The Francophone Canadian publisher Filosofia has purchased the U.S. board game company, Z-Man Games. The two companies have distributed many of the same games including The Secret of Monte Cristo, Merchants of the Middle Ages (see “Merchants of the Middle Ages”), and Merchants and Marauders (see “Rattus & Merchants and Marauders”).

According to the French Website TricTrac, no major changes are planned at the companies (“If it works, don’t break it”).  Zev Shlasinger will remain in charge of Z-Man Games. The new merged entity will distribute games in both the U.S. and Canada, which should allow it to attract more international rights and create more co-productions that can be licensed in other parts of the world as well as facilitate the translations of games (in both directions) between the English and Francophone worlds.