Asmodee has unveiled its second surprise partnership for flagship title Catan in as many weeks, this time teaming up with a major professional sports franchise for the first time in the form of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.

The deal will see Catan introduce “interactive concourse activations” at some of the Timberwolves home games this season, with Asmodee saying the move will give fans the opportunity to “test their strategy, challenge friends, and take home exclusive Catan giveaways and prizes”.

Asmodee, which has its North American headquarters in Minnesota, added that Catan and the Timberwolves will also team up on community outreach initiatives and events.

The partnership comes two weeks after Asmodee revealed Catan would be coming to Netflix in the form of both “scripted and unscripted projects”, which are being produced by Asmodee’s SVP for media development Darren Kyman, Catan Studio CEO Pete Fenlon, and Guido and Benjamin Teuber, the sons of Catan creator Klaus Teuber.

Both recent partnerships underscore Catan’s success in breaking out from the hobby board gaming space and into wider pop culture, with the game having sold more than 45 million copies and been translated into over 40 languages to date. Asmodee announced a 6th edition of the game earlier this year to coincide with the title’s 30th anniversary.

Catan has a history of popularity within professional sports teams dating back a decade, when it emerged several of the Green Bay Packers American football team had become obsessed with the game.

Since then the game has made its way into the extracurricular activities of sports teams including fellow NFL sides the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs and major league baseball outfit The Minnesota Twins.

Kevin Hovdestad, director of brand development at Catan Studio, said, ““We’re thrilled to partner with the Timberwolves, a team that embodies the same spirit of teamwork and strategy that makes Catan so beloved.

“This partnership highlights how Catan has become woven into sports culture, celebrating teamwork, strategy, and the power of play that unites fans on and off the court.”

Mike Resnick, vice president of partnership marketing for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, added, “Catan’s emphasis on strategy, collaboration and community engagement aligns closely with our organization’s values both on and off the court.

“Together, we look forward to creating meaningful experiences that connect our fans and celebrate the spirit of teamwork.”

Asmodee’s previous partnerships for its titles outside of the hobby board gaming space have included the TV adaptation of its heavy-selling social deduction game The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow by France-based Canal+ last year.

The show has since been adapted for German TV in the wake of the French success, and two weeks ago Asmodee revealed that Banijay Entertainment would lead international adaptations of the format through its network in the USA, Australia and NZ, UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Nordics, Netherlands, Israel, Mexico, Brazil and India.

Netflix, meanwhile, created the film Family Pack last year, loosely based on the Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow. The movie has a 38% audience rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow has sold more than seven million copies to date across 12 languages, with Asmodee describing the game as “one of its most iconic social titles”.

Asmodee has been busy in the past few months with the first moves in its reignited acquisitions strategy, picking up the Zombicide IP from financially-troubled board game publisher CMON in June and the Cthulhu: Death May Die IP from the same company last month.

The board game giant also recently announced a new party games studio, Moodbox Publishing, as part of a push into the US mass market, and a dedicated kids-focused brand ahead of the release of a slate of re-worked, simpler and shorter versions of some of its most popular titles.

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