As I mentioned in another comment, I expect most of these classic games would do even worse if they were released today. Struggling to find an audience, ranking down in the lower reaches on BGG. The communities around them and their cultural heritage are what they’re really about, and I doubt that you could bootstrap them back up to their current prominence if they showed up out of nowhere today, based solely on the strength of the games per se. Though, to be fair, the majority of top-100 BGG games will be all but forgotten in 100 years, too.
All the more reason Crokinole—a far less well-known classic game than backgammon or chess or go—ranking so highly is remarkable.
There are people who design new abstract tactical games in the style of chess, go, hex, draughts, etc. as a kind of art form or mental exercise, but almost none of them are developed into commercial products.
All the more reason Crokinole—a far less well-known classic game than backgammon or chess or go—ranking so highly is remarkable.