Days of Wonder
Encyclopedia
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
publisher based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Founded in 2002, Days of Wonder distributes its games to 25 countries. It specialises in German-style board game
German-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
s and have branched out to include some online games. Days of Wonder has published games in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
. Days of Wonder was co-founded by Eric Hautemont and vice president Mark Kaufman.
In 2004, Days of Wonder received the Spiel des Jahres
Spiel des Jahres
The Spiel des Jahres is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the stated purpose of rewarding excellence in game design, and promoting top-quality games in the German market. It is thought that the existence and popularity of the award is one of the major drivers of the quality...
for their board game, Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride (board game)
Ticket to Ride is a railway-themed German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder. The game is also known as Zug um Zug , Les Aventuriers du Rail , Aventureros al Tren , Wsiąść do pociągu , and Menolippu .The game won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, the Origins...
, by Alan R. Moon
Alan R. Moon
Alan R. Moon is an author of board games, born in Southampton, England, and currently living in the United States. Despite his nationality, he is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the...
. Ticket to Rides is the company's best selling series according to Boardgamegeek.com. It was the youngest publisher ever to take that award. Shadows Over Camelot
Shadows Over Camelot
Shadows Over Camelot is an Arthurian-themed board game designed by Serge Laget and Bruno Cathala. The game was also published in French as Les Chevaliers de la Table Ronde and in German as Schatten über Camelot. Players take on the roles of Knights of the Round Table and play the game by...
won a special Spiel des Jahres award as Best Fantasy Game in 2006.http://www.spiel-des-jahres.com/cms/front_content.php?idcatart=385&lang=1&client=1 In 2009, Smallworld received three awards including "Best Game of the Year", "Best Family Game", and "Best Game Artwork" from the Dice Tower Gaming Awards.
Below are just some of the games published by Days of Wonder:http://www.daysofwonder.com/
- Card gameCard gameA card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
s:- Gang of Four (Lee Yih; 2002)
- Terra (Bruno FaiduttiBruno FaiduttiBruno Faidutti is an historian and sociologist, living in France, who is best known as an author of board games. His best known games include Knightmare Chess , Mystery of the Abbey and Citadels . He is also involved in the boardgaming community with his "Ideal Games Library" website and...
; 2003) - Ticket to Ride: The Card Game (Alan R. MoonAlan R. MoonAlan R. Moon is an author of board games, born in Southampton, England, and currently living in the United States. Despite his nationality, he is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the...
); 2008)
- 'Small box' games
- Fist of Dragonstones (Bruno FaiduttiBruno FaiduttiBruno Faidutti is an historian and sociologist, living in France, who is best known as an author of board games. His best known games include Knightmare Chess , Mystery of the Abbey and Citadels . He is also involved in the boardgaming community with his "Ideal Games Library" website and...
and Michael SchachtMichael SchachtMichael Schacht is a German game designer, graphician and owner of the small publishing company Spiele aus Timbuktu.- Life and work :...
; 2005) - Queen's Necklace (Bruno FaiduttiBruno FaiduttiBruno Faidutti is an historian and sociologist, living in France, who is best known as an author of board games. His best known games include Knightmare Chess , Mystery of the Abbey and Citadels . He is also involved in the boardgaming community with his "Ideal Games Library" website and...
and Bruno Cathala; 2003)
- Fist of Dragonstones (Bruno Faidutti
- 'Large box' games
- Mystery of the AbbeyMystery of the AbbeyMystery of the Abbey is a board game published by Days of Wonder where each player plays the role of a monk seeking to solve a murder in an abbey along the lines of The Name of the Rose...
(Bruno FaiduttiBruno FaiduttiBruno Faidutti is an historian and sociologist, living in France, who is best known as an author of board games. His best known games include Knightmare Chess , Mystery of the Abbey and Citadels . He is also involved in the boardgaming community with his "Ideal Games Library" website and...
and Serge Laget; 2003) - Pirate's CovePirate's CovePirate's Cove is a board game designed by Paul Randles and Daniel Stahl, and published in Europe in 2002 by Amigo Spiele and in the United States in 2003 by Days of Wonder...
