TDmonthly Magazine!
October 2012 | Vol. XI - No. 10


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Top-10 Most-Wanted Card Games

Spot It from Blue Orange Games Dealt the Best Hand


With additional reporting from Chris Lundy and Brenda Ruggiero

When TDmonthly Magazine interviewed retailers about their Top-10 best selling card games, six of the 12 retailers we spoke with said that Spot It from BLUE ORANGE continued to be the best seller.

Other perennial favorite that made the list included Set from SET ENTERPRISES and Anomia from ANOMIA PRESS.

Take a closer look at these and the other Top-10 Most-Wanted Card Games below, and decide if they'd be a good fit for your store.

No manufacturer paid to be included in this article. All products listed were designated by editorial staff without regard to the company's relationship with TOYDIRECTORY.com/TDmonthly Magazine.




Age Range: 6 and up
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: General Games
Card Games



Spot It is a party game for two to eight players. It's played by laying a random assortment of cards on the table and all players racing to find one image that matches between two cards. This fast-paced game is designed to never be the same twice, and though it has very few rules to remember it requires a sharp eye to master. The set of 55 round cards transports in its own carry tin. Watch Spot It: Top-5 Video, Toy Fair 2010
— Spot It has been been a top seller for retailers surveyed by TDmonthly since early Spring 2010.
— In a March 2012 survey, 3 out of 12 retailers told TDmonthly that Spot It was their overall best selling product, and had been for more than a year.
— Dean Smith, Co-owner of JaZams in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2011 survey that he sells 50-60 copies of Spot It each month.
Awards: 2010 TDmonthly Top Seller, Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

Where to buy:
SOUTH
NORTH EAST
NORTH WEST
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 27018      (added 2/11/2010)
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MSRP: $12.00
Age Range: 6 to 99
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: Card Games
General Games



SET is a board game where any table becomes the board. It is a highly addictive, original game of visual perception. The goal is to be the first to see a SET from the 12 cards laid face up on the table. A SET is three cards that are either all the same or all different in each individual feature. With no turns and no luck, SET is challenging, fast and fun!
Players 1 to 20 (or as many as can fit around a table)
Ages 6 to 99
— “It's a really great game, one that we sell day in and day out,” Sally Lesser, owner of Henry Bear’s Park in Massachusetts, told TDmonthly in spring 2007.
—  Two of 63 retailers mentioned Set when asked about their overall best-selling toy or game in September 2008. Ten of 64 retailers named Set as a best-selling card game in August 2008, and more than 25 percent of 38 retailers said the same in late summer 2009. In Feb. 2010, five of 38 retailers cited it as a top-selling game.
— “[Set is] popular mainly because all ages can play it at the same time,” pointed out Greg Bonner, owner of Heights Toy Center in Little Rock, Ark., in summer 2008.
— In a late summer 2010 TDmonthly survey, 23 percent of 43 retailers surveyed named SET a best-selling card game.
AWARDS: 2010 TDmonthly Top Seller; 2007 TDmonthly Classic
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 4570      (added 9/13/2005)
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MSRP: $19.99
Age Range: 10 and up
Specialty: Yes (as of 2012)
Made in: China
SKU or Item #: 19261
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: Family Games
Board Games
Adult Games



In the Old West, the sly snake oil salesman had a special talent: he could get the most skeptical customer to buy the most dubious product. Now players can have their turn, inventing their own crazy two-word products and selling them to all types of customers. If the customer buys a product, the player wins. With over 280 wild words and 70 oddball customers, players will never run out of new combinations. Launch date: November 2010.
Awards: 2012 Mensa Select; 2012 Dr. Toy; 2012 Toy Man Seal of Excellence
— In a late Summer 2012 survey, Charles from Miller's Toys in Mamoronec, N.Y., told TDmonthly that Snake Oil is one of their top-2 best selling card games. They sell about 2 dozen copies a month.
— As of 12/6/2012 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 2 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Fun for all ages.
— Gary Green, owner of Toy Box of Asheville Inc in Asheville, N.C., told TDmonthly in a February 2015 survey that Snake Oil was his store's best-selling game.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 34548      (added 7/3/2012)
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MSRP: $19.99
Age Range: 4 and up
Specialty: Yes (as of 2012)
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: Travel
General Games
Family Games



BINGO on the go. Choose an appropriate theme among the eight provided, slide a card into each game boards and pay attention to the passing scenery. Includes two game boards and four double-sided game cards. There are no loose pieces and everything stores conveniently in the board. Great for travel.
— Laura Turman, owner of One Two Kangaroo in Shepherdstown, W.Va., told TDmonthly in an April 2012 survey that Travel Bingo is her best selling travel toy.
— In a late Summer 2012 survey, Mike Castor, owner of Pentwater Toybox in Pentwater, Mich., told TDmonthly that they sold 71 travel bingo sets in the past three months.
— In an April 2013 survey, two out of 12 retailers told TDmonthly that Travel Bingo from Melissa & Doug is their bestselling travel toy.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 34060      (added 4/6/2012)
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MSRP: $12.95
Age Range: 7 and up
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: General Games



In this classic party game, two or more players roll the dice to score points and try to avoid “pigging out” so they don’t lose their points. It comes with two pig dice, a score pad and guide, two pencils and a plastic carrying case.
— “Every time we get it, it's crazy,” Donna Cole of Kaleidoscope Toys in Salida, Colo., told TDmonthly in May 2008.
— “Our best-selling game has always been Pass the Pigs,” said Joel Hardy, co-owner of Magpie Toys in Red Lodge, Mont., noting that they “display it vertically on a shelf.”
— In a late Summer 2012 survey, Mike Castor, owner of Pentwater Toybox in Pentwater, Mich., told TDmonthly that Pass the Pig was their second-best selling card game.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 19069      (added 5/29/2008)
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MSRP: $16.00
Age Range: 10 and up
Launch Date: September 2009
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: General Games
Card Games



