Tycoon Games continues acquisition spree by picking up Ludonaute’s Colt Express, Living Forest, Lewis & Clark: The Expedition

Everdell publisher Tycoon Games has continued its 2025 acquisition spree by buying Colt Express, Living Forest, and Lewis & Clark: The Expedition from French board game publisher Ludonaute.

The acquisitions follow a hectic three months of expansion from Tycoon, during which it bought Blood Rage, Rising Sun, Ankh: Gods of Egypt, Arcadia Quest and Starcadia Quest from CMON, the Trailblazer game line from Mariposa Games, the Canvas line from Road to Infamy Games, and the entire portfolio of Gamelyn Games, including the Tiny Epic series and the Heroes of Land, Air, and Sea line.

The publisher also rebranded from Tabletop Tycoon to Tycoon Games amid those acquisitions – a shift which will see the company focus on operating under a single brand, rather than running imprint Starling Games for its eurogames such as Everdell, Sparkworks for family-weight titles and Flying Meeple for kids games.

Tycoon founder and CEO Dan Yarrington told BoardGameWire earlier this month that the company’s growth over the past five years – it had reached “tens of millions” of dollars of revenue even before the pandemic-induced tabletop boom of 2021 – had left it in a position where it had capital to deploy, and M&A seemed a natural option when they began looking at it seriously about 18 months ago.

He described his company as “like a Tiny Epic Asmodee”, referencing the huge acquisitions spree Asmodee undertook in the 2010s that turned it from a specialist French operation to a global board game industry heavyweight.

Rather than buying up whole studios, as Asmodee did, Tycoon’s new acquisitions continue its strategy of picking up existing evergreen titles which it can extend into new versions, such as rethemes, reworkings or two-player-focused ‘duo’ offerings.

Family-weight train robbery game Colt Express, which was designed by Christophe Raimbault, won the Spiel des Jahres in 2015, while Aske Christiansen’s forest spirits-themed strategy game Living Forest picked up the Kennerspiel title in 2022.

Ludonaute CEO Cedric Lefebvre said, “Thanks to Tycoon Games, the games we have lovingly developed and supported over the years – Colt Express, Living Forest, and Lewis & Clark – will benefit from a new impetus, a new vision.

“We’re delighted to be able to offer these games and their creators this promising future.”

Yarrington added, “Ludonaute Games[sic] has created exceptional experiences that resonate with players globally, and we are committed to preserving the legacy of these titles while exploring opportunities to bring fresh editions to the tabletop community.”