Open Owl Studios

What Open Owl Studios does

Open Owl Studios is a privately held tabletop game publisher founded in 2017 and based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The studio designs and publishes cooperative and solo narrative board games across seven core franchises — Mythwind, Stonesaga, Stars of Akarios, Storyfold: Wildwoods, Sprites & Sprouts, Threshold, and Echobound Adventures — each built around persistent worlds with dedicated expansions, deluxe component upgrades, and accessories. Select titles (Stonesaga, Stars of Akarios) are paired with optional digital companion apps on iOS, Android, and web to support gameplay tracking, though the core product is physical board games.

The company serves hobbyist board game enthusiasts seeking cooperative, solo, and cozy gaming experiences, with a segmentation approach built around persona-based targeting (board game enthusiasts, cozy game aficionados, solo tabletop gamers). It employs approximately 8 staff across finance, production, operations, art, and customer service, with founder-co-owners Lance Priebe and Brendan McCaskell leading the studio. Game design is partly externalized to established designers (Max Brooke and Luke Eddy for Stonesaga).

Revenue is generated through a product-led, direct-to-consumer model anchored on a Shopify storefront, supplemented by crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Gamefound, a retail partner program managed via Perchdeck, and limited marketplace presence (Amazon). Pricing is one-time/perpetual across tiers ranging from $39.99 (Storyfold: Wildwoods) to $339.99 (bundle pricing), with bundle discounts of 5–9%. No subscription, licensing, or recurring revenue streams are evidenced. The company ships to 18 countries across North America and Europe, with no disclosed revenue, funding rounds, or external institutional investment.

Name

Open Owl Studios

Legal name

Open Owl Studios

Website

https://openowlstudios.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Owl Studios is a Canadian tabletop game publisher designing seven cooperative and solo board game franchises with companion apps, selling direct-to-consumer via Shopify, crowdfunding on Kickstarter and Gamefound, and through retail partners to hobbyists across 18 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tabletop Board Games

NAICS

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

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Board Game & Puzzle Specialty Retailers (CRALALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family/Party Board Games Retail (CRALALAB), Board Game Accessories & Components Retail (Sleeves, Dice, Tokens, Inserts) (CRALALAI)

Keywords

• Tabletop board games
• Cooperative board games
• Solo board games
• Board game expansions
• Board game accessories

Headquarters

HQ city

Kelowna

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Board Game Sales: One-time purchase model for physical tabletop games sold directly through company storefront and retail partners. Includes core games, expansions, accessories, and deluxe upgrades.
2. Crowdfunding Campaigns: Pre-production funding through Kickstarter and Gamefound platforms for new game launches and expansions.
3. Accessories and Add-ons: Premium accessories including metal coins, neoprene mats, resin dice, wooden tokens, artbooks, journals, card sleeves, and collectible miniatures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Open Owl Studios designs, publishes, and sells narrative cooperative and solo tabletop board games, including seven core game franchises (Mythwind, Stonesaga, Stars of Akarios, Storyfold: Wildwoods, Sprites & Sprouts, Echobound Adventures, and Threshold). Each core game is accompanied by a line of expansions, deluxe component upgrades, and accessories (metal coins, neoprene mats, miniatures, journals, dice, card sleeves, artbooks) sold individually through the company's own e-commerce storefront, Amazon, retail partners, and crowdfunding platforms.

Product overview

Open Owl Studios is a tabletop game publisher based in British Columbia, Canada, that creates board games with rich world-building and innovative mechanics. The product portfolio consists of multiple distinct core game franchises (Mythwind, Stonesaga, Stars of Akarios, Storyfold: Wildwoods, Sprites & Sprouts, Echobound Adventures, and Threshold), each supported by dedicated expansions and deluxe upgrade accessories. Mythwind is a cooperative cozy board game featuring town building and character progression. Stonesaga is a campaign-style survival crafting game with generational storytelling. Stars of Akarios is a narrative-driven space combat and exploration campaign game. Storyfold: Wildwoods is a solo narrative adventure game. The company also produces various accessories including metal coins, neoprene mats, miniatures, artbooks, journals, dice upgrades, and card sleeves across their game lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mythdrop: Special edition variant of Mythwind products featuring pre-washed miniatures for enhanced table appearance.
• Mythwind
• Stonesaga
• Stars of Akarios
• Storyfold: Wildwoods

