Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag

Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag, commonly abbreviated NSV, is a German playing-card manufacturer and tabletop-game publisher based in Nuremberg. The company is rooted in the Heinrich Schwarz Playing Card Factory, established in Nuremberg in 1948, and formally developed into its modern publishing identity after a series of ownership and structural changes involving F.X. Schmid. Its business combines traditional playing-card production with the publication of original card games, dice games, memo games, puzzles and compact family titles. The company’s early history is connected with Heinrich Schwarz, whose business traded as Heinrich Schwarz & Co. by the early 1960s. After the factory was sold to Gisela Herfurth, it expanded under the name Nürnberger Spielkarten GmbH and used the label Neue Nürnberger Spielkarten. During this period, the range broadened beyond standard playing cards to include advertising materials and other toys, while the company also developed international commercial relationships. In 1989, F.X. Schmid acquired the business. NSV became independent again in 1995, shortly before F.X. Schmid was acquired by Ravensburger in 1996. Following independence, the company increasingly developed and distributed proprietary games by outside designers. Gerhard Lang managed the publishing house until 2005, when Franz Jurthe became managing director. Production is associated with a facility in Zirndorf near Nuremberg. Traditional card products remain an important part of the business, including packs for Skat, Tarock, Schafkopf, Binokel and Poker. NSV also supplies customized playing cards and games used as advertising or promotional media. It is noted for producing special packs for Zwicker containing six jokers in a standard 52-card Berlin-pattern deck. NSV’s modern profile has been shaped particularly by accessible, compact games that can be taught quickly and played by families or casual groups. Steffen Benndorf’s Qwixx became one of the publisher’s best-known releases and was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres award in 2013. Benndorf also designed The Game, while Wolfgang Warsch’s cooperative card game The Mind received a Spiel des Jahres nomination in 2018. Other releases have expanded the catalogue across roll-and-write, card-driven, deduction, pattern-building and cooperative formats. Important titles include Qwinto, Qwantum, Ohanami, Silver & Gold, Illusion, The Mind Extreme and The Game: Quick & Easy. The brand therefore occupies a position between a traditional regional playing-card maker and a contemporary international tabletop publisher. Its catalogue retains a strong connection to German card-game culture while using original designs and internationally marketable formats to reach broader European and global audiences. Heidelberger Spieleverlag has been identified as one of its important German sales partners. No reliable source in the supplied material establishes a current official website, revenue figure, ownership structure or stock-market listing.

The origins of Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag reach back to the Heinrich Schwarz Playing Card Factory, founded in Nuremberg in 1948. The enterprise formed part of the city’s long association with playing-card manufacture and initially concentrated on conventional card production. By the early 1960s it operated under the name Heinrich Schwarz & Co. The business was later sold to Gisela Herfurth, who developed it as Nürnberger Spielkarten GmbH. Under her direction, the company adopted the Neue Nürnberger Spielkarten label and expanded its commercial scope. In addition to standard playing cards, it produced advertising materials and other toys, and it established international trade connections. This period laid the groundwork for a business that could serve both traditional card-game customers and commercial clients seeking customized products. In 1989, F.X. Schmid acquired the company. The modern NSV publishing identity is associated with this phase and its subsequent independence. NSV separated from F.X. Schmid in 1995. The following year, F.X. Schmid itself was acquired by Ravensburger, leaving NSV as an independent business rather than a Ravensburger subsidiary according to the supplied reference material. Gerhard Lang managed the publishing house until 2005. Franz Jurthe then succeeded him as managing director. The company’s manufacturing facility is located in Zirndorf near Nuremberg, while its organizational identity remains closely tied to the Nuremberg region. For much of its history, NSV maintained an important traditional range of playing cards for games such as Skat, Tarock, Schafkopf, Binokel and Poker. It also produced promotional and advertising games for companies. Its special Zwicker packs are distinctive because they use a standard 52-card Berlin-pattern deck supplemented with six jokers. From the 2000s onward, NSV increasingly emphasized original games created by independent designers. The catalogue broadened into dice games, card games, memo games, puzzles and compact family titles. Releases such as Qwixx, The Game, Qwinto and The Mind helped reposition the company as a contemporary tabletop publisher rather than only a playing-card manufacturer. Qwixx’s 2013 Spiel des Jahres nomination and The Mind’s 2018 nomination were important recognition points. Later releases continued to cover cooperative play, roll-and-write mechanics, spatial and pattern-building systems, and short family games. Heidelberger Spieleverlag has been identified as a significant German sales partner. The available reference material does not establish a precise founder of the modern NSV entity, a current ownership structure, revenue, a current official website or a complete international distribution map. The company is nevertheless described as active, with a continuing manufacturing and publishing business.

