August 2011 New Specialty Toys — General Games

In this princess-themed game, players must complete the secret tasks as they race around the 3-D castle in search of the jeweled tiara. This game teaches kids to use their logic-based puzzle solving skills.

In this game, players race around the island, filling their treasure chest with gold coins. Encourages number recognition, counting and first adding skills.

Players become healthy-eating champions as they compete to eat the most nutritious food. Parents and caregivers can playfully reinforce healthy habits, such as exercise and good food choices. Adding and subtracting the points earned or lost throughout the game also helps children with their math skills.

In this Bingo-like game with letters and words, kids practice and learn letters and words as they pick up nuts and race around the 3-D monkey tree. Challenging and easy cards are included, so that parents can match the game to their child's ability. The design of the 3-D-tree and the peanut cards keep children interested as they learn.

Children learn numbers up to three by matching the sleeping and the awake animals. The 3-D sheep counter adds a lot of fun to the game, and your child's counting skills will improve playing this game.
Awards: The TOY Award UK

Kids must discover the hidden fairies and wave the sparkly magic wand to win the game. This counting game helps children start to comprehend numbers and easy additions up to 10.

In this scavenger hunt, kids learn about colors, shapes, letters and numbers. Players can be as young as 4, but it's also great for older children.

Hickory Dickory Dock    Learn about time as your help your mouse climb to the top of the clock. Every time you know the time for an activity displayed on the cards, your mouse can move up. A quick game that'll re-enforce your child's time-telling abilities!

In Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry, players create traffic chaos as they race to match the vehicles and their colors. This is a game for young kids similar in concept to Domino or Quirkle.

Dixit Odyssey lets even more players have fun than ever before. Anywhere from 3 to 12 players can participate in this storytelling game. One player is given a picture card, while the other players receive a hand of six pictures. The designated storyteller uses a word or phrase to strategically hint at his picture, and the other players each choose one of their cards that best fits the description. Everyone then bets on which picture belongs to the storyteller. Game play takes approximately 30 minutes. Launch date: July, 2011.
— As of 05/11/2011 a previous version of this product (Dixit) had 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com, based on 41 reviews. The product had only one rating below 4 stars. Pros: Creative; equally fun for adults and children. Cons: A reviewer who gave the game three stars said the scoring system was overly complicated and that the pictures on the cards are almost too elaborate.

The first of Mayfair’s expansions to Steam, this set offers three tracks in the same pack. One side has a map of the Mid-Atlantic United States. The other side has two maps: Belgium & Luxembourg and the Brussels Metro. These boards are sure to challenge Steams players with their region-specific rules and challenging topography. Details on the three maps included — Belgium & Luxembourg: An Expansion for 2 Players, Build an Importing Empire. Brussels Metro: An Expansion for 3 Players, Develop Intercity Transit. Mid-Atlantic US: An Expansion for 3-7 Players, Railroad Empires in the Civil War Era. Also Included: An Extra Steam Tile Sheet. NOTE: Requires ownership of MFG4551 Steam™ to play.