Compare The Market's Tabletop Gaming Survey

Insurance comparison site Compare The Market recently (January 2025) undertook a survey of about 3,000 people across the US, Canada, and Australia about their tabletop gaming habits.

They found that about 13% of people in the US say they collect and play tabletop RPGs or wargames, followed by 10% in Canada and just under 5% in Australia. About three times as many indicated that they used to play or collect such games.

They also broke the data down by age group, which showed that popularity of tabletop gaming peaked at ages 18-24 and then declined over the decades to the 65+ age group.

Dungeons & Dragons is the most popular tabletop game across all three countries. This was followed by the wargame Kings of War, space skirmish game Star Wars X-Wing, and giant robot battle game Battletech. Call of Cthulhu edged into the top 10 also.

The survey went on to look at expenditure, with the most common response being an annual spend of $100-$200. Check out the survey for the full analysis.

 

[aramis erak]

100$-200 seems low. Most gamers I know, buy something every two weeks when they get a pay check. Maybe their S.O. was listening when they answered the survey.

When I was working, it was $50 to $100 per month, not counting snacks/beverages/fuel.

 

[EthanSental]

Interesting general populace survey, I’m guessing it’s to gauge coverage and costs for people with extensive collections and insurance premiums for fire, theft, etc.

 

[Scribe]

I don't even know what Kings of War is ?

Very surprised that Warhammer isn't on the list I thought it was the big dog of table top war gamming?

Yeah I dont understand that.

 

[cranberry]

It doesn't include Pathfinder, so it must be wrong.

 

[MGibster]

Consumerism for the win I could never spend money on games I didn't play regularly. The concept of fashionable consumption is just alien to me. I read a book, then give it away so it isn't collecting dust on my shelf.

I think of it as aspirational consumption. i.e. I sure hope I get to play this. The thing with board games, is that a lot of people will play one regularly until they don't. I used to be able to find a game of Puerto Rico or Settlers of Catan quite easily, but I haven't seen anyone playing these for years.

I'm a more than a little surprised Games Workshop didn't make the list here in the United States. I know I shouldn't extrapolate national trends from my own anecdotal evidence, but my game store stopped carrying both Kings of War and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare sometime pre-COVID. X-Wing used to be fairly popular, but again, pre-COVID, its popularity around here serious waned and I don't think they carry any X-Wing products now.

 

[el-remmen]

It would have to be a fairly sizable and valuable collection to insure separately. I have a ton of books and minis but my homeowners insurance should cover some of that should the worst happen.

 

[Scribe]

I'm a more than a little surprised Games Workshop didn't make the list here in the United States. I know I shouldn't extrapolate national trends from my own anecdotal evidence, but my game store stopped carrying both Kings of War and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare sometime pre-COVID. X-Wing used to be fairly popular, but again, pre-COVID, its popularity around here serious waned and I don't think they carry any X-Wing products now.

Yeah I really cannot understand it. Like I'm dumbfounded.

 

[Umbran]

Consumerism for the win I could never spend money on games I didn't play regularly. The concept of fashionable consumption is just alien to me. I read a book, then give it away so it isn't collecting dust on my shelf.

But, that's the power of marketing

With all due respect, there's a bunch of us who collect games, and read them and mine them for ideas for the games we do play.

The business of assuming/telling people why they do things is... fraught. Maybe don't get into it.

 

[Umbran]

Very surprised that Warhammer isn't on the list I thought it was the big dog of table top war gamming?

Well, note this:

a survey of about 3,000 people across the US, Canada, and Australia about their tabletop gaming habits

That leaves a ton of open questions about the sample. Like, were these a random sample, or taken from their customers? How many from each nation? Etc, etc.

Given the insurance aspect of the questioning, this survey doesn't tell us a whole lot about playing games.

 

[Piperken]

I wonder if there is an easy explanation as to why the AUS spending on things jumps such a significant percentage in the one table. Would it have something to do with the shipping of stuff there, presumably?

Also, CAN punching very hard on "related" table top merchandise. My goodness!