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Gibsons Games (Gibsons) is an independent, family-owned UK board game and jigsaw puzzle company and one of the oldest in the United Kingdom. Gibsons is the trading name of H. P. Gibson & Sons Ltd. The fourth generation of the Gibsons family now runs the company. The company is headquartered in Sutton, England.
ICC continued to trade during the First World War and was eventually sold to De La Rue in 1919. That same year, Harry Gibson founded H. P. Gibson & Sons Ltd. This new company placed an emphasis on selling card games, similar to the ICC in the past, but also gave Gibson the opportunity to diversify into board games and other novelty products. Some of the games were made directly by the company from printing premises in Aldersgate Street, London, while other products came from external game companies and distributed by H. P. Gibson & Sons. The company made their name with the HPG (H. P. Gibson and Sons) brand of indoor games and were famous for offering 'The Big Four,' a series of military-themed board games that covered all the armed forces: L'Attaque, Dover Patrol, Aviation, and Tri-Tactics. The Big Four were a mainstay of H. P. Gibson & Sons' board games line-up, and by 1939, the company ranked alongside industry leaders such as Waddingtons, Spears, and Chad Valley.
The company continued to thrive during the interwar period with a diverse range of games. In the early 1930s, Harry Percy retired with his sons Robert and Harry Aisbitt took over the running of the company. The company's premises, along with its manufacturing equipment were destroyed during the The Blitz, on 30 December 1940. Fresh premises were found and the company re-established trading from Barrett Street in London's West End.
In 1969, Harry Aisbitt died, followed by Robert Gibson in 1973. Michael Gibson took charge of the company. Within a decade, Michael got rid of the summer range of paddling pools and formalised the evolution of the company by shortening the name to Gibsons Games, taking on the familiar brand identity.
By the mid-1980s, the company had bought their own freehold in Colliers Wood and had an established range of 25 board game titles, including Diplomacy and Wembley, as well as the license for 221b Baker Street, still a best-selling title for the company, and the popular UNO card game which helped to enhance the Gibsons Games brand.
In the late 1980s Gibsons Games released their first jigsaw puzzles, with images of aerial photographs of United Kingdom and familiar landmarks. Fundamentally, the company prided itself on the high-quality jigsaw board, the packaging of the puzzle, and their excellent customer service, as well as pictures that evoked nostalgic memories for puzzle enthusiasts. In 1996, Gibsons Games expanded further with the agreement between themselves and Piatnik, the playing card company. They began to distribute Piatnik playing cards as well as distributing their popular game Pass the Bomb within the UK market.
Michael Gibson celebrated his 50th anniversary working for Gibsons in 2016, the same year that his daughter Kate took over as Managing Director and Nicki Gumbrell became Sales Director. Kate has placed a new focus on corporate social responsibility as part of the company's strategy of “bringing people together,” which includes supporting many charitable causes and offering work experience to vulnerable young people.
In 2019, Gibsons celebrated its 100th anniversary by relaunching a limited edition version of L'Attaque, one of the business's first games. This same year, Gibsons expanded their range with the introduction of their design-led White Logo Collection.
In early 2021, Gibsons introduced their Made For You by Gibsons personalised puzzle range. In 2021, Gibsons donated £50,000 to charitable organisations as part of its wider corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The games in Gibsons' traditional games collection are made from reforested hardwood. These products are also plastic free, as are their Little Gibsons range of puzzles and games.
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