The aim of this board game is to unravel a mixed up situation; in this case, it’s a phrase from popular culture that has been sliced up into five different segments. Each of the coloured domes on top of the crescent-shaped game deck represents one of these segments, and it is the player’s job to rearrange them from their initial, muddled positions to the correct phrase. In each round the balls light up from left to right, with voices speaking the jumbled phrase accordingly; player’s then rush in a crazed panic to swap them around before they forget what each stands for. Smacking the ‘Solve button’ at the end of the game shows kids which answers they got right.

This two-sized puzzle is soft, durable and all in one piece, making it ideal for travel. A twist on the classic jigsaw puzzle, it features flexible branches that exist all on one strand. Completed size is 17.5” x 14”. Launch date: October 2007.

For one or more players, the Word Cube offers six different games: Crosswords, Challenge, Anagrams, Scramble, Word Master and Color Cube. Comes with a timer and a 80 page booklet. Launch date: 9/22/2008.

These pre-reading puzzles are designed so that children can match each picture to the appropriate word, simultaneously working on fine motor skills and learning consonant and vowel combinations. Launch date: 2007

These colorful puzzles are designed so that children can match each animal to its sound while developing vocabulary and fine motor skills. Launch date: 2011.

A marvel of engineering, the Ball of Whacks is made up of 30 magnetic, rhombic pyramids that can be taken apart and rearranged in endless creative ways. More versatile than a puzzle and lots more fun than a brainteaser, there’s no right or wrong way to use it. Just pick it up and play with it! Designed to be a creativity workshop in a box, Ball of Whacks comes with a 96-page illustrated guidebook providing exercises for creative brainstorming, strategies for problem solving, insights into the creative process, and challenges to construct shapes and mosaics and invent new ones. The game is also a good stress reliever for active individuals working under pressure, the manufacturer informed TDmonthly. "This item is immediately engaging and challenging for all ages up to adult, with endless ways to play," said Creative Whack Company Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Operations Kathryn Cooperman. This product received a Spring 2007 Parents' Choice Recommended Award. Launch date: 2006.
— Although this ball comes with an illustrated guidebook, it virtually has no limitations for imaginative combinations. It’s largely the open-ended appeal, in fact, that earned this product a TDmonthly Top Toy 2007 award. Fascinating for kids and adults, the magnetic structure takes on various forms with creativity, forming aesthetically pleasing configurations that lend themselves to further exploration.

Where to Buy: Escapade Direct

Each 400-part map-sterpiece is custom made for your ZIP code, down to the house number and street name (takes about 2 to 3 weeks for delivery). Based on U.S. Geological Survey maps, you can see everything there is to see in your neighborhood, or try a different ZIP code to find out how the other half lives. The product is made from high-quality 1.5 mm millboard, and the pieces fit together like butter. Jennifer Varon, the Firebox representative at Sandbox Strategies, tried one herself. "A bit of cheating went on, though, because the whole office helped. It took about four hours," she told TDmonthly. Both the customized aspect and the incredible detail resonated with the people who tested them out. "They show every street park and school within the designated ZIP code,” she added.

¡Estrella! Star! Any way you say it, Bilingual Zingo!® is the new way to have fun while learning a new language.  This version of the best-selling Zingo! game lets players test their Spanish/English skills while building word association, improving short-term memory and teaching shape and pattern recognition.
— “I think educational is anything that makes your brain think,” Robin Ellerman, owner of Trains N Toys in North Canton, OH, told TDmonthly in July 2008, having referenced Zingo! as a top seller.
— “We carry ThinkFun games because they have a learning base behind them,” said Jill Jernigan, owner of J. Christopher in Jonesboro, Ark., when asked about her best-selling educational products in summer 2008. Twenty percent of 68 retailers told TDmonthly that games are their strongest educational product category.
— Kara Fitchner, manager of Out of the Blue in Albuquerque, N.M., said ThinkFun games are strong sellers in her store because “[We] tend to sell more strategy-based games because they bring out that logical thinking.”

This highly addictive game challenges players to combine selected tiles to form a continuous snake-like path. As they make their way from beginner to expert level, the challenges have more twists and turns. Kids have fun using their sharpened spatial and strategy skills to solve them!

Players are challenged to create identical shapes using different game pieces. This seemingly simple game is not only loads of fun, but can also be surprisingly tricky! The 40 challenges are excellent for helping kids develop spatial and pattern matching skills.

This dazzling puzzle is one of six new puzzles created from popular HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS postage stamps. Collect them all! The other puzzles feature: JAMES DEAN, LUCILE BALL, JOHN WAYNE, HUMPHREY BOGART, AUDREY HEPBURN. 1000 Pieces.

Every rock star and pop group since the '50s is pictured in this amazing new puzzle of the history of Rock N Roll. The fun is trying to identify all the rockers! 1000 Pieces.

This spectacular puzzle about television history features over 250 stars. It's the most popular puzzle WHITE MOUNTAIN PUZZLES has ever produced. 1000 Pieces.

With two sides to play on, our original dart game offers double the fun for players of all ages. The large, hanging magnetized mat is made of the highest quality fabric and is extremely durable. Six professionally weighted darts that are guaranteed to STICK at every throw are included with every game.

Build a stack with 3 of the same colored pieces or place the same color at the top of all three stacks. Either way, the constant shifting of pieces into new positions between you and your opponent, will make you realize that when playing Triplexity, things don't always stack up the way you want!

Small magnets have been imbedded in the wooden blocks. When you attempt to reconstruct the cube, the blocks may pull together or push apart, making it quite a polarizing puzzle.

The value of education and the dedication of teachers who mold future generations and our society is honored by the new "TEACHERS" Scramble Squares® brainteaser puzzle from b. dazzle, inc.

The majesty of the Rocky Mountains and the region’s spectacular wildlife is beautifully depicted in the latest Scramble Squares® 9-piece educational puzzle offering from b. dazzle, inc. Award winning Scramble Squares® puzzles teach patience, perseverance, fine motor skills and critical thinking skills and help maintain mental agility in older persons, while providing stimulating entertainment as either a solitaire game or a cooperative activity.

Both classical and pop culture are honored by the beautiful Guitars Scramble Squares® Nine-piece educational puzzle. Scramble Squares puzzles teach patience, perseverance, fine motor and critical thinking skills and help maintain mental agility while providing stimulating entertainment as either a solitaire game or a cooperative activity.

The German-made 3D wooden puzzle set includes 32 colorfully decorated puzzle pieces. The set comes packaged in a sturdy, solid wood frame. This product is a 2007 Parent's Choice Award and iParenting Media Award winner.

Assembling Size: 6"L x 3.25"W x 13"H

Assembling Size: 11"L x 11"W x 10"H

Assembling size: 8.75"L x 2.5"W x 4.5"H

Assembling Size: 10.5"L x 9"W x 9.5"H

Each set contains 10, 6”, two-sided puzzles. One side of the puzzle contains basic math facts, and the other side has a photograph. Each puzzle has its own clear plastic tray and lid.  Math facts are solved in the bottom tray (the answers are all the shame shape). The lid is closed and the puzzle is turned over. If the photo is jumbled, the math facts have not been completed correctly. Launch date: September 2007.