Conception et édition de jeux de société : étude du secteur (de niche) et trajectoires professionnelles

Abstract

This article studies the world of board game publishers and authors in France. After recalling the conditions of the survey, based on a series of interviews with professionals in the sector (n=35), it looks at the social and educational trajectories of game publishers and authors. Through the study of their careers, the aim is to analyze the way in which they professionalize themselves. Secondly, the article questions the organization of the sector by comparing it with other cultural or artistic fields (literature, cinema, comics). Though the world of board games presents all the signs of an "art world" (specific division of labour and importance of symbolic capital in the form of "prizes"), its recognition and inscription in the cultural domain remains ambiguous. Despite a demand for cultural and institutional recognition of their activity, the support of public authorities and legitimizing bodies remains almost non-existent.

Keywords

• board game
• organization
• professionalization
• art world