Asmodee North America Acquires Mayfair Games Assets

Mayfair Games, once known in role-playing circles for their Role-Aids line of AD&D gaming supplements and Ray Winninger's iconoclastic Underground role-playing game, have announced their acquisition by Asmodee North America. The acquisition covers all of their assets and is effective immediately.

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As of today, the management team at Mayfair Games, Inc. announces we will wind down game publishing. 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.

We are pleased to announce that we have sold our games to Asmodee North America, who have 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.

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This does not effect either of the major role-playing lines as the rights to Underground reverted to Winninger a few years ago, and the rights to the Role-Aids line ended up with TSR (which presumably means that they are currently owned by Wizards of the Coast).

 

[Mistwell]

Asmodee continues to gobble up the smaller and medium sized game companies. They're slowly becoming Hasbro 2.

 

[TerraDave]

I wonder when they will buy WotC?

 

[ccs]

I wonder when they will buy WotC?

Not in Hasbros lifetime.

 

[SoEffie]

Asmodee continues to gobble up the smaller and medium sized game companies. They're slowly becoming Hasbro 2.

except they didn’t “gobble up” Mayfair. Mayfair sought them out when they made the decision to close.

 

[Mistwell]

except they didn’t “gobble up” Mayfair. Mayfair sought them out when they made the decision to close.

How is that different from gobbling them up? Are you saying Asmodee didn't acquire them? Are you saying Asmodee's portfolio of game companies differs depending on who approached who to initiate the acquisition? Whatever connotation you're putting on gobbling up, it's not applicable here I suspect. Asmodee has been buying up companies for years, regardless of who approaches who to initiate it. That's all I meant.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

How is that different from gobbling them up? Are you saying Asmodee didn't acquire them? Are you saying Asmodee's portfolio of game companies differs depending on who approached who to initiate the acquisition? Whatever connotation you're putting on gobbling up, it's not applicable here I suspect. Asmodee has been buying up companies for years, regardless of who approaches who to initiate it. That's all I meant.

"Gobbling up" to me is something the mega-corporations like Apple, Google, and Disney do. It can be voluntary like you are referring to and it can be involuntary, like with hostile takeovers, or it can be a mix of both. It is just a company with tons of fluid assets going on a buying spree and acquiring everything they can afford.

 

[Koloth]

Reading a bit between the lines, either Mayfair's cash flow was on a down slope or the owner(s) decided NOW was a good time to take the money and retire. The mention of 36 years makes me think the later. Consolidation isn't always bad. D&D is much better off for TSR being 'gobbled up' by WOTC.

 

[Mistwell]

"Gobbling up" to me is something the mega-corporations like Apple, Google, and Disney do. It can be voluntary like you are referring to and it can be involuntary, like with hostile takeovers, or it can be a mix of both. It is just a company with tons of fluid assets going on a buying spree and acquiring everything they can afford.

That is pretty much what Asmodee's been doing.

 

[Grumsh]

If you follow Mayfair over on Boardgamegeek, there have been some rumblings of financial issues for a few months now. There was even a little panic about some of their classics going away, so in that regard it is good someone has purchased their assets.