In 1998, Abalone celebrated its tenth anniversary, marking what has been a phenomenal decade of growth for the game with sales in excess of three million and distribution extending into over 30 countries worldwide. The immense popularity of the game has also fostered an unusual extension of the brand into other exciting areas such as clothing, sports sponsorship and even its own record label!

This is a far cry from the humble beginnings of the game concept first envisaged by animation coordinators, Michel Lalet and Laurent Levi back in 1988. The germ of the idea was actually sparked when Michel and Laurent met the young son of a French ambassador who was feeling bitterly lonely accompanying his father on business travels. Michel and Laurent promised to try and help break his solitude and hence the original Abalone concept was seeded! However, the game ideas was not materialized until later on, when Andre Jarno, founder of the UFF bank, decided to invest in and market Abalone.

Abalone is not considered as "just another board game" on the continent. In typical continental fashion, the game symbolizes much more than that. The coming together of the marbles at the centre of the board represents the merging and mixing of different identities and Abalone'' charitable work reflects that philosophy.

Abalone is a very unique company with a strong social conscience and works proactively to help minority, groups such as the disabled by sponsoring disabled athletes, and aims to provoke serious thought about issues such as race relations and the environment.

Abalone is also concerned with youth issues and has successfully tapped into their culture by sponsoring festivals, sports and other youth related activities. Such partnerships ensure that Abalone keeps in step with today's youth whilst simultaneously promoting clear ideas and images that reflect the Abalone brand philosophy.

For example, Abalone sponsors the annual French music festival for young musicians known as the Barcelonnette Jazz Festival. Indeed, the black and white imagery of the game lends itself so well to the world of Jazz that Abalone have been inspired to create their own record label producing Jazz music with world-renowned musicians.

Abalone also sponsors the annual University Balls for the highly esteemed Business and Engineering Schools in Paris. In addition, Abalone sponsors the French National Judo team for women who actually went on to take fifth place in the 1998 Judo European Cup!

In order to establish, maintain and grow a synergy between Abalone and students, Abalone has also associated itself with sailing which is a sport and pas-time growing in popularity among French youngsters. The company has bought several sailing boats which are regularly skipped by students in local yacht races. Today they can be seen sporting trendy Abalone sailing jackets --- just one of the items now available in their new range of fashionable sports and casual-wear which is available by mail order and through the Abalone website!

Abalone: A board game for Life not just for Christmas! / Game of the New Millennium!

With over four million unit sales, the Abalone board game craze has swept continental Europe, England and the United States.

Abalone is an addictive and popular strategy game that will challenge seasonal usage assumptions made about board games. Having achieved cult status in France and England with its simple yet compelling formula, Abalone has picked up many industry awards including the prestigious "Game of the Decade" at the International Games Festival, Cannes 1998.

Abalone is a two-player strategy game which has been likened to a sumo-wrestling bout! Each player starts with fourteen black or white marbles on a hexagonal board and they must attempt to push six of their opponent's marbles off the board and out of play. The rules of the game can be mastered within 30 seconds, yet to become a champion Abalone player will take much longer! Indeed, the key to success of the game can be summed up "easy to learn; difficult to master".

Players can move up to three marbles at any one time --- horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forwards or backwards across the board. However, gamers can only push an opponent's marble when a position of "Sumito" is set up --- this is when an attacking player has a greater number of marbles in a row than that of their opponent. Therefore, three marbles can push two, three can push one, or two can push one but not vice versa! This is a simple rule to grasp but it ensures that the strategies for ejecting an opponent's marbles from the board become more complex as the game evolves. Hours of challenging gameplay are guaranteed!

Players must always attack using the simple Abalone principles of "Three, Two, One" and this fundamental aspect of the game has even been translated into the Abalone logo. When twisted 90 degrees clockwise, the Abalone logo reads: "Three, Two, One."

Since it was invented, Abalone has been the recipient of countless industry awards in Europe and in the United States. In America, Abalone was awarded "Best Mind Game of the Year" by Mensa and "Best Game of the Year" by the prestigious "Games Magazine". Abalone has also picked up "Game of the Year" awards in France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. Abalone won "Game of the Decade" at the International Games Festival in Cannes, France in 1998.

Abalone's inventors, Michel Lalet and Laurent Levi, were inspired to create a game that could be played anywhere, anytime and with anyone. First developed in 1988, the game is designed to bring people together. The name Abalone is significant to both the game and the philosophy of the brand itself. The prefix "Ab" derives from Latin meaning "Never" and this is combined with the English "Alone" to communicate the fact that Abalone players are never alone.

Francois Salanon of Abalone explains, "Abalone is more than just a game - it is a way of life. The game was inspired by the wish to create a game that could be played anywhere with anyone. It is a compulsive game which can be learned in minutes but takes years to master."