AMIGO Games: 40 Years of Tradition Comes to the US - tBR Company of the Week

Sometimes, things look very different depending on where you’re standing. For this story, imagine that you’re standing in the huge convention center in Essen, Germany, for Spiel, one of the largest game conventions in the world (back when we could do this safely). And you’re standing in one of the largest booths there, the AMIGO Spiele booth, a 40-year-old powerhouse of a games publisher.

You see games that have been part of the German family culture for decades. Bohnanza, the card game about bean farming that has almost three dozen expansions and stand-alone versions in its 25-year history, is prominently displayed. Tables of players enjoying games like Saboteur and Take 5 (6 nimmt!), classics in their own right, surround you. It a booth full of people, and full of games that are beloved and exciting. Every year, fans flock to game conventions and retail stores for both the old and new in the AMIGO line.

In the US, the story has been successful, but different. AMIGO’s games have become best-sellers, but under other company’s names. An aggressive exporting program has meant that American players have enjoyed games that AMIGO has created, but players may have been unaware of the international history and success of some of their favorite games.

That is now changing. In 2018, AMIGO Games was founded in the US to provide a direct pipeline for AMIGO’s games to be released in North America. The company has quickly grown in the past three years, as an entirely new audience of stores and players discover the best of the games that AMIGO has built their reputation on. European game quality, award-winning designs, and a focus on value and amazing gameplay for young and old alike, and often together, are all core values for the AMIGO line.

As players discover our newest releases, they also learn about their favorite games that they already know that are ours. Saboteur? That’s us. The CLACK line of games, that have been a huge hit for specialty stores? That’s us as well. And this recognition of our past achievements is coupled with new accolades – we have had three finalists in the past two years for the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) Best Toys for Kids award. And, as more of our games like Quick Cups and Bohnanza are released by AMIGO Games, even more fans are going to discover million-seller game titles that had their start at a German game company that’s ready to make its own mark in North America.