Winning Moves
Encyclopedia
Winning Moves Games is a maker of classic card games and board games, puzzles, action games and adult party games.
from behind the "Iron Curtain
"), Philip Orbanes
(formerly at Parker Brothers
, and the leading expert on the game Monopoly
), Mike Meyers (formerly at Milton Bradley
), and Alex Randolph
. The company then forged a close relationship with the world's largest game company, Hasbro
, Inc., owner of Parker Brothers
and Milton Bradley
games. As a result, many long-lived Parker Brothers
and Milton Bradley
games have been and continue to be made exclusively by Winning Moves Games. The company continues to produce a variety of games, including both retro and original designs.
There are currently four Winning Moves companies in the world: Winning Moves France, Winning Moves Germany, Winning Moves UK, and Winning Moves USA.
; creating bespoke editions for companies including British Gas, Nokia and Alton Towers. In 2010, under exclusive European license from Hasbro, they increased their range to include custom editions of Monopoly
. The companies who have created their own custom Monopoly include Thomas Cook, Virgin Money, Wrigley and Schroders.
History
Winning Moves Games was founded in 1995 by four game industry professionals: Tom Kremer (who discovered and licensed the Rubik's CubeRubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
from behind the "Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
"), Philip Orbanes
Philip Orbanes
Philip E. Orbanes is a board game designer, author, and founding partner and president of Winning Moves Games in Danvers, Massachusetts. Orbanes is a graduate of the Case Institute of Technology . He was a Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Parker Brothers until the 1990s....
(formerly at Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
, and the leading expert on the game Monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
), Mike Meyers (formerly at Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....
), and Alex Randolph
Alex Randolph
Alexander Randolph was a designer of board games. Randolph's game creations include TwixT, Breakthru, Inkognito , Raj, Ricochet Robot, and Enchanted Forest ....
. The company then forged a close relationship with the world's largest game company, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
, Inc., owner of Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
and Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....
games. As a result, many long-lived Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
and Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....
games have been and continue to be made exclusively by Winning Moves Games. The company continues to produce a variety of games, including both retro and original designs.
There are currently four Winning Moves companies in the world: Winning Moves France, Winning Moves Germany, Winning Moves UK, and Winning Moves USA.
Games produced by Winning Moves USA
Winning Moves USA has published a number games and puzzles throughout the years. In 2008, they produced:Family/Adult Games
- 25 Random Things About Me
- Big TabooBig TabooBig Taboo is a variation on the classic board game Taboo. The game has added elements similar to games like Pictionary, Charades, and 25 Words or Less to create a fun party game with a little bit of everything. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2008.- Gameplay :The game starts by the...
- Box of BuncoBuncoBunco is a parlour game played in teams with three dice.-History:Bunco was originally "8-Dice cloth" according to the a dice game in 18th-century England. It was imported to San Francisco as a gambling activity in 1855, where it gave its name to gambling parlors, or Bunco parlors, and more...
- CareersCareers (board game)Careers is a board game first manufactured by Parker Brothers in 1955, which has been reprinted from time to time up to the present day. It was devised by the sociologist James Cooke Brown. Victory conditions consist of a minimum amount of fame, happiness and money that the player must gain...
- Cir*KisCirKisCirKis is a piece placing board game, for two to four players, invented by Phil E. Orbanes and developed by Winning Moves Games USA in 2009. It received the French Game of the Year Award for 2009. The game is based on Penrose tiling.- Gameplay :...
- Have You Herd?Have You Herd?Have You Herd? is a set-collection dice game, where the goal is to collect one of each animal. It is based on a game called Super Farmer created in Poland in 1943 by Karol Borsuk and his wife...
- King Me
- Monopoly: The Mega EditionMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
- Monopoly: 1935 First Deluxe EditionMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
- Monopoly: Wood EditionMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
- Parcheesi: Royal EditionParcheesiParcheesi is a brand name American adaptation of the Indian Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Created in India perhaps as early as 500 AD, the board game is subtitled Royal Game of India because royalty played using color-costumed members of their harems as pieces on large outdoor boards. Such a court...
- Pass the PigsPass the PigsPass the Pigs is a commercial version of the dice game, Pig. Pass the Pigs was originally published under the name Pig Mania!- Rules :...
- Pay Day 30th Anniversary EditionPay Day (board game)Pay Day is a board game originally made by Parker Brothers in 1975. It was invented by Paul J. Gruen of West Newbury, Massachusetts, USA, one of the era's top board game designers. It was Gruen's most successful game, outselling Monopoly in its first production year.This article is based on the...
