Michigan is One of Only 7 States Obsessed with Checkers over Chess

Article courtesy of Solitaired.com

Michigan is the sixth most obsessed with board games in America, with residents searching an average of 1,422 times per month per 100,000 for board games.
Checkers is Michigan’s favorite board game, with an average of 37,868 monthly Google searches. Michigan is one of only seven states to search more for checkers than chess.
Michiganders are America’s fourth biggest fans of checkers.

A new study has revealed that Michiganders are the sixth most obsessed with board games in America.

Experts from gaming and puzzle site Solitaired.com analyzed the number of Google searches for 97 board games to determine which one is the favorite in each state and America overall, as well as which states are the most obsessed with board games. Each game’s name was combined with terms such as ‘board game,’ ‘how to play,’ and ‘rules’ to determine the interest in each game.

The 10 most board game-obsessed states in America

Rank	Location	Average monthly searches for all board games	Population	Board game searches per 100,000	Difference from U.S. Overall
1.	Maryland	100,230	6,180,253	1,622	+32.8%
2.	Florida	355,946	22,610,726	1,574	+28.9%
3.	Washington	120,355	7,812,880	1,540	+26.2%
4.	New York	292,924	19,571,216	1,497	+22.6%
5.	Georgia	161,412	11,029,227	1,463	+19.9%
6.	Michigan	142,780	10,037,261	1,422	+16.5%
7.	Vermont	9,139	647,464	1,412	+15.6%
8.	Oregon	59,247	4,233,358	1,400	+14.6%
9.	Virginia	121,672	8,715,698	1,396	+14.3%
10.	Utah	47,276	3,417,734	1,383	+13.3%
	U.S. Overall	4,152,697	340,110,988	1,221

Marylanders are America’s most obsessed with board games, with an average of 1,622 board game searches per 100,000 residents, nearly a third more than the national average of 1,221 searches per 100,000. Overall, there was an average of 100,230 monthly searches for board games in the Free State.

Maryland’s favorite board game is checkers, with 34,343 average monthly searches. This was followed by chess, with 25,163 searches, and Yahtzee, with 4,934.

Florida is the second most obsessed with traditional games, with 1,574 searches for board games per 100,000 residents, 28.9% more than the national average. The Sunshine State averaged 355,946 searches each month for board games.

Florida’s most searched game was checkers, with 135,194 searches on average each month. Floridians are America’s biggest fans of checkers, searching for the game 597.9 times per month per 100,000 residents, nearly three times more than the national average for checkers searches (203.1 per 100,000).

Washington is third for board game obsession, averaging 1,540 monthly searches for board games per 100,000, 26.2% more than the overall national average. In total, there were 120,355 monthly searches for board games, with chess as the most searched game in the Evergreen State. Washington had the second highest average for chess searches in America, with 497.4 searches per 100,000 residents for chess.

New York is fourth, with 1,497 searches for board games per month, 22.6% more than the national average of 1,221 per 100,000. In total, New Yorkers averaged 292,924 searches per month for all board games, with 99,729 of these for chess, the Empire State’s most searched game. New York had the highest average number of searches for chess per 100,000 residents in America, at 509.6 per 100,000.

Georgia is the fifth most board game-obsessed state, with Georgians averaging 1,463 searches for board games per 100,000, 19.9% above the national average. There were 161,412 searches per month in total from the Peach State, with 61,419 of these for checkers, the state’s favorite board game. Georgia also had the second highest average number of searches per 100,000 for checkers.

Michigan is sixth, with 1,422 searches for board games per 100,000 population, 16.5% more than average. Per month, there were 142,780 searches for board games from the Great Lake State, with 37,868 of these for the state’s favorite game, checkers.

Vermont is seventh for board game obsession. Vermonters averaged 1,412 searches for board games per 100,000 residents, 15.6% above the national average. A total of 9,139 searches were made on average each month, with 2,215 of these for chess, the state’s favorite game.

Oregon ranks eighth, with 1,400 searches per 100,000 for board games per month,14.6% more than the national average of 1,221. An average of 59,247 board game searches were made from the Beaver State each month, with chess contributing 17,616 searches as the state’s favorite board game.

Virginia is ninth, with an average of 1,396 searches per month for every 100,000 people in the state, 14.3% above average. In total, there were 121,672 searches for all board games in The Old Dominion, and 39,716 were for the state’s most searched game, chess.

Utah rounds out the top 10 most board game-obsessed states. Utahns averaged 1,383 searches per 100,000 residents, 13.3% more than the U.S. average of 1,221. A total of 47,276 average monthly searches were made in the Beehive State for all board games, and chess contributed the most to this total with 12,686.

