BRITTANY LAVIN/FEATURES EDITORCandyland, Apples to Apples, Monopoly, Guess Who.the boxes sat packed on top of each other creating a board game fortress in the King of Prussia Toys “R” Us.
The games sat there eagerly waiting for someone to snatch them up and bring them home. It seems like luck has run out for the games.
Board games, once a necessity in nearly every home, have been losing their appeal to video games and other high-tech toys over the past few years.
According to a study conducted by academic researcher Gonzalo Frasca in 1999, many gamers go into a state of ludology when playing video games, or the preferred sense of simulation from video games. Most board games do not offer this simulation.
“Videogames sell the most at our store,” John Kelly, a King of Prussia Toys “R” Us employee, said. “My supervisor says our RZone brings in a pretty large chunk of what the store sells.”
The RZone is a portion of the Toys “R” Us store devoted entirely to video games.
On the Toys “R” Us website, only one board game is listed as a hot seller for this Christmas season.
“They’re so stupid (board games),” Dawn Gillingham, a sophomore social work major, said. “I can’t sit long enough to play through them.”
While board games’ popularity seems to be declining there are still loyal fans of them.
“Board games are great,” Meghan Sullivan, a sophomore special and elementary education major, said. “They really bring the whole family together.”
The Board Game Studies website has conducted research to show that board games have brought families closer together.
Many families will engage in “family night” by playing some of their favorite games like Apples to Apples or Monopoly.Games have also been shown to help students in school. Many games require tactics and thinking in order to succeed.
“I like board games,” Dianne Graham , a sophomore business and psychology major, said. “They have strategy to them. Stuff like that helps me out in school. I especially like chess.”
Board games don’t always have to be about bringing families together or increasing players’ knowledge. Board games are often used as a cure for boredom.
“They’re super fun to play when bored,” Jen Stuart, an undeclared sophomore, said. “I really like Monopoly..yes, there are people who like that game!”
“I like board games,” Barbara Cortellessa, a sophomore elementary education major, said. “My favorite? Apples to apples.DUH!”
Apples to Apples is one of the more popular games on the market right now. The game has been ranked as one of the best party games available. It’s a simple game of hilarious adjectives and absured nouns that mesh together for a good time.
“We’ve sold a lot of Apples to Apples,” Kelly said. “However, we’ve sold more copies of electronic banking Monopoly more than any other game.”
“Our drinking games are the biggest sellers in the store,” Megan Golden, an employee of Go! Games in the King of Prussia mall, said. “Children’s games also sell very well.”
Go! Games opened their doors on Nov. 3 and carries a wide variety of board games. The store carries every type of Monopoly as well as Scene It. The store does carry the newer electronic games that many are fans of as well as the timeless classics like Monopoly and Candyland.
“Many games are trying to offshoot with popular characters like the new ‘Transformers’Risk,” Golden said. “However, classic games will always be popular.”
