Games & Puzzles - Category Overview

Well played

Games & Puzzles suppliers will be looking forward to Q4, the quarter in which the category really comes into its own and sales start to soar. With consumers demanding ever more from their purchases in terms of value for money and replayability, it’s down to suppliers to ensure their portfolios cater to all tastes - as well as reduced budgets in some cases. Rachael Simpson-Jones speaks to a selection of leading Games & Puzzles manufacturers and distributors to find out what’s selling and why, as well as how the art of social media influences product performance.

AAfew weeks ago, I found myself in Orkney, peering into a museum display of stone and bone objects from the Neolithic period. Estimated to be around 5,000 years old, it’s believed the carved shapes may be pieces for a game, the rules and strategy of which have long been lost to the annals of time. Viking warriors played Hnefatafl, perhaps to hone their understanding of battle strategy, and the Lewis Chess Men show that Europeans were playing chess as early as the 12th and 13th centuries – though the originally Islamic game is thought to be around 1,500 years old. Dice and card games were popular with the Tudors and Elizabethans, and Henry VIII was said to be a big fan of dominoes (even if he did regularly lose large sums of money betting on it). So, when you’re next arguing with your family over a game of Monopoly or collaborating with your friends on the best way to escape Forbidden Island, take a moment to reflect on the fact you’re indulging in an ancient pastime that has played an important part in people’s free time for thousands of years.

Of course, the games we play nowadays look and play very differently to their predecessors, even if the core elements of gameplay – competitiveness, strategy, point-scoring – remain largely the same. It’s hard to imagine our Neolithic ancestors sitting down for a game of Pandemic (thought maybe Catan would have appealed?) or Henry Tudor himself participating in a game of Pictionary AI. But they would have understood why we play them, because they played games for the same, simple reason: they’re fun.

So far this year, leading games manufacturers and suppliers have been enjoying steady sales of a raft of titles outside of the peak Q4 season, though Circana’s Rory Partis tells Toy World the Games & Puzzles supercategory was down -5% (at the time of writing), lagging slightly behind the total UK Toys category at -3%. The top item in total Games is the Uno Card Game Assortment from Mattel. Sitting within the Card Games subcategory, Uno is enjoying a strong year, helping drive overall brand growth of +19% this year. The top performing subclasses in Games for 2024, meanwhile, are Electronic Handheld/Tabletop/ Plug N Play Games (fuelled by growth from Bop It Now from Hasbro and Fanzone from Golden Bear, which may have had a boost from the recent Euro 2024 football championships), Adult Games (thanks in part to two items from Relatable: What do you Meme? and New Phone who Dis?) and Family Board/ Action Games.

The latter includes popular brands such as 5 Second Rule, which continues to be a dominant game brand for PlayMonster and a staple in many households, with 5 Second Rule Mini – which was created for travelling and holidays - consistently remaining the No.1 Travel Game with families hitting the road, airport or ferry terminal for a break. Imagination Games’ adult party titles have been the company’s most in-demand products throughout 2024. One in particular, Tipsyland, apparently became a hit as soon as it hit shelves. Will Stewart, UK managing director, explains: “Consumers are looking for innovation in the Adult Games space, something they haven’t seen before that pops off the shelf, which is why Tipsyland has been such a hit. Plus, the gameplay is so much fun.”

Emma Weber, Marketing & Licensing director at Vivid Goliath Group, tells me the company has seen year-round sales success with games such as Floor is Lava - which has an accessible price point and a pack-up-and-play-anywhere play pattern - while travel games sales such as Red Light Green Light perform well year-round, not just during the summer holidays. The Vivid Goliath team has likewise been delighted with the performance of its The Traitors board game, which, according to Circana, is adding value within the Top 10 Family Board/Action Games category (overwhelmingly the largest in value size and worth around 12% of all Games value). Bolstered by the hotly anticipated Series 2, which aired on the BBC in January, sales of the game continued to increase strongly throughout Q1, a period not typically associated with this category. Emma adds: “With Series 3 now being filmed back at Ardross Castle, we’re forecasting even more success for the game as we move into the Christmas selling season.”

