TDmonthly's ToyFair 2006 Preview--Board Games Product Category

Little Thunder Witch by HABA USA/HABERMAASS CORP.

Who will be first to get to Witch's Mountain? Two to four players take turns testing their memory and advancing toward the mountain. Kids roll the dice and find the cards that match what they rolled to win. Little Thunder Witch can be played in three variations. Game play is approximately 15 minutes. "The wooden game pieces are made in Germany using native reforested woods and nontoxic water based stains, not paint," Lisa Orman, president of KidStuff Public Relations, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $14.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

JENGA® DONKEY KONG™: Collector's Edition by USAOPOLY

JENGA® DONKEY KONG™: Collector’s Edition gives fans the chance to spin, balance, and build their way to the top to save Pauline from DONKEY KONG. Donkey Kong Jenga is the first and only game that allows fans to experience Jenga’s “hold on to your seat” excitement with a classic Donkey Kong video game twist, which puts players to the task of saving Pauline from Donkey Kong using Mario playing pieces. 10/27/2008 (Price: $24.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Grand Corral by INTERNATIONAL PLAYTHINGS LLC

Grand Corral allows players to learn about the wonderful world of horses, while answering challenging and interesting multiple choice or true/false trivia questions. Each time a player correctly answers a question, he claims one of 25 horse play figures from the beautifully-illustrated corral, and proudly display it in his own paddock. A player must collect the most horses to win. Kids and adults will enjoy learning about the various horse breeds, where they live, how they develop, how they’re cared for and how they are ridden. "Grand Corral is one of the only board games in existence that focuses entirely on horse lovers," Nicole Tiedemann, PR account executive for International Playthings, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $19.99)

Baseball Board Game - New Edition by FUN GAMES INC.

Players roll the dice and hit a single, double, triple or Home Run and win, just like real baseball. Each time the dice are rolled, the tokens will move according to the outcome of the total on the dice. Depending on the outcome, the tokens will make a move based on the commonly known rules of baseball. The object of the game is to score the highest number or runs possible to beat one or more competitors. It includes instructions, two dice, a baseball diamond, nine playing pieces per player, a scoreboard card, a statistical sheet per team, two dry-erase markers, an official Baseball's Board Game sticker and a Baseball's Board Game Cup. Players "will feel the passion of playing baseball in winter, summer and all the seasons," Aurelio Rodriguez, marketing director for Fun Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $24.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Top Race by Îlot 307 inc.

Top Race promises hours of racecar thrills. Players send the racing cars down the track, ready for anything in their quest to get to the top of the podium, and use the advanced rules to thwart their opponents. They go on to win if they bet on the right drivers. The easy-to-learn game was created by German designer Wolfgang Kramer. Launch date: September 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $40) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Stratum by FAMILY GAMES INC.

Strategy skills get stepped up a notch when space runs out on the board. The game continues on top of the previously played pieces. Following specific layering laws, each player tries to cover up their opponent's pieces. In the end, the more exposed player comes out the winner. It's "a strategy game that's fun for the whole family," Jackie Aubut, director of sales for Family Games, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 20, 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $29.99)

Tic Tac Chec 2008 by DREAM GREEN

This award-winning chess teaching tool is now in a zippered cloth bag and ready to take along at a moments notice. The board has been redesigned to hold the pieces not in play at either side. This game received a Dr. Toy Top 10 Games Award in 1997 and an EDUSOURCE Top 10 Games Award in 1999, and a National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA) in 2003. Launch date: October 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $19.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Froggie Checkers by DOWLING MAGNETS

In this classic strategy game, players hop around the pond with their frog friends. It allows children to explore the boggy pond with their colorful and funny frogs. Players move their game pieces across the pond to win the game. "Our clever twist with magnets makes this game great for small hands; the magnets stack up high and the winner can clearly be seen. The magnetic pieces also help to make this game great for travel," Jessica McCulligh, in marketing at Dowling Magnets, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2008. 10/27/2008 (Price: $14.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Kanoodle by EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS INC.

