Side hustles can be a supplementary form of income, or they can eventually become a full-time job. According to Wonga.com’s 2023 survey, 60% of participants found their side hustle to be sustainable, costing on average R1 000 to get it started. Board games can be found in almost every home so why aren’t there more people tapping into this industry?
In conversation with Chi Chi Gule, Phillip Galliford of Solarpop, Africa’s largest distributor of games, talks through the board game industry and why it’s so profitable.
How has the board games industry increased in SA? And why?
During Covid we saw a spike in board game sales and since then the demand has remained constant. This tells us that more people are partaking in the board gaming hobby. Interestingly, in South Africa, the biggest sales to date have been for Five Second Rule Travel Edition South Africa. I think it’s because it’s a game that is quick and easy to learn and has a local flavour with questions own to South Africa.
While the industry is still small compared to those of the United States and Europe, South Africa has a dedicated board game following that stretches from the very young to the spritely old. There is no age limit to board games because there are games for everyone.
Why are table top and board games popular?
This surge in interest comes as no surprise when we consider the very nature of board games – they bring people together in a way that digital entertainment simply can’t replicate. It’s one of humankind’s oldest hobbies and still one of our favourites.
In South Africa we have seen a considerable rise in large-scale board game events, and many games have increased in popularity. Strategy games that the whole family can play, such as Catan and Ticket to Ride, continue to be firm favourites. Games that can be played anywhere and anytime, such as Spot it and Bananagrams, are growing in popularity amongst younger children. Quick-thinking, laugh-out-loud games such as 5 second rule, never get stale. What games offer is entertainment, laughter, comraderie and a unique experience every time you play.
Worldwide there has been an increase in sales, why do you think that?
According to Statista, Revenue in the Board Games market amounts to US$8.31bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 3.58% (CAGR 2023-2028). Covid helped the growth considerably, as people realised what immersive fun there is to be had by playing board games. Board game culture has grown with organised events happening regularly where large groups of people play together. Board games combine socialising, competitiveness, fun and the face to face human factor. It’s also value for money entertainment compared with other forms of entertainment.
There are a number of entrepreneurs who have created new games, one of them is South African designer Louis du Pisani. What does it take to create a game and make it economically viable?
It is a difficult market to break into as the design of board games are quite niche. Most young or first time game designers find their start on platforms such as Kickstarter where they are able to showcase their creation to a wide audience. It takes hard work and dedication as designing a board game is just the first step, with an understanding of printing processes and design often required to help see a game on Kickstarter see its way to end users.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to get into gaming, and turn it into a money-making business or side hustle?
Although most get into gaming for the fun and social aspect of it, trading card games such as Pokémon and Magic the Gathering have card that are extremely valuable and are bought and sold for many hundreds and even thousands of Rands. To give you an idea of how valuable a card can be, the Pokémon TCG card: the Illustrator CoroCoro Comics Promo Pikachu, was bought for a staggering $5,275,000, setting a new Guinness World Record. The best advice is to be vigilant, card values can drop in an instant and just like playing the stock market it is important to sell at the right time.
For those looking to enter the industry more formally by opening up hobby stores etc. it is wise to remember that the community your business serve isn’t there to buy products, they are there to purchase experiences. A profitable business would be one where shoppers have a reason to visit your store rather than just purchasing online.
