the most popular board games worldwide
the most popular board games worldwidebetway

Technology such as whatsapp and Zoom has helped us stay in touch, but nothing beats the popularity of good old-fashioned board games.

According to data collected by Betway Online from Google Trends, the term ‘board game’ was searched for more in the first month of lockdown (March 2020) than in any other month since Google Trends began, including the occasional run-up to Christmas but there is a flurry of present-buying or a desire to keep family members entertained around the holidays.

The spike in searches for ‘board games’ in March was almost double that in February 2020.

Which board game has increased in popularity the most?

Ironically the board game Pandemic, which requires players to eliminate diseases that have broken out in different parts of the world, has seen the biggest surge in popularity.

Google Keyword Planner reveals that the term ‘Pandemic board game’ received 246,000 searches worldwide in March – more than twice as much as 'Risk board game', which had 90,000 searches.

The only time that Pandemic (the board game) has received even a third of this volume of searches was in 2009, during the Swine Flu pandemic.

Which board games are the most popular?

Although Pandemic has been the winner on Google searches recently, it is the old favorites such as Scrabble, Monopoly and Ludo that have remained the most popular board games during lockdown.

Google Trends data reveals that Scrabble is the most searched-for game, and is particularly popular in French-speaking countries. Per capita, French-speaking islands Martinique and Reunion searched it the most, followed by France, Senegal and Canada.

Francophone Scrabble is the popular French alternative of the game, and is likely to account for this popularity.

The French Scrabble Championships have been running for 14 days and the winners have hailed from seven different nationalities– including Senegalese, Congolese and Ivorian.

Monopoly, a favorite across Asia and Europe, was a clear second in terms of worldwide popularity, which is no surprise considering the game has been reproduced in 103 countries and in 37 different languages.

Monopoly now comes in all kinds of versions including, pop culture versions, football club versions and you can have them personalized too - so it is unlikely to grow old.

Ludo, meanwhile, was the third-most popular of the three leading games worldwide.

The game originates from Pachisi, an Indian game which has routes in the sixth century, hence 16 of the 17 cities that searched for it the most are in Asia, including 15 in India.

According to Google Keyword Planner, searches for Ludo board game rose from 1,300 to 6,600 in India from February to March, a rise of more than 400 per cent.

the most popular board games worldwide
the most popular board games worldwidebetway

Which countries have searched for board games most often?

Since the most popular board games were invented by English speakers, it’s little surprise that they are most popular in English-speaking nations.

According to Google Trends, the UK, Canada, Australia and several smaller English-speaking regions were all among the top 10 searchers of ‘board game’ in March, per capita.

However, the US continues to be the biggest player on the board.

The US made up over 50 per cent of the total worldwide searches for Pandemic board game in March and were responsible for over 40 per cent of worldwide searches for ‘board game’.

According to Keyword Planner, games such as Life and Sorry! were both among the 10 most commonly-searched worldwide, even though they are rarely played elsewhere.

Life, also known as The Game of Life, is based on playing out a person’s life, from childhood through to adulthood, including school, college, marriage and retirement. It saw 78.7 per cent of its 40,500 searches in March come from the US.

Sorry! was first launched in the UK in 1929, but quickly grew in popularity across the Atlantic, with the US accounting for 61.3 per cent of its 40,500 searches in March.

board games in lockdown
board games in lockdownbetway

How do board games compare to other forms of entertainment?

With many people in the UK are currently not allowed to work while furloughed and people around the world either not working or in an uncertain state with regards to working, board games are proving so popular during lockdown that, in certain countries, the searches on Google are outweighing those of Xbox or PS4 games.

When combining Google searches for Scrabble and the FIFA video game series on Trends in March, the board game received 80 per cent of them in Canada and 79 per cent of them in France and USA.

It was a similar story with Ludo in certain parts of Asia.

Sixty-eight per cent of the combined Google searches for Ludo and FIFA in March were for the board game in India, with 59 per cent following suit in Pakistan.

As coronavirus restrictions ease around the world, the demand for board games may slow down.

But one thing is for sure, in these testing times, people all around the world have found comfort in this traditional form of entertainment.