• 2018

  The Mind is nominated for Spiel des Jahres

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  Wolfgang Warsch’s The Mind receives a Spiel des Jahres nomination.

• 2013

  Qwixx is nominated for Spiel des Jahres

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  Steffen Benndorf’s Qwixx receives a Spiel des Jahres nomination.

• 2005

  Franz Jurthe becomes managing director

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  Franz Jurthe succeeds Gerhard Lang in leading the publishing house.

• 1996

  F.X. Schmid is acquired by Ravensburger

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  Ravensburger takes over F.X. Schmid after NSV has already become independent.

• 1995

  NSV becomes independent

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag separates from F.X. Schmid and resumes independent operations.

• 1989

  Acquisition by F.X. Schmid

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  F.X. Schmid acquires the Nürnberger playing-card business.

• 1960

  Business operates as Heinrich Schwarz & Co.

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  By the early 1960s, the playing-card enterprise is trading under the name Heinrich Schwarz & Co.

• 1948

  Heinrich Schwarz Playing Card Factory is founded

  [1]Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org

  Heinrich Schwarz establishes a playing-card factory in Nuremberg, creating the industrial roots from which NSV later develops.

A Nuremberg-based publisher and manufacturer combining traditional German playing-card production with accessible family, casual and compact tabletop games.

• Playing cards

  Traditional playing cards

  NSV produces packs for established German and international card games, including Skat, Tarock, Schafkopf, Binokel and Poker. Playing cards remain a core part of the company’s manufacturing identity. The range also includes specialized and customized packs, including advertising products and distinctive Zwicker decks with six jokers in a 52-card Berlin-pattern format.

• Dice and roll-and-write game · 2013

  Qwixx

  Designed by Steffen Benndorf, Qwixx is a compact dice game in which players mark numbers in colored rows while attempting to build efficient scoring combinations. Its short playing time, simple rules and simultaneous participation helped make it one of NSV’s best-known modern titles. The game was nominated for Spiel des Jahres in 2013 and later received related versions and spin-offs, including a card game and a head-to-head edition.

• Cooperative card game · 2015

  The Game

  The Game, designed by Steffen Benndorf, is a cooperative card game centered on placing numbered cards in ascending and descending sequences. Players must coordinate their limited information and timing while trying to exhaust the deck. Its compact format and tense cooperative structure became an important part of NSV’s contemporary card-game catalogue, later followed by versions such as Face to Face and Quick & Easy.

• Cooperative card game · 2018

  The Mind

  The Mind, designed by Wolfgang Warsch, is a cooperative game in which players attempt to play numbered cards in ascending order without communicating openly. The title uses timing, intuition and group concentration rather than conventional turn-by-turn discussion. Its unusual communication constraint helped distinguish it in the family and party-game market, and it was nominated for Spiel des Jahres in 2018. NSV later published The Mind Extreme and The Mind – The Sound Experiment.

• Roll-and-write game · 2016

  Qwinto

  Qwinto is a compact roll-and-write title by Uwe Rapp and Bernhard Lach. Players use dice results to fill numbered rows while managing placement restrictions and opportunities for bonus scoring. Its concise rules and low component count fit NSV’s emphasis on portable family games. The publisher also released a card-game adaptation, Qwinto: Das Kartenspiel.

• Card game · 2019

  Ohanami

  Ohanami is a card-drafting and tableau-building game by Steffen Benndorf. Players select numbered cards and construct ordered rows, balancing immediate placement decisions with longer-term scoring across several rounds. Its compact physical format, restrained rules and emphasis on tactical sequencing are representative of NSV’s modern family-oriented card catalogue.

• Flip-and-write game · 2019

  Silver & Gold

  Silver & Gold, designed by Phil Walker-Harding, is a compact flip-and-write game in which players mark treasure shapes on illustrated cards. The design combines simultaneous play with set collection and pattern completion. It extends NSV’s portfolio beyond traditional playing cards while retaining the accessible rules and short sessions associated with the publisher’s family-game positioning.

• 1995

  NSV returns to independenceStrategy

  Background

  The company had operated under F.X. Schmid since its 1989 acquisition.

  Action taken

  Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag became independent again.

  Aftermath

  The independent company continued its playing-card business and expanded its proprietary tabletop-game publishing activity.

  Source

• 1989

  F.X. Schmid acquires the playing-card businessM&A

  Background

  The Nuremberg playing-card enterprise had developed from the Heinrich Schwarz factory and the later Nürnberger Spielkarten business.

  Action taken

  F.X. Schmid acquired the company and incorporated it into its publishing activities.

  Aftermath

  NSV later became independent in 1995; F.X. Schmid was subsequently acquired by Ravensburger in 1996.

  Source

1. 1Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlagen.wikipedia.org