The Middle East has a lot of restrictions and taboos about board games, but in fact, online board games in the Middle East are very popular among Arabs. When launching board game in the Middle East, if you are worried about the “regulatory policy”, it is pity that you missed out on a great market.
To launch board games in the Middle East, we need to understand the local gameplays which can adapt to the Middle East game market faster. So, what are some board games that the Arabs are playing?
Popular board games
1、Baloot
Baloot is a local board game in the Middle East (the Arab world). It is a skill-based card game, for four participants and two teams. The main goal is to collect points by cooperating to “eat” the opponent’s cards. The team with the highest score will win the game.
2、Rummy
Rummy, a card game from India, which make up a large portion of board game on this area, perhaps due to the large number of India’s worker in the Middle East, is also popular in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
3、Okey
In Saudi Arabia and UAE, Baloot & Rummy are the main board games, while Turkish players prefer Okey - a traditional Turkish board game known as “Turkish Mahjong”, which is extremely popular in this country. As offline activities are currently limited, players are shifting their demands online.
Summary：
Board games are common in the Middle East, but players in different countries have different preferences. Popular chess and card games in Saudi Arabia and UAE have a high coincidence rate, but in Turkey, have a big difference with them. For example, gambling games are restricted in Saudi Arabia and UAE, while Turkey is more accepting.
Some tips
In Middle East, there has a good data of ARPPU, strong paying ability of users and special attention to VIP level. Launching board games in Middle East, you can put more thoughts into this aspect. For example, give high-level players a special marking of ID and more exclusive privileges, inform them some things in advance of new promotions, or provide personal customization services.
Another characteristic of Middle Eastern users is that they have a high demand for social interaction, but since there is little entertainment in the Middle East, users want to get a sense of social satisfaction in the virtual environment of games. When there are no serious problems in-game, we can add some competition mechanics and mixing it with arabic elements.
Players have demand for customer service. In terms of accent, they want the customer service staff to have a very authentic arabic accent, so that they will feel that the customer service staff is the same as them and will feel respected.
Conclusion
Most middle eastern countries believe in Islam, they have conservative customs, lack of offline entertainment, which leads to a natural development space for the online entertainment game market. Foxuc has rich experience for launching board game in the Middle East, we are looking for partners all around the world to operate arabian chess and card games, let’s open this market together.
Foxuc has focused on the development of board games at home and abroad for many years, and has successfully launched a large number of popular board games. According to your needs, we can quickly develop different types of mature board game products to help you occupy the board game market. If you have relevant intentions, Please contact us. We are looking forward to cooperating with you.
Mrs Aileen
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