Asmodee Entertainment partners with Trends International for CATAN posters

Asmodee Entertainment has announced a new licensing agreement with Trends International to produce and market a range of CATAN posters, which will be available exclusively from selected online outlets, including Trends’ own ShopTrends.com site and Amazon.

“Trends is excited to help spread the magic of CATAN by providing new merchandise that fans can collect and share,” says Greg Hill, Associate Licensing Manager at Trends International. “CATAN’s charm has never been limited to the tabletop – and is now expanding to your walls with the help of Trends’ poster products.”

Trends is a market leader and household name in posters and the agreement further expands Asmodee Entertainment’s push to establish the world’s best-selling board game as a true lifestyle brand.

“It is fantastic to welcome Trends International to the CATAN lifestyle merchandise family,” says Alexander Thieme, Licensing Manager for Consumer Products at Asmodee Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to the posters their creative team comes up with in the coming months and are sure that a great many CATAN fans’ homes will show even more of their love for CATAN soon. Exciting times!”

The first of this new range of CATAN posters from Trends are expected to launch in November and will be available from ShopTrends.com and Amazon.

Maestro Media partners with international tabletop game consulting firm All About Games for global expansion

Maestro Media, the strategic product and business development firm specialising in innovative tabletop game publishing, has officially announced its partnership with All About Games, a consulting company dedicated to international tabletop and board game markets, to help expand Maestro Media’s international reach, sales, localisation, manufacturing and distribution, and to assist in further scaling the company to create a larger impact in the tabletop gaming market.

All About Games initially partnered with Maestro Media to help source localisation partners for Maestro’s hugely successful The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem Kickstarter campaign, which generated over $6.7 million, becoming one of the top 20 performing Kickstarter campaigns of all time. All About Games secured placement of the game in eleven territories, generating an additional $1 million in sales. Due to the success of that initial partnership, Maestro Media and All About Games have decided to expand the partnership to help continue Maestro’s international growth and expansion.

“Because of the amazing and experienced team behind All About Games, we were able to achieve international growth we would not have seen otherwise around The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem,” says Javon Frazier, Founder and CEO of Maestro Media. “The success of our initial collaboration is just beginning, as our massive partnership will include many exciting projects launching globally every year, and the most important part to us – quality working relationship and collaboration – has already proven to be unparalleled. Our two teams have already started ramping up on future projects with the goal of elevating Maestro as a true staple in the global tabletop gaming industry.”

The partnership will focus on international expansion of Maestro Media through marketing growth as well as strategising and executing global manufacturing and distribution of Maestro’s games catalogue. As part of its upcoming slate of projects, Maestro Media will work in conjunction with All About Games to continue to expand popular game IPs, including Umbrella Academy, Tapeworm, Sugar Heist and The Binding of Isaac, with many more in the works. The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem is set to release in 2022.

 

 

Maestro Media partners with international tabletop game consulting firm All About Games for global expansion

Maestro Media, the strategic product and business development firm specialising in innovative tabletop game publishing, has officially announced its partnership with All About Games, a consulting company dedicated to international tabletop and board game markets, to help expand Maestro Media’s international reach, sales, localisation, manufacturing and distribution, and to assist in further scaling the company to create a larger impact in the tabletop gaming market.

All About Games initially partnered with Maestro Media to help source localisation partners for Maestro’s hugely successful The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem Kickstarter campaign, which generated over $6.7 million, becoming one of the top 20 performing Kickstarter campaigns of all time. All About Games secured placement of the game in eleven territories, generating an additional $1 million in sales. Due to the success of that initial partnership, Maestro Media and All About Games have decided to expand the partnership to help continue Maestro’s international growth and expansion.

“Because of the amazing and experienced team behind All About Games, we were able to achieve international growth we would not have seen otherwise around The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem,” says Javon Frazier, Founder and CEO of Maestro Media. “The success of our initial collaboration is just beginning, as our massive partnership will include many exciting projects launching globally every year, and the most important part to us – quality working relationship and collaboration – has already proven to be unparalleled. Our two teams have already started ramping up on future projects with the goal of elevating Maestro as a true staple in the global tabletop gaming industry.”