- Deluxe PentePentePente is a strategy board game created in 1977 by Gary Gabrel, based on the Japanese game ninuki-renju, a variant of renju or gomoku which is played on a Go board of 19 x 19 intersections with white and black stones. In contrast to renju, ninuki-renju and Pente allow captures, but Pente added a...
- Power YahtzeePower YahtzeePower Yahtzee is a variation on the classic dice game Yahtzee first published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2007. It includes a sixth multiplier die called a "Power die" and an expanded scoresheet.- Gameplay :...
- Brain-Ade: Puzz-ominosPuzz-ominosPuzz-ominos is a tile game, where the goal is to score the most points by placing tiles made up up 3-5 squares in different patterns and trying to touch as many squares on your opponents pieces as possible...
- Brain-Ade: Pyramid PowerPyramid Power (game)Pyramid Power is a tile game, where the goal is to score points by placing triangle-shaped tiles next to other triangle-shaped tiles so that the colors on the touching faces match. Doing so scores the player points...
- Risk 1959Risk (game)Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
- Scrabble MEScrabble MEScrabble ME is a variation on the classic board game Scrabble, where each player plays on their own small board as opposed to all players playing on one main shared board. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2008.- Gameplay :...
- Brain-Ade: Square DealSquare Deal (game)Square Deal is a tile game, where players are trying to empty their hand of tiles by playing them before their opponent. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2008 and is the second of three games in their Brain-Ade line of quick puzzle games and features two multiplayer and a solitaire...
- Super ScrabbleSuper ScrabbleSuper Scrabble, introduced in 2004, is a variant of the board game Scrabble. In North America Super Scrabble is manufactured by Winning Moves Games, but licensed by Hasbro. In the rest of the world it is manufactured by Tinderbox Games under license from Mattel. Super Scrabble is available in...
- Super Scrabble DeluxeSuper ScrabbleSuper Scrabble, introduced in 2004, is a variant of the board game Scrabble. In North America Super Scrabble is manufactured by Winning Moves Games, but licensed by Hasbro. In the rest of the world it is manufactured by Tinderbox Games under license from Mattel. Super Scrabble is available in...
- Take a Chance
Children's Games
- Crocodile DentistCrocodile DentistCrocodile Dentist is a game made for young children, first published by Milton Bradley in 1990. A smaller travel version of the game was released in 1993. The game was the brainchild of Robert B...
- Go To The Head of The ClassGo To The Head Of The ClassGo to the Head of the Class is a roll-and-move board game originally published by Milton Bradley and currently in production by Winning Moves USA. The game was originally released circa 1940 and remains in print today....
- Princess and the Pea GamePrincess and the Pea (board game)Princess and the Pea is a children's board game loosely based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, where each player tries to build the highest stack of mattresses before reaching the final space on the board. It was first published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2003 and...
- Uncle WiggilyUncle Wiggily (board game)Uncle Wiggily Game is a track board game based on a character in a series of children's books by American writer Howard Roger Garis. The game is of the "racing" variety in the style of the European "Goose Game". Players advance along the track from Uncle Wiggily's Bungalow to Dr. Possum's House...
Card Games
- Clue: The Card GameCluedo Card GameCluedo: The Card Game is a card game version of the classic board game Cluedo . There have been two different games made with the same name. Despite the common name, the games play very differently...
- Deluxe Canasta CalienteCanastaCanasta is a card game of the rummy family of games believed to be a variant of 500 Rum. Although many variations exist for 2, 3, 5 or 6 players, it is most commonly played by four in two partnerships with two standard decks of cards. Players attempt to make melds of 7 cards of the same rank and...
- Flinch
- Mille BornesMille BornesMille Bornes is a French card game. In the United States, Mille Bornes is manufactured and distributed by Winning Moves Games under license from Hasbro. It was previously produced by Parker Brothers and is commonly available in stores that sell games...
and Mille Bornes Collector's EditionMille BornesMille Bornes is a French card game. In the United States, Mille Bornes is manufactured and distributed by Winning Moves Games under license from Hasbro. It was previously produced by Parker Brothers and is commonly available in stores that sell games... - Monopoly: The Card GameMonopoly: The Card GameMonopoly: The Card Game is loosely based on its board-game predecessor, Monopoly. The idea of the game is to draw and trade cards and organize them into "color-groups" and any number of bonus cards. Players take turns drawing and discarding until one player announces that he/she has a completed hand...
