Lemada

Lemada is an Israeli game manufacturer associated most closely with Rummikub, the tile-based family game created by Ephraim Hertzano. The company developed from the Hertzano family's earlier gaming business and has remained family-run. Mariana and Micha Hertzano, Ephraim Hertzano's children, founded Lemada in 1978, establishing the company as the successor to the family's original game enterprise. The business focuses on the development and manufacture of board games, educational games, and related family-play products. Its best-known offering is Rummikub, a game in which players arrange numbered tiles into sets and runs. Rummikub became the company's principal international product and has been distributed across a broad global market. Reference material describes more than 50 million units sold in 54 countries across five continents, with editions printed in 26 languages. These figures indicate that Lemada's international identity is driven primarily by one enduring game franchise rather than by a large portfolio of separately prominent brands. Lemada's production and administrative operations are based in Israel. The company has been described as maintaining a factory in Arad and a head office in Moshav Magshimim, near Ben Gurion International Airport. The cited company description gives the combined facility area as approximately 6,000 square metres and reports a workforce of about 80 employees producing more than 3 million games annually. Manufacturing is presented as using modern automated machinery, supporting production for both Israeli and export markets. In Israel, the family's games are marketed under the Kod Kod name rather than exclusively under the Lemada name. Kod Kod is described as an older and leading local game company, with a history of approximately 55 years in the domestic market at the time of the reference material. This creates a distinction between Lemada's corporate and manufacturing identity and the consumer-facing brand used for some products in Israel. The company is therefore best understood as a private, family-controlled game manufacturer whose business combines product development, manufacturing, licensing or distribution activity, and international marketing of tabletop games. Its historical importance rests on the global reach and longevity of Rummikub, while its operating base remains in Israel and its wider portfolio includes board and educational games. Publicly available reference material does not establish a stock-market listing, a separate publicly identified parent company, or a current executive roster beyond the Hertzano family founders and continuing family ownership.

Lemada's history is rooted in the Hertzano family's game business. Ephraim Hertzano, the inventor of Rummikub, established the family's original enterprise in the early 1950s. That earlier business developed and manufactured board and educational games and provided the foundation for the later Lemada organization. In 1978, Ephraim Hertzano's children, Mariana Hertzano and Micha Hertzano, founded Lemada. The new company continued the family tradition while giving the business a distinct corporate identity. Lemada remained controlled and operated by the Hertzano family, linking the company's later activities to the original inventor and commercial development of Rummikub. Rummikub became the central product in the company's history. The game is a family tabletop title based on arranging numbered tiles into valid groups and sequences. Its relatively language-independent play system helped it travel across national markets. According to the cited reference material, more than 50 million Rummikub games have been sold in 54 countries on five continents, and the game has been produced in 26 languages. The scale of this distribution made Rummikub the principal source of Lemada's international recognition. Lemada's manufacturing base is in Israel. The company has been described as operating a factory in Arad together with a head office in Moshav Magshimim, close to Ben Gurion International Airport. The reference material reports a combined facility of approximately 6,000 square metres, around 80 employees, and annual production exceeding 3 million games. These operations support the company's board-game and educational-game activities and provide capacity for export markets. The company's domestic Israeli marketing structure differs from its international identity. Games are sold locally under the Kod Kod name, described in the reference material as the leading and older Israeli game company. Kod Kod had reportedly operated for about 55 years at the time of the cited account. Consequently, the Hertzano family's business has used different brand identities for local and overseas audiences, while Lemada remains the relevant corporate subject for the manufacturing enterprise. No reliable public material in the supplied references establishes a detailed sequence of later product launches, acquisitions, public-company activity, controversies, or leadership changes. The available record instead presents Lemada as an active private family business whose continuing significance derives from the enduring international distribution of Rummikub and the manufacture of board and educational games in Israel.

• 1978

  Lemada founded

  [1]Lemadaen.wikipedia.org

  Mariana Hertzano and Micha Hertzano founded Lemada, continuing the family's board-game and educational-game business.

• 1950

  Hertzano family game business established

  [1]Lemadaen.wikipedia.org

  The original enterprise associated with the Hertzano family was established in the early 1950s by Ephraim Hertzano and became the foundation for the family's later game-manufacturing activities.

• Rummikub expands internationally

  [1]Lemadaen.wikipedia.org

  Rummikub developed into Lemada's internationally recognized flagship, with reference material reporting sales in 54 countries across five continents and editions in 26 languages.

Family-oriented tabletop and educational game manufacturer with an international focus, anchored by the Rummikub franchise.

• Tile-based family game

  Rummikub

  Rummikub is a family tabletop game built around numbered tiles. Players form groups and sequences and manipulate existing combinations as play progresses. Created by Ephraim Hertzano, it became Lemada's defining product and the main vehicle for the company's international recognition. Reference material reports more than 50 million games sold in 54 countries and editions printed in 26 languages.

• Board and educational games

  Board and educational games

  Beyond Rummikub, Lemada's stated business includes the development and manufacture of board games and educational games. The supplied references do not provide a complete catalog of individual titles, but describe this broader category as the company's core manufacturing scope alongside its flagship tile game.

1. 1Lemadaen.wikipedia.org