Tag Archives: mayfair games

After Months of Speculation Mayfair Games’ Assets Acquired by Asmodee North America

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We reported in November that Mayfair Games was looking like it’d be shut down and today comes the official announcement. As of today, the management team at Mayfair Games, Inc. has announced they are winding down game publishing.

In the announcement they said:

After 36 years, this was not an easy decision or one we took lightly, but it was necessary. Once we had come to this conclusion, we knew we had to find a good home for our games which is when we reached out to Asmodee.

The company has sold their games to Asmodee North America, who has acquired all the assets of Mayfair Games, Inc. This acquisition includes the product line for both Mayfair Games, Inc and Lookout Games, GmbH.

Moving forward, Mayfair product will continue to be available through previously established distribution channels including Alliance Game Distributors for all sales in the USA to the hobby market and with Esdevium Games now Asmodee UK for the UK market.

Mayfair Games Sees Layoffs. Is it Closed Down? (Updatex2)

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We received a tip that Mayfair Games has closed down as of November 2 with employees being let go. It’s unknown the exact state of the company but layoffs have occurred.

When we reached out to the company’s public relations team we received an automated response back confirming some of the news:

Julie Yeager and Chuck Rice are no longer employed with Mayfair Games.

The company’s website hasn’t been updated in some time with it Retweeting on November 3 and the Facebook page seeing an update of its cover photo and a mention of International Games Week on November 2.

The company has had a rocky existence with previous financial trouble and it’s possible it’s currently restructuring or possibly being bought out.

Mayfair Games was founded in 1981 to publish the railroad game Empire Builder. In 1996 the company became the publisher of The Settlers of Catan in the US, it’s most well known game.

In 1997 the company shut down and was bailed out by Iron Crown Enterprises who purchased most of the company’s assets and restarted operations as Ironwind, Inc.

In 2007 Pete Fenlon became CEO amid a major organization that focused on core brands including Catan.

In January 2016 the company transfered all publishing, commercial, and brand rights for all English-language Catan products to a new subsidiary of the Asmodee Group, Catan Studio. Fenlon left the company to become the CEO of that new company.

Larry Ronzai became the new CEO after being a board member, President, and COO. After our initial outreach the automated response directed us to Loren Ronzai for further questions.

The company had a sizeable footprint at this year’s Gen Con 50 with their usual space for gaming and store present.

Customer service is still operational to some extent. Inquiries about game components/parts issues can be directed to custserv@mayfairgames.com. We are awaiting an official response and expect this to be a topic at this weekend’s PAX Unplugged where the game publisher is still listed as an exhibitor though not the Expo Hall map. We have been told they won’t be present though the website hasn’t been updated to reflect that.

Update (11/15/17): Loren Ronzai, Executive Vice President of Mayfair, has responded:

This is not accurate. Since it has become a rather rapid rumor the last few days we are working on a press release to address it. Alliance still has stock of all of our current titles and we are still operating and taking orders.

Update (2/9/18): We were indeed correct in our initial reporting. The company has sold its assets to Asmodee. Read the full story.

Mayfair Games Announces Oh My Goods!: Longsdale in Revolt

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Riots are spreading in the capital Longsdale as well as rumors that there could soon be a war. The king needs your help. Find out alone or with up to four players how this story unfolds, as told in this new expansion. Your decisions might even be able to turn fate in a new direction…

Oh My Goods!: Longsdale in Revolt, an expansion for Oh My Goods!, consists of five chapters that together tell a single story. The length of the game is now not fixed, but depends on the current chapter, which has an event deck that will be compiled differently each time you play.

Oh My Goods! is a card game focused on resource mangement, engine building, and storytelling by Alexander Pfister.

The expansion includes 34 new building cards (7 types), 4 character cards, 41 event cards, 14 chapter cards, 8 setup cards, 5 “Good” cards, and rulebook. Retailing for $12 it’s out now.

Mayfair Games Announces Nusfjord

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Mayfair Games will be releasing the worker placement and development board game Nusfjord from Uwe Rosenberg in November 2017.

