Cranium, a popular party board game originally released in 1998 and designed by Whit Alexander and Richard Tait, is coming back in 2023. The new edition is going to be published by Funko Games and Hasbro who will work on an entirely new line of party games inspired by the Cranium franchise.
Hasbro and Funko Games Double Down on New Cranium
The 25th Anniversary Edition, as the new game is called, is due to release in spring. The game will come with a whole lot of fresh content that has been polished to the production standards of the 21st century. Hasbro and Funko Games will make sure that the game is available across a number of retailers, making it an easy find.
Besides the Anniversary Edition, the companies are now pushing with a handful of spin of options as well, including Cranium: Big Brain – Detective Game and Cranium Hullabaloo. Each of these games will have its own unique twist on the original, with Detective Game geared towards children and Hullabaloo being about dexterity and speed.
Another release is coming with Cranium Hoopla bringing players together in a bid to solve a mystery, and this particular title will get a dedicated app to assist players. Cranium has been a major global success insofar as party games have been concerned. The franchise was sold to Hasbro back in 2008 and the company doubled down behind it, mostly through the introduction of the Cranium Dark sequel.
Leveraging Franchise and IP to Get Exposure in Board Gaming
While Hasbro is focused on the lighter side of the board games hobby, and focuses on party games for the most part, the company has been working with various companies from the traditional board games sectors that have created some of the soundest game designs in the industry.
This is why Hasbro is happier today to license its popular franchises to third-party developers, such as its arrangement with Renegade Game Studios, a partnership that was expanded last October and covers popular games such as Axis & Allies, Robo Rally, Diplomacy, Squad Leader, and others. All of these games are expected to start production in 2023.