Space Cowboys was built by industry insiders.

Space Cowboys is a lesson in experience turned into a focused studio. It’s a French board-game studio within the Asmodee group, founded around 2013–2014 (we hedge the exact year) by Asmodee veterans — Marc Nunès, Philippe Mouret and “Croc” among them — who wanted a smaller, more personal structure after building the industry’s biggest company. It’s a studio run by people who already knew exactly how games get made and sold.

That experience showed immediately. Its debut, ⭐⭐ Splendor (2014), designed by Marc André, is one of the great modern gateway games — a fast, elegant gem-and-chip engine-builder in which players collect tokens to buy cards that make future cards cheaper. It was a Spiel des Jahres nominee, has sold in the millions, and spawned spin-offs (Splendor Duel, Splendor Marvel). Alongside it, Space Cowboys built the ⭐⭐ Unlock! series (created by Cyril Demaegd) — a hugely popular line of app-assisted escape-room card games — and revived the storytelling deduction classic Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, plus T.I.M.E Stories.

The through-line is accessible, polished, clever games across gateway (Splendor), escape (Unlock!) and narrative (Sherlock) — a small, sharp catalogue from people who know the craft. (Honest notes: Splendor was designed by Marc André and Unlock! created by Cyril Demaegd — Space Cowboys published them; the founding year is hedged; distinguish Space Cowboys from parent Asmodee; and no official brand hex is published.)

Space Cowboys lives in a gem-emerald-and-sapphire palette. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Space Cowboys’ identity is bright, elegant and clever — a gem emerald, ink black, and a sapphire (with a ruby and diamond in the mix). The palette reads as Splendor’s jewels: the emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond and onyx of its gem tokens, grounded by ink. It’s a polished, gateway world that signals elegance, clarity and clever play. It’s a gem-toned palette that signals a sharp modern studio. The honest caveat: Space Cowboys publishes no official brand hex, so the emerald, ink and sapphire here are an original, unofficial interpretation, not first-party values.

The lesson is a gem-toned palette signals elegant, clever play. Space Cowboys’ world reads as polished and bright. For designers, it’s a reminder that jewel tones (emerald, sapphire, ruby) feel premium and precise — right for a studio whose signature game is literally about collecting gems. The takeaways: use jewel tones for elegant precision; let the flagship set the palette; and treat any single hex as unofficial when there’s no published spec.

The wordmark spirit is a clean modern sans — elegant and clever.

Space Cowboys’ identity carries a clean, elegant, clever spirit — a “Space Cowboys” wordmark whose tidy forms match a studio of polished, accessible games. A clean modern sans captures the mood: it’s elegant and precise, matching a house whose signature is the crisp engine-building of Splendor. Set against a gem palette, the modern sans feels sharp and refined — exactly the Splendor, Unlock! personality Space Cowboys carries. It’s clean rather than ornate, mirroring an elegant, well-tuned game. (Space Cowboys’ real wordmark is a trademark we describe but don’t reproduce.) Because the exact mark isn’t ours to use, the honest description is “a clean modern sans spirit,” not the Space Cowboys logo. The type behaves like the brand: clean, elegant and clever.

Space Cowboys started ahead.

Space Cowboys is a lesson in the head start that deep experience gives. Most new studios spend years learning how the industry works; Space Cowboys was founded by people who had already built the industry’s biggest company, and it showed — its very first game, Splendor, became a modern classic. That’s the advantage of veterans starting fresh: they can skip the beginner mistakes, judge which designs will land, and produce and distribute with confidence from day one. Backed by Asmodee’s scale but run as a small, focused studio, Space Cowboys got the best of both — the nimbleness of a boutique and the muscle of a giant. It’s a reminder that experience isn’t just knowledge; it’s a real competitive edge, especially at the start.

For designers and brand-builders, Space Cowboys offers a clear takeaway: deep, relevant experience is itself a competitive advantage — a way to start ahead. The lessons: value the judgment that comes from having done it before (which designs to back, how to produce and sell); pair a boutique’s focus with a partner’s scale where you can; and keep the facts precise — Space Cowboys is a French Asmodee studio founded by industry veterans, behind Splendor and Unlock!. It’s also a reminder to keep it honest: Splendor was designed by Marc André, Unlock! created by Cyril Demaegd; the founding year is hedged; the studio is distinct from parent Asmodee; and no official brand hex is published, so the palette here is an interpretation. Space Cowboys started ahead — proof that experience can be the difference.

Keep Space Cowboys’s identity on hand — save it to a board in the Made Good inspiration library.