What Leder Games does

Leder Games is a privately held, independent board game publisher founded in 2014 by Patrick Leder and based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The company designs and publishes asymmetric strategy tabletop games for hobby gamers and families, with a portfolio anchored by the Root franchise (Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right and its expansion ecosystem including Riverfolk, Underworld, Clockwork, Marauder, Homeland, plus Vagabond and Landmarks packs), the Vast series (The Crystal Caverns, The Mysterious Manor, plus the Haunted Hallways crossover expansion), the deck-building card game Fort (with the Cats & Dogs expansion), and the seafaring dice-placement game Ahoy (with the New Horizons expansion). Its core technology is an asymmetric board game design engine that gives each player unique abilities, mechanics, and victory conditions, combined with multi-use card systems and a Fame-based scoring variant in Ahoy. Title pricing ranges from $30 to $60 for base games and $10 to $60 for expansions, all sold under a one-time/perpetual license model.

Leder Games operates a multi-channel distribution and community-driven go-to-market model. The company sells direct-to-consumer through its own webstore (organized into three regional warehouses serving North America, Europe/Rest of World, and Australia/New Zealand) and through Friendly Local Game Stores as its core retail channel, with regional distribution partners extending geographic reach. Title availability spans 12 language editions. Digital extensions include a Root adaptation developed by Direwolf Digital, Ahoy on Board Game Arena, and mods on Tabletop Simulator. Marketing is anchored in a community-led approach leveraging Discord, BoardGameGeek forums, developer diaries, a monthly newsletter, multi-platform social media (Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch), and physical presence at Gen Con and Pax Unplugged, with Kickstarter used to validate and finance new releases. Revenue streams include core game sales (one-time licenses), a deep expansion catalog generating ongoing revenue from the installed base, accessories/merchandise, e-gift cards, and digital licensing royalties.

The company's customer base is primarily hobby board game enthusiasts and family gaming groups seeking high-replayability strategic experiences, served through both individual consumers and independent SMB retailers. Following the January 2026 announcement, lead designer Cole Wehrle and illustrator Kyle Ferrin departed to form Buried Giant Studios, taking ownership of the Oath and Arcs titles, while Leder Games retained full ownership of the Root franchise and its supporting expansion line. The headcount has grown from the original four-person team to approximately 17+ full-time staff across design, production, marketing, sales, and operations.

Name

Leder Games

Legal name

Leder Games

Website

https://ledergames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Leder Games is a privately held indie tabletop publisher founded in 2014 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, specializing in asymmetric strategy board games and the flagship Root franchise, serving hobby gamers and families through direct webstore, FLGS retailers, and international distribution in 12 languages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tabletop Board Games

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Game Publishers (1st/2nd/3rd-Party Publishing) (MPAFABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Asymmetric strategy games
• Board game publishing
• Tabletop card games
• Strategy board games
• Board game expansions

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Core Board Game Sales: Physical board games sold as stand-alone products and expansions. Primary revenue stream including base games (Root $60, Ahoy $40, Fort $30, Vast: The Mysterious Manor $50) and numerous expansions at various price points.
2. Game Expansions: Expansions for flagship titles like Root (Riverfolk, Underworld, Clockwork, Marauder, Homeland expansions priced $20-$60) and Fort (Cats & Dogs expansion $12.99). These provide ongoing revenue from established customer base.
3. Accessories and Merchandise: Card sleeves, playmats, clearing markers, plush collectibles, apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, beanies), enamel pins, and gift cards. Webstore exclusives and merchandise items drive additional revenue.
4. Digital Adaptations: Partnership with Direwolf Digital for digital adaptation of Root, and availability on Board Game Arena for Ahoy. Tabletop Simulator mods available for multiple titles. Digital products extend market reach and provide licensing revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Leder Games is an independent board game publisher based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, founded in 2014. The company designs, develops, manufactures, and sells asymmetric strategy board games, with flagship titles including the Root and Vast franchises, Fort, and Ahoy, along with numerous expansions and accessories. Games are sold directly to consumers through the company's webstore and to hobby retailers through a dedicated wholesale portal.

