Sequence, an abstract strategy board-and-card game, was invented by Douglas Reuter in Owatonna, Minnesota, over a two-year period in the 1970s. Mr. Reuter originally called the game, "Sequence Five". Reuter spent years developing the concept, and, in June 1981, granted Jax Ltd. an exclusive license to manufacture, distribute and sell the board game, Sequence, and its subsequent variations. The game was first sold in a retail store in 1982.