Broderbund
Broderbund Software, Inc. (stylized as Brøderbund) was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits Choplifter, Lode Runner, Karateka, and Prince of Persia (all of which originated on the Apple II), as well as The Print Shop—originally for printing signs and banners on dot matrix printers—and the Myst and Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, and moved to San Rafael, California, then later to Novato, California.[1] Broderbund was purchased by SoftKey in 1998.
This article is about the software company. For the organization formerly known as the Broederbond, see Afrikanerbond.Industry
1980
San Rafael, California, US
- Doug Carlston
- Gary Carlston
1998
- Eugene, Oregon, US
- San Rafael, California, US
- Novato, California, US
- Doug Carlston (chairman, CEO)
- Gary Carlston
- Cathy Carlston Brisbois
- Edmund Auer
172,000,000 ±1000000 United States dollar (1995) 
Many of Broderbund's software titles, such as The Print Shop, PrintMaster, and Mavis Beacon, are still published under the name "Brøderbund". Games released by the revived Broderbund are distributed by Encore, Inc. Brøderbund is now the brand name for Riverdeep's graphic design, productivity, and edutainment titles such as The Print Shop, Carmen Sandiego, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, the Living Books series, and Reader Rabbit titles, in addition to publishing software for other companies, notably Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm.
The company would often release school editions of their games, which contained extra features to allow teachers to use the software to facilitate students' learning.[2]
Etymology[edit]
The word "brøderbund" is not an actual word in any language and has never been used as a surname, but is a somewhat loose translation of "band of brothers" into a mixture of Danish, Dutch, German, and Swedish.[3] The "ø" in "brøderbund" was used partially as a play on the letter ø from the Dano-Norwegian alphabet but was mainly referencing the slashed zero found in mainframes, terminals, and early personal computers.[4] The three crowns above the logo are also a reference to the lesser national coat of arms of Sweden.
The company's name is pronounced /ˈbruːdərbʌnd/[5] instead of the popularly used /ˈbroʊdərbʌnd/.