Huge demand for Asmodee‘s co-operative puzzle game Take Time has seen the publishing giant print more than 325,000 copies less than a year after release – outstripping even the company’s high expectations which surrounded its record-breaking launch.

Asmodee printed a massive 145,000 copies of Alexi Piovesan and Julien Prothière’s design for its worldwide launch last October, citing heavy enthusiasm from its distribution teams, board game media and pre-release playtesters.

Game line manager Auguste Lecoeur told BoardGameWire, “As soon as the game’s prototype was shown to us and signed, it became an internal priority, with resources and manpower being redirected from other projects to Take Time.

“Huge credit goes to everyone involved in the project for getting it done so quickly while maintaining such a high level of quality, especially considering that the game went through only around six months of visual development.

“When the game was first presented to Asmodee’s distribution units and partners, the enthusiasm was immediate as well, with Take Time being flagged as a key new release for Libellud.

“The same enthusiasm was shared by media outlets and players that were able to test the game prior to its release, so we had multiple positive signals ahead of launch.

“In that sense, we were definitely expecting a strong first print run, but you can never realistically expect to reach 145,000 copies. It was a very pleasant surprise and clearly exceeded our expectations, even though we were prepared for strong numbers.”

Every major reprint of the game since has topped 60,000 copies, Lecoeur said, with Asmodee currently planning another two to three global print runs of the same size each every year to keep up with demand.

Lecoeur said, “At this point, it is clear that Take Time won’t be a ‘one-hit wonder’, a game that enjoys a high initial print run but then quickly fades. Instead, the game is maintaining a strong sales pace and continues to perform well across markets.”

He added, “The game gained strong visibility and positive feedback at conventions such as Cannes’ FIJ and Spiel Essen, while also achieving higher-than-usual numbers online, thanks in part to its visual appeal and the buzz surrounding it.

“More broadly, the game was quickly validated by the core and specialist market, as well as by opinion leaders, critics and content creators within the board game community. It received strong critical acclaim – it is now ranked [in] the top 95 family games on BGG – and was nominated for multiple awards, which played a huge part in its success.

“Sure, we would have loved to win the As d’Or and Spiel des Jahres (who wouldn’t?), but I guess we’re being picky here!”

Success Story

Part of the game’s powerful performance has been down to it penetrating well beyond the specialist board games market, with Asmodee saying its distribution is now relatively evenly split between hobby stores, mass-market retailers and e-commerce.

Lecoeur said, “I’m convinced that this wouldn’t have been possible if the game hadn’t first been embraced by the core gaming community. Their strong support and enthusiasm for the game helped open the door to other distribution channels much more quickly.”

He added that part of Take Time’s wider appeal was down to the game’s compact size and “accessible price point”, as well as its “high level of replayability and substantial gameplay content”.

Those first two elements have become increasingly important amid ongoing financial strain for people in some of Asmodee’s core markets, such as France, Germany, the UK and US, with rising food and energy prices and ongoing economic uncertainty putting pressure on their purchases.

Other successful initiatives which helped boost Take Time’s appeal included what Lecoeur described as an “unusual” cardboard demo kit, with detachable cards and clocks, which could be ordered by distribution units to give players a taste of the game’s core mechanisms.

He said the kit “generated strong enthusiasm at launch”, but added that the format was not something which could be replicated for every one of its releases.

Award nominations also helped drive sales, especially in Germany and France, which Lecoeur said had been two of the strongest markets for the game from day one.

He said Take Time’s Spiel des Jahres recommendation was followed by a higher-than-usual reprint demand from Germany of 30,000 copies – and added that the impact of other ‘smaller’ awards “should not be overlooked”.

Take Time triumphed in this year’s Swiss Gamers Award and also took the Austrian game of the year prize, in addition to its ‘recommended’ nod in the Spiel des Jahres and nomination in France’s As d’Or.

Lecoeur also believes Take Time benefitted from the success of Libellud’s previous release Harmonies, which also picked up a Spiel des Jahres recommendation and the Swiss Gamers Award, as well as a Golden Geek – and was highlighted by Asmodee CEO Thomas Koegler as having had a strong launch.