The Kanoodle case holds two solitaire games that challenge the player to build colorful 2D puzzles and 3D pyramids. Once a child picks a design from the included puzzle book, he or she puts some of the pieces into place as shown, then fills the empty spots with the remaining pieces. Only one of hundreds of possible combinations actually completes the puzzle.
— Three of 68 specialty retailers named Kanoodle when asked about their top-selling toy or game in October 2008.
— Dean Smith, co-owner of JaZams in Pennington, N.J., told TDmonthly in October 2008 his store sells about 24 units of Kanoodle each month. ( Watch Video) 10/17/2008 (Price: $10.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Groovy Tube Book™: Knights and Castles by INNOVATIVEKIDS

Was King Arthur real? What were the coolest weapons that knights carried? How were castles built? And what was the best way to capture one? Kids will learn the answers to these questions along with countless other facts in this fascinating introduction to the world of medieval knights and castles. It includes 16 custom chess pieces, a 24-page fact-book and two games: Chess and Capture the Castle. Launch date: September 2008. 9/29/2008 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Monsterpocalypse by PRIVATEER PRESS

Monsterpocalypse is a fast-moving, action-packed strategy game played with high quality collectible miniatures portraying the most fearsome giant monsters ever imagined. Each battle takes place in a city, which opposing players construct by placing models of buildings on a city map. Players will then build their force from their respective collection of models. Each force will consist of a giant monster model, and several supporting units (tanks, flying vehicles or creatures — depending upon which of the themed factions you decide to play). Purchasing Booster Boxes will expand your collection, giving you more tactical options and abilities to better suit your strategy. Launch date: October 10, 2008. ( Watch Video) 9/25/2008

Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition by HASBRO INC.

This world-class MONOPOLY game for two to six players take participants to global cities on six continents. Each player has a MONOPOLY credit card, plus a digital device that acts as a bank to track the balance. It requires two AA batteries (not included). 9/24/2008 (Price: $34.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Spy Alley Junior by SPY ALLEY PARTNERS LLC

This action-packed, hidden-identity game is geared to please the younger crowd. Assuming the identity of one of six spies, each player uses the die and moves cards to move around the gameboard. If a player lands on the same colored space as his/her opponent, he/she may take a guess of the opponents identity. If the guess is correct, the opponent is out of the game. The winner is the last player remaining. The game "focuses on bluffing and guessing," Bill Stephenson, president of Spy Alley Partners, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 1, 2008. 9/19/2008 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Smithsonian: Be the Expert Game by PRESSMAN TOY CORP.

Features hundreds of color photographs of art and artifacts found at the Smithsonian museums. Study the items on your assignment card, then guess which one doesn’t fit. Use the decoder/magnifier to see if you’re right as you try to be the first expert to reach finish. For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. 9/11/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Smithsonian: Pandamania Game by PRESSMAN TOY CORP.

Race to gather the food your panda needs. When you land on a bamboo space, activate the mother panda to come down the tree. She may help you win. Learn interesting panda facts as you play the game. For 2 to 4 players, ages 5 and up. 9/11/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Office Trivia Game by PRESSMAN TOY CORP.

Based on the hit NBC-TV show starring Steve Carell, players race around the office visiting cubicles and answering questions about the adventures and misadventures of its unique characters. Includes a “Support the Rabid” rubber bracelet—as seen on the show—that players get when they win the “5K” race. For 2 to 6 adult players. 9/11/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Office DVD Board Game by PRESSMAN TOY CORP.

