Board Game Arena blew my mind!
A few weeks ago, I wrote a silly essay about a subscription model in the board games industry. The basic premise was that players would get the game for free, and then the designer would be paid 1 cent each time they played the game. That was a thought experiment, and I had fun writing it. It was silly, but fun.
And then the 21st century hit me in the head. Because this week I got my paycheck, and it was all about subscription and board gaming. So yeah, I have a follow-up to my silly story!
I was aware of Board Game Arena for years, but did not pay much attention to it, to be honest. I knew it existed, but I was focused on Portal Games apps in the App Store and Google Play. I was excited about our games debuting on Steam and Switch, and BGA was always less important to me.
Things might change soon, though.
Board Game Arena reports that it has over 10 million users and over 1,000 games in the database. These are legit numbers. For years, we board game publishers were looking at the App Store and Google Play because there were millions of customers. BGA already has 10 million board gamers. It’s my dedicated audience—those who are not afraid of rulebooks, those who know who Lang, Trzewiczek, or Faidutti are, those who are already fans of the hobby. I’d call it important.
The importance of BGA also lies in the demo opportunity. The whole video game industry grew on demos, and if you are my age, you probably remember floppy disks with the Wolfenstein 3D demo. You played a demo of the video game, you got hooked, you bought the full version. BGA is the tool for that in board gaming. So many new game releases on BGA, and players can play them and test them for free before making a purchase decision. I myself am a happy owner of Faraway, River of Gold, or Riftforce, because I tested them on BGA and decided I need these titles in my life.
And then there is the financial importance. My revenue stream from the App Store and Google Play is still bigger than from BGA, but I am really blown away by the BGA model. I am mindblown, because it is as close to a subscription model and my silly article as it gets. Board Game Arena compensates publishers through a revenue-sharing model based on the popularity of their games on the platform. Publishers receive a portion of the revenue generated from premium memberships. In other words, the more you play 51st State, the more $ I receive. Just like in my silly article!
Even though, as I said, my revenue from apps is bigger, I really appreciate the revenue from BGA, because it directly, 1:1, translates into how many hours you spend playing my games. It encourages me to design better and better games—games that will give you joy and fun and make you play them over and over. The more you play, the more the designer is rewarded. The ultimate way to write a paycheck for my work.
I’d like to thank all of you who played 51st State on Board Game Arena. I encourage you to continue to play and have fun with it, and each time you win a game of 51st State, smile and think that Ignacy has won a few cents on his bank account!
Well, when you lose a game of 51st State, smile too—because I got my few cents anyway. 🙂
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
BGA was an absolute game-changer for me during the pandemic, when I was lonely and solo gaming felt lonlier. And, look, I do love well-implemented app adaptations on mobile and steam, but I rarely pick up those unless I already know I like the games. BGA allowed me to, not only play different titles in one place with no installation, but, discover new-to-me games that sometimes lead to purchases.
And I am VERY happy that one of my favorite games, Imperial Settlers, is also there now in alpha and seems to be in a good state. Shoutout to KuWizard for the implem.