Asmodee Entertainment teams with Ablaze for Spot It! graphic novel

Asmodee Entertainment has entered into an agreement with publisher ABLAZE to produce a graphic novel based on Spot It!, the award-winning visual perception game from Asmodee’s Zygomatic games studio.

Spot It! (known as Dobble outside North America) is a gaming phenomenon and worldwide bestseller in the family games market.

Rich Young, ABLAZE VP Creative & Managing Editor, says: “We’re very excited to be working with the team at Asmodee on this project, and on such an iconic global brand. We are planning to deliver something unique and fun here, that I think fans of the game and graphic novel fans will both enjoy immensely.”  

Characters from the game, including Dobbly, the famous anthropomorphic hand that features in the game’s logo, will appear in an original adventure story written by Derek Fridolfs and illustrated by Gabriele Bagnoli. Derek is the New York Times bestselling writer of the Secret Hero Society series and the Eisner-nominated co-writer of Batman Li’l Gotham, and has worked for a range of publishers including Scholastic, DC Comics, Disney, and more.  Gabriele is a talented artist, and a part of Arancia Studio, who has worked on projects like Snow White for Disney, as well as Steven Universe for BOOM, and for other publishers such as Dark Horse, Glenat and Dupuis.

 “I am so very glad that with Rich and the ABLAZE team we found such a passionate partner,” says Alexander Thieme, Licensing Manager at Asmodee Entertainment. “Seeing the first art concepts and reading the first story bits show me that this project is going to be a very popular addition to the brand family and will bring old and new fans so much new joy.” 

The Spot It! graphic novel will be available to retailers through Diamond Comics and Diamond Book Distributors and is due to launch in Summer 2022, with further details expected soon.

Legend of the Five Rings fan shop is now open

Asmodee Entertainment has announced that the Legend of the Five Rings fan shop – the first in a multiple-IP partnership with Event Merchandising (EML) Limited – is now open at Shop.LegendOfTheFiveRings.com.

As featured in Fantasy Flight Games In-Flight report at this year’s Gen Con event in September, the fan shop is a dedicated online platform offering specially designed apparel, accessories and homewares such as pillows and mugs to fans and collectors worldwide. Legend of the Five Rings is the tale of the land of Rokugan and the rival samurai clans who fight with swords and magic.

“We’re so pleased to be able to offer so many different ways for Legend of the Five Rings fans to represent and celebrate their favourite Great Clans,” says Katrina Ostrander, Creative Director of Story & Setting at Fantasy Flight Games. “Whether it’s wearing your clan’s colours on tote bags and tees, decorating your space with beautiful prints and accent pillows, or recording your character’s journey in a themed notebook, this shop offers something for everyone, no matter whether you’re a fan of the card game, roleplaying game, or the fiction.”

At launch, fans can expect to see merchandise designed around art they might recognise from the games. EML designers have worked closely with Asmodee Entertainment and Fantasy Flight Games to design beautiful pieces that include art prints, tote bags, hoodies, notebooks, and more. Fans can share their love of the Legend of the Five Rings universe or announce their allegiance to specific clans as this initial launch also includes mini- collections for each of the Great Clans. The initial collections are now available on the site and fans can expect more exciting products to be added to the store regularly after launch.

Nick Hallet, lead designer from Event Merchandising on the project, says: “We are delighted to be partnering with Asmodee on designing and creating a fantastic range of products and an online store for Legends of the Five Rings. There is a rich collection of artwork which has been wonderful to work with.”

EML are based in the UK and their fan shops ship worldwide while a dedicated US store is also in development. The Legend of the Five Rings is the first of a number of online fan shops envisaged under their agreement with Asmodee Entertainment. An Arkham Horror store is coming soon with more details to follow.

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.

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.”

FanSets and Asmodee bring magic to the collectable pins space with first KeyForge line-up

FanSets LLC has partnered with the tabletop gaming giant, Asmodee to bring a dose of magic to the enamel pins space, with the launch of a series of collectables based on the popular card game title, KeyForge. The range will be launched to fans and collectors across the US, Canada, and the UK.

The series will feature KeyForge characters from every house, including the newly premiered house Unfathomable, and will be available in Summer 2021. The new deal is the latest in Asmodee Entertainment’s continued expansion into licensed opportunities for its portfolio of popular board game and card game titles.  

For FanSets, meanwhile, this deal expands their collector-focused product line and is the team’s first tabletop brand partnership. 

“We are excited to announce this new partnership just in time for fans to explore the newly released KeyForge game set Dark Tidings,” said Alexander Thieme, licensing manager for publishing and consumer goods at Asmodee Entertainment. “FanSets’ fantastic enamel pins provide our fans a way to represent their allegiance to their favorite houses. We’re thrilled  to work alongside the talented team at FanSets to bring such a great, sought after collectible to our fans!” 

KeyForge is the world’s first Unique Deck Game. Fans play as the mighty Archons and, using  their team of vault warriors, race to forge keys to unlock the secret vaults of the Crucible, a  world in which anything is possible and nothing is predictable. Fans of KeyForge all have favorite cards and houses, either because of the colorful and dynamic artwork featured or  because of the card’s power on the table, and now they can represent their favorites with  equally dynamic enamel pins. 

“Our customers are collectors, hobbyists, and passionate fans,” said FanSets co-founder Lew Halboth. “We love tabletop games and are putting every ounce of that passion into developing these KeyForge pins. We know fans will love them because we love them. We are excited to add Asmodee Games as one of our key licenses going forward and we look forward to working with their passionate team.” 