Join the cast of NBC’s hit show “The Office” in a DVD game that features some of your favorite scenes. Answer questions about the clips to earn Schrute bucks as you move along a game board that Dwight himself created. There’s seven different kinds of questions for lots of variety.  For 2 to 6 adult players. 9/11/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Mega Zillio by ZILLIO

Zillio has 12 colorful staircases based upon multiplication tables. The visual and tactile relationships between steps enable kids to discover and master difficult math concepts as they learn and play with 10 essential math skills. Mega Zillio is the larger version of the Mini Zillio. It handles numbers up to 60, and measures 27" x 27" x 12". It does everything the Mini does but can have up to 6 players at a time and the same games included require more challenging play and problem solving to come out on top. 9/10/2008 (Price: $199.95)

Mini Zillio by ZILLIO

Zillio has 12 colorful staircases based upon multiplication tables. The visual and tactile relationships between steps enable kids to discover and master difficult math concepts as they learn and play with 10 essential math skills.  Mini Zillio handles numbers up to 36, and measures 18" x 18" x 8", compared to Mega Zillio's 27" x 27" x 12.5". For up to 4 players at a time.
Awards: 2010 Tillywig Brain Child ( Watch Video) 9/10/2008 (Price: $99.95)

Mansuba: Challenge of the Paraohs by RED JUGGERNAUT, INC

Mansuba: Challenge of the Pharaohs  is the second board game set in the World of Terris. In it players learn the ancient Fey game of the Imouha Pharaohs. Become the first player to move your pieces across the board, beguiling opponent’s pieces in the process. Speed and daring play will win the game, but beware lest your pieces be beguiled in turn. 9/3/2008

Battue: Walls of Tarsos by RED JUGGERNAUT, INC

Battue: Walls of Tarsos is the first expansion for Battue: Storm of the Horse Lords, a strategy board game for 2-4 players. As the battle deepens, players will find new challenges to overcome and more rewards for success. Although the goal, to loot the richest sections of town to prove your right to lead the Golden Horde, is the same, the means to that end are much different. Rivals arise and defenders band together within the city to prevent the pillage. All of Red Juggernaut’s games are set in the world of Terris, a world where everyone can perform enchantments and powerful ritualists shape society. 9/3/2008 (Price: $24.99)

Battue: Storm of the Horse Lords by RED JUGGERNAUT, INC

Rooted in the World of Terris, a brutal, dark fantasy setting envisioned by authors Robin Laws and Scott Hungerford, Battue: Storm of the Horse Lords is a strategy board game in which players take control of a horde of Horse Lords bent on looting Tarsos, the City of Brass Pillars. This strategy game is easy-to-learn, fast-playing, fun, and keeps players involved in the game even when it’s not their turn. The player who manages to control the choicest sections of the city and has the most loot at the end of the game is the winner. Further expansions will introduce new rules and options as well as allow additional players to join the game. 9/3/2008 (Price: $49.99)

Retsami by MINDGAMMON INC

This two-player, strategic board game has only four rules and challenges players to out-think and out-move their opponent. Launch date: August 12, 2008. 8/27/2008 (Price: $19.95)

JUMBULAYA: The Rearranging, Ever-Changing Word Jumble Game by LEGENDARY GAMES

JUMBULAYA is an award-winning, multi-faceted word strategy game in which players rearrange, add, and trade tiles on the board to build and claim longer and longer words each turn. As players build words horizontally, they also look for a Jumbulaya - a word of seven or more tiles that can be seen vertically on the game board. "Jumbulaya is a word strategy game where players need to THINK ON MULTIPLE LEVELS simultaneously," said Karl Archer, CEO and cofounder of Platypus Games. "It incorporates strategy into the game play, as players are able to add, as well as remove, tiles from the board and think many moves ahead in order to try to win." It has won a 2008 Mensa Select Gold Seal and iParenting Media Award. Launch date: 12/15/2007. 8/25/2008 (Price: $29.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Way Things Work by INTERNATIONAL PLAYTHINGS LLC

Kids can figure out how things work as they play. Based on David Macaulay's best-selling book, this game is chock full of materials for curious kids. Multiple levels of play allow for a quick game for beginners or more involved competitions — including mechanical experiments — for more advanced players. "The Way Things Work uniquely combines childhood play with real scientific learning. From fact building, to experiences, kids will learn firsthand 'the way things work' while having fun!" Nicole Tiedemann, PR coordinator for R&J Public Relations, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2007. 8/21/2008 (Price: $24.99)