- PitPit (game)Pit is a fast-paced card game for three to eight players, designed to simulate open outcry bidding for commodities. The game was developed for Parker Brothers and first sold in 1904...
and Deluxe PitPit (game)Pit is a fast-paced card game for three to eight players, designed to simulate open outcry bidding for commodities. The game was developed for Parker Brothers and first sold in 1904... - Rook
- Scattergories The Card GameScattergoriesScattergories is a creative-thinking category-based party game produced by Hasbro through the Milton Bradley Company and published in 1988...
- Snout!Snout!Snout! is a variation on the classic dice game Pass the Pigs. Unlike the original, players earn points by discarding cards in their hand matching what was rolled and getting rid of all cards in their hand, rather than matching what they rolled to a point chart...
- Familienbande
Rubik's
- Rubik's CubeRubik's CubeRubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
- Rubik's You Can Do It w/DVDRubik's CubeRubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
- Rubik's 4x4 or RevengeRubik's RevengeThe Rubik's Revenge is the 4×4×4 version of Rubik's Cube. Invented by Péter Sebestény, the Rubik's Revenge was nearly called the Sebestény Cube until a somewhat last-minute decision changed the puzzle's name to attract fans of the original Rubik's Cube...
- Rubik's 5x5 or Professor
- Rubik's IconRubik's CubeRubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
- Rubik's Key RingRubik's CubeRubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
- Rubik's JR (2x2x2)
- Rubik's Ice Cube (2x2x2)
- Rubik's TwistRubik's SnakeA Rubik's Snake is a toy with twenty-four wedges identically shaped liked prisms, specifically right isosceles triangular prisms. The wedges are connected, by spring bolts, such that they can be twisted, but not separated...
Games produced by Winning Moves UK
- Lexicon
- Top TrumpsTop TrumpsTop Trumps is a card game. Each card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values in order to try to trump and win an opponent's card...
- Showdown (game)Showdown (game)Showdown is a trivia and word game that tests players’ general and popular culture knowledge, as well as their numerical skills and willingness to bluff and take a risk...
- The Clinic (game)The Clinic (game)The Clinic is a psychological quiz game based on celebrity and popular culture, ideally for use as a party game. It was developed by Winning Moves UK in 2008....
- MonopolyMonopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
- Trivial PursuitTrivial PursuitTrivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
- Connect 4
- TwisterTwister-Entertainment:* Twister , a comedy film starring Suzy Amis and Crispin Glover* Twister , a disaster film starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton** Twister...Ride it Out, a ride in Universal Studios Florida based on the film...
- YahtzeeYahtzeeYahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley , which was first marketed by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier dice games, such as Yacht and Generala. The object of the game is to score the most points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations...
Corporate Custom Games: Europe
In 2005 Winning Moves UK started producing custom games on behalf of companies in Europe. Originally their range was limited to Top TrumpsTop Trumps
Top Trumps is a card game. Each card contains a list of numerical data, and the aim of the game is to compare these values in order to try to trump and win an opponent's card...
; creating bespoke editions for companies including British Gas, Nokia and Alton Towers. In 2010, under exclusive European license from Hasbro, they increased their range to include custom editions of Monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. The companies who have created their own custom Monopoly include Thomas Cook, Virgin Money, Wrigley and Schroders.
Immortal Eyes Games
In 2006, Winning Moves USA began importing and creating a new line of games geared towards the hobby/"Euro" game consumer and named it Immortal Eyes Games. In 2009, Winning Moves decided to discontinue the Immortal Eyes Games line. It was not nearly as successful as they hoped and the consumer demographic for this style of game was much smaller than they originally believed.- Pecking OrderPecking OrderPecking Order is a card game, where players try to claim the best feeding spots in the jungle by playing their birds on the perches and determining who is stronger. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2006 as the first game in its Immortal Eyes line.- Gameplay :The game is typically...
- Conquest of PangeaConquest of PangeaConquest of Pangea is a strategy board game, where players control evolving species battling to control sections of the mega-continent Pangea. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2006 as the second game in its Immortal Eyes line...
- Terra NovaTerra Nova (board game)Terra Nova is an abstract strategy board game, where players control settlers dividing up a newly found plot of land. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2006 as the third game in its Immortal Eyes line.- Gameplay :...
- Conquest of Pangea: AtlantisConquest of PangeaConquest of Pangea is a strategy board game, where players control evolving species battling to control sections of the mega-continent Pangea. It was published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2006 as the second game in its Immortal Eyes line...
- Trans America
- VinetaVineta (board game)Vineta is a strategy board game based loosely on the fabled island of Vineta. In the game, players take on the roles of Norse Gods trying to sink 8 of the 9 districts of Vineta with tidal waves while trying to save their followers...