October 2008 Notable Toys — General Games

The object of Rolit is to observe, block, and change the balls' colors to your own. The victor is the one who has the most Rolit balls in his or her color. The oversized game board, for two to four players, is perfect for tournaments and schools. The game takes about 20 minutes to play.

Exago is a fast game for two to six players. The object is to form a straight line of four hexagonal pieces of the same color. It takes about 20 minutes to play.

This two-to-three player version in the award winning Ticket to Ride board game series was previously available only in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish languages and features routes across Scandinavia in a vertically-formatted board map. This special edition version of Nordic Countries is expected to be available for only a limited time. "The design of Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries, with its winter graphic themes of snowy landscapes, reindeer and even touches of holly, is a perfect match for the coming holiday season," says Days of Wonder CEO, Eric Hautemont. Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries is a complete board game for 2-3 players and features 135 trains, 110 Nordic Train cards, 46 Destination Tickets and a special Globetrotter Bonus card.

The Playful Penguins ride an escalator to the top of the sope, then slide down the track. It requires 1 "D" battery, not included. Launch date: 1983.

A Classic Game originally released in 1969. 2 players control Their Harvey's descent by moving their colored pegs down the frame. First to the bottom without falling wins. Launch Date: 9/22/2008.

The illustrated metal case contains two Original Little Hands card holders, a custom deck of 52 playing cards and a rule book of 15 family card games. One or more players can play. Average games take 20 minutes.

Mindamics COM-MU’-NI-CA’-TION makes it easy for fathers & daughters to communicate with each other while going out to a meal together. The game includes fill-in-the-blank statements that the father & daughter read and answer during the meal. The game includes 365 statement cards divided between 26 different packets lettered “A” thru “Z”. Each of the 26 packets contains enough statement cards to promote stimulating conversation between a father and daughter during the meal. Example statements include, “I’ll never forget the time you ----.” The game is housed in a metallic box and includes a keepsake journal, two instruction sheets, one straw and a Mindamics decal.

This game combines the puzzle-solving fun of Wheel of Fortune with the magic of favorite Disney and Pixar movie characters. Kids spin the Mickey Mouse wheel, choose a letter, buy a vowel and solve the puzzle. Categories include heroes and heroines, villains, movie titles, song titles and more. Contents include a Mickey Mouse wheel, three interchangeable wedges, Disney characters frame, 24 puzzle cards with 96 puzzles, puzzle board with backing, two legs, Disney play money, Free Spin tokens, wipe-off used letter card, wipe-off marker, eraser pad, instructions and solutions booklet.

Sitting astride the sea lanes from Italy to North Africa, the island of Malta hobbled Axis attempts to supply their forces in Libya and Egypt. Frustrated Axis planners hatched a series of operations designed to capture the fortress, known as Operation Herclues to the Germans and Operation C.3 to the Italians. Several times the assault seemed imminent, but at each juncture the Axis held back from rolling the dice. Now we let you see what might have happened. The game includes two scenarios, plus variants covering various Axis and Allied plans to defend and attack the island. The game system, used previously in Red Steel, and in our proposed Classic Wargames Alamein and Sicily, is one of our more involved yet thanks to the island’s small size takes only 2 hours to play. For two players.

In Red Russia, designer William “Defiant Russia” Sariego takes the popular game system from Soldier Kings to a decisive moment in history, when the “Red” faction emerged victorious over the Tsar’s domains. Players represent from two to five factions: the Reds (Communists), Allied Interventionists, Siberian Whites (monarchists), Southern Whites or Northern Whites. The game is played in turns representing a season of the year (three months). It begins with the summer turn of 1918, and ends with the conclusion of the spring 1921 turn. A full game without an Automatic Victory is thus 12 turns long. For two to four players, game play lasts from 3 to 4 hours.