Video For Leisure

This article examines the development of online videos explaining board game rules, which has accompanied the growth of this industry over the past decade. We use these videos to examine the role of these new digital tools in learning, in the interplay between cultural and commercial contexts in the leisure industry. Based on a survey conducted in 2021, involving 62 content creators, we were able to map this universe of board game tutorials. This allowed us to formally characterize the videos (sequences, shots, duration), analyse the standards of their production, and analyse the space of video productions in this small world of leisure. Ten in-depth interviews with producers were conducted, supplemented by interviews with eight play professionals and toy librarians. The survey also included a questionnaire distributed in Facebook groups and specialized forums. The article highlights the essential yet ambiguous nature of these demonstration devices in the industry. Articulating educational and commercial issues, their role in influencing and mediating has become crucial in the consumption and distribution of board games.