Anomia is a  game where common knowledge becomes uncommonly fun. Anomia plays off the fact that our minds are positively brimming with all sorts of random information: things to eat, pop songs, websites, etc... Sure, under normal circumstances, it's easy enough to give an example of a frozen food, or a dog breed; but you will find that your brain works a little differently under pressure. Easy to learn, fun to play over and over again, Anomia will have any group of friends, family, even perfect strangers, shouting and laughing out loud as they try to beat each other to the punch. It can be your turn at any time and anyone can be your opponent.  For 3 to 6 players. One round lasts about 30 minutes. Launch date: Fall 2009.
—  They sell "15 to 20" Anomia games per month at Magic Box in New Orleans, said manager James Dello Stritto in early 2011.
—  Four of 12 retailers who attended ASTRA 2010 named Anomia as one of their favorite products at the show.
—  “Anomia is really great; I’ve been told for the last year to get it,” said Kristen Pollard, owner of Mudpuddle Toys in Marblehead, Mass., in summer 2010.
— In an August 2010 survey, nine percent of 43 retailers said Anomia is a card game best seller. Barbara Fineblum, owner of Barston’s Child’s Play in Baltimore, Md., told TDmonthly the same month that her store sold 89 Anomia games in one month.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 26705      (added 1/14/2010)
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MSRP: $8.00
Age Range: 10 and up
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: Card Games
General Games
Puzzles & Skill



This ever-popular card game has people from around the world in search of their own pack. Wizard is similar to the card game Hearts. Three to six players try to correctly guess the number of tricks, or bids, one would win in each round. Points are awarded for correct predictions and the person with the most points wins. Wizard has been named one of the top 100 games five times by Toys & Games Magazines. The Wizard craze has caught on world-wide - the “World Wizard Tournament” was held in Toronto on July 10, 2004.
— In a late Summer 2012 survey, Greg Larson, owner of Larson's Toys and Games in Columbus, Ohio, told TDmonthly that Wizard was one of his top-two best selling card games.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 666      (added 11/30/2004)
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Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: Card Games



Conceived by a German eye doctor to teach his daughter how to count and identify colors, this game has been around for about 40 years and people just keep on coming back for more.
— Greg Larson, owner of Larson's Toys and Games in Columbus, Ohio, told TDmonthly in 2012 and 2013 that Dutch Blitz was one of his top-two best-selling card games.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 1756      (added 12/9/2004)
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MSRP: $9.95
Age Range: 8 and up
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: Card Games



A royally rousing card game! Sleeping Queens is a fun new strategy game invented by an eight-year old. The Pancake Queen, the Ladybug Queen and ten of their closest friends have fallen under a sleeping spell and it´s your job to wake them up. Use quick thinking and a little luck to wake these napping nobles from their royal slumbers. Play a knight to steal a queen or take a chance on a juggling jester. But watch out for wicked potions and dastardly dragons! The player who wakes the most queens wins.
— Tova Rubin, manager at Toytraders in Lakewood, N.J., said this is one of her top-selling card games.
— This is a popular choice at White Rabbit Toys in Ann Arbor, Mich., according to store manager Cheri Sims.
— Casey Sartain, son and buyer at Tutoring Toy in Salt Lake City, attributes the success of this game to the fact that a younger group can play it and that they enjoy the action of slapping cards down on the pile.
— Seven percent of 43 retailers named Sleeping Queens a top-selling card game in a summer 2010 TDmonthly survey. In August 2010, Shana Hack, owner of Moon Rabbit Toys in Santa Fe, New Mex., told TDmonthly her store sells about 12 Sleeping Queens games per month.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 1957      (added 12/21/2004)
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Age Range: 6 and up
Gender: Boys And Girls
Category: General Games



Kids flip and stack this clever loaf of cards to build slamwiches and double deckers. Tomato, lettuce, tomato ... slap! The player who gets there first will win the pile. But he’ll have to catch the thief and stop the muncher from stealing a stack of cards. When he’s out of cards, he’s out of the game. The first player to collect all the cards wins. Slamwich teaches reading readiness skills, such as visual discrimination and sequencing. While kids are flipping and stacking cards, they're actually learning how to recognize a series, make combinations, and anticipate what might happen. "Slamwich includes bread-shaped, die-cut cards. It's a fast-playing card game. It's also Gamewright's first card game," said Jason Schneider, product development and marketing manager for Gamewright.
—    Rosie Morris, manager of Whiz Kid Toys in San Luis Obispo, Calif., told TDmonthly to watch out for Gamewright, naming Slamwich as one of their hottest 2006 sales items.
—    "We have a lot of card games from Gamewright. One of the better ones is Slamwich," Shirley Reilly, owner of Let's Play in Hillsboro, Ore., told TDmonthly. In an August 2008 survey of 64 retailers, storeowners reported average sales of about a dozen per month. Six named Slamwich as a best-selling card game.
— In August 2010, five of 43 retailers surveyed cited Slamwich as a best-selling card game.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 10251      (added 11/27/2006)
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Justina HuddlestonWriter's Bio: Justina Huddleston graduated Magna Cum Laude from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing in 2009. After graduating she was the on-site director of the Boston Children's Museum gift store for a year, selling educational, developmental, and creative activity toys that tied in with the museum's exhibits. Justina also interned at children's book publisher Candlewick Press before moving from Boston to Los Angeles, where she is now Editorial Director of TDmonthly Magazine. Read more articles by this author


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