Lecoeur said, “The fact that Libellud’s previous release, Harmonies, had been a hit certainly helped. It raised expectations around the studio’s next title and put the spotlight on its launch.

“It’s clear that each publisher develops its own reputation and ‘brand’ image based on its releases (among other things) and that this plays a significant role in the confidence they receive from retailers and, to some extent, from players.

“The success or failure of each release will inevitably have an impact on the games that follow, particularly when it comes to forecasts and initial orders.”

Time After Time

Asmodee is now beginning to turn Take Time into a wider product line, with debut expansion Mirage set for release next month, and the company having “many more ideas we’re currently working on for the range”.

Lecoeur said, “As soon as we received the first feedback on the game and it became clear that the launch was going to be massive, the first discussions about an expansion began in April 2025 with Alexi Piovesan and Julien Prothière, the game’s designers, to explore the possibilities for additional content.

“They worked on it and presented an iteration that led to a contract being signed in November 2025, as the first market feedback started coming in and multiple markets were selling out.

“However, this timeline was only possible because the designers were fully confident that the game offered enough design space to support an expansion, and because they presented an idea that genuinely excited the team, both mechanically and thematically.

“We’re not releasing expansions simply for the sake of releasing them or to get a marketing boost. If an expansion is published, it’s because we believe it genuinely adds something to the game and offers players a meaningful new experience.”

He added, “Mirage’s format also played an important role. It is a compact expansion, with a €7.99 MSRP, that introduces a new chapter while also adding a new gameplay twist that can be used to replay the entire base game in a different way.

“It isn’t a large expansion that takes up a significant amount of shelf space in stores or represents a massive financial commitment; instead, it is designed to complement the base game and extend the experience without overshadowing it. Its difficulty is also carefully tuned so that players can enjoy the expansion even if they haven’t finished the base game.

“Regarding expansions and product lines, there is a balance to strike between fully trusting your game and not overcommitting. You want to anticipate demand for expansions and reprints in order to avoid out-of-stock situations or a lack of releases and support that could hurt a game’s prospects in the medium to long-term.

“At the same time, a game needs to demonstrate commercial stability before being turned into a full-fledged product line and treated as such.

“It’s no secret that overproducing a game is one of the easiest ways for a publisher to get into financial trouble, and we’re doing our best to avoid that. We want to support successful games and build on their potential while remaining disciplined about production and inventory.”

A Board Game Arena version of the base game is also due for release in Q4 of this year.

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After 20 years growing the UK Games Expo into one of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the world, founders Richard Denning and Tony Hyams are preparing for their eventual exit by bringing in AireCon co-founder Mark Cooke as operations director.

Cooke joins following another record year for UKGE, which has seen its annual unique attendance surge almost 65% since 2023 to reach more than 51,000.

The show has already well surpassed Gen Con in terms of trade hall size, with the British event now spanning about 44,000 sq m – about 40% larger than Gen Con’s trade hall area – and hosting around 900 exhibitors in 2026.

That soaring growth has put increasing pressure on the small organising team at UKGE, with Denning telling BoardGameWire last year that the show had strained a full-time workforce which stood at just six people – although UKGE also relies on more than 200 volunteers, GMs, umpires and other helpers to deliver the convention each year.

Cooke is no stranger to growing a UK board game convention, having co-founded and built AireCon with Ben Clarkson from a 28-person gaming weekend in his flat a decade ago into England’s second-largest board game con, with about 5,000 attendees this year.

His hire by UKGE comes just three weeks after AireCon revealed that despite its own soaring growth, its 2027 show in Harrogate would be its last – saying a combination of factors had “made it increasingly challenging to run AireCon in a way that preserves the character and spirit that made it so special in the first place”.

More than 5,500 people are expected at the final AireCon – which has been nicknamed Airemageddon – with Cooke set to continue working on that final show before moving to UKGE full time.

