WINNING MOVES
Winning Moves is an international board game, card game, and puzzle publisher best known for producing official licensed editions of iconic games such as Monopoly, Risk, and Top Trumps. Founded in 1995 by game industry veterans, the company works closely with Hasbro and major global licensors to manufacture faithful retro reproductions, regional city editions, and custom pop-culture tabletop games.
Cronologia
Panoramica
Winning Moves is a major global tabletop game publisher comprising Winning Moves Games USA, Winning Moves UK, Winning Moves International, and Top Trumps USA. The company was founded in 1995 by four board game industry pioneers: Philip E.
Orbanes (former head of R&D at Parker Brothers and Monopoly historian), Mike Meyers (former head of R&D at Milton Bradley), Tom Kremer (the game agent credited with bringing the Rubik’s Cube to worldwide fame), and acclaimed European designer Alex Randolph. Winning Moves operates key headquarters across the United States and the United Kingdom, including offices in London and Rochdale.
The brand occupies a distinctive position in the collectibles and board game market through its strategic partnership with Hasbro. Winning Moves specializes in producing official retro, classic, and deluxe reissues of out-of-print Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley games. Additionally, the company holds official rights to publish localized regional editions and custom pop-culture themed versions of top gaming franchises, alongside its proprietary card lines such as Top Trumps, bridging vintage board game nostalgia with modern collector demand.
Storia
Winning Moves Games USA was established in 1995, building a relationship with Hasbro, Inc. to manufacture faithful reproductions of legacy board games. In 1997, Winning Moves UK was formed, acquiring the rights to Top Trumps—a popular stats-comparison card game created in 1978—and relaunching the brand internationally in 1998 with supercars, sports, and major media franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter.
By the late 1990s, Winning Moves UK acquired licensing rights to manufacture official localized Regional and City Editions of Monopoly. Throughout the 2000s, Winning Moves expanded its retro footprint, reissuing classic titles like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Rack-O, and Pit. In 2006, co-founder Philip E. Orbanes designed Monopoly: The Mega Edition, introducing the official Speed Die later adopted in Hasbro deluxe sets.
The brand expanded into digital media with Ubisoft-published console video games in 2007 and 2008. Winning Moves restructured its international footprint in 2012 across Europe and Australia, later introducing original formats like Top Trumps Match in 2016 and Lex-Go! in 2018. Top Trumps USA launched in 2020 to expand localized American city editions. Recent releases include Risk: Stranger Things Edition (2024), Monopoly: Sonic the Hedgehog Edition (2024), and planned catalog additions scheduled through 2026.
I PEZZI DI WINNING MOVES
Linee Prodotto
* **Top Trumps**: The flagship stats comparison card game series acquired in 1997 and relaunched globally in 1998, featuring sports, vehicles, and entertainment franchises. * **Monopoly Regional & Themed Editions**: Official licensed custom board games representing international cities (e.g., London, New York City, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale) and pop culture worlds. * **Hasbro Classic / Retro Line**: Authentic restorations and deluxe reissues of vintage games, including Candy Land Classic, Chutes and Ladders Classic, Hi-Ho! Cherry-O, Pay Day, Careers, Rack-O, Pretty Pretty Princess, Uncle Wiggily, Rook, Pit, Mille Bornes, Waterworks, Crocodile Dentist, Guess Who?, Clue Master Detective, and Risk. * **Pass the Pigs Line**: Push-your-luck pig-dice games distributed globally, including Pass The Pigs, Pig Party, and Pass The Pigs: Barnyard or Bust.
* **Monopoly Spin-Offs**: Modified rulesets and expanded formats, including Monopoly: The Mega Edition (2006) and Monopoly Scrabble. * **Super Word & Tile Series**: Expanded grid and fast-paced word games, including Super Scrabble (2006), Super Big Boggle, Lex-Go! (2018), and Scattergories Know It & Show It. * **Top Trumps Video Games**: Console, PC, and interactive adaptations, including Top Trumps Adventures Vol. 1: Horror & Predators (2007), Top Trumps Ultimate Football Challenge DVD game (2007), and Top Trumps Adventures Vol. 2: Dogs & Dinosaurs (2008). * **Top Trumps Match**: The "Crazy Cube Game" format launched in 2016 combining tile-matching with licensed characters. * **Modern Tabletop & Puzzle Catalog (2025–2026)**: New speed and puzzle releases including Goddit! (2025), Boggle Jr. Numbers, Crazy Canoe, Deluxe Pretty Pretty Princess, Hell No Hell Yeah, Speak Geek, and Yahtzee Words.
Licenze
* **Hasbro / Parker Brothers / Milton Bradley Catalog**: Monopoly, Risk, Cluedo / Clue, Trivial Pursuit, Guess Who?, Scrabble, Boggle, Scattergories, Yahtzee, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Hi-Ho!
Cherry-O, Pay Day, Careers, Rack-O, Pretty Pretty Princess, Crocodile Dentist * **Dubreq / Waddingtons Brands**: Top Trumps, Waddingtons Number 1 (Lex-Go!) * **Rubik's Brand**: Rubik's Cube * **Star Wars** * **Harry Potter** * **Marvel** * **DC Comics** * **Disney** (including Disney Stitch) * **Doctor Who** * **Stranger Things** (Netflix / Duffer Brothers) * **Sonic the Hedgehog** (Sega) * **Hello Kitty** (Sanrio) * **Peaky Blinders** * **Formula E**
Reputazione
Winning Moves holds a unique reputation among board game collectors, retro toy enthusiasts, and pop-culture fans. Founded by industry executives and game historians—including Philip E. Orbanes, a leading authority on Monopoly history—the publisher is widely recognized for its dedication to historical accuracy and preserving classic tabletop heritage.
Collectors value Winning Moves' retro line specifically for its high-fidelity reproduction of original artwork, components, and vintage box designs that had long been out of print. In addition to retro preservation, Winning Moves is respected for high-quality pop-culture licensing execution. Products like Risk: Stranger Things Edition (created in collaboration with artist Kyle Lambert and the Duffer Brothers) and custom regional Monopoly editions demonstrate thoughtful design rather than simple re-skinning. This blend of classic game preservation and licensed craftsmanship has established Winning Moves as a trusted brand in global gaming and collecting circles.
Curiosità
* Winning Moves co-founder Tom Kremer was the international game agent who discovered Erno Rubik's Rubik's Cube and brought it to global commercial success in the late 1970s. * Co-founder Philip E.
Orbanes designed Monopoly: The Mega Edition in 2006 and created the official Speed Die, which Hasbro subsequently added to standard deluxe Monopoly sets. * In 2025, Philip E. Orbanes published Monopoly X, documenting how British MI-9 and American MIS-X hid real escape maps and tools inside Monopoly sets sent to Allied POWs in World War II. * Ubisoft published official video game versions of Winning Moves' Top Trumps card game for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, and PC in 2007 and 2008.
