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| Company type | Publicly tradedAktiebolag |
|---|---|
| Industry | Role-playing games,collectible card games,miniature wargaming, and other assorted media |
| Founded | 1980 (1980) |
| Founder | Fredrik Malmberg,[1] Lars-Åke Thor, Johan Arve, Klas Berndal, Roger Undhagen[2] |
| Defunct | 1999 (1999) |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Anders Blixt,[3] Bryan Winter |
| Products | Drakar och Demoner,Mutant,Mutant Chronicles,Kult,Doom Troopers,Warzone |
| Divisions |
|
Target Games was a Swedish publisher ofrole-playing games active from 1980 until the year 1999 when they went into bankruptcy proceedings. Until the mid-1990s they published their Swedish roleplaying games under thebrand nameÄventyrsspel (meaning "adventure games").
They published much of their early material in the form of stapled books inG5 (169 × 239 mm) format in a box together withdice. Until the mid-1990s Target Games published their Swedish role-playing games under thebrand nameÄventyrsspel (meaning "adventure games").
Äventyrsspel released the role-playing gamesDrakar och Demoner (1982),Mutant (1984) (with the later versionsMutant (1989),Mutant RYMD (1992) andMutant Chronicles,Kult (1991),Chock (1985, a translation ofChill),Sagan om Ringen (1986, a translation ofMiddle-earth Role Playing) andStjärnornas Krig (1988, a translation of theWEGStar Wars role-playing game). Target Games also published theminiature wargamesWarzone andChronopia, and several collectible card games includingDoomtrooper.
They also released three generic sourcebooks,Grymkäfts fällor (1987) (translated from the classic game supplementGrimtooth's Traps),Stadsintermezzon (1988) andSkattkammaren (1988) as well as many adventures and sourcebooks for their games. Target Games was reconstructed in 1999 and ceased publication of all of its inventory and theintellectual property rights were transferred to the daughter companyParadox Entertainment, which later became an independent company.[4] Some of the titles have since been licensed to new game companies.
Beside role-playing games, the company had its own store chain namedTradition, a trade magazine namedSinkadus, published translatedgamebooks (theLone Wolf series among others) as well as publishing family board games (under theCasper trademark) and translatedfantasy novels (beginning with aConan the Barbarian book). Target Games also published at least three computer games (including oneDrakar och Demoner game) before reconstruction.
Thefantasy role-playingDrakar och Demoner (first edition published in 1982) wasÄventyrsspel's best-selling series of games. The first editions were basically a translation into Swedish ofSteve Perrin'sBasic Role-Playing (BRP). The variousÄventyrsspel editions of the game all remained fundamentally BRP system games.The earlier editions did not include anycampaign setting except for some information about generic fantasy creatures and so on. Over time, different writers created the "Ereb Altor" campaign setting piecemeal in adventures and source books. For the fifth edition, released in 1994, a new setting was created, dubbed "Chronopia", that had a darker tone.
Today theDrakar och Demoner brand is owned bySwedish company Free League Publishing.[5]
The nameMutant was used for a series of related science fiction themed role-playing games. The 1984 version was set in a post-apocalyptic world similar to the one inGamma World.Mutant 2 (1986) was an expansion module with more advanced rules. The 1989 version was acyberpunk game while the laterMutant RYMD (1992) andMutant Chronicles (first edition 1993) werescience fantasy games set in theSolar System. These versions used variants of the sameBasic Role-Playing rule system used inDrakar och Demoner.
LaterMutant games includeUndergångens arvtagare (Heirs to the Apocalypse) by Järnringen, andÅr Noll by Fria Ligan (who publishes the English-language version of that game,Mutant – Year Zero, asFree League).
An offshoot ofMutant, as an RPG set in a dystopic future solar system,Mutant Chronicles evolved into a brand of its own. TheMutant Chronicles brand later became so popular that it spawned multiple spin-offs as well, most notably theDoomtroopercollectible card game as well as theWarzoneminiature wargame.
Kult is a contemporary horror-themed game thatÄventyrsspel first released in 1991. The setting was inspired byGnostic philosophy andhorror films such asHellraiser. The violent horror themes of the game made it a subject of controversy in Sweden on multiple occasions.[6][7][8] This resulted in Swedish toy stores refusing to sell the game.[9]
There were three editions based on the original ruleset published in Swedish, English and more by several companies.
2018 saw a brand-new edition '"Divinity Lost by Helmgast, using a version of theApocalypse World engine.
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