Board games will have a prominent place at Gamescom 2024. The exhibitors are reacting to the ongoing trend, which also includes the fusion of analog and digital games.
When Gamescom 21 starts on August 2024st with the trade visitor day, board games will also be there. The innovation comes directly from the conditions of participation for the Cologne video game fair for the coming year. Specifically, it says about the available trade fair areas: “gamescom cards & boards: area in which analog games may be presented and sold.” Because sales have only just started for the areas in the exhibition halls, it remains to be seen which exhibitors will ultimately decide to do so . The chances are probably good
Board games and video games: no longer two worlds
The “Cards & Boards” area is one of the innovations at Gamescom 2024 – one that may come as a surprise at first glance. Although there have already been analogue game titles on show at Gamescom, board games have not yet had their own trade fair area. That will now change next year.
Board games and video games no longer run in parallel worlds, but are increasingly overlapping. And in several ways. There are now board game implementations from popular gaming brands, such as analog games to Assassin's Creed, Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil, Frostpunk, God of War or Horizon. This list can be continued, because hardly any successful title from the games segment remains without an analogue offshoot for the board game table: even playful chunks such as Elden Ring or Skyrim have been or are still being implemented; Real shooters like Stalker or Apex Legends are now also used as templates to create board games. The board game Sniper Elite shows how well this can work.
Gameplay ideas from the video game segment are used purely mechanically, even without a license template, to turn them into board games: this applies, for example, to tower defense, death match or capture the flag - everything is available in board games, sometimes even quite obviously copied, as in “Reload” from Kolossal Games, a board game that is obviously based on Fortnite.
And the system also works the other way around, because video games are made from popular analog game ideas. This currently applies especially to deck building concepts, which are becoming more and more popular than pixel variants. Publishers like Glass Cannon Unplugged, Rebellion, C'mon and Steamforged Games are now true experts when it comes to license adaptations.
It is therefore undisputed that board or trading card games and also tabletop games are suitable for Gamescom. Embracer's Asmodee deal had shown that the games industry has long been keeping an eye on analogues.
Disney Lorcana: Ravensburger success as a booster
The recent success of Ravensburger Disney Lorcan further fuels the entire topic. As is well known, the game also works as a trade fair content at Gamescom, as was impressively shown this year. The trading card game stand in the Cologne halls: jam-packed.
It is therefore logical that the Federal Game Association and “Koelnmesse” are starting at this point to promote the growth of Gamescom. This also applies against the background of the merch area being significantly overcrowded every year. Here, a separate “Cards & Boards” area could relax guests’ mingling.
But who is actually considered as an exhibitor? Basically all board game publishers, because that's exactly who the Gamescom organizers obviously want to appeal to. It remains to be seen whether the experiments in the premiere year will include everything from the board game scene that has an edge and a name. At Ravensburger we see good opportunities again with Disney Lorcana; Asmodee and Fantasy Flight Games could act as a counterpoint with their long-launched trading card game Star Wars Unlimited - possibly with support from Gamegenic, who operate corresponding accessories that would also be a good fit for a games trade fair due to the innovations. Other major publishers could follow suit; but probably also those small ones that have already focused on video game licenses as a basis for board games. Publishers that offer hybrid games could also plan appearances at Gamescom. Ultimately, however, this also depends on the prices that are charged for a stand at the Cologne gaming trade fair, because it is not uncommon for expensive licensed board games to remain niche products overall.
320.000 visitors from over 100 countries and over 1.200 exhibitors were counted for Gamescom 2023. The numbers are recovering quickly from the slumps caused by the Corona period. The Cologne trade fair has increased in relevance, not least due to past innovations such as the significantly more international show presentation and the opening event.
Gamescom 2024 will take place for the public from August 22nd to 25th.
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