It was supposed to be the other way around – physical games were supposed to give ground to video games.
Yet, Gamescom, the world’s largest video game trade show held in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has announced that it is adding a section dedicated to tabletop games for its upcoming edition in 2024. Due to take place on August 21-25, 2024, there is plenty of time for tabletop franchises and publishers to prepare and attend.
Board Game Events Rival Video Gaming Ones
Although usually attracting video gaming crowds, duh, the event itself is filled with people who enjoy tabletop and board games, not least because Gamescom is hosted in Germany, the country with one of the highest board game sales annually where 70% of people play board games occasional, and the country being seen as an “ancestral” home of modern-day board games, whether this is Carcassonne or Catan.
It’s not hard to imagine that board games would find a place at the event, as the lines between video games and board games have been repeatedly blurred. Off the top of one’s head, there are plenty of releases coming to the tabletop medium and inspired from original video gaming franchises.
You can have your pick of the litter with Apex Legends: The Board Game, Metal Gear: The Board Game, or Call of Duty: The Board Game, all announced this year as crowdfunding campaigns and reaping success.
One particular game we are excited about includes Rome Total War: The Board Game, but there are others already part of our collection such as Dorfromantik and Northgard: Uncharted Lands.
Ultimately, we don’t know much about the scale of the tabletop section of the event, but with its 320,000 visitors from 100 countries in the past 14 years, Gamescom is one of the most significant events to attend if you are a fan of video games, and now – tabletop gaming.
Perhaps, some of the 193,000 or so visitors Spiel Essen had in 2023 might end up pouring into Gamescom.