In the beginnings of Pegasus Spiele, we were mainly known for roleplaying games and later on for fantasy themed board and card games. We’re still proud of where we come from and even if our roleplaying and “geek” product range is still close to our heart, nowadays we do lots more! We also publish children’s and family games, and others without a fantasy themed story. For example, our game Istanbul, with which won the highly regarded German game award Kennerspiel des Jahres in 2014. In recent years we were nominated for other well-known awards like Spiel des Jahres, for family and entry-level games. These appeal to people wanting a short session in between games and represents an overview of the growing board game market. We even were nominated multiple times for the children’s game prize in Kinderspiel des Jahres, but let’s tell this story from the very beginning:
Our first children’s games were released back in fall 2015 – already six years ago! We published a first batch of high-quality, award-winning games through our partnership with game manufacturer Selecta. These include games like Viva Topo!, which was Kinderspiel des Jahres in 2003 and which continues to be a strong seller in our catalogue..
In the meantime, our children’s games range grew more and more. To help you to decide which games are suitable for which age, we created “dotted games.”. These games are designed with dotted backgrounds and cute illustrations. The background color lets you recognize the recommended age at a glance. We have four categories, starting with green for the youngest at the age of 3. These games have a very simple entry level and very simple rules. With some help from mom, dad or older relatives, kids can start playing right away. The adorable game figures and intuitively designed game boards invite children to play and let their creativity break free. At the moment we have four games in this category: Timmy tidies up (Timmy räumt auf), Bouncing Bunnies (Hopp Hopp Häschen), and the recently released Mary Magica along with Timmy visits the Zoo (Timmy im Zoo) where kids feed zoo-animals with wooden food tiles together with Timmy.
The next step includes the blue-dotted games for kids aged 4+. Even if rules are a bit more detailed here you don’t have to worry as the fun still begins within minutes! Children at this age always want to explore new things, so we implemented some tricks in these games. The flying broom in Broomsticks and Backflips (Hexenhochhaus) is magnetic, for example, and kids can playfully learn about magnetism while they try to climb the witch mountain the fastest. Also in this category is Viva Topo!, as mentioned earlier, where cute wooden mice race to get the best piece of cheese while the cat is on their heels.
Yellow-dotted games are meant for kids 5 and older. They’re not only a lot of fun, but they help improve the independence of children. Kids can play games like the Kinderspiel des Jahres 2016 nominee Mmm! or the recently published Snail Slalom (Schneckenslalom) with mom and dad or, if the rules were explained to them earlier, with their brothers and sisters or even their friends from school or kindergarten! Mmm! supports children’s’ sense of togetherness thanks to its cooperative game principle, while the game of skill Snail Slalom educates their eye-hand coordination.
Finally we’re up to our red-dotted games, for kids aged 6 and older. These games are perfect not only for elementary school children but for the whole family. Like Wizardry to the power of three, which was recommended for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2017, where the players have snuck out of wizardy school at night but have to find their way back before Willi the Watchman-Ghost catches them. Or maybe our 2019 nominee for Kinderspiel des Jahres Fabulantica, which also takes place in a magical world of wizardry but this time with well-known figures from beloved fairy tales. The newest in the red-dot line is Cannons and Doubloons (Kanonen und Dublonen) where players set sail as pirates. Their only goal – gold for their own pirate-treasure! All the other player opponents want to have the biggest treasure chest as well, though, which means lots of thrilling dice fights!
Now you know our dotted-games series. But you think that’s all? Of course not! May I introduce you to Alfie, Bonnie, Frederik, Jella, and Charlie? These animal fellows live on our new game setting, a small island up north – Langland. They all have a very special ability: each can grow reeeeeeeeeally loooooooooong. That’s not just hilarious, that’s very helpful. Thanks to their flexible extremities, they’re perfect for translating classic games into versions suitable for younger children. The players don’t need knowledge about numbers. Like this, kids starting at the age of 3 can play Langland Lotto, children aged 4+ can play Rommé or the recently released Domino and 6-year olds play Yatzy.
Of course, we have many more games coming for 2021 even if we can’t announce everything now. But we did want to mention that we are launching a new series – Kids Fun. It stands for funny games, cute and fluffy characters, and innovative mechanisms that you will have never seen before. One of the first games will be Honey, where your ability to fill your honey jar relies on using your hearing and memory – and of course a little luck.
Although we are at the end of our article, we’re not at the end of our product range. When your kids have grown and their children’s games are sent to retirement, we have you covered with family games and advanced games and experts games and roleplaying games and fun games – we’re all kids playing games at heart. Aren’t we? ?
Questions, comments, feedback? Share your thoughts with us at blog@pegasus.de.
