Will there ever be another classic board game like Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Cluedo?

Answer 1

Of course there will be, and in fact are. Something on the order of 1500-2000 new games come out annually*. Naturally some of them are somewhat esoteric and will not appeal to everyone, but there will always be new games that will come out that will have a wide appeal. Germany gives out an annual prize called the Spiel des Jahres ('Game of the Year') which is awarded to a new game that has wide appeal for groups and families. Some recent winners of the SdJ are fantastic games, and though they might not have wide-spread coverage as yet, they are a growing market sector. Some examples include:

1. Ticket to Ride - SdJ 2005. This is a great game for families and groups of friends. Players get points by building routes across a map of the United States by collecting and playing colored train cards that correspond to the routes. In addition to getting points for the length of the routes played, each player has secret goals of destinations that need to be linked by their train cars, and players who complete their secret goals receive bonus points at the game's end. 2-5 players, 45-75 minutes.

2. Settlers of Catan - SdJ 1995 -- This gem of trade and negotiation has been one of the most prolific games in the world behind stalwarts like Monopoly, and was recently licensed and is playable on XBox live. In this game, players are developing communities on the fictional island of Catan. Settlement placement coupled with die rolls give players resources, and players trade and spend resources to build roads, cities, and further settlements. A great game for all ages. 2-4 players, 50-90 minutes. Expandable to 6 players with separate expansion. Also has a number of expansions and off-shoots to add to the whole gaming experience.

3. Shogun - For those who feel the call of action that comes with the classic Risk, this scratches that combat itch with a game that is not all based on die-rolls and won't take hours and hours to complete. The setting is feudal Japan, and players are battling over territory. As with Risk, players have troop formations in individual territories, and attack neighboring territories -- but the unique aspect of the game is that the combat is resolved by dumping the units of the attacker and the defender (which are all small cubes) into a tower that has a couple of "shelves" in it. The winner of the battle is the player that has the most cubes come out of the tower, and any cubes that are in the tower stay for future battles. It can happen that a player would seemingly overwhelm an opponent in battle, but gets troops "caught u[" in the tower, or a player would be overrun by a superior opponent, but has additional help from other units that were "waiting" in the tower. A great game that takes mindful strategy and planning rather than a lucky hand with dice to win the day. 3-5 players, 90-150 minutes.

4. Power Grid - An excellent game of management and economy that requires players to plan an manage resources to come out on top. The game combines several elements including auctions, route building, and commodity purchasing and speculation. Players are building networks of power plants and cities, and begin by purchasing power plants to power their cities. After that, then players must purchase the raw materials that will be burned to power their plants (coal, oil, garbage, and nuclear fuels). Then the players must wisely invest their fund to connect the cities in their network, and will ultimately power those cities to receive funds that they will spend in the next round for more plants, commodities, and network connections. 3-6 players, 90-150 minutes.

*Based on BoardGameGeek.com statistics.

Answer 2

No....sales are sustained now because of the 'CLASSIC" nature of games, and maufacturers then don't have to outlay significant dollars with creating & marketing a new item.