Children’s toy, game maker HABA begins expansion into more complex board games with Nature distribution deal

HABA, the veteran German toymaker famous for its board games aimed at young children, has begun an expansion into heavier, more complex titles by signing a distribution deal for NorthStar Game Studio title Nature.

The company becomes the exclusive distributor of the German version of Nature, which will be available through its online shop from early next year and via a limited pre-release at this year’s Spiel Essen trade show in October.

HABA did not respond to multiple requests from BoardGameWire for details about the expansion into heavier games, although a statement from company director Steffen Müller included in a press release said, “Nature aligns with our values while simultaneously opening up the market for more sophisticated family and expert games.”

But NorthStar founder and Nature designer Dominic Crapuchettes told BoardGameWire his game was HABA’s first step in “testing the waters” with a line of more complex board games.

He said, “I’m excited about the partnership for several reasons. Breaking out of expected roles can help bring attention to a game. For instance, Ravensburger’s entrance into TCGs with Lorcana was a lateral move that garnered a lot of attention.

“HABA will make a sizeable investment to break into the hobby market. We’re fortunate that Nature is the recipient of this extra visibility.

“HABA has access to the mass market in Germany, and touches the educational market with furniture for kids in elementary and middle school. Nature is a clean design with a theme that’s attractive to parents, so it’s well poised for the mass market.

“In short, we think this partnership has a lot of potential. Nature has a core game that’s accessible to HABA’s current market, with a modular system that’s attractive to hobby gamers – the market that HABA wants to enter.

“Additionally, HABA wanted to move quickly. This deal was only signed a week ago, but they have already translated the game, created print files, and are moving forward with printing 200 special edition copies to sell at Essen. It’s wonderful to have a partner as excited as HABA!”

Nature is a standalone strategy game of adapting species to a changing environment, which is based on NorthStar’s 2014 release Evolution.

The new game features a modular game system focused on different ecosystems, which currently allows players to play games involving flight, Jurassic dinosaurs, the Arctic tundra and the Amazon rainforest.

NorthStar says it expects to support the game system with one or two new modules each year for the next decade, with modules on climate and disease currently in development according to its Kickstarter page.

Crapuchettes said it “seemed likely” that Nature’s initial 22,000 copy print run across all editions, which has just been sent out to distributors, would sell out before the end of the year, based on the current sales rate from distributor ACD.

He said, that more than 6,100 copies went to Kickstarter backers, 3,000 to Barnes & Noble and another 5,000 to US and International distributors, with a little over 7,000 copies remaining in the company’s warehouse.

HABA began life as a wooden toy maker in 1938, and later expanded into offering board games such as Rhino Hero, Animal on Animal and Monza in its distinctive yellow boxes.

The company’s expansion into heavier titles comes 18 months after the 87-year-old company exited insolvency proceedings, having gone into self-administration in September 2023 after seeing its sales fall heavily in the volatile post-Covid environment.

HABA’s financial difficulties had been compounded by its expansion into other business areas, such as educational furniture through its HABA Pro brand and children’s clothing via its Jako-o arm.

The company said at the time of its administration announcement that it planned to cut up to 40% of its 1,677-strong workforce as part of a “comprehensive restructuring”, and refocus back on its wooden toy roots.

Company spokesperson Ilka Kunzelmann told BoardGameWire at the time that “some decisions made in recent years have been found to be incorrect in hindsight”, adding that disruptions in supply chains had also had a negative impact on the business.

In February this year HABA signed a deal with Asmodee to get its games distributed in France, a year after shutting down its own French arm as part of the plan to save the then financially-troubled business.