Monopoly’s favor with Gen Z consumers has inched downwards, a new survey by Cribbage, an online website that shows interest in all things old and nostalgic, has revealed. According to a recent survey, which focused on what the most fun classic board games are, and general board game consumer habits, Gen Z respondents said that they did not care much about Monopoly, to begin with – at least when compared to other games.
Who Plays Board Games in America and Why?
The survey compared several age groups, including Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers, along with the youngest cohort of those aged 18-26. Gen Z said that they preferred games such as Candy Land, Connect Four and Uno, and only then mentioned Monopoly. Originally released in 1933, it’s still impressive that Monopoly holds sway with someone who was born in the 2000s or sooner.
Millennials on the other hand seem to love the same games, more or less, but they tend to put Monopoly front and centre with the cohort of those aged 27-42, followed by Connect Four, Candy Land and only then Uno. It’s fun to see that Millennials have a dislike for Uno whereas Gen Z finds it a more fun game overall. Monopoly’s leadership position is there with Boomers and Gen X as well, who are quite excited about the game and rank it as their favorite childhood game.
The survey interviewed a total of 992 US residents and extrapolated to find out that 95% of Americans liked playing board games in general, making it one of the most popular hobbies out there. In terms of what the most favorite childhood games were in the aggregate, Monopoly took the prime position with 65% of respondents naming it their all-time best.
Connect Four was second with 52% and Candy Land third with 49% of the vote, based on how each generation ranked the games in order of most favorite to least favorite. Although we live at a time when board games have been reimagined and pushed well outside the envelope of tradition, 76% of all respondents still tend to play classic board games.
The top games still played today include Monopoly, with 50% of all respondents confirming that they do play it, followed by Uno with 39% and Scrabble with 30%. Jenga and Connect Four are played by 22% of those who play classic board games. The average American also spends 3.4 hours per month playing classic board games.
The Benefits and Reasons Behind Playing Board Games and Consumer Habits
Meanwhile, Hasbro and Ageless Innovation have teamed up to create more senior-friendly board games as the market for board games is growing continuously. With 3 in 4 Americans playing board games today, there are different reasons why people do that.
41% of respondents said that it made them feel nostalgic, with another 33% saying that they wanted to play with their kids, and 35% adding that they played them with extended family. Another 34% said that these games help pass the time, and 23% said that it’s what was available at home.
The survey dug even deeper into the benefits of playing board games. Some 62% of respondents said that board games help them with anxiety – the numbers were much higher for Gen Z respondents with 76% of people answering in the affirmative. 84% said board games felt like a good gift.
One in four players said that they preferred a new game to the classics and 83% confirmed that board games really helped strengthen family relationships. In terms of the preferred medium, 41% of all respondents said that they preferred to play digital versions of board games while 64% said that they would much rather play digitally.
The survey, in its entirety, is a tremendously fun look into what motivates players and board games today and can be found at Cabbage’s dedicated page.