Michigan’s 10 favorite board games

Rank	Game	Average monthly searches
1.	Checkers	37,868
2.	Chess	34,955
3.	Yahtzee	13,523
4.	Monopoly	7,438
5.	Catan	4,405
6.	Battleship	2,571
7.	Dominoes	2,520
8.	Ticket to Ride	2,387
9.	Slay the Spire	2,359
10.	Codenames	2,358

1. Checkers

Checkers tops the list for Michigan’s favorite board game, with an average of 37,868 monthly searches.

Checkers is played on an 8×8 grid of alternating dark and light-colored squares like chess; however, each side starts with 12 pieces placed only on the dark-colored squares in the first three rows of the board. Usually, the pieces are colored black for dark pieces and red or white for light-colored pieces.

Florida searches for checkers more than any other state, with 597.9 searches for checkers per 100,000 residents. This is nearly three times as much as the national average of 203.1 searches per 100,000 residents. Georgia followed Florida in second (556.9 searches per 100,000), with Maryland (555.7), Michigan (377.3), and Louisiana (288) completing the top five.

Checkers is the most searched game in seven states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, and Mississippi.

2. Chess

Chess is Michigan’s second favorite board game, with an average of 34,955 monthly searches.

Chess is also played on an 8×8 grid of alternating dark and light-colored squares, with each side having eight pawns and eight special pieces to checkmate their opponent. Traditionally, chess sets have one set of white or light-colored pieces, and one set of black or dark-colored pieces.

Chess is the most searched board game in 43 states and America overall.

3. Yahtzee

Yahtzee is Michigan’s third favorite board game, with an average of 13,523 monthly searches.

Yahtzee is a dice game where players take turns rolling five dice and try to create scoring combinations to fit into 13 scoring categories. The game ends after 13 rounds, and the player with the highest score after creating the best scoring combinations wins. The best scoring combination is a Yahtzee, where all five dice show the same value.

4. Monopoly

With 7,438 average monthly searches, Monopoly is Michigan’s fourth favorite board game.

Monopoly is played on a square board with numerous sets of properties for players to acquire and develop. Each player takes turns to roll two dice and either purchase the property that is landed on or pay rent to the landlord of the property upon which they have landed.

The goal of Monopoly is to acquire and develop as much property as possible to force other players to pay rent and go bankrupt.

5. Catan

Michigan’s fifth favorite board game is Catan, with an average of 4,405 monthly searches.

Formerly known as Settlers of Catan, the game involves players building settlements and trading for resources on the fictional island of Catan. The game is won when a player gains enough victory points by building and growing their settlements.

Neal Taparia from Solitaired.com, commented on the findings,

“Board games are a time-honored tradition that has brought people together for centuries. From friends to family to couples, countless people have spent quality time together over a good board game. Not only that, but board games can provide a welcome break from digital distractions.

“This prompted us to look at which states people were searching for board games the most, finding Maryland ranked top, and Mississippi ranked bottom.

“It was interesting to see that Michigan and six other states searched more for checkers than chess. We didn’t expect to see so many states choose checkers over chess, and for most of them to be found in the South. It would be fascinating to delve deeper into why these states opt for checkers at such high rates compared to the rest of the country.”

Sources:

Google Keyword Planner, boardgamegeek.com, amazon.com, independent.co.uk

Methodology:

A seed list of 97 board games was assembled from various sources, including boardgamegeek.com, amazon.com, and independent.co.uk.

The games in this seed list were combined with the templates ‘[game],’ ‘[game] rules,’ ‘how to play [game],’ ‘buy [game],’ ‘[game] board game,’ ‘[game] Amazon,’ ‘[game] Walmart,’ ‘[game] Target,’ ‘where to buy [game],’ ‘where to play [game],’ ‘how long does [game] take,’ ‘[game] instructions,’ ‘how to play [game] board game,’ ‘[game] board game instructions,’ ‘[game] how to win,’ and ‘how to win [game] board game.’

The average number of searches per month for all templates for all games was found in each state using Google Keyword Planner data from June 2024 to May 2025.

The average monthly searches for each game were found by combining the number of searches for all templates made from a game’s name.

Games were then ranked in each state and the U.S. overall from the most average monthly searches to the least.

