Do adaptations of board games online change the way we play, and if so, how? This study is based on an online survey hosted from the 7th to the 14th of June 2012 on the Board Game Arena website (BGA). The study shows that online play for board games proves to be in almost every respect complementary wiith other gaming activities. When online, we don't play the same way, or with the same people than we do in real life, since online play is indeed essentially a means to make do with a lack of available opponents when we wish to play. Online play is closely intertwined with « live » gaming, but it doesn't mean to and can never substitute itself to it since it lacks something essential : our friends around the table. In this, online play is very different and complementary to touch enabled tablets, around which we can invite people over. For all these reasons, online play is mainly used as an extension of the gaming experience that is created by the « physical » game that we play « live » with friends at some other time. One other really interesting thing about online board games sites is discovering new games. Then, the urge to play a game discovered online within one's circle of friends becomes a trigger to buy the box in a very signigificant number of events.

1. Playing board games online
Do adaptations of board games online change
the way we play, and if so, how?
Juin 2012

2. Who plays online?
« In real life, you are: »
26% : a hardcore gamer
57% : a gamer
16,5% : a casual gamer
0,2% : I don't play games in real life
Online demographics seem to corroborate a
classic image of board game players:
_ They are mostly men (79 %).
_ Between 25 and 35 years old (48%).
Online though, there seems to be mostly
hardcore and regular gamers. Case in point: the
more we play in real life, the more we play online
too.
Players at a game table on BGA

3. With whom do we play?
« Online, most of your opponents are: »
11,5% : players who play with you in real life on a regular basis
7,5% : players you know, but don't play very often with you
in real life
81% : strangers
Using online play to have a game with friends
living afar: it happens. But a very large majority of
people play with internet users they don't know.
It's a choice by default: we play with strangers
because our friends are not available, or not in a
sufficient number. Also, the more we play online,
the more we play with people we don't know in
real life (90% for hardcore gamers)
Dominion (Rio Grande Games) on BGA

4. Which games do we play?
« Most of the games you are playing online: »
41% : are games you did not play in real life
before trying them online
59% : are games you tried in real life before
playing them online.
When we come play online, is it to discover new
games or to extend and deepen our experience
with « real » games?
Well, both of them! Still, users play mostly games
they already know in real life.
One of the reasons is this: it's easier to learn a
new game in real life than online. And so,
logically, the players who are the most inclined to
discover new games online are also... the biggest
players.
Contextual help on BGA
Stone age – Hans im Glück

5. What is there in our game library?
« Most of the games you are playing online on a regular basis: »
22% are games you play in real life on a regular basis, because you
own them or they are available in your immediate entourage
(friends, family, ...)
58% are games you own or are available in your immediate entourage,
but you don't play them very often (lack of time, no opponents, ...)
20% are games neither you or your immediate entourage own.
80% of online players play games they own or
owned by someone close to them (gaming circle,
friends, family...)
Why is that?
Well, first of all, because they played them in real
life before playing them online, and second,
because after discovering them online with
strangers, they wanted to play them... with their
friends!
GOSU (Moonster Games) on BGA

6. Why do we play online?
« What is(are) your main motivation(s) for playing online? »
89% : finding opponents anytime of the day or night
67% : discovering new games
37.5% : finding challenging opponents
22% : playing games you don't plan to buy in real life
13% : playing games you can't found in your language or sold out
10.5% : meeting new players to make them friends.
No big surprise here! We get online mainly to
find opponents (89% for all players, and up to
93% for hardcore players).
Then come the opportunity to discover new
games, and, less often, the ability to find
opponents of one's level. Only a minority of
players are motivated by the possibility to play
games without getting the physical box.
Le mode « tournoi » de BGA

7. What do we buy?
« Did you already buy a game - for you or as a gift - after discovering it thanks to an online
board game website like BGA? »
57,5% : yes (among which 31,1%: more
than once)
42,5% : no
A majority of online players have already bought
at least one game they discovered online (57,5%
for all players, up to 63% for hardcore players).
This figure is up to 65% for players who are
motivated by discovering new games, and even
up to 70% for players indicating that they play
mainly games they have discovered online.
Dragonheart (Kosmos) on BGA

8. How does it impact our « real » lives?
« Overall, would you say that playing online: »
42.4% incites you to play more in real life
53.7% has no influence on your gaming activity
in real life
3.9% incites you to play less in real life.
Answers on this subject confirm that online play is
complementary with « real life » play.
Indeed, online playing nudges a lot of casual
gamers to play more, while big players online stay
big players in real life.
Puerto Rico (Ravensburger - Alea) on BGA

9. What about tablets?
« In your opinion, board game adaptations on tablets and online board games on websites
are: »
87,2% : Complementary (from time to time, it's better to
use one or another)
12,8% : Competitive (I don't see why I would use one if I
had the other).
Tablet adaptations and online play address
different wishes and/or separate contexts for
almost 90% of players (95% for english
speakers).
Games on tablets are indeed mainly used to play
with an opponent who is there in the same room
or with an AI, while online play is focused on
finding a human opponent available online when
there is no one around to play with and you don't
feel like powning (or getting powned by) the AI
again.
Caylus (Ystari Games) on BGA
(also available on iOs tablets)

10. Summing it up
Online play for board games proves to be in almost every respect complementary wiith other
gaming activities.
When online, we don't play the same way, or with the same people than we do in real life, since
online play is indeed essentially a means to make do with a lack of available opponents when we
wish to play.
Online play is closely intertwined with « live » gaming, but it doesn't mean to and can never
substitute itself to it since it lacks something essential : our friends around the table. In this,
online play is very different and complementary to touch enabled tablets, around which we can
invite people over.
For all these reasons, online play is mainly used as an extension of the gaming experience
that is created by the « physical » game that we play « live » with friends at some other time.
One other really interesting thing about online board games sites is discovering new games.
Then, the urge to play a game discovered online within one's circle of friends becomes a trigger
to buy the box in a very signigificant number of events.

11. Methodology
This study is based on an online survey hosted from the 7th to the 14th of June 2012 on the Board
Game Arena website (BGA).
The survey asked « multiple choice », broad spectrum questions about online board gaming,
whose results have been presented in this document.
As users of the BGA service, 100% of people answering this study like playing board games
online.
A sample of 457 players has been used, representative of the community in regard to their age,
gender, mother tongue and number of games played per month they played.

12. Who are we?
Board Game Arena, is an online boardgaming website launched at the start of 2011.
Our site offers online play, straight from the browser (nothing to download, nothing to install), in
real time, with players from the whole world.
By putting above everything else ease of use and an utmost fidelity to the games we adapt, today
we host more than 100.000 games a month (second most visited online boardgaming website in
the world and first in France).
To this day, Board Game Arena hosts 21 games, from indie publishers as well as established
ones such as Hans im Glück (Stone Age, Hawaï), Kosmos (Kahuna, DragonHeart), Rio
Grande Games (Dominion, Race for the Galaxy), Ravensburger (Puerto Rico), Ystari Games
(Caylus, Amyitis), Abacusspiele (Coloretto), Pearl Games (Troyes), …
Our service is free for players and for publishers wishing to have their games adapted online,
which makes our site accessible to everyone and gives us complete freedom in our choices to
adapt the games we love. Costs for the site are covered by donations from players (club Board
Game Arena members) who we thank for their contribution by giving them access to some
advanced statistics and rating system.

13. Contact us
http://boardgamearena.com
contact@boardgamearena.com