Modern Games

What Modern Games does

Modern Games Inc. is a Los Angeles-based, privately held game studio founded in 2020 that designs and sells games at the convergence of physical and digital play. The company was formed around its May 2020 acquisition of the Beasts of Balance franchise and operates a small team of 1-10 employees, with leadership comprising CEO and co-founder Justin Kifer and Jason Kiefer in a CFO and Growth Advisor role.

The studio's core offering is a proprietary hardware platform that connects physical game objects (Artefacts) to mobile devices, tablets, and TVs to create hybrid physical-digital gameplay experiences. On top of this platform the company has built a three-SKU consumer portfolio: Beasts of Balance (a stacking-and-digital-world-building game targeting families), Seven Sails (a tactical pirate war game launching in Summer 2023), and ÆRTHLINGS (sold via the direct-to-consumer store). The company is also recruiting external developers into an early-access program for its connected-object hardware platform, suggesting an emerging platform-licensing motion alongside its first-party games.

Modern Games monetizes through one-time-purchase sales of premium physical game sets, distributed via owned e-commerce storefronts (shop-na.moderngames.com and beastsofbalance.com) and supported by organic social channels on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and BoardGameGeek. Its primary customer segment is families and general consumers seeking multi-generational tabletop entertainment. The company has one disclosed funding event (Convoi Ventures, November 2022, undisclosed amount), no public investors, no M&A activity since the 2020 acquisition, and no disclosed revenue. There is no indication of enterprise, B2B, or retail-distribution revenue at scale.

Name

Modern Games

Legal name

Modern Games Inc.

Website

https://moderngames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Modern Games is a Los Angeles-based independent game studio (founded 2020, 1-10 employees) that designs and sells premium physical tabletop games — including Beasts of Balance, Seven Sails, and ÆRTHLINGS — that connect physical game pieces to mobile devices via a proprietary hardware platform, targeting families and general consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hybrid Physical-Digital Tabletop Games

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital/Hybrid Board Games & Companion-App Enabled Games Retail (CRALALAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hobby Games & Miniatures Retail (Tabletop RPGs, Wargaming) (CRALAFAH)

Keywords

• Hybrid board games
• Physical digital games
• Connected tabletop games
• Smart stacking games
• Family tabletop gaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Physical Board Games: Sale of premium physical tabletop games (Beasts of Balance, Seven Sails, ÆRTHLINGS) that integrate with mobile apps and digital platforms. These are one-time purchase products combining physical components with digital gameplay experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Modern Games is a game studio that designs and sells premium hybrid physical-and-digital tabletop games (Beasts of Balance, Seven Sails, ÆRTHLINGS). The company develops a proprietary hardware platform that connects physical game components to mobile devices, tablets, and TVs to create immersive hybrid gameplay experiences blending tactile play with digital world-building and storytelling.

Product overview

Modern Games is a game studio that creates the next generation of games at the convergence of physical and digital. Their portfolio includes Beasts of Balance (a hybrid digital-physical stacking game), Seven Sails (a tactical pirate war game), and ÆRTHLINGS (available via their store). The company also operates a hardware platform that blends connected objects with mobile devices to create immersive experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beasts of Balance: Award-winning digital and physical stacking game combining beautifully designed Artefacts with mobile/tablet/TV gameplay to create digital worlds.
• Seven Sails
• ÆRTHLINGS

Products and services

• Beasts of Balance A hybrid digital-physical stacking game where players stack magical Artefacts in precarious towers to create digital worlds on a phone, tablet, or TV. Combines award-winning digital and physical gameplay with beautifully designed physical Artefacts, marketed as a premium game for the entire family.
• Seven Sails A tactical single-unit war game about pirates in which players control one of seven deadly pirate captains, gather treasure from remote beaches, strengthen their ships with plundered loot, and battle enemy ships to be crowned the Pirate King.
• ÆRTHLINGS A game available for purchase through the Modern Games online store, part of the company's portfolio of physical game products.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Ravensburger: Ravensburger is a major European board-game and puzzle publisher that has invested in companion-app experiences (e.g., 'Ravensburger Interactive') and 3D puzzles, mirroring Modern Games' hybrid play thesis. It is a direct category adjacent in hobby/family tabletop gaming but at much larger scale and with a deeper retail footprint.
• Spin Master: Spin Master is a global toy and games company with hybrid franchises like Hatchimals, Bakugan, and digital-physical play experiments. It directly competes for the same family budget that Modern Games targets with connected, screen-enabled physical play, and operates a much broader toy portfolio while Modern Games focuses purely on hybrid games.
• Hasbro: Hasbro is a global toy and games incumbent that has aggressively moved traditional board games into digital/hybrid play (e.g., Monopoly, Magic: The Gathering Arena, smartphone companion apps). It is comparable to Modern Games because it straddles the same physical-to-digital boundary, but at vastly larger scale and across a much broader portfolio rather than a boutique hybrid platform.
• Mattel: Mattel is a global toy/games incumbent with hybrid play efforts such as Hot Wheels id, Uno mobile, and connected-barbie/Fisher-Price experiences. It competes with Modern Games for family hybrid-play wallet share and shares the convergence-of-physical-and-digital positioning, but it operates as a diversified toy company rather than a focused hybrid studio.

Regional players

• Koninklijke Jumbo (Jumbo Games): Jumbo is a major European family/puzzle/board game publisher that has invested in companion-app hybrid play (e.g., 'Bring mee Games' and connected formats). It is a regional peer in family tabletop games with hybrid positioning, but its primary footprint is European retail rather than global DTC.

Emerging players

• Nintendo (Nintendo Labo): Nintendo Labo explicitly bridges physical construction (cardboard) and Switch gameplay, making Nintendo the canonical example of a major platform-holder validating physical-digital hybrid play. Modern Games addresses a different price point and audience (family tabletop, mobile-first) but its raison d'être is the same convergence Nintendo Labo demonstrated.
• CMYK (formerly Oniri): CMYK is an emerging/games studio that has experimented with hybrid analog-digital play experiences conceptually adjacent to Modern Games' Beasts of Balance. Comparable as a small studio chasing the same connected-toy insight, though with narrower public product footprint.

Others

• BackerKit (crowdfunding platform adjacent): BackerKit is the dominant crowdfunding backer-management platform for tabletop and hybrid gaming Kickstarters. It is an ecosystem/peer for Modern Games as a likely go-to-market and validated launch channel for hybrid connected tabletop projects like Seven Sails or future titles.

Direct peers

• Bananagrams Inc. Bananagrams is a tabletop/games brand focused on premium family games, with an established DTC and retail presence that mirrors Modern Games' pricing and positioning for Beasts of Balance. It is a direct comparable in hobby tabletop retail, though without the connected hardware overlay.
• Sensible Object: Sensible Object (creators of Beasts of Balance, later folded into another venture) pioneered exactly the connected-toy hybrid tabletop category that Modern Games now operates in after its 2020 acquisition of Beasts of Balance. Direct overlap on product concept, target audience, and category positioning makes this the closest historical peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/Beastsofbalance
• Facebookfacebook.com/beastsofbalance
• Instagraminstagram.com/beastsofbalance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Modern Games