Anthropologie recorded a sharp spike in sales for tabletop games including backgammon, mancala, and mahjong, according to Modern Retail, as consumers pivoted toward tactile, offline entertainment. The retailer positioned these games not as toys but as decorative objects—wooden sets, hand-carved pieces, linen storage pouches—displayed alongside candles and coffee table books. The category expansion capitalizes on a documented shift: shoppers buying physical products that double as visible signals of taste and intentional living.
Anthropologie merchandised the games as home accessories first. Sets arrive in stitched fabric cases or walnut-finished boxes that stay on the shelf between uses. The packaging communicates permanence. The buyer is not hiding a game in a closet; she is setting it on the credenza. Modern Retail reports the retailer leaned into the aesthetic framing, shooting lifestyle imagery with the game boards styled on entryway consoles and side tables. The product detail pages emphasize material—hand-turned wood, brass inlay, cotton drawstring bags—over gameplay instructions.
The mechanism works because the packaging transforms a disposable purchase into an aspirational one. A $12 travel checkers set from a drugstore goes in a drawer. A $68 mancala board in a canvas carry case with leather ties becomes part of the room. The buyer justifies the premium because the object performs double duty: it entertains and it decorates. This is not new psychology—Le Creuset sells cookware the same way—but Anthropologie applied it to a category historically positioned as children's or discount.
The broader pattern: physical-product categories that fell out of favor during the digital surge are recovering when reframed as intentional, visible, and offline. Board games, vinyl records, film cameras—all require deliberate setup, all produce a tangible artifact or experience, all signal to the household or guest that the owner chose to step away from a screen. The packaging must reinforce that intent. If the box looks cheap or functional, the purchase feels regressive. If the box looks like it belongs in a design magazine, the purchase feels like self-care.
A small brand can run this play without Anthropologie's merchandising budget. Source a classic game with enduring recognition—chess, cribbage, dominoes—and commission packaging that elevates it into décor. Work with a domestic box manufacturer to produce a rigid setup box with a linen wrap or a screen-printed wooden crate. The unit cost rises $4 to $9, but the retail price can jump $30 to $60 because the customer is no longer comparing against a $15 Hasbro box at Target. She is comparing against a $70 candle or a $50 throw pillow. Shoot the product styled on a bookshelf or entryway table, not on a game night. Write the product description to emphasize material provenance and display value before mentioning rules. Sell through a DTC site or a design-forward retailer like Huckberry, Goop, or Fort Standard. The customer is buying the permission to leave it out.
The next move is to extend the packaging system into adjacent categories where the object traditionally disappears after use. Playing cards, poker chips, dice—all can be reframed as desk or bar accessories when the container signalscraft and intention. The category doesn't matter. The transformation does.