The first of these releases is planned for Q3 2021 and pins will be available at hobby and specialty shops and online. 

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.

Aconyte Books now teams with Atomic Mass Games to launch first Marvel novel series based on tabletop title Crisis Protocol

This week marks another licensing partnership for Asmodee Entertainment’s fiction publishing arm, Aconyte Books, which has now partnered with Atomic Mass Games to launch a new trilogy of Marvel novels inspired by the popular tabletop miniatures game, Crisis Protocol.

The first of the series – Target: Kree – is scheduled to land this summer and tells the action adventure of Iron Man and Ms. Marvel clash with a cast of familiar faces from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Written by multiple award-winning author and comics editor, Stuart Moore, Target: Kree will be published in the US and Canada on July 6th 2021 and on September 16th in the UK. This first book in the trilogy will be available in trade paperback and ebook formats, with an audiobook version expected to follow shortly after.

A variety of translated editions are being planned with Aconyte’s European publishing partners.

Marvel: Crisis Protocol is a tabletop hobby miniatures game set in the Marvel Universe. Players assemble, paint, and collect highly detailed miniatures representing iconic Marvel characters. Players choose characters from their collections to form their own Marvel inspired dream team, and then pit their chosen forces against each other on an interactive tabletop space.

Will Schick of Atomic Mass, said: “One of the cornerstones of Marvel: Crisis Protocol is how it allows players the opportunity to create their own stories on the tabletop together within the Marvel Universe. While super powered, cinematic battles are part of fun, it’s the narrative that emerges as players control their squads of iconic Marvel characters to complete their games objectives that truly sets the game apart from any other tabletop game of its kind.

“With this in mind, we are extremely excited to be partnering with Aconyte to bring players and fans of the Marvel Universe all-new stories set amid the climatic confrontations of Crisis Protocol.”

At the end of 2019, Aconyte was announced as Marvel’s newest fiction partner for original prose novels, creating new adventures based around an exciting roster of Marvel’s comic book characters including Legends of Asgard, Heroines, Untold, and Xavier’s Institute.

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

Asmodee’s Aconyte Books secures multi-year deal with Ubisoft to develop Assassin’s Creed novel series

Asmodee Entertainment’s fiction publishing imprint, Aconyte, has secured a multi-year agreement with Ubisoft to create a series of new novels set within the worlds of the game giant’s Assassin’s Creed franchise. The deal builds on a previous agreement that saw Aconyte names publishing partner for Ubisoft titles Watch Dogs and Tom Clancy’s The Division.

Aconyte’s primary mission is to publish untold stories from new or under-explored corners of the game series’ history-spanning timeline, featuring both characters from the games and totally new creations.

The first fruits of the new deal will be the publication of The Ming Storm this June. The novel is the opening volume of an exciting trilogy set in 16th century China, featuring young assassin Shao Jun. Written by notable Chinese author Yen Leisheng, the novel has already been published in China and France, with editions in several other languages planned.

This will be followed in early 2022 by a new trilogy of novels set in the time of Ubisoft’s latest hit game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which offers players the experience of playing as a legendary Viking warrior leading their clan to glory in ninth century England. A third trilogy of novels in a wholly new historical setting is in development too

“We’re absolutely delighted to add Assassin’s Creed to our ranges of new adventures set in the amazing worlds of Ubisoft’s games,” said Aconyte’s publisher, Marc Gascoigne. “The chance to tell wholly new stories set this rich universe, featuring both new and fan-favourite characters, was far too tasty to miss.”

Julien Fabre, Ubisoft associate director, publishing and TV distribution, added: “We are really happy to team up with Asmodee Entertainment. Thanks to their expertise in transmedia storytelling and community engagement, we will expand the Assassin’s Creed universe with new, original stories told through a range of compelling novels.”

Asmodee partners with Blok.Party to bring CATAN to its digital tabletop device TapTop

Asmodee Entertainment is embarking on a new partnership with the social gaming platform, Blok Party, to bring the wildly popular board game title CATAN to its TapTop digital tabletop device in 2021.

TapTop is a tabletop device that allows players to engage with digital versions of popular physical tabletop games, including other Asmodee titles such as Ticket to Ride, Splendor, and Codenames. The device also enables players to create their own tabletop games and card games, as well as interact with NFC figures such as LEGO Dimenstions, Nintendo’s Amiibo, or even Skylanders.

“I started in the video game industry in 1984 and have watched Catan take its place alongside the board game legends over the past 30 years,” said Gilman Louie, partner at Alsop Louie Partners, the lead investor in Blok Party. “Catan proves the value of having a social platform for board games, interacting with other players, making it easier to set up and play games, and allowing the game to merge digital and physical interactions through game play. This is a great partnership for both companies.” 

Since its creation in 1995 by Klaus Teuber, CATAN and its many expansions have sold more than 32 million games around the world. The game is published in more than 40 languages and is sold in more than 70 territories. As the world’s pre-eminent boardgame, CATAN is a truly global phenomenon and enjoys growing success in the digital, lifestyle and entertainment categories through Asmodee’s carefully curated deals.  

“CATAN has long been one of the premier board games so a partnership with the premier digital tabletop gaming platform is a natural fit,” added Christian Dunn, interactive licensing manager at Asmodee Entertainment. “Blok Party’s ambition matches our own and this deal is the first of several over the coming months as many great Asmodee titles will be coming to TapTop in 2021 and beyond.”

CATAN arrives on TapTop devices in early 2021, with more details expected soon.