America’s top 30 favorite board games

Rank	Game	Average monthly searches
1.	Chess	1,272,108
2.	Checkers	678,748
3.	Yahtzee	299,297
4.	Monopoly	258,456
5.	Catan	151,821
6.	Dominoes	112,350
7.	Battleship	92,449
8.	Codenames	83,249
9.	Slay the Spire	78,843
10.	Connect Four	73,936
11.	Ticket to Ride	71,371
12.	Guess who	68,525
13.	Carcassonne	50,696
14.	Clue	45,816
15.	Trivial Pursuit	40,021
16.	Risk	37,927
17.	Ludo	36,967
18.	Gloomhaven	31,213
19.	Wingspan	29,364
20.	Everdell	28,341
21.	Root	25,426
22.	Mouse Trap	25,385
23.	The Game of Life	25,346
24.	Crokinole	25,163
25.	Hungry Hungry Hippos	25,133
26.	Sushi Go	25,011
27.	7 Wonders	24,449
28.	Chutes and Ladders	24,178
29.	Azul	22,413
30.	Betrayal at House on the Hill	22,335

States ranked by searches for checkers per 100,000 residents

Rank	Location	Average monthly searches for checkers	Population	Checkers searches per 100,000	Difference from the U.S. overall
1.	Florida	135,194	22,610,726	597.9	+194.4%
2.	Georgia	61,419	11,029,227	556.9	+174.2%
3.	Maryland	34,343	6,180,253	555.7	+173.6%
4.	Michigan	37,868	10,037,261	377.3	+85.8%
5.	Louisiana	13,171	4,573,749	288.0	+41.8%
6.	South Carolina	14,825	5,373,555	275.9	+35.9%
7.	Delaware	2,741	1,031,890	265.6	+30.8%
8.	Tennessee	18,617	7,126,489	261.2	+28.6%
9.	New York	49,338	19,571,216	252.1	+24.1%
10.	Alabama	12,439	5,108,468	243.5	+19.9%
11.	New Jersey	21,645	9,290,841	233.0	+14.7%
12.	Mississippi	6,794	2,939,690	231.1	+13.8%
13.	Virginia	18,787	8,715,698	215.6	+6.1%
14.	North Carolina	21,293	10,835,491	196.5	-3.2%
15.	Illinois	22,880	12,549,689	182.3	-10.2%
16.	Pennsylvania	23,394	12,961,683	180.5	-11.1%
17.	Wisconsin	9,785	5,910,955	165.5	-18.5%
18.	Iowa	5,134	3,207,004	160.1	-21.2%
19.	Texas	41,938	30,503,301	137.5	-32.3%
20.	Connecticut	4,649	3,617,176	128.5	-36.7%
21.	Arkansas	3,873	3,067,732	126.2	-37.8%
22.	Kansas	3,500	2,940,546	119.0	-41.4%
23.	West Virginia	1,912	1,770,071	108.0	-46.8%
24.	Nevada	3,300	3,194,176	103.3	-49.1%
25.	North Dakota	772	783,926	98.5	-51.5%
26.	New Hampshire	1,346	1,402,054	96.0	-52.7%
27.	Massachusetts	6,717	7,001,399	95.9	-52.8%
28.	Rhode Island	1,048	1,095,962	95.6	-52.9%
29.	Indiana	6,211	6,862,199	90.5	-55.4%
30.	Oregon	3,814	4,233,358	90.1	-55.6%
31.	Missouri	5,431	6,196,156	87.6	-56.8%
32.	Colorado	5,030	5,877,610	85.6	-57.9%
33.	Arizona	6,316	7,431,344	85.0	-58.1%
34.	Washington	6,616	7,812,880	84.7	-58.3%
35.	California	32,979	38,965,193	84.6	-58.3%
36.	Utah	2,871	3,417,734	84.0	-58.6%
37.	South Dakota	767	919,318	83.5	-58.9%
38.	Ohio	9,790	11,785,935	83.1	-59.1%
39.	Minnesota	4,739	5,737,915	82.6	-59.3%
40.	Oklahoma	3,344	4,053,824	82.5	-59.4%
41.	Vermont	531	647,464	82.0	-59.6%
42.	Kentucky	3,669	4,526,154	81.1	-60.1%
43.	Nebraska	1,585	1,978,379	80.1	-60.5%
44.	Maine	1,096	1,395,722	78.6	-61.3%
45.	Hawaii	1,066	1,435,138	74.3	-63.4%
46.	Idaho	1,383	1,964,726	70.4	-65.3%
47.	Montana	790	1,132,812	69.7	-65.7%
48.	Alaska	435	733,406	59.3	-70.8%
49.	New Mexico	1,239	2,114,371	58.6	-71.1%
50.	Wyoming	325	584,057	55.6	-72.6%
	U.S. Overall	678,748	334,235,923	203.1

