Look back · 2006
National Games Week 2006: the third week and the list that never came
The third National Games Week came and went in November 2006, but the ranked list that was supposed to follow it never appeared. This page sets out what is known, what is not, and where to look instead.
The 2006 week: Sunday, November 19 to Saturday, November 25
National Games Week always took the Sunday-to-Saturday week that holds Thanksgiving. In 2006, Thanksgiving fell on Thursday, November 23, so the week ran from Sunday, November 19 to Saturday, November 25. It was the third year of the event, after the launch week in November 2004 and the second week in 2005.
The idea had not changed since the start. Hosts set up tables at home, in classrooms, churches, libraries and game stores, and played anything social: board games, card games, role-playing games, miniatures, party games. Stores and schools often ran something on several days, while families usually held a single game night around the holiday. With Thanksgiving on the Thursday, the long weekend that followed gave many hosts a second chance to get the games out once the leftovers were packed away.
Why there is no 2006 Top 100
After the 2005 week, the organizers published a ranked list of the hundred games their hosts liked and played most. A page for a 2006 list was set up at this same address. It never held a list. The only text it is known to have shown was a two-line notice saying the link was out of date and pointing visitors back to the home page.
No explanation was posted, so any reason given now would be a guess. What is certain is the timing: the company behind the week closed in 2007, the year after this list should have appeared. Whatever the cause, nobody published a substitute, and this page is not going to invent one. A made-up list of the most popular games of 2006 would look tidy and be worth nothing.
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Ten empty places: no 2006 Top 100 was ever posted.
What is known about National Games Week 2006
Less than about the first two years. The detailed figures that survive, such as 2,536 members in all 50 states and the mix of stores, clubs, schools and churches, describe 2004. The ranked list describes 2005. For 2006 the dates are certain and the format can be inferred from the years either side: hosts, a week of tables, and no central event. One retail trace does survive: on October 31, 2006, Engadget reported that Barnes & Noble had started a National Games Week promotion ahead of the November 19 start, widening its usually small board game shelf with titles such as Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico and Robo-Rally.
If you hosted or played at a game night during the 2006 week, a short note about it is welcome through the contact page. Please leave out other people's names and personal details; a memory of what was on the table and where is plenty.
One thing to keep separate: in 2007 the American Library Association began a library games event of its own, with a name that sounded very close to this one. It had nothing to do with the week described here and was run by librarians, not by the company behind National Games Week. That library event was renamed several times and has been International Games Month, held every November, since 2022.
The closest thing to a 2006 list
Searchers often want to know what the most popular game of 2006 was. For this week, the honest answer is the 2005 list. Heroclix led it, Dungeons & Dragons came second, Catan sat at four, and most of the hundred were still widely played a year later. The 2005 Top 100, revisited has the full ranking with notes on where each game stands today.
For the bigger picture, the history of National Games Week covers the organizers, the numbers and what became of the week after 2007. And if the gap makes you want to play rather than read, the guide to types of board games and the game night hosting guide will get a table going this year.
Keeping the week now
No organization runs National Games Week today, and nobody compiles a yearly list. The week is kept by whoever sets up a table during Thanksgiving week. The dates for every year follow the same rule that put the 2006 week on November 19 to 25, so you can plan a game night for any year from that one rule.
FAQ
Questions people ask
When was National Games Week 2006?
National Games Week 2006 ran from Sunday, November 19 to Saturday, November 25, 2006. Thanksgiving that year was on Thursday, November 23. The week always took the Sunday-to-Saturday span that contains Thanksgiving, which was the original rule from 2004 and is still how the dates are worked out today.
Is there a Top 100 games list for 2006?
No. The organizers set up a page for a 2006 list, but it only ever showed a short notice that the link was out of date. No ranked list for 2006 was published, and this site does not make one up. The 2005 Top 100 is the only ranked list the original week produced.
What was the most popular board game in 2006?
There is no reliable National Games Week ranking for 2006. The nearest source is the 2005 Top 100, compiled from hosts' favorites and the games played at their events. Its top board game was Settlers of Catan, at number four, behind Heroclix, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.
Why did National Games Week stop?
The marketing company that organized National Games Week closed in 2007, and no one took over the event. Since then nobody has run the week. It survives as a tradition anyone can keep by playing games during Thanksgiving week, without registration, sponsors or a central list.
Can players share a memory of a 2006 game night?
Yes. Notes about game nights from the original weeks are welcome through the contact page. Describe what was played, where and roughly how many people came, but leave out other people's names and personal details. Corrections to anything on this page are welcome the same way.
How many National Games Weeks did the original organizers run?
Three: November 21 to 27, 2004, November 20 to 26, 2005, and November 19 to 25, 2006. The company behind the week closed in 2007, so there was no fourth week with an organizer. The history of National Games Week covers each of the three in turn.
Is National Games Week still held today?
Yes, as a tradition rather than an organized event. Nobody runs it, there is nothing to sign up for, and anyone who plays a game during Thanksgiving week is keeping it. In 2026 it runs from Sunday, November 22 to Saturday, November 28.
What could a 2006-style game night look like today?
Use the 2005 Top 100 as the menu, since it is the closest record of what hosts played at the time. Ask each guest to bring one game from the list, play a round of each and vote on whether it still holds up. The game night hosting guide has a printable score sheet for exactly that.
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