Funko Games and Hasbro team up for a 25th-anniversary edition of Cranium.
As part of a recently inked multi-year licensing deal that will also include some new board games produced by Funko, Cranium 25th Anniversary Edition features a total of 18 old and new activities, hundreds of brand-new cards, and updated content that will include everything from sculpting a taco out of clay to attempting to draw a motorcycle with your eyes closed.
“The game’s enduring popularity is a testament to its creative design, easy-to-learn appeal, and the fun it’s provided to millions of players during its first 25 years,” said Deirdre Cross, General Manager of Funko Games in a recent statement.
A party game created in 1998 by designers Whit Alexander and Richard Tait, Cranium was originally sold through Amazon and the Starbucks coffee chain — considered novel methods of distribution at the time. After selling an impressive 44 million copies across the globe, the game’s manufacturer, Cranium, Inc., was bought by Hasbro in 2008 for $77.5 million.
Marketed as “The Game For Your Whole Brain”, Cranium contains a wide variety of activities that must be successfully completed as players make their way around the board, which is divided into a number of equally split coloured spaces. The new 25th-anniversary edition promises a host of new and exciting challenges while staying true to the tried and tested fundamentals that have defined Cranium as a game-night staple since its inception in the late 1990s.
The official description of the game states:
The Cranium 25th Anniversary Edition brings the over-the-top fun and gameplay that made it a must-have for every board game library and makes it a must-play for a new generation of party-game players. Everyone Shines when playing this outrageous game of sketching, acting, humming, sculpting, picture-puzzling, and word unscrambling. And players who grew up with Cranium will have a blast in reconnecting with the original laugh-out-loud fun, but with a fresh new game design and all-new content.
The definitive new edition of the smash-hit party game Cranium!
Play on the colorfully cool, retro-sleek Cranium Capsule that also serves as a caddy to neatly store all the game components.
The original characters are back: Data Head, Word Worm, Creative Cat, and Star Performer bring the fun with 800 all-new questions and challenges across 18 classic and new activities.
Includes Cranium Clay and dry-erase whiteboards and markers to craft your original works of art.
This is not the first special-edition of Cranium. Since being purchased by Hasbro, the Cranium family has expanded to include everything from Cadoo (a children’s version of the game that incorporates some elements of tic-tac-toe) to Conga (a version aimed at a slightly older audience that is designed to be played cooperatively).
As part of the aforementioned deal between Funko Games and Hasbro, a trio of new Cranium games will include Big Brain: Detective Game, Hullabaloo, and Hoopla. Arriving at retailers over the summer, these new games will have players exploring the brain, thinking on their feet, and more!
Designed for four or more players ages 12 and older and priced at $34.99, Cranium 25th Anniversary Edition will begin arriving in-store and online this coming spring.
