List of years in games

The following pages are dedicated to important moments and events in the gaming world, in their respective years.

Prior to the 1960s

 * 19th century in games
 * 1900s in games
 * 1910s in games
 * 1920s in games
 * 1930s in games
 * 1940s in games
 * 1950s in games
 * 1960s in games

1970s
This decade saw the board wargame gain a level of popularity. It also saw the appearance of the earliest, simple video games, and the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
 * 1970 in games
 * 1971 in games
 * 1972 in games
 * 1973 in games
 * 1974 in games
 * 1975 in games
 * 1976 in games
 * 1977 in games
 * 1978 in games
 * 1979 in games

1980s

 * 1980 in games
 * 1981 in games
 * 1982 in games
 * 1983 in games
 * 1984 in games
 * 1985 in games
 * 1986 in games
 * 1987 in games
 * 1988 in games
 * 1989 in games

1990s
Major shake-ups occur in the who's-who of US game publishing and distribution. Wizards of the Coast, which started the decade as a small West Coast publisher, buys veteran Avalon Hill later in the decade, only to be bought up in turn by industry juggernaut Hasbro. TSR and Iron Crown Enterprises both collapse.

The collectible game became a dominant business model, first by Magic: the Gathering then by several rivals. By the mid-nineties, hundreds of CCGs competed for market share, and most of these products were culled for weak sales. Collectible gaming also expanded from cards into dice, tiles, and miniatures.

Settlers of Catan breaks Eurogaming into the American market, becoming an overnight bestseller and gateway game. Publishers such as Mayfair and Rio Grande Games begin meeting the new market demand with titles from Europe.

Online retailing begins to pose a challenge to "brick and mortar" game stores, though the full effects of e-commerce will not be felt until the following decade.


 * 1990 in games
 * 1991 in games
 * 1992 in games
 * 1993 in games
 * 1994 in games
 * 1995 in games
 * 1996 in games
 * 1997 in games
 * 1998 in games
 * 1999 in games

2000s
The internet continues to shake up the publishing and distribution of games. Online retailing becomes a serious threat to "brick and mortar" retailers. Desktop publishing proves to be a boon for hobby game designers, and the door is opened for many small publishers producing their own game designs. Z-Man and Fantasy Flight become major players in the US hobby game industry. Miniatures games dominate the collectible games market.


 * 2000 in games
 * 2001 in games
 * 2002 in games
 * 2003 in games
 * 2004 in games
 * 2005 in games
 * 2006 in games
 * 2007 in games
 * 2008 in games
 * 2009 in games

2010s

 * 2010 in games