Encapsulate
ENCAPSULATE 2014
A Good All-Round Year for Gaming
Words by Matthew Vernall
Twenty fourteen was a year marked by social unrest and world shaking events, seeing Russia forcibly exited from the G8 (now G7) after its controversial annexation of Crimea, the first marches for the Black Lives Matter movement and Hong Kong protests which reignited a global conversation on equality, whilst in slightly more uplifting news, the first trending video for the Ice Bucket Challenge went live, with the trend going on to raise an estimated £200 million worldwide.
The escapism offered by great games became all the more important in 2014. Let’s look back now at some of the most important releases and events for tabletop gaming that year.
ASMODEE PURCHASES DAYS OF WONDER AND FANTASY FLIGHT
Fitting for an industry where Monopoly is a major name, 2014 saw two of the biggest names in tabletop gaming bought out by an even bigger one.
Founded way back in 2002 and responsible for such big names as Ticket to Ride and Small World, Days of Wonder was the first of the two companies to be acquired by Asmodee in August 2014. This was a massive step for the French-based company, getting hold of not only a major name in the North American games industry, but one with a track record (if you’ll pardon the pun) of delivering high quality digital adaptations, such as the multi-million selling app version for Ticket to Ride.