Founded 200 years ago as a card-painting business, Wiener Spielkartenfabrik Ferd. Piatnik & Söhne can look back on an eventful history: Ferdinand Piatnik took over the workshop from his former boss and developed new playing card designs that are still in use to this day, although modernisation and expansion was to follow at the end of the 19th century.
World War II paused operations for Piatnik, as it did for many companies, but a combination of business acumen and several lucky coincidences helped to ensure that the company is still going strong, and the international games manufacturer is now considered the leading provider of games in Europe, with subsidiary companies in Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
Piatnik have featured a range of board games since 1956, launching about 25 new games on the market ever year from some 1,000 suggestions that are whittled down by its in-house games editorial team. They have been producing puzzles since 1966.
While the games are responsible for the greatest turnover, the playing cards are way ahead in terms of volume sales, with 70,000 decks of cards and 10,000 party games rolling off the production line every day. Although a lot of other games companies focus their work on the Christmas market, the Viennese strive to ensure stable workplaces and continue manufacturing throughout the year.
Piatnik exports 80% of their output to a total of 72 countries, and there has been international demand for their playing cards from the earliest days, with special designs for the USA being developed as far back as the 19th century. Their international range also includes casino cards for Monte Carlo, playing cards for Hawaii and cards featuring Japanese artists.
The company’s biggest hit has been the “Activity” party game, which has been translated into 13 languages and is internationally considered one of the most successful board games of all time, with 12 million copies sold since 1990.
