Too Many Bones publisher Chip Theory Games just bought Dice Throne co-creator Manny Trembley’s new design studio
Chip Theory Games, the publisher of board games including Too Many Bones and Cloudspire, has bought the game design studio recently launched by Dice Throne co-creator Manny Trembley.
Trembley, who is also famous for his art for games including Wonderland’s War and Radlands, only formed Good Knight Games earlier this year, with plans to launch its debut Kickstarter for card game Neon Reign today, April 30.
That launch has gone ahead alongside an announcement that Good Knight will be rebranded as Neon Knight Games as part of the takeover by Minnesota-based Chip Theory.
Trembley had already been working with Chip Theory over the past year on planned 2025 release Wroth, as well as a trio of new decks for the company’s 20 Strong solo card game.
Chip Theory said that as Trembley prepared for his new studio’s first Kickstarter launch, “the benefits of a deeper and more formalized partnership began to emerge”.
It said, “Neon Knight Games could offer Chip Theory an avenue to move toward some more retail friendly and affordable lines of games, while Chip Theory’s strength in areas of operations, customer support, fulfillment and marketing could give Neon Knight an incredible foundation to launch from.”
The company added in a separate statement, “Over the last four years, Chip Theory has been working hard to diversify our portfolio.
“Chip Theory Kids, 20 Strong and Wroth have been big steps in this direction, offering games of different complexity and price to bring a wider audience into the Chip Theory family.
“Manny has a heart and passion for mid-weight games that engage people immediately with his signature art style and can also be taught/tabled in minutes.
“With Chip Theory’s bread and butter being titles of huge scope, dense rulesets and intimidating price tags, the types of games Manny makes were exactly the types of games our catalog was lacking.”
Chip Theory will own and assist in operating Neon Knight Games, but added that the goal is for Trembley and business partner Jeff Jacobson to design, develop, illustrate and handle the bulk of any crowdfunding campaigns associated with their games as a fully autonomous studio.
Josh Carlson, president and CEO of Chip Theory, said, “We think this is a no-brainer for everyone involved.
“We love Manny’s work both on game design and art. This partnership allows us to get in front of a lot more customers at a scaled down, affordable price.
“And we can let Neon Knight run mostly autonomously, allowing Chip Theory to keep making the bold and audacious products we’ve become known for.”
Trembley added, “I have a passion to create affordable and memorable games that are easy to learn and teach. When Jeff and | set out to start our studio, this was our driving force.
“I’ve seen Chip Theory’s passion for games and their community over the last year, along with a singular dedication to making the best games possible.
“The journey of making fun games, and who I make those games with, is important to me. Working with Chip Theory achieves both of those goals.”
Trembley’s fast-paced hero battler Dice Throne, a co-design with Roxley Games founder Gavan Brown, has proved incredibly popular since its 2018 launch, especially following a tie-up to bring Marvel characters to the game two years ago.
In addition to retail sales the game has raised close to $9m across four Kickstarter campaigns, most recently pulling in over $4.2m last October for a set including X-Men characters, Deadpool and a new co-op mode.