Indeed, although I’m writing this on a sunny day in August, games manufacturers and retailers have long been preparing for the peak Christmas season, when the Games category truly comes into its own. With the long winter nights soon beginning to draw in, families will be seeking at-home entertainment options that will keep everyone, from the kids to grandma, amused - without breaking the bank. Even though inflation has eased slightly, many consumers continue to find their finances squeezed. Games retailers such as Board at Home, Eclectic Games and Rules of Play have all noticed that the majority of today’s shoppers aren’t looking to spend more than around £20 on a single game, whereas some years ago (pre-pandemic) a £40+ game wouldn’t have been balked at.

“We’ve noticed that the price customers are willing to pay for games has reduced considerably over the last year,” says Adam Jemmet from Board at Home. “About 90% of our sales are up to £30 and the average spend is £15. We look at what we’re stocking and adapt our range to customers’ spending habits; right now, everybody wants to get more bang for their buck.”

This means that sales of hefty, strategy-driven games, including legacy games, have been impacted. However, downward-adjusted spending has created an opportunity for companies to design and champion affordable games that offer strong value for money and a level of replayability that makes the outlay worth it.

“Through various insights, we understand where the Games market is currently positioned and anticipate that even with new and existing products, it will remain challenging,” notes Justin Clasby, director of International Marketing at PlayMonster. “Consumers are heavily price conscious and constantly looking for discounted products. Partially, this is psychologically driven: shoppers often want to see a discount off the RRP, not just an everyday low price. When it comes to Christmas purchases, spending will likely follow a similar pattern to 2023 and family time will be prioritised over screen time, with consumers keen to bring friends and family together for some fun over an old classic or new game. The economic climate may remain tough, but the category is likely to be strong.”

Following the success of Pigs on Trampolines in 2023, PlayMonster has introduced the new kids action game Flying Squirrels Feeder Frenzy, which has an RRP of £19.99. The company is also relaunching the family classic Five Second Rule board game, complete with a game board and spiral timer, at an RRP of £14.99. According to Justin, the current climate is seeing consumers turn to what they know and trust, making classics a safe bet for suppliers and consumers alike.

Lynette Leet, Marketing manager at John Adams Leisure, agrees, telling Toy World she’s expecting to see brands consumers which know and trust, such as Rummikub and Othello, perform well as a result. She adds: “While price is important, we also see consumers being guided by what suits their particular group of family and friends. That could be anything from something a bit silly that creates lots of laughs, like Pencil Nose or Silly Sausage, to something more competitive, such as our new challenge game, Go Viral. Shoppers may even want to push their boundaries with edgy party games such as Bad People and Pick Your Poison from our new Dyce range.”

Over at Imagination Games, Will Stewart, UK managing director, thinks shoppers will opt to purchase just one or two crowd-pleasers for Christmas this year, rather than perhaps three or four, opting for those that seem most likely to create lasting memories through immersive, value-added play.

For many games companies, the other main challenge heading into the festive season is balancing the needs of consumers with those of retailers. While the former clearly want affordable, accessible games that offer excellent value for money, the latter still need good margins and games that will sell-through strongly with a wide range of consumers. Unfortunately, increased costs and container rates have made this a tricky balancing act for many –though it’s clear from speaking to a number of leaders in the games space that companies are doing their best to keep both parties as happy as possible.

Strategic Trading Card Games is the largest subclass within Games & Puzzles, making up just over 40% of all Games value: this is flat versus its 2023 share. Despite Circana data showing the sub-category down -5%, the retailers we’ve spoken to for this month’s issue say Trading Card Games is a bright spot within the Games market, particularly (you guessed it) Disney Lorcana from Ravensburger and Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars Unlimited, available from Asmodee. The recent launch of Disney Lorcana Shimmering Skies saw fans camping overnight outside of Disney Store London and Disney Store Dublin, so eager were they to be among the first to lay their hands on the new decks, putting paid to any ideas that that the game would prove to be something of a flash-in-the-pan. Already five sets in, just over a year since its debut, Disney Lorcana has clearly enchanted a huge number of players and seems destined to maintain its momentum: for more on what the future holds for the TCG from Lea Dillenseger, Ravensburger Product Marketing manager, turn to pages 22 and 24.

Tim Evans from Toys and Games of Worcester, and Ian Davis from Rules of Play, both say Asmodee’s Star Wars Unlimited is enjoying significant growth after a modest start. “Sales are really ramping up now that people are getting into the gameplay,” Tim tells Marianna Casal in this month’s special Games & Puzzles-focused Talking Shop (starting on page 12). “From what I’ve heard, it has one of the better gameplays.” Leisure Games’ James Graham is also seeing success with Star Wars Unlimited, which he calls the shop’s ‘big hit so far this year’, even outstripping Disney Lorcana – no mean feat.

