December 6, 2008: Ranking Munchkin

In the past, Comics & Games Retailer had compiled sales data from the hobby games industry into a monthly ranking. Now that their focus has shifted exclusively to comics, industry website ICv2 has picked up the torch. They're interviewing retailers, distributors, and publishers to gather the rankings. All three tiers are traditionally close-mouthed about exact sales numbers, so this methodology will never produce precise data. But the results do provide an interesting benchmark.

Especially when they discover that Munchkin is a respectable #6 of the best-selling board, card, and family games for August, September, and October. We're assuming that's for the entire line, including everything from the classic game to Munchkin Booty. If so, this chart doesn't include Munchkin Quest, which was released in November. But the next one should, and given the fantastic sales that our first Munchkin board game saw in its first month, we're hoping for a bump up.

-- Paul Chapman