THE END OF AN ERA: SCHMIDT SPIEL
by Geert Bekkering and Bruce Whitehill,
with thanks to Bernward Thole (Deutsches Spiele Archiv, Marburg).
1998
In the spring of 1997 Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit, a well-established German game manufacturer, informed the German government about its financial problems. According to Schmidt Spiel’s manager Axel Kaldenhoven, reasons for the financial problems were said to be the lack of confidence after negotiations for taking over another company ceased, and the enormous problems with the implication of new software programs. Schmidt was the second largest game producer in the country; 280 people were employed in the factories in Eching and in Ingolstadt.
On June 11, 1997, the Schmidt name and the factory were sold. They were bought by ITP Ton und Bildtrager GmbH, a subsidiary of Karl Blatz Unternehmensgruppe. Included in the sale were the classic games of Mensch Argere dich nicht and Kniffel. The famous game and puzzle factory, Ludwig Scheer, bought the factory at Ingolstadt; 70 people will keep their jobs. The renowned name of “Schmidt Spiele” will be traded by the Berlin Co ‘Schmidt Spiel + Freizeit GmbH.
