This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Anyone who has ever damaged a friendship over a supposedly friendly game of Monopoly knows the allure of board games. The board game industry is rapidly evolving, with producers creating complex games with elaborate thematic art to appeal to a range of consumers.
According to industry data, game sales and popularity spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, making board games a topical area of research in entrepreneurship and marketing. Faculty at Montana State University have strengthened scholarship on entrepreneurship, marketing and business strategy. Matthew Barlow, a management professor in the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and director of the Jabs Entrepreneurship Center, co-authored a paper about product distinctiveness in the board game industry.
It was published in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights this summer. The paper presents strategic findings useful for board game producers that are also applicable to producers of what Barlow calls "experience goods," or products that consumers essentially have to experience before forming an opinion. Other examples include craft beer and novels.
"It's hard to judge these products sometimes," Barlow said. "For example, with a board game, you really have to play it to understand it. With a craft beer, you have to taste it.
Just by looking at an advertisement, you may not be getting the whole picture." With board games, there is sometimes a mismatch between producer expectations of the consumer experience and the actual consumer experience, the researchers found. Specifically, the paper identified a "misalignment" in the perceived distinctiveness of different board games. Put more simply, producers believe the board games they create are more distinctive and unique than consumers believe they are.
The analysis was based on firsthand interviews with 28 board game designers and 381 quantitative surveys completed by 127 experienced consumers of board games. Barlow said the findings offer important takeaways. "I think any entrepreneur, to a certain extent, should make sure that their customers understand their product," Barlow said.
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