Products and services

• Mythwind Cooperative and solo cozy board game where players establish and build a town in Mythwind Valley, featuring unique characters, magical sprites, an engaging story, and open-ended adventure with town building, character development, and emerging narrative mechanics. Targeted at tabletop hobbyists and family game-night participants.
• Stonesaga Cooperative, campaign-style survival crafting board game set in a unique persistent world shaped by player choices, designed by Max Brooke and Luke Eddy. Supported by Android and iOS companion apps and a Stonesaga community on Discord and Facebook.
• Stars of Akarios 1.5 Narrative-driven cooperative campaign game set in the Akarios Galaxy featuring epic space battles, ship upgrades, world exploration, and pilot progression. Supported by a Wondrous web companion application and a dedicated Facebook community.
• Storyfold: Wildwoods Narrative adventure game where players guide young girl Luma and her bear companion Brom to heal a forest from a dark shadow, featuring storybook-style components and River System mechanics. Targeted at solo and small-group cozy gamers.
• Sprites & Sprouts Cozy farming eurogame currently in crowdfunding development via Kickstarter and Gamefound, expanding the studio's portfolio of cozy cooperative and solo titles.
• Echobound Adventures Cooperative sandbox adventure game currently in crowdfunding development via Kickstarter, extending the studio's cooperative franchise portfolio.
• Threshold Open world fantasy board game currently in pledge manager stage on Gamefound, broadening the studio's fantasy adventure lineup.
• Stonesaga & Expansions Bundle Bundle including Stonesaga core game, Meals & Myths expansion, and Nature of the Beast expansion with 5% savings, sold as a single packaged offering.
• Stonesaga All-In Bundle Comprehensive bundle including core game, both expansions, and all deluxe upgrades (acrylic mining stones, deluxe dice, token upgrade, neoprene mat, journal, artbook, recharge pack, and sleeves) with 9% savings, sold as a single packaged offering.
• Stonesaga Companion App Mobile companion application for Stonesaga available on Android and iOS, integrating with physical gameplay to enhance the Stonesaga experience for players.
• Stars of Akarios Companion Web App Web companion application for Stars of Akarios hosted on the Wondrous platform, supporting game progression and digital play features for owners of the physical game.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KickstartercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary crowdfunding platform used for launching new games including Sprites & Sprouts and Echobound Adventures. Backers receive first access to products and exclusive campaign tiers.
• GamefoundcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrowdfunding platform used for Threshold and other game launches, providing pre-production funding and community engagement for tabletop game campaigns.
• Max BrookecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGame designer for Stonesaga, known for Star Wars: X-Wing 2nd Edition and Legend of the Five Rings RPG. Co-designed with Luke Eddy (Star Wars: Legion).
• Luke EddycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGame designer for Stonesaga, known for Star Wars: Legion. Co-designed campaign-style survival crafting game with Max Brooke.
• Avant GamesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution/fulfillment partner for Mythwind 'Learn to Play' video and potentially retail distribution support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Chip Theory Games: Publishes premium hobby board games like Too Many Bones and Hexplore It! with luxury components and cooperative gameplay; closely comparable on premium-pricing and high-component D2C approach.
• Stonemaier Games: Independent publisher of premium hobby board games including Wingspan, Scythe, and cooperative titles like Tapestry; competes directly with Open Owl in the D2C premium cooperative/narrative board game segment and shares the crowdfunding-plus-D2C go-to-market motion.
• Greater Than Games: Publisher of cooperative narrative board games including Spirit Island and Sleeping Gods; competes directly with Open Owl's core cooperative, solo-friendly, story-rich franchise positioning.
• Roxley Games: Canadian premium tabletop publisher known for high-end reprints and originals (Brass: Birmingham, Dune: Imperium); overlaps with Open Owl on premium components, North American manufacturing relationships, and hobbyist positioning.
• Leder Games: Publishes narrative and cooperative strategy board games such as Root and Frosthaven with premium components and persistent-world design philosophy; closely aligned with Open Owl on cooperative, campaign-driven, high-component tabletop titles.
• Awaken Realms: Producer of premium narrative and cooperative board games like Tainted Grail and Lords of Ragnarok; comparable in narrative depth, miniatures-heavy components, and Kickstarter-led launches targeting the same core hobby audience.
• Portal Games: Independent publisher of strategy and narrative board games (Detective, Imperial Settlers, Sword & Sorcery); comparable in studio scale, cooperative/thematic design focus, and Kickstarter-supported launches.

Broad incumbents

• CMON Games: Major miniatures and cooperative board game publisher (Zombicide, Marvel United) with global retail distribution; a much larger incumbent whose portfolio breadth and shelf presence contrast with Open Owl's boutique D2C model.
• Asmodee: Global tabletop game publisher and distributor owning hobby brands (Catan, Ticket to Ride) with major retail and distribution muscle; represents the dominant incumbent Open Owl competes around rather than directly head-to-head.

Emerging players

• Skybound Games: Publishes narrative-driven tabletop and video games leveraging established media IP (The Walking Dead, Tmnt); comparable in narrative-heavy, IP-driven design philosophy, though operating from a much larger media parent context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/openowlstudios
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openowlstudios

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Open Owl Studios