A statement from UKGE emphasised the hire was part of a phased transition for UKGE’s organisers, and was “not a sudden change of leadership or direction”.

It said Cooke would work alongside Denning and Hyams “over the next few UK Games Expo events”, ensuring that knowledge, experience and responsibilities the pair have built up over the last 20 years are handed over “gradually and thoughtfully”.

Denning said, “As UKGE has expanded to now one of the world’s largest shows we have gradually grown our team, adding event managers, administrators and logistics support.

“Bringing in Mark as operations director is the next logical step as we put in place plans to ensure UKGE can run far into the future.

“We have known Mark through AireCon and other industry roles for many years now and he is an ideal choice bringing both event management experience, energy and fresh ideas to the team as well as a safe pair of hands as and when Tony and I eventually step away from the show we have built together with others.”

Cooke added, “I’m incredibly excited to be joining the UK Games Expo team and to have the opportunity to play a part in the next chapter of such an important event for the tabletop gaming community.

“I have huge respect for what Richard and Tony have built over the years, and I’m looking forward to working alongside them over the coming events.

“This will be a gradual transition, giving us plenty of time to share knowledge, ideas and experience. My aim is to build on the fantastic foundations already in place while helping UKGE continue to grow and thrive for many years to come.”

Denning and Hyams launched UK Games Expo at Birmingham’s Clarendon Suites in 2007, when the convention attracted about 1,000 visitors.

It moved to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre in 2013, and had grown to more than 25,000 unique attendees by 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted its run of physical events.

Its growth has accelerated since returning, with unique attendance passing 31,000 in 2023, 39,000 in 2024 and 42,000 last year, before jumping beyond 51,000 at its 20th anniversary event this summer.

Denning told BoardGameWire last year that building a world-class trade hall in the UK had been a personal ambition stretching back almost two decades, adding at the time that UKGE was “now fully on the world stage of ‘mega-cons'”.

Despite this year’s record attendance, Denning told BoardGameWire after the show that there was still room for further expansion, particularly around the roughly 500 events taking place during the convention.

The next UK Games Expo is scheduled to take place at Birmingham NEC from June 4 to June 6, 2027.

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North America’s biggest tabletop gaming convention, Gen Con, has continued its record-breaking run after more than 74,000 attendees left this year’s sold-out show bursting at the seams.

Gen Con’s latest hefty attendance figure extends its steady post-pandemic growth, following record crowds of 70,000 in 2023, 71,000 in 2024 and almost 72,000 last year – which all broke the 2019 pre-pandemic high.

But the convention, which has sold out before opening for three consecutive years, is operating at a hard capacity ceiling at the Indiana Convention Centre. Gen Con president David Hoppe told the Indianapolis Business Journal last year that the show’s growth had left it “capacity constrained”, saying: “We fill every nook and cranny of this downtown core area.”

He added in that interview that he would love to get 80,000 attendees at the show some day – and Gen Con is set to take a step closer to that goal for its 60th anniversary show next year thanks to a significant floor space expansion and opening of a new Signia by Hilton hotel.

That expansion includes an extra 143,500 sq ft of floor space – roughly the size of 2.5 American football fields – and 800 new hotel rooms.

Indianapolis already claims to have the most hotels and hotel rooms connected by enclosed skywalks into a city centre in the US – and the new expansion will boost that capacity to more than 5,200 rooms.

Gen Con’s organisers did not say how many extra exhibitors or attendees the expansion is expected to accommodate, how much of the new space will be devoted to the exhibition hall.

Exhibitor and vendor numbers reached almost 800 at the packed out four-day event, Gen Con said. The show reported a then-record 575 exhibitors showcasing their wares last year, although the inclusion of “vendors” makes it unclear if the 2026 figure is directly comparable.

BoardGameWire contacted Gen Con’s press office earlier this week for confirmation on how much additional capacity next year’s expansion will create, and for clarity on exhibitor numbers in 2026, but is yet to receive a response.

This year’s convention also faced an unexpected operational test after severe thunderstorms prompted a tornado warning on Saturday evening, and caused water to shower down into parts of the Indiana Convention Center.