Today, Nusfjord is a tranquil fishing village in the Lofted archipelago in northern Norway. 50 years ago, business was booming when the codfish would come for spawning. But, travel back in time and Nusfjord is completely transformed. Sailing ships dominate the fjord, and the rocky beauty of the island is masked by vast forests. Visit the heyday of Nusfjord’s maritime commerce and expansion, and success may be yours!

As the owner of a major fishing company in Nusfjord, your goal is to develop and expand the harbor and surrounding landscape. You will do this by using your workers to help you develop your fishing company, persuade village elders in the council to join you, and build buildings for valuable effects and victory points. Plus, don’t forget to expand your fishing fleet to increase your fishing capacity, and issue shares in your company for a quick gold or two. You also need to balance the clearing and reforesting of your land for building resources. And don’t forget the ever important gold needed to buy shares, which can earn you additional fish and points.

In the end, the player with the best fishing company (and most points) wins the game!

Nusfjord is for 1 to 5 players with play times being 20-100 minutes (20 minutes per player). The game is intended for ages 12 and up.

The game comes with 1 Action board, 1 Ships and Elders supply board, 1 Banquet table, 1 Building supply boards, 1 Imitation tile, 18 Ship tiles, 15 First player tiles, 100 Fish tokens, 50 Wood tokens, 1 Wooden start player ship, 18 Elder cards, 132 Building cards, 41 Gold Coins, 9 Multiplication tiles, 30 Forest tiles, 1 Rulebook, and 1 Appendix. In each of the 5 player colors there are 1 “Personal Supply” board, 3 Worker disks, 1 Elder Council, 1 Harbor board, and 5 Share tiles.

Isle of Skye: Journeyman is Out the End of Fall 2017

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Mayfair Games has announced that Isle of Skye: Journeyman will be out and the end of fall 2017. Isle of Skye: Journeyman, the first big expansion to Isle of Skye contains new personal player boards indicating your progress in terms of strength, prosperity and popularity. As each progress step has requirements to be met, the personal player boards affect tile selling and placement. However, in order to claim the next level of development and gain potential rewards, it’s not sufficient to place the corresponding tiles only. A new pawn (the journeyman) needs to travel the kingdom and “activate” the tiles. In addition, 4 new scoring tiles are contained respecting the new challenges of Isle of Skye: Journeyman.

Becoming a king is hard, but being a king is even harder. You need warriors to protect your kingdom, merchants to keep your treasury liquid and heralds which proclaim your popularity across the kingdom. Luckily, your best mate has agreed to take over the hard graft so that you concentrate becoming a glory chieftain.

Isle of Skye: Journeyman contains 4 New scoring tiles, 8 New landscape tiles, 7 Gold coins, 15 Roads, 5 “50/100” VP markers, and 1 Rulebook. In each of the 5 player colors it also includes 1 Progress board, 6 Markers, 9 Bonus tiles, and 1 Journeyman pawn.

The expansion will retail for $25.

Coming in September from Mayfair, Food Chain and Run Bunny Run

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Food Chain

MFG5812 – $15

Mayfair’s card game brings all the animals to the yard! The birds like the worms, the dogs scare the cats, and the fleas LOVE the dogs! Anticipate which animals your opponents will play and counter with the right animals to be at the top of the food chain!

Everyone has a set of animals: worms, birds, cats, dogs and fleas.

Each turn, you try and guess what the other players are going to reveal, and hope that you pick something higher in the food chain than them. If you do, you claim their cards as points, but if something is higher than you, they get you and your cards from the round. An exciting game of prediction and prey!

Run Bunny Run

MFG5813 – $15

The wolves want rabbit for dinner but the bunny has other ideas! The rabbit has superior agility but the wolves have pack tactics. Will the wolves feast or will the rabbit rest easy in its comfy den?

One player is the bunny trying to make it to his home, and the rest are hungry wolves! The wolf players move by placing cards that show where their next move will be, and work as a group to corner the rabbit. The rabbit player moves relatively, trying to find a path through the danger and to safety. Will you be the hunter or the hunted?

Isle of Skye: Journeyman From Mayfair Games in November

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Coming late November 2017 from Mayfair Games is Isle of Sky: Journeyman. Journeyman is the first big expansion to Isle of Skye. The game was designed by Alexander Pfister and Andreas Pelikan and for 2-5 players age 10 and up.

