Asmodee takes digital board game Carcassonne to the Nintendo Switch

Asmodee Digital announced today it will soon begin publishing digital board games on the Nintendo Switch, starting with the tile-laying board game Carcassone.

Carcassonne is already available for Android and has PC and Mac versions on Steam. The Nintendo Switch adaptation will release in the winter of 2018.

“Carcassonne is the first Asmodee Digital title of many to follow on Nintendo’s platforms,” said Pierre Ortolan, CEO of Asmodee Digital, in a statement. “This partnership is based on Nintendo’s need for new user experiences and Asmodee Digital’s continued goal of bringing great board game IPs to new platforms.”

Simple to pick up but challenging to master, Carcassonne presents players with endless opportunities for tactical play. Within minutes, players will find themselves in tough situations — determining where to put their last meeple (a small token that represents people), whether or not to use tiles to expand the city, or hinder their opponent.

“Bringing Carcassonne to the Nintendo Switch platform is an opportunity to enlarge the success of this iconic game,” said Moritz Brunnhofer, managing director at board game publisher Hans im Glück.

Players place only one tile each round and have the option to place one meeple on it. Each game develops differently, full of boundless possibilities, and the quick-fire nature of the game ensures that Carcassonne always runs at a brisk pace.

“Expanding our roadmap of digital board games on Nintendo Switch is a great opportunity to reach a broader audience of players,” Ortolan said in an email. “Our focus is to make the best adaptation of Carcassonne for the Switch and bring a complementary experience to the Switch players who know Carcassonne through the analog game, the mobile or the PC version.”

Asmodee Digital has 50 people, mostly in Paris and California. The company is a subsidiary of Asmodee Group, which is mostly owned by private equity firm Eurazeo.