I am not too surprised. Something that was a bit of a surprise for me to learn was how Germany is the world center of the board gaming scene, with the biggest publishers and conventions. It's such a marginal hobby in the USA that I was shocked to discover just how big it is over there.

Chess is obviously it's own thing, both the granddaddy of the genre yet also it's own thing.  I have great respect for chess players but it's not my game.  I like random elements, I like a bit of diplomacy (though not too much, the more talking matters the more I kill the game) and I dislike the possibility for extreme thinking ahead and the memorization that comes with it.