is on the top right, so it goes down and to the left. Second, this is ranked by profit, as opposed to quantity sold. Third, all expansions are stripped from the list, although a stand-alone expansion that can be played by itself is exempt. And fourth, this is just our list and has little relation to other stores lists . It doesn't mean anything..

A lot of these games have stories around them about how they were reviewed in the newspaper for a while, how an employee was all excited about a game and sold the heck out of it, or even how we ordered too many and had a giant sale (which actually tends to push down a game, *cough* Lemming Mafia *cough*).

So why post it at all? It's kind of interesting to see. From a blog perspective, they're the most popular posts. Perhaps it's a heads up that you missed a game or a kind of wake up call to learn your cherished favorite is panned by our board game community. Feel free to chime in and discuss. That's what blogs are for, right?

Finally, I should mention that we're in a board game reboot phase at the moment, having dropped our selection from a high of about 1500 board and card games to roughly half that number. It's not that our sales are down, they're actually up in double digits. It's that sales have consolidated sharply into top sellers, with less risks taken with those one-off games, usually Euros. So we sell a ton more Settlers of Catan, but quite a bit fewer Z-man pretty good "seen at Essen" imports, for example. It's a little dangerous to cut your inventory so harshly when sales are up, but there was a lot of brush that needed to be cleared. That should also free us to ramp up heavily during the Fall, which is prime season for new releases. Why we held on to them for so long is a complex story involving competitors, local tastes, expectations of what we think we should carry, and the fact that I hate letting go of any game I know how to play.

Settlers of Catan Munchkin Quest
Betrayal at House on the Hill Saboteur
Forbidden Island Talisman 
Dominion: Intrigue Bang
Dominion Small World Underground 
Mansions of Madness Last Night on Earth
7 Wonders Star Munchkin
Castle Ravenloft Lords of Vegas 
Arkham Horror Earth Reborn
Settlers of Catan: 15th Anniv Nightfall
Ticket to Ride Wits & Wagers
Agricola Killer Bunnies
Pandemic Twilight Imperium
Munchkin Conquest Of Nerath 
Wrath of Ashardalon  Ascension: Chronicle
Atlantis Quiddler
Resident Evil  Descent
Puerto Rico Gears of War
Dixit 10 Days in the Americas 
Carcassonne Magic Labyrinth
Munchkin Zombies Sounds Like A Plan
Small World  Race for the Galaxy
Settlers Of America  Battle Cry 
Civilization Bananagrams
Bang! The Bullet Cosmic Encounter 
Macao   L-C-R
Space Hulk: Death Angel  Guillotine
Merchants and Marauders Finca
Resident Evil: Alliance Ticket To Ride: Nordic
Power Grid  Steam 
Survive: Escape From Atlantis  Yggdrasil
Gloom Card Game Munchkin Fu
Dust Tactics  Dice Town
Pirate Fluxx Deck World Of Warcraft
Ticket to Ride Europe Dreadfleet
Axis & Allies Europe 1940+ Lemming Mafia 
The Lord Of The Rings Lcg  Blokus Classic
Tanto Cuore Gosu
Thunderstone             Fluxx
Poo   Once Upon a Time 
Battlestar Galactica Munchkin Cthulhu
Letters From Whitechapel  Dominant Species  
Apples to Apples  Kids of Carcassonne
Mystery Express Puzzle Strike
Cadwallon: City Of Thieves   Formula D
Star Trek Expeditions Fresko  
Zombies!!! Carcassonne: 10 Year SE
Dungeonquest   Five Crowns
Memoir 44 Tikal
Carcassonne: Big Box 3 Lost Cities

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