The worst affected areas were the convention’s playtest area and part of Exhibit Hall B, with attendees told to relocate to safer parts of the building while the warning was in place.

Exhibitors affected included Tycoon Games, with managing director Ben Rathbone telling the Indy Star, “As we were doing our demos and tournaments, drop of rain started coming through the ceiling up there.

“We immediately started pulling our stuff back, then there was a deluge came down, flooded the whole floor there, and we had to move all our games and store them out of the way.”

He added that the publisher’s games had been damaged “only a little bit”, saying that most of them were out of the way.

Gen Con said staff responded quickly to ensure safety and make repairs, adding that there was “minimal disruption” to the convention due to the leak.

This year’s event was also impacted by heavy amounts of construction work taking place around the convention site, leading to large build-ups of foot and vehicle traffic.

Gen Con president David Hoppe said of this year’s event, “Even through construction and thunderstorms, Gen Con 2026 was bigger and better than ever, with a record-breaking number of attendees gathering in Indianapolis for the best four days in gaming.

“We can’t thank Indy enough for hosting us, and we’re already looking forward to our 60th anniversary convention in an expanded Indiana Convention Center next year.”

Next year’s Gen Con is scheduled for August 5 to 8, with badges set to go on sale in early 2027.

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Magic: The Gathering‘s record-breaking growth continues despite a surge of high-profile competitors, with the TCG soaring past $500m in quarterly revenues for the first time in its 33-year history.

The veteran card game has been on a tear over the past four years, evolving from parent company Hasbro‘s first $1bn-brand into the toy and entertainment giant’s primary source of growth.

That powerful rise has been built upon the already hugely popular TCG’s expansion into licensed crossovers through its Universes Beyond line since 2021, which has seen it bring out sets for franchises including The Lord of The Rings, Final Fantasy and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The game’s success now underpins Hasbro’s fortunes, with Magic’s strong performance repeatedly leading the line in the company’s quarterly results – as well as offsetting underperformance in other parts of the business.

Magic’s revenue grew 32% in Q2 of this year compared to the same period in 2025 according to Hasbro’s latest results report, reaching a record $545m on the back of strong sales of Secrets of Strixhaven and Marvel Super Heroes – the latter of which the company described as a “record-breaking debut”.

That result means Magic alone outstripped Hasbro’s entire consumer products segment – which includes Nerf guns, Transformers and Peppa Pig toys – which recorded revenues of $463m in the same period, up 5% year-on-year.

The consumer products segment made an operating loss of about $14.5m in Q2, compared to an operating profit of $270m from Wizards of the Coast, the business arm which includes Magic, Dungeons & Dragons and its digital games such as Monopoly Go!.

Hasbro ascribed the consumer products losses to “incremental tariff expense, entertainment-related mix shifts, and normal seasonality”, as well as the fallout from a cyberattack in March which saw unspecified parties gain unauthorized access to its network.

The company said the cyberattack reduced second-quarter revenue by an estimated $25m while generating $11m in direct costs as order processing, shipping and invoicing were disrupted, particularly on the consumer products side. Hasbro said those operations had now returned to normal, although it expects to incur additional costs related to the incident in future periods.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said in the results report, “With strong indications for our remaining releases and line of sight to continued growth in 2027, the Magic flywheel is firing on all cylinders.”

Wizards revenue was also up 27% across the first six months of 2026, with Magic revenue climbing 34% thanks to continued growth across tabletop and digital products, Universes Beyond releases, Secret Lair products and back catalogue sales.

That continued growth comes despite the emergence of several high-profile challengers in the trading card game market over the past few years, including Disney Lorcana, Star Wars: Unlimited, Altered, Flesh and Blood and One Piece Card Game – as well as the ongoing power of fellow TCG veterans Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Magic’s performance was strong enough for Hasbro to increase its full-year guidance, with the company now expecting total revenue growth of between 5% and 7%, up from its previous forecast of 3% to 5%.

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