Becoming a king is hard. Being a king is even harder. You need warriors to protect your kingdom, merchants to keep your treasury liquid and heralds which proclaim your popularity across the kingdom. Luckily, your best mate has agreed to take over the hard graft. Consequently you can concentrate on becoming a glory chieftain.

First of all, Journeyman contains new personal player boards. They indicate your progress in terms of strength, prosperity and popularity. As each progress step has requirements to be met, the personal player boards affect tile selling and placement. However, in order to claim the next level of development and gain potential rewards, it’s not sufficient to place the corresponding tiles only. As new pawn needs to travel the kingdom and “activate” the tiles. In addition, 4 new scoring tiles are contained respecting the new challenges.

Isle of Sky: Journeyman features 4 New scoring tiles, 8 New landscape tiles, 7 Gold coins, 15 Roads, 5 “50/100” VP markers, and 1 Rulebook. Also in each of the 5 player colors: 1 progress board, 6 markers, 9 bonus tiles, and 1 Journeyman pawn.

Isle of Sky: Journeyman will retail for $25.

Le Havre coming soon from Mayfair Games in Early 2017!

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le_havre_rzyemrMayfair and Lookout Games are returning Le Havre to the tabletop with a new release for some time in early 2017.

Le Havre is a game about managing a harbor, building ships and constructing buildings. On each turn, players must decide whether to take good of one type or to carry out a building action.  The number of goods on offer varies from turn to turn. New goods of each kind are added regularly, building up until a player takes them. Wood, clay and iron are building resources. Fish, grain and cattle are used to feed your dock workers. Actions in buildings allow goods to be upgraded — just turn the tokens over to show the reverse side.  At the end of the game, the player with the largest fortune is the winner. This is the total of the player’s cash and the value of his or her ships and buildings.

The game by Uwe Rosenberg can be played by 1-5 players, either in a shortened version or as a full game that can last anywhere from 30 minutes to hours, ensuring that it provides the right level of challenge for any game table. The game itself is packed with materials include cards, tokens, and more.

Portal of Heroes Coming Soon from Mayfair Games

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portal-of-heroesFor centuries, peace reigned over the world of Molthar, until one day, the magician Ullfried destroyed the balance of Good and Evil with black magic. Darkness fell across the land, and the only hope remaining to the people of Molthar was an ancient prophecy that one day, when the time was right, a hero would come and free the world of darkness…

Portals provide ways for fantastic creatures and helpers to stand with you! Go to Molthar, collect magic pearls and build a team of allies from legends. Strengthen your power and fulfill the prophecy… the one who collects twelve Power Points saves the realm, becomes the true chosen one, and wins the game!

Out in January 2017, Portal of Heroes is a new card game from Mayfair Games by Johannes Schmidauer-König. The game for 2-5 players is for ages 10+ and takes about 45 minutes.

The game includes 56 pearl cards, 54 character cards, 5 player portals, and 1 rulebook and retails for $18.00.

Mayfair Games Acquires Twilight Creations

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mayfair-games-logoMayfair Games has announced the purchase of a controlling interest in Twilight Creations, the award winning board game publisher of the well-known Zombies!!! series of games in addition to a horror-themed line of games including The Haunting House.

During this change, Kerry Breitenstein will remain an integral part of Twilight Creations, overseeing the creative side of the company as the Vice President of Design and Production. Loren Roznai of Mayfair Games will be taking on the role of President and will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the company.

All logistical operations for Twilight Creations are being moved to Mayfair Games in Skokie. All sales and distribution inquires will be handled by our Sales team in Plant City, FL. All distributors will remain the same.

The company has also announced they will be showcasing the Zombies!!! product line in the Mayfair Games booth at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH  – June 15-19, 2016. The presence for both companies at Gen Con, August 4-7, 2016, will remain the same this year. Twilight Creations will be in Booth# 523 and Mayfair will be in Booth#117 – watch for combined space for 2017.

Stay tuned for BIG Zombies!!! announcements in the coming months!

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