What makes a popular game?

This thread on Story Games reports an interesting statistic.

Dogs in the Vineyard has sold between a thousand and two thousand copies.
The sales figures for DnD aren’t ten times that, they’re more than a HUNDRED times that, and that was for the FIRST print run. More have gone into print since then.

The 23rd Letter has sold a few hundred copies worldwide and would have sold a lot more if we’d continued with the Key20 distribution a few years ago. We’re starting up distribution again though and working on some new materials.

Looking at TableTopNorth it would seem that straight RPGs are certainly on a par with wargames but it’s such a subjective point. Back in Slayers in my day the club was filled with tables and tables of RPGs even in the heyday of the card gamer. Slayers seems to be doing alright but gaming in general really seems to have retreated to the “dining room” brigade. Maybe that’s a consequence of age – after all I’m 34 now and hanging around in a “games club” does seem a little silly. Fun, but silly.

Face it – role-playing is a minority within a minority.

And people who play games other than D&D? That’s…um…

Minority to the power of 3…or maybe 4…

About matt

Gamer. Writer. Dad. Serial Ex-husband. Creator of The 23rd Letter, SpaceNinjaCyberCrisis XDO, ZOMBI, Testament, Creed. Slightly megalomaniac
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