From TCGs to family-friendly games, University Games is tipping The Dog Ate My Homework! to be a festive best-seller and a particular hit among younger players. Sales director Mark Jones says: “Our dog really did eat my homework many times when I was younger – honest! The beautifully drawn homework, ready for the doggy to eat, has been crowdsourced from children all over the world for added authenticity. After the dog has chewed and pooped out the homework, players race to place the jumbled pieces back together and guess what the image was. This is a hilarious new addition to our children’s games range and, I believe, will appear on many Christmas lists this year.”

Sticking with poop (sorry…), VR Distribution is flushed with excitement for the launch of Silly Poopy's Hide & Seek Game, which Stewart Middleton says is ‘hilarious and fun for all the family’. He points out that while many family games start at around 8+, Silly Poopy's Hide & Seek Game is suitable for players as young as three years, making it more inclusive than a lot of other titles. Cheatwell’s Steve Asbey, meanwhile, says families should find space for its new launch Inter-Galactic Plumber. He says: “Every player gets their own working bathroom plungerwhat kid could want more?”

Off the back of its success with The Traitors, Vivid Goliath is releasing Murdle: The Board Game. Described by Emma Weber as ‘utterly addictive’, the game is based on the best-selling puzzle books, which have sold over 600k copies in the UK alone. She adds: “Murdle brings out the competitive detective in everyone as players race to find out whodunnit, with what weapon and in which location. Sounds simple? Wait until you play it…”

Other exciting licensed games offerings for Christmas 2024 include Epoch’s raft of Jurassic World games - Jurassic World Shaky Volcano, Jurassic World Cage Breaker, Jurassic World T-Rex Panic, Jurassic World Volcano Quake and Jurassic World Island Quake – while Winning Moves is celebrating the famously-not-a-cat Hello Kitty (see social media for more on the furore) with a Hello Kitty Monopoly, Hello Kitty Top Trumps Match and a Hello Kitty Top Trumps Specials pack. These are joined by Cluedo, Whot! and Waddingtons No.1 playing cards, all featuring The Grinch, and Stitch Top Trumps Match, catering to fans of one of this year’s biggest properties. John Adams’ The 1% Club and Race Across the World are also selling well, which Lynette Leet says is partially due to the programming, and partially down to the fact that the gameplay the company has developed accurately reflects the essence of the shows.

Licensed puzzles, meanwhile, are also likely to find their way under the Christmas tree in their droves this year. Rory Partis from Circana says: “Licensed Puzzles are having a good year and make up 43% of all Puzzles value, with a growth trend of +14%. Some of the best performing licences include Pokémon, Paw Patrol and Bluey, which are all growing by double digits versus 2023. The top item in Puzzles is the Bluey 4-in-a-Box Puzzle Set followed by Peppa Pig Multi Puzzles, both from Ravensburger and both sitting within the Children’s Puzzles subclass.”

Hoping to bag a piece of the licensed puzzles action, Gibsons has welcomed a 500-piece Paddington puzzle for 2024, joining the 1,000-piece Paddington puzzle which became a Top 20 seller in Q3/4 2023. And Kidicraft’s licensed Hornby puzzles continue to fly high for distributor A.B.Gee, including the 3,000-piece Airfix Submarine Spitfire MK.1a. The puzzle comes complete with an Airfix kit of the same model, making it a perfect Christmas gift for any aviation enthusiast.

Elsewhere in Puzzles, which as an overall category is flat YOY (-1%) and therefore outperforming the Games & Puzzles supercategory, 3D Puzzles – though the smallest subclass – has grown by an impressive +11% this year, adding nearly £100k to the category. Players in this space include Ravensburger, which is marking its 50th anniversary with the release of its 50th Anniversary Glow-in-the-Dark Eiffel Tower 3D Puzzle, and University Games, which is releasing new 3D puzzle lines for Christmas including Darth Vader, Spider-Man and Deadpool characters, alongside Chibi versions of Wizarding World favourites Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.

