NoIn recent years, board and card games have experienced an incredible return to Italian homes. Great classics like Monopoly, Subbuteo, but also the Sylvanian Families puppets have (re)conquered a generation of enthusiasts, recording a growth of 2.5% in the last year, reaching a value of 4.5 billion euros. But next to the evergreens for nostalgics, from Scarab to Riskthere are also new protagonists, such as Dixit And Secret Hitler. Here is an overview of what will keep us entertained even during these festive days.
The most loved classic board and card games, from Scrabble to Risk
According to an exclusive study conducted by Solitaire.net analyzing search volumes on Google at the end of 2024, at the top of the podium of the most loved board games is Scrabble, the king of word games.
The Italian version of Scrabble it was “invented” in 1955 by the journalist and writer Aldo Pasetti. And among the letters the Scarabeo appeared for the first time, a sort of joker capable of changing the course of the game.
Second place for Risk, which continues to test diplomacy and emotional resistance of the players.
On the third, Uno, the legendary card game. In fourth place, Monopoly, the classic par excellence, which in the new editions has seen thematic variations in order to freshen it up a bit.
Trivial Pursuit is another great evergreen party game. But also great classics like Cluedo and Taboo continue to be enjoyed by generations of players.
The new board games, from the imaginative Dixit to the strategic Exploding Kittens
A new title conquers fifth place in the rankings, Exploding Kittens (2015): a card game that represents the strategic and… feline version of Russian roulette.
There is no shortage of titles that stimulate creativity, such as Dixitnborn in 2002 from the idea of a French child psychiatrist. A ga game of imagination, but also of intuition, based on magnificent and deeply evocative images that are a tribute to myths and archetypes of art and literature.
Secret Hitler, the board game in which you have to stop the Nazis
Another “new” board game (debuted in 2016) is Secret Hitler: of the “social deduction” genre, the “liberal” participants (i.e. the good ones) discover the bad guys hidden in the group and prevent one in particular among them, the “Secret Hitler”, from being elected chancellor. As he says this article on Financial Timesit’s a game very controversial, in which – dramatically – the fate of democracy it depends on the talent of liberal elites for trusting friends and uncover conspiracies. And in which, in the end, it is much more fun to be a fascist than an anti-fascist.
“Secret Hitler” happened at a very lucky time for board games, wrote the New York Times in 2017. In recent years, since then, the board game sector has opened up even more to the adult market.
Kidadult trend, games that adults like, from Subbuteo…
At the height of the trend is Lego. The passionate adults are called AFOL, a term used for the first time in 1995 and which describes precisely those who are Adult Fans of LEGO. Perhaps with the ‘excuse’ of children and grandchildren, they are the ones who continue to dedicate themselves to building increasingly complex sets, even for dozens of hours a week.
There are also those who have brought the Subbuteo. A green cloth to make the field, the goals, two teams of players and a ball: from father to son, today we are putting together that cloth again. There are clubs throughout Italy but also e-commerce and physical stores (such as Subbuteo Lab – The old Subbuteo shop) which keep the memory alive and offer customisations, restorations and meetings.
To the Sylvanian Families
Another old style toy that is back in fashion is the one that revolves around little characters Sylvanian, the families of anthropomorphic animals born in 1985. The cute miniature creatures, From toys they become a symbol of adults’ desire for serenity in a hectic world. More and more often, these characters are reinterpreted as fashion accessories to wear, such as key rings or charms for bags and backpacks.
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