Product overview

Leder Games is an independent board game publisher based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, specializing in asymmetric strategy games. The portfolio consists of two main game systems: Root (an asymmetric woodland warfare game with multiple factions and extensive expansion content) and the Vast series (asymmetric games where each player has completely different abilities and goals). The company also publishes Fort (a deck-building card game) and Ahoy (a dice-placement seafaring game). The product line follows a core-plus-expansions model where each main game has multiple expansions adding new factions, characters, maps, and gameplay modes. Additional offerings include Root accessories (playmats, card sleeves, clearing markers), apparel branded with game themes, and webstore-exclusive merchandise. The company primarily develops games in-house with notable designers including Cole Wehrle (Root), Grant Rodiek (Fort), and David Somerville (Vast).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right An asymmetric strategy board game for 1-6 players where each participant takes on a different woodland faction (such as the Marquise de Cat, Eyrie Dynasties, Woodland Alliance, or Vagabond) with unique rules, goals, and abilities, originally crowdfunded on Kickstarter.
• Root: Expansions and Add-On Packs Modular expansions for the Root base game that introduce new factions, maps, decks, and game variants, sold individually or as a complete bundle.
• Vast: The Crystal Caverns Asymmetric adventure board game for 1-5 players in which every player takes on a unique character or faction with independent objectives inside a crystal cavern.
• Vast: The Mysterious Manor Asymmetric board game that re-imagines the Vast system in a haunted manor setting, with each player controlling a unique role pursuing independent goals.
• Vast: The Haunted Hallways Expansion Expansion pack for the Vast game system that adds new rooms, mechanics, and content to the base manor experience.
• Fort A deck-building board game for 2-4 players focused on building forts, recruiting kids with unique abilities, and gathering supplies and friends.
• Fort: Cats & Dogs Expansion Expansion pack for Fort that introduces new cards, mechanics, and themes centered on cats and dogs.
• Ahoy A shared-control area game in which players sail, fight, trade, and explore across a modular map of islands in a shared world.
• Leder Games E-Gift Card A digital store-credit gift card issued by Leder Games for use in the company's webstore.

Quantifiable outcome

• Root has won numerous international gaming awards for both design and production
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Board Game ArenacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Ahoy is available on Board Game Arena, a leading online platform for digital board game play. This partnership provides digital accessibility for the game and reaches players who prefer online gaming.
• Direwolf DigitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationRoot has a digital adaptation developed by Direwolf Digital, available on multiple platforms. This extends the game's reach to digital-first players and provides an alternative play format.
• Kyle FerrincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKyle Ferrin is the primary illustrator for Leder Games titles including Root, Fort, and Ahoy. He co-designed Root with Cole Wehrle and serves as a key creative partner for the company's visual identity.
• Cole WehrlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCole Wehrle served as Creative Director and game designer at Leder Games, designing Root, Oath, and Arcs. In January 2026, he and Kyle Ferrin formed Buried Giant Studios and acquired ownership of Oath and Arcs from Leder Games.
• Language Edition PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoot is available in 12 language editions through partnered publishers: Chinese, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Thai.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CMON (Cool Mini Or Not): Larger hobby game publisher with a much broader catalog including Zombicide and Bloodborne. Comparable in hobby-strategy focus but at meaningfully greater scale, capital, and SKU breadth.
• Asmodee: Global hobby game conglomerate owning Fantasy Flight Games, Days of Wonder, and many others. Comparable only at the broadest level — operates in the same hobby tabletop space but with vastly greater resources and distribution.

Direct peers

• Greater Than Games: Independent publisher of Sentinels of the Multiverse, Spirit Island, and other hobby games. Comparable in indie scale, designer partnerships, and direct-to-consumer community engagement.
• Plaid Hat Games: Indie publisher of Mice & Mystics, Summoner Wars, and Stuffed Fables. Closely comparable in indie scope, designer-driven catalog, and reliance on a small in-house creative team.
• Awaken Realms: Polish indie publisher behind Tainted Grail, Tectonic, and ISS Vanguard. Comparable as a design-led publisher using Kickstarter and a core-plus-expansions model with strong international distribution.
• Chip Theory Games: Indie publisher of premium hobby games such as Too Many Bones and Oathsworn. Comparable as a small, design-led publisher focused on high price-point, deep-strategy tabletop titles with strong community followings.
• Stonemaier Games: Independent US-based board game publisher behind Scythe, Wingspan, and Tapestry. Closely comparable in size, indie pedigree, Kickstarter-driven launches, and emphasis on designer-led, high-production-value hobby titles.
• Restoration Games: Indie publisher that re-implements classic games with modern design. Comparable in indie scale and focus on producing high-quality, design-forward hobby board games for the enthusiast segment.

Others

• Board Game Arena: Online platform hosting digital versions of board games, including Leder Games' Ahoy. Relevant as a distribution and licensing channel that extends the reach of Leder's titles rather than a direct competitor.
• Dire Wolf Digital: Digital game studio and partner that developed the official Root digital adaptation. Comparable as a development counterpart in the tabletop-to-digital licensing ecosystem rather than as a competitor in physical publishing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LederGames
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ledergamesmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/LederGames
• Instagraminstagram.com/ledergames

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Leder Games