Ravensburger

Ravensburger is a German publisher and toy company headquartered in Ravensburg, Baden Württemberg. Otto Robert Maier founded the enterprise in that city in 1883. Its early activity was publishing, and the company developed into a maker of books, games, and jigsaw puzzles. The name therefore refers directly to its home city rather than an invented brand word. Ravensburger remains identified with a blue triangular logo, introduced in 1974, which appears on its products. Its corporate history links printed publishing with play: children’s books, activity books, board games, educational products, and puzzles have all been central categories. This combination remains distinctive. Among Ravensburger’s best known games is memory, a card matching game first published by the company in 1959. Players turn cards over, trying to remember the locations of matching pictures; the title has become a long running element of its catalogue. Ravensburger also publishes puzzles for children and adults, including its familiar piece count formats and licensed image ranges. The firm’s puzzle business has used artwork, photographs, maps, and characters from entertainment properties alongside original images. In games, its output has included titles aimed at families and younger players, not just specialist hobby audiences. This remains deliberate in its catalogue. Ravensburger has expanded through acquisitions as well as through its original label. In 2015 it acquired BRIO, the Swedish wooden toy company known especially for its railway systems. In 2017 Ravensburger acquired ThinkFun, a United States game company associated with logic games and brainteasers, bringing brands such as Rush Hour into the group. These purchases added established play businesses with different histories to Ravensburger’s portfolio. The company has also entered the trading card game market with Disney Lorcana, developed with Disney and launched in 2023. Lorcana uses Disney characters in a collectible card game, marking a notable move for Ravensburger. Ravensburger’s international profile rests partly on products that are distributed beyond Germany, while its identity remains visibly tied to Ravensburg. The company’s name, foundation date, logo, and flagship categories give its history unusual continuity. Its catalogues have repeatedly connected illustrations and printed material with play, whether in a picture book, a matching card set, or a puzzle box. The addition of BRIO, ThinkFun, and Disney Lorcana shows that the business is not limited to the forms it made famous in earlier decades. Yet memory and the blue triangle still provide clear reference points for the enduring Ravensburger brand today too.