December 2012 Notable Toys — General Games

This gigantic marble run features 103 pieces with 12 marbles. Kids can build their structure any way they like, then drop the marbles and watch them race through the run.
— In a May 2013 survey, two out of 10 retailers told TDmonthly that marble runs were one of their best-selling construction toys.

This annual wine-tasting festival is in full swing when the body of local vineyard owner, Barry Underwood, is found hidden beneath his wine cellar. Comes with a complete party planner, invitations, costume and menu suggestions, clues and more. Mystery dinner party game for 8 players.

Kids love to get into the act, and this charades game is made especially to put youngsters in the spotlight. In this game, every player gets in the act on every turn, so it's ideal for home or school play. And there is no reading required, so little ones can play without help from Mommy or teacher. Encourage creativity and communication skills while having active fun. It's a game the whole family can play and enjoy. National Parenting Publications Award and Early Childhood News 100 Best Picks.

More than 1.2 million people play pub trivia quizzes every year. University Games has packed up the fun of the pub into a box to take home, complete with 1,000 trivia questions across 5 different categories and a score pad. Teams compete to name famous people, dates and even test their drawing skills. The team with the most points at the end of 5 rounds wins.

A game of discovery...a game of concentration...crazy fun...fast...full of surprises and excitement...it is The Game Of Zoo®. Players find and match five picture cards. Every game is different. Children will delight in searching the ZOO® to match the pictures. With no dice, no spinner and 48 ZOO ® Picture Cards, children are given three fun ways to play the game.

ABUNDANT HARVEST for Teens & Adults (US Patent 7,073,792) is appropriate for ages 12 through adult. The situations presented in this version of the game are directed towards teenager and adult groups. Many of the situations deal with the difficult issues of drugs, family conflicts, peer pressure and the complex and unpredictable nature of being an adolescent and/or adult in today's world.

ABUNDANT HARVEST for Kids (US Patent 7,073,792) is appropriate for ages 5 through adult. The situations presented in this version of the game are directed towards children who are learning the importance of making decisions that are based on principle. The scenarios provide parents, caregivers and educators the opportunity to teach children, and allow children to begin to develop and apply principle-based reasoning skills as they work their way through situations common in today's world.
Awards: 2012 Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year Award; Dr. Toy’s® 2012 Best Vacation Toy; Parent Tested Parent Approved Award Winner.

It is near dawn on April 6th, 1862. The first major clash of arms in the western theater of the American Civil War is about to commence. Clash of Wills™ is the perfect way for 2 players to swiftly and casually explore military strategy in the first land battle of the American Civil War. It tells a rich story without requiring a lot of time or complicated rules. You can finish a game in about 45 minutes. Dice and action cards determine flexible command opportunities. Playing Time: 90-120 minutes. Made in the USA. Launch date: November 2012.

Get ready for an intergalactic battle with Angry Birds Star Wars when kids and their friends take on Darth Vader and his porky pals. Take turns trying to topple the Empire with this awesome Jenga Death Star game. Load the X-Wing Fighter launcher with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo or Chewbacca birds for an epic squawk attack against the Death Star. Who will knock the Darth Vader and Stormtrooper pigs’ block off and bring the Death Star crashing down? Launch Date: 2012.

A buildable and fun twist on a memory game for 2 to 4 players. The game is all about finding the missing Dwarves who have gotten lost in Hobbiton, using hints left by Gandalf the Grey and some Hobbits to help players search. If players are up to the challenge they can transform the board during the game, testing their memory skills to the max. Once the board is built it is easy to store and quick to take out to play again.

In free play children will pile the animal blocks on top of each other by color or all mixed up, and play with the animal vehicle. A colorful stacking game. All in one toy and game with instructions. Game material designed with special care. Conceived for small children's hands. 1 - 4 players.

Zingo! Sight Words is a fun, interactive game that teaches reading skills through fast-paced play. Designed for players ages 4-6, this game teaches early readers to recognize and read some of the most common words in the English language. The sight words featured in this game were identified by leading educators as the most fundamental. Learning and mastering them is key to becoming a successful, fluent reader - doing it through play makes learning fun. Launch date: September 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval, Play On Words (PAL) Award
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps kids learn to read; Easy to learn, but still challenging and fun.

PathWords Jr. is a clever word search puzzle with a twist. To complete each themed challenge, place colorful Tetris-style puzzle pieces over letters to spell a word forward or backwards. With its unique design and tactile appeal, PathWords Jr. builds spatial reasoning and strengthens vocabulary with clever graphic hints and funny word play. An ideal game for children ages 6 and  up, PathWords Jr. instills a lifelong love of word puzzles and logic games.
Awards: Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Product Award; ASTRA Best Toys winner in 2011; Creative Child Puzzle of the Year; Parents' Choice (Gold); Oppenheim Toy Portfolio (Platinum); Teachers' Choice; National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA).
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps build logic and spacial skills; helps kids develop literacy skills.

