OnePoll conducted a study for Z-man Games on game nights. The survey consisted of 2000 Americans who were asked a series of questions concerning their experience with game nights.

Of the 2000 respondents, 20% said that game nights were constantly disrupted because of tensions. Disruptions occurred when a player quit a game when it was clear they were losing (46%), some players arguing (44%), a player accusing another of cheating (44%). Physical fights (11%) were rare but not non-existent.

Some respondents said they had banned certain games (22%) because of disruptions, with board games being the most common. Of every five people, one said they had banned a board game, with monopoly being the most banned. Another 22% said they had banned particular players, while 13% admitted to being the source of disruption during the games.

Age plays a role in gaming attitudes

When comparing the participants’ ages with their answers, researchers found that younger players were more likely to ban players than older ones. For example, 32% had banned players with Gen Z while 24% millennials, 11% Gen X, and 5% of Boomers had done the same.

Researchers also noted differences in in-game preference for each age group. With Gen Z, 38% liked to play games where teams competed against each other. With Boomers (48%) preferred to play individually against other players.

Gamers find ways to play remotely because of the pandemic

Even though the pandemic had stopped social gatherings, researchers found only a 13% decline in gaming. Gamers had found ways to play remotely.

Of the respondents, 52% said that face-to-face games were more intense, and 42% said they were more competitive when compared to remote games. However, 4 out of 10 felt that remote games had more minor disruptions. Another 50% said that remote games were just as fun and sometimes even more fun than games played in person.

When asked about how they feel about winning, 41% said that it was important to them. However, only 29% of the participants said that they were actively concerned about winning. Despite this, 3 out of 4 said that having fun was more important to them than winning.