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Many millennials feel the board game industry only evolved in 1996. Settlers of Catan hit the U.S. market. People began playing it all over—in lunch halls, dorm lounges, and at kitchen tables. Klaus Teuber's game won many fans.
Catan stands as the most successful boutique board game in history. Its mix of roads, resources, and smart choices has replaced Monopoly and Candyland, which used to be the top games. Yet, Restoration Games believes that modernity has its limits. The tabletop industry is booming. Gamers are putting their money into faraway Kickstarters that claim to offer the next big hit. Still, the past has hidden treasures for us to discover.
Just as classic board games return, sports trends can also surprise us. If you're looking ahead at what's next in athletics, find more Sport predictions here, where we break down emerging trends and game-changing innovations shaping the future.
An attorney and board game fan, Justin Jacobson, teamed up with designer Rob Daviau to start Restoration Games. Queen's Gambit is a sought-after gem in the board game world. It's a colorful, engaging war game inspired by The Phantom Menace. Sadly, it's been out of print for ages. (If you want to play it, expect to spend $500 on eBay.) Jacobson proposed re-releasing Queen's Gambit without its Star Wars branding. This avoids some tricky legal issues with Disney. The goal is to bring the design back to the public. Daviau demurred. Yet, he had no interest in revisiting Queen’s Gambit. He thought about the many great games not released during our tabletop renaissance.
“We started reminiscing about the games we loved as kids and which ones deserved a second chance,” Jacobson recalls. "I was getting pretty miserable practicing law. My law firm changed a lot. During lunch with old friends, they urged me to leave my legal career. They suggested I follow my passion for board games. I made Rob Daviau an offer he couldn’t refuse. Then, we began to think about which games to revive."
Restoration Games launched in 2017 and has brought classic games back to life.
Stop Thief (1979) – Reintroduced with a smartphone app replacing the electronic tracker.
Downforce – A high-speed racing and bidding game that found new life with modern updates.
Unmatched – Inspired by Star Wars: Epic Duels (2002), now featuring legendary figures like Robin Hood and King Arthur.
Fireball Island (1986) – A nostalgic adventure game where players dodge rolling marbles while climbing a mountain.
Return to Dark Tower – A sequel to the 1981 game, expanding on the original concept.
Jacobson and Daviau’s biggest success is their revival of Fireball Island (1986). This game made Restoration Games famous. I played the original game in third grade. It soon became the highlight of my after-school fun. It's a fun adventure. Players climb a plastic mountain and dodge rolling marbles. I forgot about it over time. Then, seeing Restoration’s version brought back many childhood memories. Jacobson notes that many players feel nostalgic about Fireball Island.
“People don’t think about childhood games until something sparks a memory,” he explains. “We know we’re on the right track when we see those nostalgic reactions.”
None of this could happen without serious legal deep-diving. Restoration Games requires an attorney to handle licensing, authorship, and royalties. This support is key when they revive classic titles. Jacobson's first step on a new project at Restoration is to reach out to the original designer. "We may not have to pay some of these designers, but we do it because it's the right choice," he says. When Restoration contacts them, many original game designers are excited. They love seeing their work come alive again. But in some cases, Jacobson notes, the creators have passed away over the years.
Indulgence is a trick-taking game. Jerry D'Arcey invented it in 1966. Restoration republished it in 2017. Jacobson struggled to contact D'Arcey's heirs. So, he created a royalty fund in his family's name. After Indulgence was released, one of D'Arcey's sons reached out to Restoration. "We cleared everything up at that point," Jacobson recalls. "It all turned out well in the end." The transition was complete, ensuring the legacy remained intact.
Restoration will kick off their remaster when the contracts are sorted out. Jacobson and Daviau love nostalgia, but they aren’t bound by tradition. They don’t reissue classic games. They refine and modernize them for today’s players. It avoids the sticky problems and outdated flaws common in vintage tabletop games. Restoration is eager to take out some mechanics entirely. It will then sprinkle in a variety of cosmopolitan ideas along the edges.
Replacing roll-and-move mechanics – Games like Stop Thief now use a modern card-driven system.
Enhancing interactivity – Adding simultaneous play elements instead of long turns.
Digital integration – Some games now use apps for tracking progress instead of outdated physical components.
Strategic depth – Balancing luck with meaningful player decisions.
Expanded content – Creating expansions to keep classic games fresh and replayable.
Jacobson states that Stop Thief was a roll-and-move game, like Monopoly when it came out in the '70s. But that mechanic wouldn’t hold up in today’s strategic games like Power Grid, Dominion, and Scythe. This classic from Parker Brothers got a fresh update for today’s board game fans.
"Our goal is to capture the essence of the game. What are its defining moments? What sparks nostalgia when people say, 'That game was amazing!'?" They're thinking about some core aspects. "People don’t consider rolling and moving when remembering Stop Thief," says Jacobson. He used a modern card-driven system for locomotion. "We approach it by asking, 'How can we create a modern board game that preserves those key elements?'"
Restoration Games keeps expanding its classics. Fireball Island has three expansions. Downforce has two. Their newest project is a sequel to the 1981 Dark Tower, which will add even more content. Jacobson, a longtime Dark Tower fan, is eager to share it with a new generation. He remembers when gaming thrived in quiet basements. This was before board game cafés and D&D podcasts became popular. Fans were dedicated and passionate back then.
"New players get a chance to experience games that existed before their time. Some classics showed mechanics that many have ignored for years," Jacobson says. "It's a way to bring those ideas back in a fresh, contemporary way."
That's the beauty of Restoration's praxis. They blend modern engineering with a strong love for board game history. This shows that 1996 is the beginning.
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