Rio Grande Games
Encyclopedia
Rio Grande Games is a board game
publisher based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico
. The company primarily imports and localizes foreign language German-style board game
s.
. At that time, Mayfair had begun to import German-style board game
s for sale, without doing any localization. Tummelson first suggested that they incorporate an English translation, and then that they completely localize the game for American audiences. Tummelson acquired the rights for Detroit/Cleveland Grand Prix, Manhattan
, Modern Art
, Streetcar, and The Settlers of Catan
, which were published together in 1996.
One part of the localization process was to create original art and components. Tummelson thought that a better solution would be to use the same artwork and components as the originals and to share the cost of printing with the European publishers, as well. In 1998, he founded Rio Grande Games to take that approach.
Since then, Rio Grande Games has published over 350 games and has had a significant effect on board gaming in the United States.
The most popular of the games published by Rio Grande Games are Carcassonne
, Puerto Rico, Lost Cities
, Power Grid, Bohnanza
, and Race for the Galaxy
. More recently, Rio Grande Games has begun publishing its own games and has even begun licensing its games to partners in other countries wanting to localize the games in their local languages. Thus, Race for the Galaxy will soon be seen in Chinese, Korean, and others, as well as its original English, French, and German.
Spiel des Jahres
Deutscher Spiele Preis
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 Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
There were 18,995 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had...
. The company primarily imports and localizes foreign language 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.
History
In 1995, Jay Tummelson began working for Mayfair GamesMayfair Games
Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
. At that time, Mayfair had begun to import 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 for sale, without doing any localization. Tummelson first suggested that they incorporate an English translation, and then that they completely localize the game for American audiences. Tummelson acquired the rights for Detroit/Cleveland Grand Prix, Manhattan
Manhattan (game)
Manhattan is a boardgame designed by Andreas Seyfarth and originally published by the German company Hans im Glück. It was the winner of Spiel des Jahres in 1994. An English language version was published by Mayfair Games in 1996.-External links:...
, Modern Art
Modern Art (game)
Modern Art is a bidding game designed by Reiner Knizia and first published in 1992 by Hans im Glück in German. Players represent art dealers, both buying and selling works of art by five different fictional artists. At the end of each round, they sell the paintings they bought back to the "bank"...
, Streetcar, and The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources...
, which were published together in 1996.
One part of the localization process was to create original art and components. Tummelson thought that a better solution would be to use the same artwork and components as the originals and to share the cost of printing with the European publishers, as well. In 1998, he founded Rio Grande Games to take that approach.
Since then, Rio Grande Games has published over 350 games and has had a significant effect on board gaming in the United States.
The most popular of the games published by Rio Grande Games are Carcassonne
Carcassonne (board game)
Carcassonne is a tile-based German-style board game for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English....
, Puerto Rico, Lost Cities
Lost Cities
Lost Cities is a 60-card card game, designed in 1999 by game designer Reiner Knizia and published by several publishers. The objective of the game is to mount profitable expeditions to one or more of the five lost cities...
, Power Grid, Bohnanza
Bohnanza
Bohnanza is a German-style card game of trading and politics, designed by Uwe Rosenberg and released in 1997 by Amigo Spiele in German and by Rio Grande Games in English. It is played with a deck of cards with comical illustrations of eleven different types of beans , which the players are trying...
, and Race for the Galaxy
Race for the Galaxy
Race for the Galaxy is a card game designed by Thomas Lehmann that was released in 2007 by Rio Grande Games. Its theme is to build galactic civilizations via game cards that represent worlds or technical and social developments...
. More recently, Rio Grande Games has begun publishing its own games and has even begun licensing its games to partners in other countries wanting to localize the games in their local languages. Thus, Race for the Galaxy will soon be seen in Chinese, Korean, and others, as well as its original English, French, and German.
Notable games
Rio Grande has published a number of award-winning games.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...
- DominionDominion (game)Dominion is a designer card game created by Donald X. Vaccarino, and published by Rio Grande Games. The game was released at Spiel 2008 in multiple languages, and voted best game of the fair by the Fairplay polls with a rating of 1.75 from 147 votes. Within two months of its release, Dominion was...