The partnership will focus on international expansion of Maestro Media through marketing growth as well as strategising and executing global manufacturing and distribution of Maestro’s games catalogue. As part of its upcoming slate of projects, Maestro Media will work in conjunction with All About Games to continue to expand popular game IPs, including Umbrella Academy, Tapeworm, Sugar Heist and The Binding of Isaac, with many more in the works. The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem is set to release in 2022.

 

 

Board game pioneer CMON teams with Monsoon Digital for new foray into NFTs

The hit board game publisher, CMON Ltd has partnered with Monsoon Digital to launch a new series of digital products and promotional material using Monsoon’s soon-to-launch NFT trading platform.

Slated to go live later this year, Monsoon will become the exclusive platform for CMON digital collectable items, cards, artwork, and games. The first offerings will strive to expand upon CMON’s reputation as a leader and pioneer in the gaming space.

“The overall potential of NFTs adds a brand-new dimension to the hobby, game and collectible markets, one that we’re extremely excited to explore with Monsoon Digital,” said Chern Ann Ng, CEO of CMON.

“The goal of Monsoon is to provide collectors, art fans, and gamers with a stable and secure online home where they can organize, display, buy, sell and trade their digitally owned blockchain. It’s designed from the ground up to be tailor made for these particular fanbases, so that creators can design and launch products that are innovative and consumer-specific.”

Monsoon Digital will launch the public beta of its platform later this year, with CMON’s first wave of digital collectible packs set to be the site’s flagship product. Details of the first wave are being kept under wraps.

“While this is absolutely a breakout year for NFTs, we were determined to do something different and unique with the blockchain technology,” said Geoff Skinner, CMON’s SVP of Marketing and Entertainment.

“As it is with our tabletop games, our focus is on the customer. The goals we set for this new collector experience are simple: it has to be easy to use and accessible, it has to offer a special, personalized experience, and most importantly, it has to be fun. To these ends, we’re working with our top game designers, graphic designers and artists to create our first blockchain product on Monsoon’s incredible platform.”

CMON has earned a reputation as a trendsetter in the gaming industry since successfully launching its first crowdfunded game on Kickstarter in 2012. The company remains the number one fundraiser across all categories, having raised over $72 million from 48 successful campaigns.

To celebrate the launch, CMON will be giving many of its more than 100,000 Kickstarter backers the chance to receive free NFT airdrops when Monsoon goes live. In addition, each of those backers will eligible to receive a “CMON Backer” promo NFT that will never be offered again.

Asmodee Entertainment teams with Event Merchandising to launch online gaming merch stores

Asmodee Entertainment has entered into a new licensing partnership with Event Merchandising Limited to launch a series of ‘one-stop-shops’ for fans of Fantasy Flight Games Studio’s Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, and Twilight Imperium across the world.

Just the latest example of Asmodee Entertainment’s current push to expand the merchandise offerings available to fans of some of its biggest hobby game brands, the partnership will see the launch of new online stores, sporting the latest in licensed merchandise for the gaming brands.

“These are exciting times for us and for fans of these brands. For over two decades these three rich and fascinating universes have gathered fans who cherish diving into adventures in these worlds – they are a true passion for many and part of their identity,” said Alexander Thieme, licensing manager for consumer goods and publishing at Asmodee Entertainment.

“It’s about time that we enabled them to express their fandom beyond the games. Novels from Aconyte made a start of this expansion, merchandise now follows. And we couldn’t have found a better partner for this than EML.”

Initially opening in the UK in Q4 2021 these online stores will feature specially designed apparel, accessories and homewares such as pillows and mugs. The first of these launches is planned for Q4 2021. Fans can expect more products to be added to the stores regularly after launch.

 Jeremy Goldsmith of Event Merchandising, said: “Asmodee has created amazing, captivating content and artwork and we are delighted to be designing and operating the online store for Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, and Twilight Imperium along with a selection of key product lines.”

Asmodee Entertainment builds out European licensing team with new appointment

Asmodee Entertainment is building on its licensing success of 2020 with the appointment of Etienne Bonnin as the firm’s new senior manager, media development and licensing.

Based in Paris, Bonnin will report into Darren Kyman, SVP, business development for Asmodee Entertainment, a unit of the board game giant dedicated to building out wider franchises from the Asmodee IP, led by managing director, Andy Jones.

