How Social Media is Helping HABA USA "Stack up" More Fun at GenCon 2015!

The internet is a wonderful thing! It gives individuals the ability to connect with other people and topics from all around the globe.  If you're reading this, it's likely that you already know that HABA is a German company well known around the world for our children's toys and games.

You also probably know that HABA has a marketing and distribution presence in the US- - appropriately called HABA USA (that's us!).  HABA USA is marking its 35th year in the US, by the way - woo hoo!  Our mission here is to help grow the HABA brand in North America.  We distribute HABA products in the US, but only have room for a small percentage of the many, MANY toys, games, dolls and decor items that HABA Germany carries.  However, because the internet does so well at connecting people and things in far away places, we often get asked if we carry a certain HABA product in the US that was seen elsewhere on the internet.

Which is exactly what happened a few days ago. All off the sudden, @HABA_USA began getting a bunch of extra buzz on twitter, from a photo @BoardGameGeek “tweeted” of a game called – “Animal Upon Animal: Crest Climbers”.

image property of @lengthtoavoid on instagram. Taken at The Lost Borough Brewing Co. in Rochester, NY

Before we go any further- we'd like to mention that HABA USA is more known for their baby toys, wooden blocks and play tents, however slowly over the last 5 years, HABA Games have been growing in popularity.  Parents and gamers of all types and levels have begun to recognize that HABA's  games aren't just your run-of-the-mill, sit down at the table and play a quick round to appease the little ones kind-of-thing. HABA Games are fun to play - for all ages, and they're different from the rest.  HABA Games are becoming the go-to when people are looking for quality, worthwhile children's games and have even incorporated HABA in their conscious effort to put down the electronic devices and #TakeTimeToPlay.

What's even cooler?

image property of @scolic on instagram

People are finding themselves playing HABA games even without the kids! Many people have proudly admitted to us that they own our games and they don't even have children!  We've been tagged in several photos, where people are playing #RhinoHero/#SuperRhino and #AnimalUponAnimal/#TierAufTier and you can clearly see an adult beverage or two in the background.

Which brings us back around to the original topic of this blog post --  That "tweet" about this unique Animal Upon Animal game spotted online. It got dozens of people asking about it, favoriting and “re-tweeting” it.  Fans of HABA who are familiar with the original verion of Animal Upon Animal immediately recognized that the "stack" pictured has some unusual characters: Beavers, goats, St. Bernards, and a base that looks like the Alps!

Original image that was "tweeted" by @BoardGameGeek

It was determined, Thanks to BoardGameGeek.com's vast database of games, that the game is current in Europe and is called "Animal Upon Animal: Crest Climbers”. The question started coming up if the game would be at the HABA booth at Gencon.  Funny thing is, NONE of us at HABA USA had heard of the game -- because it's a European  exclusive - known as a "HABA Selection".   A special edition that incorporated “Swiss” animals – goats, etc. into the game.

All in a matter of a few days, because of all of this excitement generated from one simple tweet, HABA USA's president Lea Culliton reached out to the export manager in Germany and HABA USA is now moving ahead with a special production run of an English version of Animal Upon Animal: Crest Climbers that we will have ready for sale at GenCon 2015!

Be sure to stop by our booth this year, it's double the size of our space last year and we will be partnering with The Game Preserve, who operate four great game stores in Central, Indiana. We're very excited to be working with Steve, the General Manager and his staff for GenCon 2015. We plan to be stocked with even more inventory than we had last year for sale, with lots more copies of all of your favorite HABA games like Rhino Hero, Orchard, Dancing Eggs, Animal Upon Animal, and new titles including Animal Upon Animal: Crest Climbers, Pharaoh's Gulo Gulo, Monster Laundry, Taxi Wildlife and more!

If you love HABA Games, "like" the new HABA USA Games Facebook page where we post game news, reviews and other fun HABA Game-related tid bits!