Feature - Games & Puzzles

Board meetings

Whether its to spice up a party, bring laughs to a lunch date or help kids hone their hand-eye coordination, the evergrowing Games & Puzzles category continues to offer something for consumers of all ages and stages. Toy World takes a look at how consumer behaviour and demands are shaping the space and how this year’s new launches are making the most of opportunities in the marketplace, with help from some leading suppliers.

Turn to this month’s Talking Shop feature and you’ll see the words “Pokémon Prismatic Evolutions” appear an awful lot. The latest Scarlet & Violet expansion has become one of 2025’s biggest sellers (and where to get stock one of its biggest talking points), prompting fans to queue in their droves outside of their local indies from the wee small hours. The iconic trading card game’s bounceback is great news for retailers, who at one point last year had started to report sluggish sales. Doesn’t that seem a long time ago…

Asmodee, which distributes the Pokémon trading card game, is also seeing success with another of its TCGs, Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars: Unlimited, which recently welcomed the Jump to Lightspeed expansion. “Trading Card Games continue to be hot within the market and are working really well for us across the board,” enthuses Roger Martin, Marketing director at Asmodee UK. “Because we have gamers from a variety of age demographics, we’re seeing different ways to approach gaming and how different age groups experience board games. We’re really excited about Star Wars: Unlimited Set 4, Jump to Lightspeed. We’re seeing huge growth into national retail, and we’re excited to see a lot more customers start playing this licensed trading card game.”

Indeed, evergreen and retro licences continue to translate well into gaming, offering fans a fun way to engage with the properties they either grew up with as kids or love as adults. Hasbro’s Tim Maas, senior director of Marketing, Regional Marketing EMEA tells Toy World that brand extensions and licensed versions of games continue to make their mark as major contributors to the overall success of the market. He explains: “Monopoly Harry Potter, for example, has emerged as the top-performing new family game globally, showcasing the ongoing strong appeal of popular franchises and their ability to attract a broad audience.”

For Tomy’s managing director (UK & Germany), Mary Wood, the previous 12 months have been ‘interesting’ for Games & Puzzles at the category continues to rebalance itself following what she calls the “dizzy heights” of the pandemic. “I do wonder if the somewhat ‘enforced’ playing of games during the pandemic has dulled consumers’ desire to buy games a little: is it taking time for the Games category to re-set itself?,” she muses. “Everything works in cycles, as we know well in this industry. That said, in the last 12 months we’ve had big successes from licensed games. For 2025 we have two absolute powerhouses, from a licensing perspective: Disney Logo, a marriage of two great brands, and The Weakest Link, a well-known brand whose catchphrase (“You are the weakest link!”) is embedded in our language and culture.”

Mark Jones, sales director at University Games, agrees with Tim and Mary on the strengths of licensing in the space, telling us that inter-generational classic characters continue to thrive within the company’s broad portfolio. Roald Dahl’s famous storybook characters Matilda, The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star in University Games’ highly sought after Roald Dahl games and puzzles range, while the Very Hungry Caterpillar is another standout line. However, it’s the nostalgic, retro Bullseye brand that the company is most excited about. Mark says the overwhelmingly positive response to the Bullseye Main Game and Mini Game from retailers at this year’s trade fairs has been consolidated by strong early consumer interest. Both launches also stand to benefit from the return of the iconic Bullseye TV show, which has been commissioned for a new series due to air this autumn (and from the soaring interest in the sport, which has only grown since teenage darts sensation Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler rose to fame in the 2023-24 PDC World Championship).

“Our fantastic new Bullseye offerings mirror the TV format with magnetic darts, question categories and Bully’s Star Prize,” Mark explains. “The gameplay, coupled with the return of the iconic TV show, will see this nostalgic family game on quite a few wish lists this Christmas.”

Away from licensing, price remains a core consideration among consumers. Roger at Asmodee has noticed strong demand for lower-priced games such as Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza, as well as Dobble and Pear Shaped. He also says consumers are still very much on the lookout for perceived value; titles that might carry a higher price tag, but offer plenty of replayability, such as Lego Monkey Palace or Catan. He adds: “We like to encourage customers to purchase a game that they will want to play over and over again, and we offer that across our portfolio in a range of price points.”

Hasbro’s Tim Maas says time-poor consumers are also having an impact on the category, driving demand for quick-to-learn, fast-paced games that fit their busy schedules. He highlights Monopoly Expansions (45 minutes per game) and Monopoly Deal (15 minutes per game) as perfect examples of the genre. As summer approaches, travel games such as Big Potato’s new range of best-sellers, shrunk down into sturdy tins, or Hasbro’s portable new card game, Monopoly Deal, should also prove popular with holiday makers, whether they’re staycationing in the UK or sun-seeking abroad.

