There's BIG news in the gaming world today. Asmodee North America has recently acquired two of the biggest publishers in the industry: Days of Wonder and Fantasy Flight Games. Today we get news that they've added another big link in their chain: Catan.

Asmodee gets rights for the English-language publishing and sales of Catan, which has sold more than 23 million copies. If you have a friend who's played any type of designer game, chances are they've played Catan.

We have so many thoughts about this!

First, what piece of the increasingly profitable gaming pie does Asmodee own now? 40%? 50%? They're a behemoth.
How long before someone like Hasbro looks in their direction? What if Hasbro looked to acquire Asmodee? Would that be terrible? Awesome?
Anyone who's been watching this industry knows that it's growing. Games are becoming more and more mainstream. It's not just The Rise of the Geeks we're seeing in the popularity of TV and movies (The Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd, etc.). More and more people are seeing board games as a legitimate way to spend an evening. Mainstream stores even carry designer games now. This move (and other recent ones) by Asmodee just shows how it's healthy and growing. That's good for all of us.

It's an exciting time to be a board game fan, and we're excited to see what's next for this hobby we love!

What are your thoughts on this acquisition? Thanks for reading!