Who Are Makers Of Popular Board Games?
by Alex J. Coyne © Gifts for Card Players
If you enjoy playing tabletop and board games, we’re going to assume that you have several titles in your collection (and also, that you might be planning to acquire a few more). The world of who-publishes-what is great to watch when scouting for fresh tabletop titles, and any board games you haven’t gotten to experience yet.
How well do you know your board game publishers?
Here’s a look at 6 of the world’s largest board game publishing companies, and some of the games that helped to make them famous.
1. Asmodée
Asmodée was founded in 1995, and has since grown to become the second-largest creator of tabletop games in the world rivalled only by the megalith Hasbro.
Still based out of France, Asmodée owns the publishing rights to famous games like Catan, Dobble, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, and Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures.
Fantasy Flight Games was also founded in 1995, with Twilight Imperium as their first release.
One of their largest businesses for Fantasy Flight is adaptations of video games to the tabletop. Some games now under their label includes the board game versions of World of Warcraft and Doom.
In 2014, they merged with Asmodée.
As a result of the merger, they now publish most board and card games from the Star Wars series.
3. Hasbro
Hasbro can claim to be one of the oldest board game publishers on the list, founded in 1923 – and still continuing as one of the biggest, too.
Several larger companies have merged with the Hasbro name, including Parker Brothers and Wizards of the Coast.
Board games like D&D, Clue, Magic: The Gathering, Risk, Scrabble, and even the classic, creepy Ouija Board are all published through Hasbro (or their partner companies). Almost everyone has played a game released by Hasbro.
If you’ve ever wondered about this while playing one of their games, Hasbro is short for Hassenfeld Brothers.
4. Konami
Konami was created in 1969, and their revenue comes from gaming in all forms. Slot machines, video games, and some of the most successful series’ of all time originated from the Konami name – including Silent Hill and Castlevania.
Additionally, Konami is known for heading the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. That’s what places them on this list.
Steve Jackson Games (abbreviated to SJG on occasion) first spawned in 1980, and is known for the creation and release of games like Car Wars, Ninja Burger, and Lord of the Fries – but that’s not the game that made them the most famous.
Illuminati is the game most players might know Steve Jackson from (and if you don’t, it’s an excellent time to play it as soon as possible).
6. The Oatmeal
The Oatmeal was founded in 2009 by Matthew Inman, with the label’s initial fame thanks to the popularity of its web-comic.
Soon, the illustrator partnered up, and created what is now one of the most widely played card games out there: Exploding Kittens. Subsequent releases include similar sequels.
