Welcome To... A New Acquisition By Asmodee

Tabletop giant Asmodee has acquired the Welcome To… intellectual property and complete game range from French publisher Blue Cocker Games, with plans already underway to expand the popular flip-and-write franchise.

First released in 2018, Welcome To… was originally designed by Benoit Turpin, and later by Alexis Allard, with artwork by Anne Heidsieck. The original Welcome to Your Perfect Home helped popularise the flip-and-write genre, with cards replacing dice while allowing every player to take their turn simultaneously.

New versions, and settings, such as Welcome to the Moon, followed with the games being translated in to numerous languages. According to Asmodee the range has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. It’s digital adaptation, available on Board Game Arena is also immensely popular with over three million games played, and an average of around 3000 unique players each day.

"Welcome To… established itself as landmark titles in modern board gaming, combining elegant game design with exceptional accessibility," said Benoit Clerc, SVP of Tabletop games at asmodee. "We have tremendous respect for the work accomplished by the Blue Cocker team, Benoit Turpin, and everyone who contributed to the success of the game and their different iterations. We are excited to welcome this intellectual property into asmodee's portfolio and join our building its future.

Blue Cocker founder Alain Balay added: "From the very beginning, our ambition was to create a game that would stand the test of time and bring people together around the table. We are incredibly proud of everything Welcome To… has achieved over the past years, and we are confident asmodee will now carry the brand forward and introduce it to even more players around the world.

“This acquisition goes beyond bringing a strong IP into our portfolio” added Mathieu Aubert, Head of Collections at asmodee “we see huge potential to expand the Welcome To… universe, and the team already has plenty of ideas to bring it to life. I look forward to sharing more about our projects in the coming month”

The acquisition gives Asmodee another established family gaming property alongside brands including CATAN, Ticket to Ride, Dobble/Spot it!, 7 Wonders, and Exploding Kittens. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The acquisition comes only days after Asmodee appointed former Exploding Kittens executive Carly McGinnis as Chief Product Officer, overseeing the group’s global product and publishing strategy.