Board games are making a comeback, and it’s not just family game nights driving the trend. A new breed of content creators is reshaping the industry, turning social media followings into successful product lines. 

At the forefront of this movement are Christopher and Alyson James, the duo behind Games4Two.

The couple, who started by sharing two-player game content on social media in 2021, has now partnered with Relatable to launch three new games.

The James couple reveals the power of authentic content, strategic collaborations, and niche markets’ untapped potential.

Leap into Full-Time Content Creation

Christopher and Alyson met in 2018 and began their digital journey in 2021 by sharing their extensive collection of two-player games on social media.

“We started a social media channel to share our game collection with other people who may have trouble finding games [that are] good for just two people,” Christopher says. 

Their timing proved fortuitous, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic when many sought home entertainment options.

Despite early viral success, the James’ maintained their full-time jobs until a year ago. 

“We didn’t turn this into a full-time career until a year ago,” Alyson notes. “We just wanted to be in a position where we felt super confident.”

The decision to transition to full-time content creation wasn’t taken lightly. 

“We made a pros and cons list of staying in our regular careers or jumping and deciding to go full time,” Christopher reveals. “One just vastly outweighed the other.”

Starting on TikTok, the couple has since expanded to Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat. “We just really wanted to expand our reach,” Alyson says.

The James’ find motivation in the impact their content has on viewers. 

“We’ve had people reach out to us, from granddaughters finding things to do with their grandmother or single parents,” Alyson shares, revealing the unexpected ways their content resonates with audiences.

Content Strategy: Tailoring for Multiple Platforms

Christopher and Alyson have developed a nuanced approach to content creation across various social media platforms.

“We have a pretty unified approach against all of them except YouTube,” Christopher reveals. 

The couple recognizes YouTube’s capacity for long-form videos, allowing them to showcase “longer games, heavier games, doing more deep dives.” This contrasts with their approach to TikTok and Instagram, where shorter-form content prevails.

Instagram, in particular, serves as a more personal platform for the gaming couple. 

“Instagram is a much more social platform where people interact,” Christopher notes. “More people are interested in our social lives than just the games. ” 

This insight has led them to share personal updates and photos and garnered significant engagement.

“There are just different communities on different platforms,” Christopher observes. “Sometimes, even the same video will do well on one platform, and then on another, it won’t.”

Consistency plays a crucial role in their content strategy. 

“Consistency would be probably the biggest thing,” Alyson tells us, with Christopher elaborating, “We never took time off from 2021 until now. We post pretty much every day, sometimes multiple times a day.”

Their approach to content creation is organic and intuitive. “We just get inspiration from each other,” Alyson shares. “We’ll bounce ideas off each other and ask, ‘Do you think this is a cool game? Is this something we would have fun playing?'”

The James’ measure success beyond mere view counts.

“Even if the video has barely any views, if one person went out and got that game that night and had fun together, that makes it worth it,” Christopher explains. 

Alyson adds, “If someone laughed or smiled because of our video, then that means the world to us.”

This strategy has enabled Games4Two to build a substantial following of 7.4 million across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, demonstrating the effectiveness of their tailored, consistent, and audience-focused approach to content creation.

Partnering with Relatable: Bringing Games4Two to Retail

The Games4Two duo has recently expanded their brand through collaboration with Relatable, launching three new games: Shoot the Moon, Tower Stack, and Kollide.

“[Games4Two’s] unique and creative approach, coupled with their strong connection to their audience, makes them the perfect fit for our vision of creating trend-driven products that appeal to our audiences,” Relatable Chief Strategy Officer Tom Emelo said in a press release.

The collaboration with Relatable was a natural progression for the James’. 

“We’ve worked with them in the past, just on a smaller scale,” Alyson explains. “Every time we’ve partnered with them, it’s been very successful. It was very easy to work with them.” 

The partnership leverages Games4Two’s social media expertise and Relatable’s gaming industry knowledge.

The games developed through this collaboration are rooted in concepts that have proven successful on the Games4Two channel. 

“The three games we did with them are similar concepts and were very successful on our channel,” Alyson notes. “We revamped and innovated with those concepts and made them available in retail.”

Christopher highlights the games’ appeal to their target demographic of Gen Z and millennials: “The fast-paced nature and the ability to take the games out of the box, take a couple of minutes to learn the rules, and then get to playing right away – in today’s world of always scrolling and lower attention span – is something that resonates with many people.”

The couple’s approach to promoting these products aligns with their overall content strategy. 

“We just want people to enjoy the video and maybe laugh, maybe be interested in the game, and just try to be as authentic to us as possible,” Alyson shares.

Feedback on the new games has been overwhelmingly positive, with some surprising reactions. 

“People who didn’t hear or see the games until they just happened to be walking in Target or something like that and see them,” Alyson tells us.

The James’ particularly appreciate Relatable’s creativity and collaborative spirit. 

“We’re always very impressed by their creativity,” says Alyson. “We’ll say something or possibly give a little snuck bit of an idea in our minds, and they just take it and blow it out of the water.”

Future Horizons: Expanding the Games4Two Brand

Games4Two is poised for continued growth following their successful partnership with Relatable. While specific details remain under wraps, the couple hints at exciting developments.

The duo’s ambitions extend beyond product development. “Continuing to grow our socials is a big goal of ours and just reaching as many people as possible,” Christopher shares. 

They’ve also ventured into live streaming on Twitch, aiming to engage with new audiences. However, community building remains a priority for Games4Two. 

Alyson expresses interest in “doing things like meet-and-greets or events where we can not only grow our audience but also create a community within that audience.”

Reflecting on their journey, the James’ couple advises fresh creators: “You need to give someone a reason to watch you. Carving out your space is important, giving people a reason to tune in.”

“Having something unique, being consistent about it, and then being authentic about it is, we think, the perfect formula,” they add.

Ultimately, Games4Two’s mission remains clear. 

As Christopher puts it, “Our goal with Games4Two is to bring as many games to as many people as possible and to have that time to unplug from electronics and sit down at a table with a family member or a few family members and enjoy a game.”