The most searched games in each state and America overall by average monthly searches

Location	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5
Alabama	Checkers	Chess	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Dominoes
-Searches per month	12,439	12,234	3,139	2,943	1,695
Alaska	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	2,335	650	435	434	379
Arizona	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	28,055	7,943	6,316	5,842	3,303
Arkansas	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Guess who
-Searches per month	7,651	3,873	1,975	1,784	1,458
California	Chess	Monopoly	Checkers	Yahtzee	Catan
-Searches per month	172,029	33,463	32,979	26,004	20,113
Colorado	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	22,045	5,396	5,030	4,671	3,729
Connecticut	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	13,965	4,649	2,771	2,695	1,666
Delaware	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	3,616	2,741	977	814	435
Florida	Checkers	Chess	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Dominoes
-Searches per month	135,194	95,998	18,850	18,224	8,868
Georgia	Checkers	Chess	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Catan
-Searches per month	61,419	39,349	8,921	6,896	4,254
Hawaii	Chess	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan	Battleship
-Searches per month	5,298	1,066	1,016	725	706
Idaho	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	4,858	1,720	1,383	1,178	890
Illinois	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	53,349	22,880	14,861	10,478	6,396
Indiana	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	20,607	7,898	6,211	4,933	2,865
Iowa	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	9,219	5,134	3,556	2,022	1,383
Kansas	Chess	Checkers	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Catan
-Searches per month	8,561	3,500	2,111	2,098	1,267
Kentucky	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	12,925	4,284	3,669	2,885	1,426
Louisiana	Checkers	Chess	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Dominoes
-Searches per month	13,171	11,654	3,281	2,989	1,709
Maine	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	3,935	2,706	1,096	910	642
Maryland	Checkers	Chess	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	34,343	25,163	4,934	4,862	2,514
Massachusetts	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	29,604	8,305	6,717	5,522	4,455
Michigan	Checkers	Chess	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	37,868	34,955	13,523	7,438	4,405
Minnesota	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	19,901	9,455	4,739	3,873	3,200
Mississippi	Checkers	Chess	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Dominoes
-Searches per month	6,794	5,927	1,681	1,639	921
Missouri	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	20,188	5,431	5,355	4,305	2,710
Montana	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	2,783	994	790	615	549
Nebraska	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	5,851	2,395	1,585	1,384	889
Nevada	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	15,609	3,300	2,979	2,729	1,304
New Hampshire	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	5,112	2,085	1,346	949	739
New Jersey	Chess	Checkers	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Catan
-Searches per month	41,411	21,645	7,654	6,942	4,496
New Mexico	Chess	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Checkers	Dominoes
-Searches per month	6,265	1,369	1,325	1,239	802
New York	Chess	Checkers	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Catan
-Searches per month	99,729	49,338	17,429	17,386	10,634
North Carolina	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	36,672	21,293	9,434	8,608	4,628
North Dakota	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	2,498	952	772	555	421
Ohio	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	38,110	12,735	9,790	8,033	4,463
Oklahoma	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Dominoes
-Searches per month	11,286	3,344	3,055	2,715	1,369
Oregon	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	17,616	4,852	3,814	3,201	2,269
Pennsylvania	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	47,441	23,394	14,613	9,615	5,340
Rhode Island	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	4,409	1,266	1,048	804	486
South Carolina	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	14,916	14,825	3,904	3,511	1,725
South Dakota	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	2,473	1,165	767	567	477
Tennessee	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	20,223	18,617	6,961	4,976	2,621
Texas	Chess	Checkers	Monopoly	Yahtzee	Catan
-Searches per month	120,002	41,938	25,576	17,628	13,765
Utah	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	12,686	2,889	2,871	2,383	1,805
Vermont	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	2,215	972	531	447	400
Virginia	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	39,716	18,787	7,395	7,183	4,403
Washington	Chess	Yahtzee	Checkers	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	38,864	8,481	6,616	6,055	5,396
West Virginia	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Dominoes
-Searches per month	4,671	1,912	1,579	1,100	485
Wisconsin	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	16,792	9,785	8,635	3,893	2,794
Wyoming	Chess	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Checkers	Catan
-Searches per month	1,336	695	337	325	245
U.S. Overall	Chess	Checkers	Yahtzee	Monopoly	Catan
-Searches per month	1,272,108	678,748	299,297	258,456	151,821