Merlins Spiele

What Merlins Spiele does

Merlins Spiele- und Freizeitartikel Handels GmbH, trading as Merlins Spiele und Verspieltes, is a privately held German specialty retailer of board games, card games, role-playing materials, and hobby/leisure products, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Wiesbaden under HRB Wiesbaden 6939. The company operates two physical storefronts — one in Mainz (Spritzengasse 4) and one in Wiesbaden (De Laspee-Str. 1) — serving consumers in the Rhein-Main region of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. Its commercial model is direct-to-consumer retail; the website functions explicitly as an 'Online Schaufenster' (online showcase), with the company declining to offer shipping for general orders and limiting local delivery to customers within approximately 50 km of Mainz and Wiesbaden.

The product portfolio spans traditional board games segmented by audience (children, families, experts, cooperative, two-player, solo), collectible card games across at least four major franchises (Disney Lorcana with 12+ documented expansion sets, Star Wars: Unlimited, Magic: The Gathering, and Riftbound: League of Legends), role-playing game systems (Das Schwarze Auge, Shadowrun, Dungeons & Dragons, Cthulhu, and others), wooden and classic games (chess, backgammon, Go, Mah-Jongg, Carrom), puzzle and logic games, active-play products (Speedminton, kites, juggling equipment, slacklines, Kubb, Crossboccia), and lifestyle decorative items. Pricing is unit-based, with Disney Lorcana boosters starting at €6.50 and board games ranging from approximately €9 (Speed card game) to €169 (Gloomhaven German edition); free local delivery is offered on orders over €100 within the stated radius.

The company is managed by two Geschäftsführer (Managing Directors), Harry Schmid and Hubert Schönherr, with no disclosed external investors, funding rounds, parent company, or M&A activity in the input data. Demand generation rests on in-store browsing, community programming (in-store tournaments for Disney Lorcana, Star Wars: Unlimited, and Riftbound), partnerships with local meetup groups (Offener Brettspieltreff Phantasos Studio, wiesbaden-spielt, Biebrich spielt), and three dedicated Discord community servers. No mobile app, no public API, no SDK, and no AI/ML capability is evidenced. Geographic reach is intentionally constrained to two Hesse/Rhineland-Palatinate cities and a 50 km trade area, with international orders explicitly not accepted.

Name

Merlins Spiele

Legal name

Merlins Spiele- und Freizeitartikel Handels GmbH

Website

https://merlins-spiele.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Merlins Spiele und Verspieltes operates two physical game stores in Mainz and Wiesbaden, Germany, selling board games, collectible card games, RPG books, and hobby/leisure products to families and enthusiast gamers in the Rhein-Main region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tabletop and Hobby Game Retail

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Board Game & Puzzle Specialty Retailers (CRALALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Collectibles, Trading Cards & Blind Box Toys Retail (CRALAFAI), Hobby Games & Miniatures Retail (Tabletop RPGs, Wargaming) (CRALAFAH), Family/Party Board Games Retail (CRALALAB)

Keywords

• Board game retail
• Collectible card games
• Tabletop hobby store
• Role-playing games
• Puzzle and logic games

Headquarters

HQ city

Wiesbaden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales: Revenue is generated exclusively through in-store retail sales of board games, card games, role-playing books, hobby items, and accessories. The company explicitly states it does not offer shipping — the website is described as an 'online showcase window' only.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Merlins Spiele operates two physical retail stores in Mainz and Wiesbaden, Germany, selling board games, card games, role-playing game books, dice, playing cards, hobby accessories, collectible card games (Disney Lorcana, Star Wars: Unlimited, Magic: The Gathering, Riftbound), wooden and classic games, puzzle/logic games, and active play products. The website functions solely as an online product catalog with no shipping offered; purchases are made in-store, with limited local delivery within a 50 km radius.

Product overview

Merlins Spiele und Verspieltes is a German board game and hobby retail company operating physical stores in Mainz and Wiesbaden, with an online product catalog functioning as a digital storefront. The product portfolio centers on traditional and modern board games (Brett- und Kartenspiele) as the primary category, supplemented by collectible card games (Sammelkartenspiele) including Disney Lorcana, Star Wars: Unlimited, and Magic: The Gathering, role-playing game books, wooden classic games (chess, backgammon, Go), puzzle and logic games, active play products (juggling, kites, Yo-Yos), and lifestyle decorative items. The company also hosts regular gaming events and tournaments in-store for various game communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brett- und Kartenspiele (Board and Card Games) Core product line of traditional and modern board and card games for children, families, hobbyists, experts, cooperative play, two-player play, and solo play, including strategy games, party games, and family titles such as Zug um Zug (Ticket to Ride), Talisman, Zombicide, and Munchkin.
• Denk-, Logik- und Lernspiele (Thinking, Logic and Learning Games)
• Holz- und klassische Spiele (Wood and Classic Games)
• Sammelkartenspiele (Collectible Card Games)
• Rollenspielbücher (Role-Playing Game Books)
• Verspieltes (Active Play Products)
• Lifestyle (Decorative Wind and Light Products)
• Spielkarten (Playing Cards)
• Würfel + Zubehör (Dice and Accessories)
• Filialen Mainz und Wiesbaden (Retail Store Locations)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Thalia: Large German bookstore and lifestyle retailer with a meaningful hobby game and puzzle category plus nationwide delivery. Represents the broad-incumbent pressure from general retailers expanding into hobby games.
• myToys: Major German online retailer of toys and family games (subsidiary of Otto Group) with national shipping, competing for the family and casual gamer segment that is Merlins Spiele's primary customer.
• Asmodee: Global board game publisher and distributor with retail presence across Europe and broad hobby game portfolio (Catan, Ticket to Ride, Star Wars). Operates as a larger incumbent in the same specialty category Merlins Spiele serves.

Direct peers

• Pegasus Spiele: German board game publisher and distributor with a retail showroom and online shop carrying Pegasus-published titles plus multi-publisher hobby games, RPGs, and accessories. Comparable on assortment and German-language market focus.
• Amigo Spiel + Freizeit: German publisher and distributor of card games, board games, and hobby products with its own online shop serving the same enthusiast and family segments as Merlins Spiele.
• FantasyWelt: German online specialty retailer for board games, TCGs (Magic, Pokémon), RPGs, and miniatures with deep catalog overlap to Merlins Spiele across hobby game categories. Closest direct competitor on product mix, with an online-only model rather than bricks-and-mortar.
• Games Workshop: Global miniatures/wargaming retailer (Warhammer) with own-brand stores and hobby events, directly overlapping with Merlins Spiele's wargaming and hobby segments and tournament programming model.
• Spielwaren.de: Large German online retailer of toys, board games, and hobby products with a significantly broader assortment and national delivery footprint. Competes head-on for the same German family and hobby game buyer.

Regional players

• Heidelberger Spieleverlag: German hobby game publisher and retailer based in Heidelberg carrying RPGs, board games, and hobby accessories across a regional German footprint. Comparable product mix and DACH regional orientation.
• Brettspiel Versand Excel: German online board game mail-order specialist with deep hobby assortment. Geographic overlap with German hobbyists but operates primarily as a regional/mail-order rather than bricks-and-mortar model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/spieleundverspieltes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merlins-spiele-und-verspieltes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Merlins Spiele