(Paul RandlesPaul RandlesPaul Joseph Randles was an American game designer who designed German-style board games. His games Pirate's Cove and Key Largo were published first in Europe and then in the United States...
and Daniel StahlDaniel StahlDaniel Stahl is an American game designer best known for creating German-style board games. In 2002, his game Pirate's Cove was published by Amigo Spiele in Europe and then in the United States by Days of Wonder.A former member of the ImagiNation Network, He became a webmaster in 1994 and later...
; 2003) - Ticket to RideTicket to Ride (board game)Ticket to Ride is a railway-themed German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder. The game is also known as Zug um Zug , Les Aventuriers du Rail , Aventureros al Tren , Wsiąść do pociągu , and Menolippu .The game won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, the Origins...
(Alan R. MoonAlan R. MoonAlan R. Moon is an author of board games, born in Southampton, England, and currently living in the United States. Despite his nationality, he is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the...
; 2004) - Memoir '44Memoir '44Memoir '44 is a light wargame, or war-themed strategy board game, created by Richard Borg, for two players. The game can also be played with up to six players if played in teams and up to eight players in the "Overlord" scenarios that require two copies of the game...
(Richard BorgRichard BorgRichard Borg is a game designer.Games Richard has designed or co-designed include:*2000 Battle Cry *2001 Wyatt Earp...
; 2004) (Multiple expansions available) - Ticket to Ride: EuropeTicket to Ride (board game)Ticket to Ride is a railway-themed German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder. The game is also known as Zug um Zug , Les Aventuriers du Rail , Aventureros al Tren , Wsiąść do pociągu , and Menolippu .The game won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, the Origins...
(Alan R. MoonAlan R. MoonAlan R. Moon is an author of board games, born in Southampton, England, and currently living in the United States. Despite his nationality, he is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the...
; 2005) - Shadows Over CamelotShadows Over CamelotShadows Over Camelot is an Arthurian-themed board game designed by Serge Laget and Bruno Cathala. The game was also published in French as Les Chevaliers de la Table Ronde and in German as Schatten über Camelot. Players take on the roles of Knights of the Round Table and play the game by...
(Bruno Cathala and Serge Laget; 2005) - Ticket to Ride: MärklinTicket to Ride (board game)Ticket to Ride is a railway-themed German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder. The game is also known as Zug um Zug , Les Aventuriers du Rail , Aventureros al Tren , Wsiąść do pociągu , and Menolippu .The game won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, the Origins...
(Alan R. MoonAlan R. MoonAlan R. Moon is an author of board games, born in Southampton, England, and currently living in the United States. Despite his nationality, he is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the...
; 2006) - Cleopatra and the Society of ArchitectsCleopatra and the Society of ArchitectsCleopatra and the Society of Architects is a board game by Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, published in 2006 by Days of Wonder. In the game, players attempt to become the richest architect that survives the building of Cleopatra's palace.- Gameplay :...
(Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc; 2006) - BattleLoreBattleLore (board game)BattleLore is a strategy board wargame for two players, created by Richard Borg and initially published by Days of Wonder...
(Richard BorgRichard BorgRichard Borg is a game designer.Games Richard has designed or co-designed include:*2000 Battle Cry *2001 Wyatt Earp...
; 2006) (Multiple expansions available) - ColosseumColosseum (board game)Colosseum is a board game by Markus Lübke and Wolfgang Kramer, published by Days of Wonder. In the game, players attempt to attract the most spectators to the events in their arena.-Gameplay:...
(Markus Lübke and Wolfgang KramerWolfgang KramerWolfgang Kramer is a German board game designer.Kramer formerly worked as an operations manager and computer scientist, but since 1989 he has worked full-time on game design. He has designed over 100 games, many which have been nominated for or have won the Spiel des Jahres...
; 2007) - Small World (Philippe KeyaertsPhilippe KeyaertsPhilippe Keyaerts is a Belgian designer of German-style board games. His two most popular games are Evo and Vinci. Those two games use the mechanism of allowing the players to spend victory points to improve the characteristics of their play. He also invented Space Blast, a small space battle game...
; 2009) - Mystery Express (Serge Laget and Antoine Bauza; 2010)
- Cargo Noir (Serge Laget; 2011)
- Mystery of the Abbey