The puzzles sub-category, long known for providing relaxing, slow-paced mindfulness, is experiencing something of an evolution – Speed Puzzling. The emerging sport (that’s right – it’s classed as a sport) is said to improve hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity, colour, pattern and detail recognition ability, and shape sorting skills, as puzzle enthusiasts race to complete a 500-piece scene in less than 90 minutes. If this sounds like it might be up your street, there are now championships taking place across the globe, including the United Kingdom Jigsaw Puzzle National Championship and the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship, which takes place in Valladolid, Spain, every September. Puzzle specialist Ravensburger has become a headline sponsor of these events and believes they will only serve to increase the demand for puzzles among consumers of all ages. To find out more about Speed Puzzling turn to p. 106, where we share an exclusive interview with Ravensburger’s head of Marketing, Katy Fletcher, and Anneka Thompson, founder of the UK Jigsaw Puzzle Association.

Of course, there are still plenty of people out there for whom puzzles remain a relaxing way to while away the hours. For 2025, Smart Games & Toys welcomes new additions to its All Jigsaw Puzzles range including Mike Jupp’s first new ‘I Love’ puzzle in six years: I Love Healthcare. Mike’s puzzles quickly become cult classics in the world of puzzling, and this 1,000-piece will surely be another hit. Educa Borras, a leading puzzle supplier in piece counts ranging from the low hundreds to 42,000 – yes, really – is poised for international expansion this year, as it looks to apply its learnings from the Iberian market to the UK. We’ve got an exclusive interview with Jorge Arceo, commercial director, Marketing, on pp. 60-62. The youngest puzzlers are also catered to with Melissa & Doug’s range of chunky wooden offerings, in themes covering everything from tasty treats to unicorns and marine life, and young learners can enjoy University Games’ sustainably produced Learning Journey range of Match It educational puzzles. Arriving alongside the new Lift and Learn and Sort and Learn puzzles, all are made from 78% recycled paper and soy-based inks to attract environmentally conscious consumers.

New entrants to the category this year include Just Play, which announced it was moving into the Games market in February. The company’s initial product launch will feature new formats of classic game brands, as well as board, mat and travel games, in collaboration with popular licences from leading games, IP and toy companies, including Hasbro, Sony Pictures Television and Five Nights at Freddy’s. There’s also the truly unique Mi-Box Live, a unique hybrid board game that combines numeracy, sport and interactive gameplay to “make learning maths an exciting, dynamic experience”. Smaller companies such as Strong Point Games and Farplace Games are also expanding their portfolios; the former is launching Strong Point Junior this year, while the latter is launching Tile Wars, Clean the Castle and Best Spot in the House in May.

Companies with new offerings might want to consider the benefits of working with Playtime PR on its popular Libraries Board Game Club initiative, which is about to roll out wave three. In our exclusive interview with the brains behind the idea, Ceriann Smith, director of Strategy and Creative, and Selina Dangerfield, PR consultant, we hear how LBGC is a great grass roots sampling exercise for getting new launches “into the wild”. Turn to p.108 to read the full piece and find out how to get involved. Asmodee, meanwhile, has announced a new Board Game Café initiative designed to bring board game fans closer to their local board game cafés across the UK.

“I have always believed in the power of games to bring people together, and in a nutshell that is what Asmodee is all about,” says Roger Martin. “That hasn’t changed and isn’t going to change - our vision is always to get more people playing more games, more often.”

The company continues to support retailers with its popular game demonstrator programme. Roger explains: “We have the privilege of working with everything from small independent toys and games shops to dedicated hobby and trading card game stories, right through to large scale retailers such as WHSmith and Waterstones. Regardless of their size, bringing some in-store theatre into play is at the heart of what we do. There is nothing better for inspiring consumers to make a purchase for themselves, or as a gift, than inviting them to get hands-on with products and play in real time.”

Mary tells us she appreciates those retailers most willing to work in partnership with Tomy to develop launch and support strategies for new games. This approach can offer unmissable opportunities to get in on a best-seller from the ground up. One of Tomy’s biggest bets for the year is The Human Controller, which some may have seen (and played) in Nuremberg.

“The Human Controller is a great example of how an inventor idea can be brought to life successfully,” Mary notes. “The play pattern is familiar - carrying out some very silly challenges - but the execution is truly innovative: the challenges can only be successfully completed if you trust the person you are working with. One person wears a headset that delivers instructions via an app, which the Controller is in charge of. This game has already had people howling with laughter and really lends itself to content creation. It’s going to be a lot of fun and is a big business opportunity for tho  se that join us on the launch.”

Over the coming pages, Toy World takes a look at what else is hitting the shelves this year in the Games & Puzzles category.