December 2012 Notable Toys — Board Games

Laser Maze is an innovative new game that integrates the use of laser beams into a mind-challenging logic game. 60 challenges flex strategic thinking muscles and ignite the light both on the grid and in players' minds.

Where to buy:
NORTH EAST

In Co-opoly: The Game of Cooperatives, players collaborate to found and run a democratic business. In order to survive as individuals and to strive for the success of their co-op, players make tough choices regarding big and small challenges while putting their teamwork abilities to the test. This is an exciting game of skill and solidarity, where everyone wins – or everybody loses. By playing Co-opoly, players discover the unique benefits, challenges, and operations of the cooperative world – as well as the skills needed to participate in a co-op.

eeBoo's newest Spinner Game is an instant classic that the Sugar Plum Fairy herself would adore. The Dancing Game comes with four different dancers, and with each, a different style of dance: salsa, jazz, step or ballet. After each player has selected a dancer, she must spin for all of the items her dancer needs to perform: costume, bag, bouquet, head piece and music. Collect all the pieces to win, but if you miss a beat – miss a turn.

Categories is a friendly new game, created by children's book illustrator Saxton Freymann, that invites children to exercise their minds while enjoying a fun group activity. Each of the 60 image cards has a charming, often hilarious illustration of a character –a pig, duck, a frog, bug, monkey, rabbit, dog, cat or person – involved in an activity. Children must group cards in sets of three based on shared features. For instance, cards that feature instruments, hats, balls, wheels, hat or the same animal can go together, and cards can often be grouped together in more than one way. Whoever is able to make the most categories with the cards they have wins.

Have you heard - Word's out? It’s the fast, fun, easy to play word game for the whole family. Just roll the dice, then find a letter in the 'Lettergraph' on the game board. If that letter matchers one in your word card, place a chip on the Corresponding space. Players may get to remove an opponent’s chip, swap words, or lose one of their own chips. Be the first player to 'spell out' the word and that player wins the game. Words Out is about having fun with letters and words, and for the younger players what a great way to learn.

Loved by players of every age and skill level, the goal of Sudoku - a fun, addictive logic game - is to fill all 81 spaces on the 9x9 playing area with numbers, such that all digits 1-9 are used once per row, per column and per 3x3 region. Designed with balance in mind, our innovative approach to Sudoku equally engages both halves of the brain - the right side works on numerical challenges and reasoning while the left side focuses on color patterns and creativity. Although the large game board and colorful numbered pieces are designed to be enjoyed collaboratively with a partner, it's just as fun to play individually. Each Set includes: 1) Game Board (11.4" x 11.4") with Colored areas easy to distinguish each 3x3 region and indented round spaces to keep everything in place. 2) Round Game Pieces (216) includes, 81 primary game pieces which are identifiable by both colors and numbers and has a black or white star on its reverse side for use in other games, and 135 secondary game pieces with 15 of each number which are smooth and can move and slide easily. 3) Covered Storage Tray for easy to organize and store game pieces with ergonomic, rounded design which makes accessing the smooth game pieces easy. 4) Sukugo® Booklet with game instructions and 100 Sudoku games (10 levels of difficulty) and solutions. And 5) Carrying Case with Padded, zipper-closing case fits easily on a bookshelf and external pocket holds game piece tray and booklet.

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.

Flip2BFit is the first and only fitness board game in the market today!  Flip2BFit helps to fight childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle through an interactive board game – no gym or video game needed!  Kids learn about nutrition, develop self-esteem, confidence and leadership skills by performing the activities in the game.  The object of Flip2BFit is to travel through the park to meet “Springer” the dinosaur at the playground.  To do this, each player is required to perform a yoga pose, stretch, cardio move or strength training exercise.  Learning is achieved through the discovery of movement.
Awards: 2012 PTPA - Parent Tested Parent Approved; 2012 Kidlution - Solutions for Kids

The Sukugo game set is for social Sudoku game. Designed with balance in mind, our innovative approach to Sudoku equally engages both halves of the brain - the left side works on numerical challenges and reasoning while the right side focuses on color patterns and creativity. Although the large game board and colorful numbered pieces are designed to be enjoyed collaboratively with a partner, it’s just as fun to play individually. Launch date: October 2012.

Rock the spots to today’s hottest music with the Twister Dance Game. Learn dances by following the Twister spots to songs like "Till the World Ends" by Britney Spears or "Whip My Hair" by Willow. Or kids can dance to their own music by connecting the game to any MP3 player (sold separately).

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.

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.

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.

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.

In this calorie-free contest, players aim to build the largest area of their favorite kind of chocolate (milk, white or dark), one tile at a time. Players must be careful...Sugar-craving adversaries will try to disrupt their plans by getting their delicious treats out first. Launch date: 2012.

Space Checkers combines the luck of dice with the strategy of checkers. Players capture opponents' flying saucers by jumping over them. The first race to collect any 10 ships wins the game. Launch date: June 2012.
Awards: 2012 Tillywig Best Family Fun Award

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

Two players co-star as they attempt to get the audience to guess 6 phrases. Trouble is, each only has half the phrase and it's up to the audience players to put it all together. Lots of laughs and fun in this charageous game for 3-8 players. Launch date: July 2012.
Awards: 2012 Games Magazine Top 100 - Party games category

Who will pluck the most popular pairs? Each player gets 60 seconds to pair up 11 images at the same time. 5 pairs and one bad apple. Players gain points by matching the most other players with the same pairs. Launch date: July 2012.
Awards: 2012 - Best Party game of the Year from Games Magazine; 2012 - Best Family Game of the Year from Creative Child.

Re-embark in the Map it! adventure with the Map it!-USA Edition. The same amusing, educative and exciting game as Map-It! World, but with less jet-lag. Launch date: 2012.