Bonnin has spent 15 years at Glénat Editions SA, the largest independent book publisher in France. In his role as Rights and Licensing Director at Glénat, Bonnin has been running the licensing department and negotiated all rights formats (translations, Film/TV, podcast, merchandising, partworks) globally for all of the Glénat group’s catalogues: comics & graphic novels, children’s books and illustrated books.

Asmodee Entertainment’s SVP of business development, Kyman, said: “Given our well-established global presence and diverse catalogue of leading IPs, it was important for us to have a dedicated media development and licensing manager based right in the centre of Paris.

“With his years of experience in both media development and IP licensing at Glénat, we are delighted to welcome Etienne aboard.”

App game My Singing Monsters makes move to board game space with Kickstarter project

The award-winning app game, My Singing Monsters – a game in which players build a collection of singing monsters who all chime their parts in unison – is expanding into the analogue gaming sector with the launch of My Singing Monsters: The Board Game on Kickstarter.

A worker placement game designed by Sen-Foong Lim and Jay Cormier, the crowdfunding project has already surpassed its initial goal as it now surges towards £30,000 in fan backing.

Players can choose between two versions of the game, a Standard Edition, which includes all core components and the Deluxe Edition, which features nine fully painted Monster mini-figures, upgraded components, and a Kickstarter exclusive expansion starring the Werdos (a tribe of singing monsters in the app game).

In addition to the Standard and Deluxe versions of the game, three backers have the chance to back the project for the Ultimate Creator Experience offering an all-expenses paid trip to Big Blue Bubble’s studios, as well as a two-day in studio experience where backers will have the chance to create their own Monster that will appear in My Singing Monsters.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to bring the Monster World to both fans and board gamers in a brand new, physical format,” said Damir Slogar, CEO and founder of Big Blue Bubble.

“Our team is working very hard to make this a really enjoyable board game experience that you will want to play over and over again with friends and family.”

In My Singing Monsters: The Board Game, players will choose one of five Monsters to represent them as they go from Island to Island, levelling up their abilities to be the first to cross the finish line. The game will call on strategic worker placement gameplay that allows players to start easy and build up to a full-on strategy game, meaning that it can tap into the casual gamer market as much as the more experienced board game player market.

Stretch goals will continue to roll out during the campaign that comes to a close on June 21st this year.

Pop culture retailer The Geek Retreat on track to open 60 of its planned 100 stores this year

Geek Retreat, the geek culture retailer, gaming café and events venue rolled into one, is on track to open 60 of its planned 100 new stores on UK high streets by the end of 2021, creating 360 jobs around the country.

The franchise is on track to meet its previously announced target of a total of 100 new stores in 2022.

The Geek Retreat franchise, which opened its first store in Glasgow in 2013, now has 27 stores, with the newest in Truro, Cornwall, which opened last week. It has stores in town and city-centres such as Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, the Wirral, Northampton, Chelmsford and London, which stock geek culture merchandise like comics, posters, clothing, figures and memorabilia as well as games and trading cards.

Fans of everything from Marvel and sci-fi, to Warhammer and Pokémon – and even traditional board games, are welcome at the stores and play their hobbies in the café.

New stores are due to open in a number of locations around the UK, including Blackburn, Hereford, Exeter, Lincoln, Ipswich, Bedford and Exeter, in the next couple of months.

To support the growth of the business, the retailer has also announced a series of new hires, including four franchise development managers who will support the expanding geographical footprint of the brand. A further 25 employees will join the head office team in new roles such as New Store Openings Managers, Event & Gaming Specialist and Head of Digital & Ecommerce.

Following the recent brand relaunch, Geek Retreat has also developed and launched a new menu in consultation with its franchisees. The full menu roll-out in partnership with leading food service firm, Booker, sees the introduction of a high-quality menu with vegetarian, vegan and kid’s options, ensuring there’s something to suit everyone’s taste.

Peter Dobson, chief executive of Geek Retreat, said: “We are pressing ahead with our expansion plans and are on track to meet our target for new stores. Despite the impact the pandemic has had on the high street more generally, the Geek Retreat proposition and unique culture has proved particularly resilient and has shown us how important it is for people to have a safe please to visit and to share their interests with friends as part of a community.”

All stores commit to a COVID-19 secure environment, with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place, to give customers extra piece of mind that they can visit in confidence.

