Leading Belgian puzzles, toys and games company, SMART Toys and Games, has acquired Dutch company Recent Toys International and its subsidiaries, welcoming the Recent Toys brands and teams to the ever-growing SMART family.

Recent Toys, founded in 2001 by Guido Lap, is dedicated to the mission of crafting brainteasers: hands-on puzzles that challenge the brightest minds and inspire players of all ages. The products are smart and collectable, one of a kind, and importantly, built to last.

“I am delighted to announce that we are joining the SMART family,” says Guido Lap. “We have shared common goals and values, and it is a natural fit in terms of expanding the worldwide potential of the brainteaser category. With our combined brands, products and most importantly, design potential, I can only see huge potential for the future.”

 

 

Furthering the growth of the Smart Group

The acquisition by SMART, known for its multi-award-winning brands as SmartGames, IQ®, Happy Cube®, The Genius Square, GeoSmart®, SmartMax® and WOW Toys, furthers the growth of the Smart Group. It becomes another successful addition to the Group following the acquisitions of The Happy Puzzle Company (2022), All Jigsaw Puzzles (2023), WOW Toys (2024), Inside3 (2024) and Word United (2024).

SMART’s Global CEO, Rolf Vandoren, says, “For a while, we wanted a branded line of Mechanical Brainteasers and Twisty Puzzles next to our successful SmartGames brand. And with Recent Toys, we now have that solid base in this new world.

“With both our creative teams, as well as the product development and engineering teams already in place, we feel we have a lot of innovation to bring to the market for years to come.  Supported by SMART’s solid network of SMART subsidiaries in my home markets, as well as international distribution partners in over 50 countries, Recent Toys in Amsterdam can evolve to become the specialised brainteaser studio in our group. I’m delighted to be working together with Guido, Rogier and their team for the long term.”