Waddingtons
Encyclopedia
Waddingtons was a publisher of card and board games in the United Kingdom
. The company was founded by John Waddington of Leeds, England and Wilson Barratt, under the name Waddingtons Limited. The name was changed to Waddington's House of Games, then John Waddington Limited, then Waddington Games, and finally just Waddingtons.
The company was initially established as a printing business, entering into game production in 1922, due to a boom in demand for playing cards around World War I
. Waddingtons subsequently sold both original games (especially tie-ins for UK television programmes) and games licensed from other publishers.
The company was eventually bought by Hasbro
in 1994.
Beginning in 1994, Christmas
-themed jigsaw puzzles were released annually until 2007, a total of thirteen puzzles. The first twelve in the series depicted a scene from a Victorian-era
Christmas. The final puzzle depicted a scene from the fairy tale
Cinderella
. The small number of puzzles, combined with the fact that they were all limited editions, has made these puzzles among the most sought-after in the world.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The company was founded by John Waddington of Leeds, England and Wilson Barratt, under the name Waddingtons Limited. The name was changed to Waddington's House of Games, then John Waddington Limited, then Waddington Games, and finally just Waddingtons.
The company was initially established as a printing business, entering into game production in 1922, due to a boom in demand for playing cards around World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Waddingtons subsequently sold both original games (especially tie-ins for UK television programmes) and games licensed from other publishers.
The company was eventually bought by Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
in 1994.
Beginning in 1994, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
-themed jigsaw puzzles were released annually until 2007, a total of thirteen puzzles. The first twelve in the series depicted a scene from a Victorian-era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Christmas. The final puzzle depicted a scene from the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
. The small number of puzzles, combined with the fact that they were all limited editions, has made these puzzles among the most sought-after in the world.
Games
Among the games published by Waddingtons were:- 4000 AD
- Air CharterAir Charter (game)Air Charter is a board game previously published by Waddingtons. The game is named after the economic concept of Air Charter, the domination of a market by a single entity.The game is set in Australasia and South East Asia...
- Astron
- Battle of the Little Big Horn
- Bewitched
- Bigfoot
- Blackbox
- Blast Off!
- Blockbusters
- BuccaneerBuccaneer (game)Buccaneer was a board game published in Britain by Waddingtons between the 1930s and 1980s.The game board depicted the sea, broken into squares. Around the edges were ports, some of which were owned by players, others were "free ports"...
- Campaign
- Camelot
- CareersCareers (board game)Careers is a board game first manufactured by Parker Brothers in 1955, which has been reprinted from time to time up to the present day. It was devised by the sociologist James Cooke Brown. Victory conditions consist of a minimum amount of fame, happiness and money that the player must gain...
- CluedoCluedoCluedo is a popular murder/mystery-themed deduction board game originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds, England in 1949. It was devised by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham, England. It is now published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro, which acquired its U.S...
(1949) - Don't Miss The BoatDon't Miss The BoatDon't Miss The Boat is a board game for two to four players, with no dice or cards or element of elimination. The rules are simple enough to be mastered by a five year old, yet there is no element of chance, and experienced players can use sophisticated tactics and strategies to win. The game was...
- Escape from AtlantisEscape from AtlantisEscape from Atlantis is a board game that portrays the sinking of Atlantis and the attempts by the population to escape the sinking island. It was originally released in the USA under the title of Survive! and first published in the English language by Parker Brothers in 1982...
- Equals
- Formula 1
- Game of Nations
- GoGo (modern board game)Go — The International Travel Game, later Travel Go, is a family board game, based on international travel, which was manufactured by Waddingtons Ltd from 1961 onwards. The objective of the game is to travel the world by air, sea, rail and road, collect a pre-determined number of souvenirs from...
(not the Chinese game of WeiqiGo (board game)Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
, but based on world travel) - Golfwinks
- Key to the Kingdom
- Kimbo
- Lexicon
- Lose Your Shirt
- Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs
- Milestones
- MonopolyMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
- Mine a MillionMine a millionMine a Million is a board game previously published by Waddingtons. The game is named after the economic business of mining tin and gaining profit by transporting this to markets near and far. The 'million' bit of the name relates to the target profit.The game is set in a developing country where...
(rebranded as The Business Game) - Purple People Eater
- Pogs (Collectables)
- Pog (board game)
- Railroader
- Ratrace
- RiskRisk (game)Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
- Safari Round Up
- Scoop!
- Sorry!Sorry! (game)Sorry! is a board game that is based on the ancient Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. Distributed by Parker Brothers, Sorry! is marketed for two to four players, ages six through adult...
- Speculate (Share Trading game)
- Spy Ring
- Squads (Collectable/Trade card game)
- SubbuteoSubbuteoSubbuteo is a set of table top games simulating team sports such as association football, cricket, both codes of rugby and hockey. The name is most closely associated with the football game, which for many years was marketed as "the replica of Association Football".The "Subbuteo" name is derived...
- The Vampire Game
- TotopolyTotopolyTotopoly is a commercial board game, based on the events leading up to, and during, a horse race. Originally made in 1938 by Waddingtons, the game is based on a double-sided board, with each side representing a different half of the game....
- Ulcers
- WhotWhotWhot is a game played with a set of non-standard cards in five suits: circles, crosses, triangles, stars and squares. It is a shedding game similar to Crazy Eights. At one point, the game was manufactured by John Waddington Ltd....
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