Researchers at the University of Plymouth recently confirmed what board game fans and role-playing game (RPG) enthusiasts have known for decades: that tabletop games “enhance well-being, foster inclusion, and support learning, with strong evidence that games improve engagement.”
The researchers were particularly interested in how board games benefit people who display autistic traits, but tabletop gaming has social benefits that support personal well-being for everyone.
For those of us who spend our free time with 20-sided dice, or boast an impressive collection of meeple-themed jewelry, it’s undeniable that we’re living in a “golden age” of board games. But with digital technologies on the rise, the success of tabletop games might come as a surprise to some.
In 2025, the global board games and playing card market was valued at almost US$20 billion and is projected to reach US$32 billion by 2030. This increased interest is typically attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the global market continued to grow even after social distancing ended.
The digital detox movement has further increased attention to tabletop games, but their capacity to support health, general well-being and community-building goes much deeper than putting down your smartphone.
Building meaningful connections
Research on the COVID-19 pandemic showed how playing board games decreased stress, isolation and anxiety. Research also demonstrates that playing board games helps develop socio-emotional growth, strengthens relationships and builds community.
At Kansas State University, the Bonding thru Board Games program uses tabletop gaming to support the development soft skills, such as self-control, positive self-concept, social and communication skills and executive function.
Programs like this one recognize the capacity for board games to improve social connections, a critical component to health and wellness. Research shows that meaningful and stable social bonds supports emotional and mental well-being, impact cognitive abilities and influence our motivations and behaviour.
What’s changing, however, is the recognition that tabletop gaming also builds vital community. Andrea Robertson is the co-owner of Rain City Games in British Columbia. She has seen increased participation in store events over the last few years. Annual ticket sales increased from approximately 8,500 in 2024 to over 9,100 in 2025.
She told me: “We find that our store fills the role of a ‘third space’ for a lot of our customers. We hope our events help alleviate some of the rising loneliness and isolation among young people, offering a way to interact without the mediation of screens and algorithms.”
Space for Indigenous and racialized gamers
In 2021, David Plamondon co-founded Pe Metawe Games in Edmonton. It is Canada’s only Indigenous-owned board game store and is committed to reducing barriers and providing better access for marginalized communities in areas they have been historically excluded.
Plamondon is a Cree game consultant with strong community ties to Treaty 8 and Treaty 6 Territory. He told me that: “Historically, the tabletop hobby has been unwelcoming, if not overtly hostile to many equity deserving groups, particularly LGBTQ2S+, women and BIPOC folks.”
He explained that poor representation, as well as socioeconomic and geographical factors, have excluded Indigenous folks from participating in tabletop gaming.
As a game consultant, Plamondon helps game developers ensure Indigenous Peoples are represented and part of the conversation when it comes to designing games that include Indigenous histories, communities, culture and storytelling traditions. He said:“From a Cree perspective, the incorporation of Indigenous values into gaming spaces and game design is synonymous with building and protecting a community. So, when we opened Pe Metawe games, that was our primary focus: honouring Cree culture through creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for anyone who was willing to honour that ideal.”
From play to playtesting
Plamondon’s work reflects a new trend in the global gaming industry that emphasizes intentional and inclusive game design. It has led to the development of new kinds of gaming events. In addition to coming together to play games, gamers have started coming out in droves to help develop them.
The Vancouver Playtest Group (VPG) was established in 2018 to create a space for board game designers to gather and work on their prototypes. The group’s co-founders Mark Ellis and Noe Escobar see gaming groups as a great way to connect and meet new people. Escobar told me: “Games teach us a lot about ourselves, through moments that are funny, or exciting, or frustrating. We share those feelings and go on a journey together. Pretty soon, you can find a whole new community of friends you might never have met otherwise.”
Academics have also begun to recognize the value of gaming’s capacity to build community. Beyond research on the value of playing games as a social enterprise, games studies as an academic field has turned to community as a model for intellectual inquiry.
At the University of British Columbia, our team recently launched the UBC Critical Play Lab and Fellows Program to develop a community of practice for games and game studies. Its mission is to innovate teaching, research and public engagement through games.
Our inaugural cohort of almost 30 scholars, students, and local game designers are collaborating on new research, knowledge mobilization and game design initiatives.
How to get started
If you’re looking to get into tabletop gaming, checking out in-person board game nights at a local venue is an excellent way to start. Search for local events online or pop by your local game shop for information on local board game or RPG groups. You can even try check out games at your local public library.
Game store staff are often experts in identifying the perfect new game for any player. Give them a sense of the kinds of games you’ve played or like, and they can provide you with a list of similar games or suggest accessible new games.
If you haven’t played a game in years, but want to try them out, here are my favourite starter games right now. Hues and Cues and Wavelength are easy party games with creative mechanics. Dominion and Ascension are great for getting started on deck-building games.
If you are a fan of Yahtzee and interested in adding a different kind of competition, Dice Throne is essentially magical combat with dice and endless character variations. And if you’re looking for a further twist on the classic dice game, but this time inspired by the Indigenous-futurist world of Coyote & Crow created by award-winning game designer and proud Cherokee citizen Kenna Alexander, check out Naasii.
My favourite “cozy” board game is Patchwork, which is easy to play while having a conversation. Another tile-laying game that is simple to learn and reflects the natural beauty of my home in the Pacific Northwest is Cascadia, and a great tile-grabbing game for the tiny humans in your life is Cobra Paw.
Ticket to Ride is always a crowd-pleaser among young and old alike with a wealth of geographies to choose from, and a new go-to game for my whole family is the two-player game Toy Battle, which is as much fun for adults as it is for the kids.
