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Mayfair Games

Mayfair Games
IndustryBoard games
Defunct1997
FateAcquired
SuccessorIronwind, Inc.
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
US
Key people
Darwin Bromley
ProductsRole Aids, DC Heroes, Board games

Mayfair Games was an American publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games that also licensed Euro-style board games to publish them in English. The company licensed worldwide English-language publishing rights to The Settlers of Catan series between 1996[1] and 2016.[2]

Ironwind, Inc.
Mayfair Games
Company typePrivate
IndustryBoard games
Founded1997
FounderIron Crown Enterprises
FateReorganized, moved 2001
SuccessorMayfair Games, Inc.
Headquarters
Skokie, Illinois
,
US
ProductsTrain games, Card games, Dice games
ServicesForeign and domestic game distribution
Websitemayfairgames.com

History

Mayfair Games was founded in 1981[3] by Darwin Bromley in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The company was created to publish Empire Builder, a railroad game designed by Bromley and Bill Fawcett. In 1982, Mayfair Games expanded its focus to include Role Aids, a line of role-playing game supplements.[4]

In 1993, Mayfair was sued by TSR, Inc., who argued that Role Aids violated their 1984 trademark agreement, being advertised as compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.[5] The court found that some of the line violated the trademark, but the line as a whole did not violate the agreement,[6] and Mayfair continued publishing the line until the rights were bought by TSR.[5]

In 1996, Mayfair Games became the publisher of The Settlers of Catan in the US.[1] The company shut down for financial reasons in 1997 but was subsequently bailed out by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE), who purchased most of their assets and restarted operations as Ironwind, Inc. This new company operates publicly under the Mayfair Games trademark.[7]

Pete Fenlon became the CEO of Mayfair Games in 2007 to oversee a major reorganization with a refocusing on core brands, most importantly the Catan family of games. In 2013, Mayfair reported selling more than 750,000 Catan-related products. In January 2016, Mayfair transferred all publishing, commercial, and brand rights for all English-language Catan products to Catan Studio, a newly created subsidiary of the Asmodee Group. Former CEO Pete Fenlon left Mayfair Games to become the CEO of the new company.[2] Larry Roznai was the last CEO of Mayfair games. He joined the company in 1999 as a board member, president, and chief operating officer.[8][9]

On February 9, 2018, Mayfair announced it had sold all of its assets to the North American branch of Asmodée Éditions, and would be shutting down. Rights to some Mayfair titles are no longer retained by Asmodée.[10]

Mayfair Games, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryBoard games
Founded2001
Headquarters
Skokie, Illinois
,
US
ProductsTrain games, Card games, Dice games
ServicesForeign and domestic game distribution
Websitemayfairgames.com

Notable games

This list includes games published by Mayfair and games licensed by Mayfair from other publishers.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Raphel, Adrienne (2014-02-12). "The Man Who Built Catan". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  2. ^ a b Machkovech, Sam (2016-01-08). "Asmodee becomes board gaming's new monster, acquires English rights to Catan". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2016-11-17. On February 9, 2018 they announced they sold their remaining IP right to Asmodee North America.
  3. ^ "Mayfair Games, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  4. ^ Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  5. ^ a b Appelcline, Shannon. "Chronomancer (2e) - Product History". DriveThruRPG. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  6. ^ TSR, Inc. v. Mayfair Games, Inc., 1993 WL 79272 (N.D. Ill.)
  7. ^ A Brief History of Game #9: Ice, Part Two: 1993-Present
  8. ^ "Asmodee Acquires Catan™ from Mayfair Games | Mayfair Games". www.mayfairgames.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  9. ^ "Larry Roznai | Mayfair Games". www.mayfairgames.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  10. ^ Hall, Charlie (February 9, 2018). "The company that helped lead a revolution in board games is shutting down". Polygon. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  11. ^ Miller, John Jackson (2003), Scrye Collectible Card Game Checklist & Price Guide, Second Edition, p. 688.
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