Lincolnshire publisher creates Advent calendar for tabletop gamers

Tabletop Gaming, part of Lincolnshire-based Warners Group Publications, is taking the premium Advent-calendar trend into board games and roleplaying with a 25-day Christmas countdown.

Ipsos found that 72% of Britons buy Advent calendars, but more than half of purchasers, 55%, planned to spend £10 or less. Just 8% said they expected to spend more than £100. | Pixabay

placeholder image — Ipsos found that 72% of Britons buy Advent calendars, but more than half of purchasers, 55%, planned to spend £10 or less. Just 8% said they expected to spend more than £100. | Pixabay

A Lincolnshire-based publishing business is entering one of Christmas’s more unusual retail markets this year with an Advent calendar created for tabletop gamers.

Tabletop Gaming, part of Warners Group Publications of Market Deeping, has opened pre-orders for a 25-day calendar aimed at board-game fans, roleplaying gamers, miniature painters and wargamers.

Each of the 25 gifts is individually wrapped. Priced at £250, Tabletop Gaming says the combined RRP of the contents is more than £500.

It is a long way from the traditional chocolate countdown, but it arrives as premium Advent calendars costing hundreds of pounds become increasingly visible at the top end of the Christmas market.

Ipsos found that 72% of Britons buy Advent calendars, but more than half of purchasers, 55%, planned to spend £10 or less. Just 8% said they expected to spend more than £100.

At the other end of the market, John Lewis is charging £250 for its 2026 beauty Advent calendar, Harrods’ version costs £270 and Liberty’s is priced at £285.

Tabletop Gaming takes that premium-calendar idea into a rather different hobby.

The brand forms part of Warners Group Publications, an independent, family-owned Lincolnshire media business with a portfolio built around specialist interests and communities. Warners has been operating since 1988 and publishes more than 20 magazine titles.

Matt Chapman, Editor of Tabletop Gaming Magazine, said: “£250 is obviously very different from picking up a chocolate Advent calendar for a few pounds, but tabletop gaming can be a serious hobby.

“People spend their year discovering new games, painting miniatures, playing RPGs and building collections, so the idea of an Advent calendar around that world doesn’t feel quite as strange as it might sound at first.

“What’s interesting is how specific Advent calendars have become. There seems to be one for almost every interest now, and this is ours for tabletop gamers.”