Eighth year of growth for hobby games. In a row

ICv2 have updated their sales charts for early 2017, and there are some interesting movements afoot. For those who aren’t aware, ICv2 has been tracking game sales through hobby stores in the US and Canada for many years now; track their sales charts back a few years and you can see some of the changes the hobby scene has undergone.

Miniatures

X-Wing still rules the roost in miniatures (non-collectable miniatures, to be precise), a crown they took from Warhammer 40,000 at the previous update. The main change here is the first appearance of Age of Sigmar in this chart since the game launched almost two years ago. Clearly the title is now gaining momentum after overcoming the lead balloon reception it had at launch. Hordes creeps back into the top 5 too, with Armada and Star Trek Attack Wing leaving the charts. IMO we won’t see them return.

Board games

Catan and Ticket to Ride have long held the top two positions in this chart. No longer.

Scythe continues to sell on the back of its successful Kickstarter, while Pandemic’s refreshed look and alternate play versions is paying dividends. I wonder where Imperial Assault would appear if it were classed under miniatures rather than board games.

Elsewhere

With card games not much has changed, with Cards Against Humanity still selling well. Dungeons & Dragons continues to hold first place in the RPG charts, ahead of rival Pathfinder.

Overall

With eight years in a row of growth, hobby games are doing well. Crowdfunding seems to be bringing money in rather than taking money out of the system – the charts above are all from hobby store sales and don’t include the millions of dollars gamers have dropped into various Kickstarters over the same period. Individual titles and systems may rise and fall but overall the scene is getting bigger.