Gaming phenomenon Exploding Kittens makes licensing move with Universal and Illumination’s Minions

The analogue games manufacturer, Exploding Kittens – recognised for setting the record with the most backed game on Kickstarter to date – is eyeing a new move into licensing with the launch its Exploding Minions game next month.

Developed in partnership with Universal Brand Development and Illumination, the new titles puts a Minions spin on the globally popular card game, bringing in elements from the hit franchise to the tabletop gaming phenomenon.

In an interview with ToyNews, Exploding Kittens international director of sales has hinted that this could be just the start of a new licensing endeavour from Exploding Kittens, who will be measuring the success of the licensed game as a marker for its future pursuits in the licensing space.

“We are trying a few new things as we focus on the UK market this year,” said Hoste. “One of them is that this year, for the first time, we are supplying an entertainment license to the Exploding Kittens franchise. We will have an Exploding Minions game launching this year, in June, as a fun way to reposition the game with a broader appeal.

“It will be exciting to see what that does, and if it is successful we will continue to pursue those kinds of changes within our portfolio.”

Exploding Kittens burst onto the scene in 2015 when it set records as the most backed game on the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter to date. Six years later, the kittens’ explosion is still expanding with ten games to the company’s portfolio, 45 countries on the roster, and new headway being made in the licensing space, both inbound and out.

The outward licensing and franchise building around Exploding Kittens’ game portfolio continues to gain traction. Further products are currently in development across both the Exploding Kittens and the Throw Throw Burrito (a card game meets dodgeball) for later this year, while the company recently made the move to digital gaming.

Exploding Kittens has become one of the latest tabletop games to make the leap to the Nintendo Switch with a digital version of the game in a move that “has the potential to grow the audience size for Exploding Kittens exponentially.”

Plans are now already in place to bring more of the company’s titles to the gaming platform in the coming months and years, tapping into a strong trend to translating popular physical game titles to the digital space.

Read the full interview with Exploding Kittens’ Joeri Hoste here or in the Spring/Summer issue of ToyNews.

Aconyte Books partners with Fantasy Flight Games to launch new Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings titles

Asmodee Entertainment publishing imprint, Aconyte, has teamed with Fantasy Flight Games to release four new omnibus collections of the well-loved Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings novellas from this autumn.

Originally published as limited edition hardbacks, this is the first time these intriguing stories have been available in a mass-market edition.

The first title, Arkham Horror: Dark Origins features the Investigator tales Hour of the Huntress, The Dirge of Reason, Ire of the Void, and The Deep Gate. All bring glimpses of the eldritch terrors lurking beneath that most mysterious and blighted New England town.

Written by a quartet of notable tie-in fiction authors, Dark Origins will be published in the US and Canada on October 19th and on December 18th in the UK.

Fantasy Flight Games is excited that Aconyte is collecting our novellas for the first time in trade paperback format and is offering these stories to a wider audience,” said Katrina Ostrander, FFG’s creative director of story and setting. “The Dark Origins collection is the perfect introduction to the investigators from the acclaimed Arkham Horror board and card games, and all of these novellas were crafted with input from the FFG designers on the Arkham Horror story team.”

The Legend of the Five Rings setting brings fans The Great Clans of Rokugan, collecting three published novellas together for the first time, as well as a brand new and keenly awaited unpublished novella. The volume features the Clan stories Ice and Snow, The Sword and the Spirits, Whispers of Shadow and Steel, and Across the Burning Sands. Written in conjunction with the ongoing storyline of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, they bring tales of samurai, assassins and wild magic from across the fantastical lands of Rokugan.

Written by mixture of established Legend of the Five Rings fiction authors and members of  FFG’s story team, The Great Clans of Rokugan will publish in the US and Canada on November 23rd and on January 21st 2022 in the UK.

These first volumes will be available in trade paperback and ebook formats. Unlike FFG’s original limited-run novellas, these story collections will not contain game cards. Two further collections are planned for spring 2022. A variety of translated editions are being planned with Aconyte’s European publishing partners.

At the beginning of 2019, Aconyte was announced as Fantasy Flight Games’ fiction partner for original novels, creating new adventures based around its most famous and imaginative games Arkham Horror, Twilight Imperium, Legend of the Five Rings, Descent: Legends of the Dark, and KeyForge.

More announcements are expected as Aconyte’s range of world-expanding fiction expands further.