(2008) - ZoolorettoZoolorettoZooloretto is a board game designed by Michael Schacht, published in 2007 by Abacus Spiele and in English by Rio Grande Games. The premise of the game is that each player is the owner of a zoo, and must collect animals in order to attract visitors to their zoo . Having full, or nearly full,...
(2007) - Thurn and TaxisThurn and Taxis (board game)Thurn and Taxis is a board game designed by Karen and Andreas Seyfarth and published in 2006 by Hans im Glück in German and by Rio Grande Games in English. In the game, players seek to build postal networks and post offices in Bavaria and surrounding areas, as did the house of Thurn und Taxis in...
(2006) - Niagara (2005)
- AlhambraAlhambra (board game)Alhambra The Palace of the Alhambra") is a 2003 tile-based German-style board game designed by Dirk Henn. It was originally published in Germany by Queen Games in a language-interdependent version; an English-specific version was released in North America by the now-defunct Überplay...
(2003) - CarcassonneCarcassonne (board game)Carcassonne is a tile-based German-style board game for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English....
(2001) - TorresTorres (board game)Torres is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by FX Schmid in German and by Rio Grande Games in English. The game strongly influenced Kramer and Kiesling's Mask Trilogy of games, but is not considered to be a part of the trilogy...
(2000) - TikalTikal (board game)Tikal is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by Ravensburger in German and by Rio Grande Games in English...
(1999) - ElfenlandElfenlandElfenland is a German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published by Amigo Spiele in German and Rio Grande Games in English in 1998....
(1998) - Mississippi QueenMississippi Queen (board game)Mississippi Queen is a 1997 designer board game by Werner Hodel. It won the 1997 Spiel des Jahres....
(1997) - El GrandeEl GrandeEl Grande is a German-style board game for 2-5 players, designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich, and published in 1995 by Hans im Glück in German, by Rio Grande Games in English, and by 999 Games in Dutch. The game board represents renaissance-era Spain where the nobility fight for control...
(1996)
Deutscher Spiele Preis
Deutscher Spiele Preis
The Deutscher Spiele Preis is an important award for boardgames. It was started in 1990 by the German magazine "Die Pöppel-Revue", which collects votes from the industry's stores, magazines, professionals and game clubs. The results are announced every October at the Spiel game fair in Essen,...
- Dominion (2009)
- Caylus (2006)
- Louis XIVLouis XIV (board game)Louis XIV is a 2005 designer board game by Rüdiger Dorn. Players taken on roles of members of the court of Louis XIV of France.Louis XIV won the 2005 Deutscher Spiele Preis.-External links:...
(2005) - Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg (board game)Saint Petersburg is a card-driven designer board game, with the design of the game credited to Michael Tummelhofer, a pseudonym for Michael Bruinsma, Jay Tummelson and Bernd Brunnhofer. Most of the design work was done by Brunnhofer...
(2004) - Amun ReAmun-Re (board game)Amun-Re is a game designed by Reiner Knizia and first published in 2003 by Hans im Glück in German and in English by Rio Grande Games.Players are leaders of different Egyptian dynasties who try to gain influence in 15 provinces of ancient Egypt. Influence and building pyramids earns points for the...
(2003) - Puerto RicoPuerto Rico (game)Puerto Rico is a German board game designed by Andreas Seyfarth, and published in 2002 by Alea in German, by Rio Grande Games in English and by Κάισσα in Greek....
(2002) - CarcassonneCarcassonne (board game)Carcassonne is a tile-based German-style board game for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English....
(2001) - Taj MahalTaj Mahal (board game)Taj Mahal is a German-style board game for 3–5 players designed by Reiner Knizia and first published in 2000 by Alea in German.- Basics :...
(2000) - TikalTikal (board game)Tikal is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by Ravensburger in German and by Rio Grande Games in English...
(1999) - LöwenherzLöwenherzLöwenherz is a German-style board game designed by Klaus Teuber and published in 1997 by Goldsieber in German and by Rio Grande Games in English...
(1997) - El GrandeEl GrandeEl Grande is a German-style board game for 2-5 players, designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich, and published in 1995 by Hans im Glück in German, by Rio Grande Games in English, and by 999 Games in Dutch. The game board represents renaissance-era Spain where the nobility fight for control...
(1996)