The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus is officially a pandemic. The implications for what a pandemic means for the tabletop gaming industry are both far-reaching and subtle. Here's how it might impact gamers everywhere. Please note: This isn't health advice; follow your local government regulations and laws and don't game with others if you feel sick!
What is COVID-19?
According to the WHO:
Governments around the world are taking steps to slow down the spread of the virus by cancelling major events that involve large groups of people. That includes gaming conventions. To be clear, it doesn't necessarily require an outbreak of the virus to encourage an event to cancel. As we understand more about the virus, the goal is to minimize a fast outbreak so that medical and emergency services are not overwhelmed by a surge in cases.
When Conventions Close
Gaming conventions are not alone in closing; the outbreak has created a spiral that causes guests and attendees to cancel attendance, which in turn makes it not feasible to host a convention. Nord Games is just one example:
The Uncertain Future of Game Conventions
The biggest trade show in video games is skipping this year. E3 2020 has been cancelled:
Printing
Tabletop game publishers are heavily reliant on the book trade, which often is printed and shipped from China. Several industry members have confirmed that some books printed in China have been delayed. But printing is only part of the problem, as shipping is impacted too:
What it Means for Gamers
Gamers who are quarantined together will find they have a lot of time on their hands and nowhere to go. In the past there were two phases in an adult's life that this happened: younger school-aged children and college-aged students. Both were perfect opportunities for tabletop campaigns to flourish with friends (usually for a span of four years in either high school in the U.S. or a four-year degree at college). There's an additional group, military personnel on a base, who also fit this category.
For most adults, it's difficulty to schedule a game with peers without significant planning, but a quarantine (like a snow day) creates a unique opportunity. Unless of course someone in the group gets sick; WHO guidelines specifically encourage social distancing, which is antithetical to the basic premise of in-person tabletop play.
Online play is an alternative option. But online play will be under significant strain as increasing numbers of adults and students are asked to work or learn from home. The Internet will certainly be able to handle it, but it may not be very fast:
So what's a gamer to do? Text-based or audio-only online games provide less of a bandwidth strain; play-by-postgames are always an option. There's plenty of ways tabletop games can keep on track, through a combination of email, web, and text messaging apps. But if you are quarantined, the most important thing is to wash your hands and don't panic. Stay safe everyone!
According to the WHO:
COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world at a rate fast enough to merit the WHO classifying it as a pandemic. Gamers are familiar with this term; it's the name of a very popular board game dealing with a similar subject.
Governments around the world are taking steps to slow down the spread of the virus by cancelling major events that involve large groups of people. That includes gaming conventions. To be clear, it doesn't necessarily require an outbreak of the virus to encourage an event to cancel. As we understand more about the virus, the goal is to minimize a fast outbreak so that medical and emergency services are not overwhelmed by a surge in cases.
When Conventions Close
Gaming conventions are not alone in closing; the outbreak has created a spiral that causes guests and attendees to cancel attendance, which in turn makes it not feasible to host a convention. Nord Games is just one example:
Rob Salkowitz explained how visitors changing their behavior led to the postponement of Emerald City Comic Con:
ECC is not alone in reacting to the outbreak. Coachella was postponed and South by Southwest was cancelled. Given those major venues are closing, it raises a legitimate question: What will happen at Gen Con?
The Uncertain Future of Game Conventions
The biggest trade show in video games is skipping this year. E3 2020 has been cancelled:
E3 is not alone in changing its plans. Like so many other large events, discussions of whether a convention should go forward is financial and regional decision balanced by the potential for significant losses of revenue. Indianapolis, for now, is holding fast:
For now, Gen Con is still on. But that's not the only potential impact the outbreak is having on the gaming industry.
Printing
Tabletop game publishers are heavily reliant on the book trade, which often is printed and shipped from China. Several industry members have confirmed that some books printed in China have been delayed. But printing is only part of the problem, as shipping is impacted too:
As an example of what this might look like for tabletop game publishers on Kickstarter, the puzzle board game Project L experienced delays:
What this means is that a publisher who relies on a printer China might experience delays even after the outbreak passes due to a backlog of orders. All that said, at least gamers have each other.
What it Means for Gamers
Gamers who are quarantined together will find they have a lot of time on their hands and nowhere to go. In the past there were two phases in an adult's life that this happened: younger school-aged children and college-aged students. Both were perfect opportunities for tabletop campaigns to flourish with friends (usually for a span of four years in either high school in the U.S. or a four-year degree at college). There's an additional group, military personnel on a base, who also fit this category.
For most adults, it's difficulty to schedule a game with peers without significant planning, but a quarantine (like a snow day) creates a unique opportunity. Unless of course someone in the group gets sick; WHO guidelines specifically encourage social distancing, which is antithetical to the basic premise of in-person tabletop play.
Online play is an alternative option. But online play will be under significant strain as increasing numbers of adults and students are asked to work or learn from home. The Internet will certainly be able to handle it, but it may not be very fast:
Of more relevant concern are specific platforms that use multimedia streaming, like first-person shooters or video chat. PUBG, a very popular first-person shooter in China, has already suffered an outage due to the volume of players logging on at once. But perhaps the biggest problem is our own homes. Families all attempting to use Netflix, watch videos on YouTube, run a Skype video conference, and play Fortnite are going to definitely experience lag.
So what's a gamer to do? Text-based or audio-only online games provide less of a bandwidth strain; play-by-postgames are always an option. There's plenty of ways tabletop games can keep on track, through a combination of email, web, and text messaging apps. But if you are quarantined, the most important thing is to wash your hands and don't panic. Stay safe everyone!
