Hasbro is looking to liven up the summer with its Hasbro Gaming Crate service. With it, users can choose between two plans: The Party Game Crate or The Family Game Crate. Similar to subscription services such as Loot Crate and others, Hasbro will send subscribers boxes full of never-before-seen board and card games—curated by professionals to maximize the fun factor—four times a year.

Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of marketing, Hasbro Gaming
Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of marketing, Hasbro Gaming

In describing the service to AListDaily, Hasbro Gaming’s senior vice president of marketing, Jonathan Berkowitz said, “Hasbro Gaming is introducing the Hasbro Gaming Crate subscription service. Subscribers can choose to receive either a Party Game themed crate or a Family Game themed crate and each crate will bring consumers three curated games selected by Hasbro Gaming experts, conveniently delivered right to their door. Subscribers will receive one crate per quarter, priced at $49.99 per crate plus shipping, charged automatically when the crate ships.”

With the rise of services such as Loot Crate, Hasbro believes that this is the opportune time to launch its own crate. “Given the momentum of our gaming business and the appetite we’re seeing from consumers for trying new games, we felt the time was right to offer a subscription service for our fans,” said Berkowitz. “We wanted to make it easy for families and other game fans to receive and try new games.”

What can subscribers expect from the two subscription plans? “Subscribers will see a wide range of play styles—from card games to cooperative games to party games—all meant to bring people together for a great time. The Party Game Crate will contain games that are fun to play and entertaining for adults. Some games will have more edgy content, as they are meant for adults of all ages; college, young adults or parents who have a night off without the kids. The Family Game Crate will contain games that are fun for many members of the family. The games should be easy to understand by both kids and adults, and enjoyed by both.”

Don’t expect traditional Hasbro games such as Monopoly to appear in any of the crates. “Fans will be able to experience different types of games,” Berkowitz explained. “Each crate will include games that are new to the Hasbro Gaming portfolio that have been carefully selected by our gaming experts.” Furthermore, there currently aren’t any plans to base any of the crates on any of Hasbro’s brands such as Transformers or My Little Pony. Berkowitz said, “We currently don’t have games based on Hasbro brands, but are open to it if we identify the right game that we feel will appeal to fans of the Hasbro Gaming Crate.”

Hasbro has clearly been making all the right moves, as its stock has been doing extremely well. The company’s CEO, Brian Goldner, revealed the secret behind Hasbro’s success in an interview with Mad Money: “It’s all about engaging the consumer across storytelling and innovation, a lot of digital engagement. We do it all around the world.”

Hasbro_quote_Jonathan Berkowitz2

We asked Berkowitz how the game crate subscription service fit into this strategy and surrounded Hasbro’s audience with storytelling. “We are very connected to our consumers around the world, and everything we do at Hasbro is based in insights and learning about what our consumers want to see from us,” replied Berkowitz. “Storytelling with our games is about giving our consumers gaming experiences that are fun to play and fun to watch. Plus, each crate will be themed and curated. We look forward to subscribers sharing their stories when they unbox Hasbro Gaming Crates.”

Berkowitz then discussed how they are getting the word out about the Hasbro Gaming Crate to fans. “We will be promoting the service through digital media buys, social media and publicity starting this summer when the crate launches,” said Berkowitz.

Is this the start of a growing trend for Hasbro? Can we expect a Hasbro Toy Crate at some point in the future? Berkowitz doesn’t give a definite confirmation, but he did say, “We’re always open to expanding based on what we are hearing from our consumers and our fans, but right now we’re focused on the Hasbro Gaming Crate service.”