It's not all about licensing, of course. This year has seen Cheatwell Games introduce over 150 new Cobble Hill puzzles to the UK market, which Colin Wilcock of Mind Games Southport says are proving very popular with his customers. “I know everyone likes to say their early reads are amazing - but try a few of our Cobble Hill puzzles and see the results for yourself, I promise you will not be disappointed,” urges Cheatwell’s Steve Asbey. “We are able to provide a classy Cobble Hill FSDU to complement the range, so speak to your Cheatwell sales manager and secure one before they are all gone.”

Educational games are likely to prove a popular gifting option too, as we’ve seen in previous years. We’re all aware that parents, grandparents and aunts/ uncles like to give gifts they feel will impart some form of benefit, and happily there are plenty out there that tick that particular box. University Games has witnessed a strong start with its new The Learning Journey Match It range of educational games, which launched this spring.

“2024 sees the first year of The Learning Journey mass marketing campaign for the UK,” says Mark Jones. “Having acquired The Learning Journey at the start of 2024, we have a dedicated three-year strategy to build the brand with both retailers and parents. Our plans are already underway and include a wide range of activities to ensure brand awareness along with dedicated product support. With a total campaign reach of over 3.5m, we expect this to be a brilliant start to our Learning Journey journey. Activity includes a 4-month partnership with Netmums, traditional display, social advertising, VOD and podcasts to target our new consumers.”

University Games is just one of a number of games companies partnering with influencers or parenting sites for this year’s Christmas social media marketing campaigns. Mark adds: “Social media is, and continues to be, a strong part of our communication strategy. We’re continuously delivering significant influencer campaigns to ensure we have fresh, engaging content every week. Long gone are the comms plans that just feature TV advertising: we live in a world where social media plays a big part in many people’s lives, and it has provided suppliers and retailers with alternative communication platforms through which to reach key customer segments. Social media not only facilitates product awareness, but with the function to shop from social media channels, including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, it has the ability to leverage increased sales too. In mid-August, PlayMonster unveiled its PlayMonster Influencer Network. Billed as a ‘collective of top social personalities’, the company says its new influencer network will propel the company’s digital presence as it engages with audiences across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube on brands including 5 Second Rule, Pigs on Trampolines and Yeti in my Spaghetti. Inaugural members of the PlayMonster Influencer Network include TurboToyTime, a fun-loving family channel starring a father and his sons, GettiShow, a performer and world-record setting hula hooper, and Games.4two, a board game loving couple who have amassed a huge online following.

VR Distribution is also working with Games.4two as part of its comprehensive social media marketing campaigns for Q4 2024. Games.4two will support two of its new launches - Tower Stack and Shoot The Moon – bringing the games to their 7.5+m followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, which Stewart Middleton says will ensure maximum exposure for the launches in the shortest possible time. He adds: “We work with the biggest influencers, which certainly isn’t cheap, but these focused campaigns give us a brilliant route to a massive number of consumers that we know buy games like ours. Sales of our games will certainly increase over the next few months. From forecasts it looks like numbers will be similar to those of Q3 and Q4 2023, so we’ve committed to a lot of stock for Q3/Q4 this year in anticipation of another strong season.”

All this social media activity will help drive consumers into their local toy and games stores, where companies will continue to support their latest launches. University Games’ Mark Jones tells Toy World: “With our dedicated account managers visiting stores every day, we offer a wide range of retail solutions. The team can help with on-the-spot or pre-planned planograming as well as merchandising, and we also have our University Games and Lagoon shelf strips to aid visibility. We offer a comprehensive range of FSDUs and CDUs, including Purple Cow, The Learning Journey and Project Genius alongside a wide range of bespoke CDUs.”

Vivid Goliath is throwing itself behind licensed board games The Traitors and Murdle, creating bespoke POS solutions and striking FSDUs to support both. Always keen to support retailers with instore theatre, events and marketing activations, Emma Weber says the company is also in the early planning stages of an exciting, interactive instore Murdle event, which is sure to be a hit with fans. VR Distribution also offers retailers FSDUs and CDUs for a number of brands within its range and is more than happy to work with its retail partners on an individual basis to find solutions (where possible) that maximise sales.

With Q4 on the horizon, the Games & Puzzles category is certainly hotting up, and there’s a slew of companies jostling for their slice of the sales pie with the launches contained within the following pages. Read on to find out what will be appearing on shelves, at Christmas parties and under the tree this year.