University Games (UG) is the main brand and home to our many divisions and product lines. Founded in 1985, University Games has been creating games with one simple purpose: bringing joy to families and friends everywhere. Over the years, the company has grown, adding new divisions and expanding our reach across a wide range of games, puzzles and play experiences. While our scope has grown, our commitment to creating fun, engaging products remains rooted in the same standards and values established more than 40 years ago.
University Games (UG) serves as the main brand and home to a diverse portfolio of product lines and divisions. Among its core brand lines are Party Games and Family Games, alongside a variety of other specialized brands and categories that continue to expand the University Games portfolio.
Originally founded in 1992, Briarpatch has been creating fun, educational games and puzzles for children for more than 30 years. Known for its award-winning preschool products and beloved licensed properties such as I SPY, Pete the Cat and The World of Eric Carle, Briarpatch has helped generations of children develop important skills including memory, counting, literacy, problem-solving and social skills through play.
In 2024, University Games acquired The Learning Journey International, an award-winning developer of educational, sensory, active-play, electronic and construction toys. Today, these children’s product lines are being brought together under The Learning Journey International (TLJI), combining Briarpatch’s rich history in children’s games and puzzles with TLJI’s expertise in interactive and educational play.
Acquired in 1999 from Lombard Marketing, BePuzzled is a puzzle plus and brain teaser line focused on delivering collections of trendy and innovative brands. We focus on designing puzzles for hands-on activities that require a puzzler to think in unconventional ways.
BePuzzled is the only brain teaser brand that offers proprietary collections with innovative designs and varying levels of difficulty to challenge the consumer and grow with each puzzler’s improved skill level. Our 3D puzzles offer challenging collections which encourage puzzlers to build, collect and display their puzzles as works of art.
BePuzzled is the fastest-growing division in University Games over the last three years, and its brands include Original 3D Crystal Puzzles, Hanayama Cast Puzzles, and Classic Mystery Jigsaw Puzzles.
In July 1995, University Games purchased Great Explorations, a San Francisco-based manufacturer of glow-in-the-dark room decor and science-related products.
Today, Great Explorations products include fun facts which opens the mind to science, nature and the solar system in an approachable way. Great Explorations has sold more than a billion stars. Our kits are STEAM certified and RAFT teacher approved.
Founded in 2000, the Front Porch Classics brand offers unique high-end versions of classic board games, as well as innovative game experiences that look familiar, but have a completely unique twist.
Front Porch Classics is a distinctive line of the very best games made for outdoorsmen and their families, designed for coffee tables, beach houses and campgrounds everywhere.
In 2024, University Games acquired The Learning Journey International, an award-winning developer of educational, sensory, active-play, electronic and construction toys. Today, these children’s product lines are being brought together under The Learning Journey International (TLJI), combining Briarpatch’s rich history in children’s games and puzzles with TLJI’s expertise in interactive and educational play.