The Board Games That Remained in the Past

People create thousands of board games every year. Some of the lucky ones become instant hits on the market. People can’t get over them. These games have sequences, expansions, accessories, and more. Additionally, many such board games remain popular for decades-long. Several generations can grow up playing those games before they finally fall out of fashion. However, most games do fall out of fashion eventually. Some do it with more grace than others. Many don’t give up without a fight, while others quietly leave the scene feeling grateful for the long run they had. Overall, there are several board games that we probably all remember but never play anymore. Here are the board games that remained in the past.

Monopoly

Monopoly was the main reason people started learning about and playing more board games in general. At the beginning of the 20th century, Monopoly instantly became a great hit. Families, groups of friends, children, and even their grandparents were all enjoying a nice evening with Monopoly. Those were simpler times, weren’t they? However, everything good still has to come to an end. Monopoly is one of such things. Although this board game is probably the most famous name in the industry, its popularity has drastically faded over the past decade.

It’s fair to say that Monopoly has taught at least several generations about finances and money. It was a rare entertainment product that also aimed at educating children about important real-world issues like money and financial operations. Today’s young generation has to turn to online specialists, asking them, “Can you write essay for me on finances?” The kids of the past avoided such a thing by playing Monopoly.

Atmosfear

Before the entire world got obsessed with video games, Atmosfear offered its take on the future of board games using a VHS tape. Indeed, the game for Atmosfear required a VHS player and several cassettes. During its time, this board game was quite revolutionary. It was one of the rare examples where board games started to include technological progress into the gaming experience.

So, in Atmosfear, players relied on the Gatekeeper’s tips and clues (sometimes also threats and requests) that they received by watching the tape. The actor who played the Gatekeeper has surely added an element of horror and surprise into the game. Of course, players also had an actual board and pieces to play with. Yet, a lot of the gaming experience depended on players’ interactions with the Gatekeeper.

Needless to say, such a board game didn’t age that well. Of course, on average, the popularity of video games has negatively affected the industry of board games in the early 1990s. However, the use of VHS tapes in this particular game has soon shown to be an impractical decision on its own. Yet, Atmosfear still succeeded in creating a whole new subgenre in board games. Moreover, it managed to terrify and excite numerous children over the 1990s.

Battleship

This strategy game was quite fun while it lasted. Yet, this type of gaming experience doesn’t go well with the modern realities. First of all, the given game has always been aimed at children at the age of six to nine. However, these days, children of such age are already well familiar with the technologies and mobile/computer games in particular. Hence, the current young generation is pretty spoiled when it comes to entertainment.

Secondly, these days, Battleship simply looks like a poor example of sustainable consumption. This board game can easily exist without the actual board and pieces of ships. After all, imagination plays a huge factor here. Hence, it even makes more sense to skip purchasing the plastic pieces and playing the game on several pieces of paper instead. So, overall, Battleship as a board game seems to cease to exist. Yet, its legacy still remains.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

We just can’t skip the Pokémon Trading Card Game on this list. It would be rude not to write about it. After all, a whole generation of the 1990s kids grew up playing and collecting these Pokémon cards. It became a huge cultural phenomenon at the time. Hardly any kid didn’t have at least several of such cards at home. Some collected all Pokémon creatures out there. Lucky for those young collectors, quite a handful of the rare cards can cost a small fortune by now. However, the value of these cards probably ends there. Today, no one really plays them.

Though some people still store the cards somewhere as nostalgic tokens, that’s it. The time of the Pokémon Trading Card Game came to an end late in the 1990s. Yet, think of how much fun they were back in the day! These cards united children across the entire nation.

Of course, we should also mention the mobile game, Pokémon Go, which was popular several years ago. Summer 2016 was a short-lasting but powerful rebirth of famous Pokémon cards. Only at that time, they existed solely in the digital world.