Demo-Graphics has generally focused on the demographics of comic fans but occasionally we have also reported on other fandoms and communities. In August, we kicked off a new regular look at those interested in tabletop games. That includes board games, roleplaying games, and card games. Why? The question still remains… who are the fans of tabletop games?
What is Demo-Graphics?
Each month I dive into data from Facebook looking at the various demographics it can tell us about comic, and now tabletop game, fans. This isn’t hard numbers, purchasers, or “Wednesday warriors,” but best used to show trends in the industry and the potential of the market out there.
How does it work?
We use key terms, “likes”, that users have indicated and have come up with our own set to measure each month. There’s over 50 terms used (and no I won’t release them). We stick to specific terms for the industry such as “board games” and “collectible card games” as well as publishers and leave out broad terms.
Other things to know…
This data is important in that it shows who the potential audience could be. These are not purchasers, these are people who have shown an affinity for tabletop games, are potential purchasers, and those with a clear interest.
Also, with this being online/technology, due to laws and restrictions, those under the age of 13 are underrepresented.
The data that is presented as a wide range. I’ve taken the average of the range. So, if it’s presented as somewhere between 500 and 1,000 people, the number would be 750.
So, let’s kick off the first entry with the big question…
Facebook “Tabletop Gamer” Population: Around 7.4 million in the United States
The overall Facebook population in the US dipped by about 600,000 and much like with comic books, the tabletop gaming community saw a dip this month. Since August, the tabletop gaming Facebook population decreased by about 1.6 million.
Gender
With the overall population lower, it’s both men and women who have dipped. Men have decreased about about 450,000 while women are down about 1.15 million. It’ll be interesting to see if this is an ongoing tread and continues in our next report or if this is just a bump.
Age
There’s a slight shift in age with some groups going up and some down. Those age “25-29,” “35-39,” and “40-44” all went up slightly. “45-49” remained the same while all the others dipped from August.
Relationship Status
Almost every relationship status is down from August though those “unspecified” is up slightly.
More Stats!
For Education we’re tracking individuals who have at least a college degree. 21.35 million individuals, 27.58% of the population have at least a college degree. That’s a higher percent of the population but 200,000 fewer than August. In 2022, 37.7% of the American population had at least a college degree.
13.9 million fans, 17.96%, are parents! This saw a big dip from August, 2.9 million individuals.
And finally, what’s the crossover with fans of board games and video games? 45.6 million, 58.91% of comic fans also enjoy board games. 45.35 million, 58.59% also enjoy video games. Combined, 64.1 million like board games or video games and 26.35 million enjoy board games and video games. Get your licensing engines revving!
What’s Next?
All of this continues the re-starting point. The terms will be refined as we go forward and we’ll take a look at any previous published reports to see what the legacy data says, and of course, we need to see how this compares to comic fans!
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Source: Graphic Policy