Featuring cool transparent cards, Swish is an innovative spatial game for children ages 8 and up that challenges mental muscles to the extreme. Players must examine cards, mentally flipping & rotating to make matches, or “Swishes.” Swishes are made by layering cards so that every ball swishes into a hoop of the same color. Players must prepare their brain for a seriously fun workout during this fast-paced challenge that’s fun for the whole family.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Silver Honors award; TOTY Nominee for Educational Toy of the Year 2012.
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 56 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps develop spatial relation skills; Well designed; innovative gameplay. Cons: Might be difficult for younger kids.

In this fun game, kids create an endless cast of characters as leaves, ribbons, coins, seashells, paper clips and a variety of found objects combine to make millions of faces. 160 object images. Made from 90% recycled materials.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval

Focusing on the number 10, Pig 10 is an exciting card game for children. As in "MAU MAU", players take turns in placing cards in the middle of the table while adding the number of the card to the value of the card pile. A player reaching 10 exactly wins all played cards, whereas a player exceeding the 10 has to give the reward to his right neighbor. In this easy and popular game, players must make decisions with every turn: do I have the right cards in my hand, can I put my left neighbor under pressure, or will I step into the trap my right neighbors have set for me?

"Mord im Arosa" is a three-dimensional mystery game. The totally new game concept brings a thrilling and tense atmosphere to the gaming table. Somewhere on the eight levels of the hotel tower, two crime victims are found one after another. Any player could be the murderer. However, players cannot see where the tracks of the suspects go - they can only hear it. A unique and smartly arranged interplay of suspicion and forensics guarantees astonishing and mysterious twists and turns: tracks disappear and reappear in other places. A player who is caught too often at the wrong time and place will be found guilty through the burden of proof.

This handcrafted 8 in 1 game includes Backgammon, Checkers, Chess, Chinese Checkers, Cribbage, Dominoes, Magnetic Darts and Poker. The pieces for each game are individually wrapped in black drawstring pouches and stored inside the beautiful black wooden box for safekeeping. Instruction guide included. Dimensions: 10 ½" square x 3". Launch date: December 2012.

Triple Talk is a fast-paced card game for improving vocabulary, comprehension, and reasoning skills by presenting students with words that may have different meanings based on their context. For example, one can swim in a pool, play a game of pool, or pool one's resources. Each of the 60 Word Cards in Triple Talk has three different corresponding Photo-Definition Cards (180 Cards). There are three levels of Photo-Definition Cards. Level 1 Cards have a definition most familiar to students. Levels 2 and 3 gradually increase in difficulty by using the words in contexts that may not be as familiar to students. The definitions present the words as simple nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

The new Dice Dude brings more excitement and fun to every game. It comes with four different dice, giving kids tons of options for game play. Choose the interchangeable die/dice that they wish to use, twist and remove Dice Dude’s clear dome hat, insert the die/dice, twist the dome hat back into place, and then start shaking away. Watch Dice Dude’s big, green eyes move side to side as he is shaken. This dude stands 5 1/2” tall and has a diameter of 3 1/4”. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Anger Management Board Games explores questions like: are players annoyed by drivers who don't notice the light has changed because they're yakking on their cell phones? Does a trip to the beach make you think of cleaning sand out of your car? Have you ever yelled at the tv even though you know it can't hear you? If so, then everyone will love playing Anger Management, the subversively humorous board game that encourages players to lighten up and laugh at all the things that drive us all crazy as they whine their way to victory.

Kulami is a fun, tactile game of strategy for two players. Ten wooden tiles are arranged to form an ever-changing board on which opponents compete to capture the largest number of tiles. Cleverly placing marbles on these tiles will limit adversary’s possible moves, while allowing to gain an advantage to clinch the victory. Launch date: 2012.

Players slip a photo into the clear Photoholder and draw. Players must get their teammates to guess what they're drawing, right on top of the photo. The photos help give their scribbles context, but it's not as easy as one may think; some things players have got to draw might seem obvious, but only to them. They've got 90 seconds to draw as many items from the list as they can, and then collect a Phototoken for each correct guess by their team. A secret red-reveal panel keeps everybody honest, dry-erase markers allow them to play over and over, and play is fast and hilarious. Launch date: November 2011.
Awards: 2012 Game of the YEAR (Party games category) from Creative Child Magazine

A game for 4 players in which players attempt to give their opponent clues from a list of words that all relate to the secret hidden word. First team to guess the hidden word wins the round and first to win three wins the game. The challenge is to make sure players don't give the easiest clues too early or their opponents may steal the word. Launch date: July 2012.
Awards: 2012 Games Magazine TOP 100 - Word game category