It’s 2018 and we’re in the midst of a board games renaissance. We take it for granted that games released today will be designed by professionals, refined through playtesting, and enjoyed by a wide variety of players. In many ways, they’re much like Hollywood blockbusters backed by the power of market research and test audiences.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everything released before The Settlers of Catan in 1996 is an unplayable disaster! Ancient pastimes like the Royal Game of Ur, Backgammon, and Chess influenced early American games from Monopoly to Risk, which in turn led to Catan and Pandemic. So it’s about time that we look back at how North American board games have evolved, from The Travellers Tour Through the United States through Gloomhaven. We also show how game and puzzle sales continue to increase every year.

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“I only play RISK on a custom Goode homolosine map projection board” said no one ever. Okay, let’s be real, probably like a room full of cartographers have said that.

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<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.fun.com/infographics/the-evolution-of-board-games-in-north-america-infographic.png?v=1"><img title="The Evolution of Board Games in North America" src="https://images.fun.com/infographics/the-evolution-of-board-games-in-north-america-infographic.png?v=1" alt="The Evolution of Board Games in North America" border="0" /></a><br />Image Created by <a href="https://www.fun.com">fun.com</a></p>

North American Game & Puzzle Sales

It’s interesting to see how hobby game sales in general have increased every year while Hasbro sales have remained steady. Poor Hasbro! (We kid. At $1B sales per year, they’re doing quite well.)

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<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.fun.com/infographics/north-american-game-puzzle-sales.png?v=1"><img title="North American Game & Puzzle Sales" src="https://images.fun.com/infographics/north-american-game-puzzle-sales.png?v=1" alt="North American Game & Puzzle Sales" border="0" /></a><br />Image Created by <a href="https://www.fun.com">fun.com</a></p>

Did we mention your favorite game? If we skipped anything, let us know what (and why) in the comments below. Maybe consider picking up a fun game for a friend! Also, we humbly apologize for that cartography joke. Was it even a joke? Let’s hear your opinion about that in the comments, too.

Infographic Designed and Illustrated by Kate Willaert