February 2009 New Specialty Toys — General Games

Two to four players must travel through the remote jungles of the Amazon River, identifying greater-than and less-than fractions while avoiding obstacles. Two levels of play allow students to gain understanding of fractions with denominators of halves through twenty-fourths.

This set of 55 blocks adds variety to the classic move-a-block-and-don't-let-the-tower-fall game with colored pieces and rules that involve rolling dice and moving a block of the same color shown.

Players race to say a common phrase using one word from the previous phrase. If a player pauses, the horn honks and he or she has to give up a link. The player with the most links when the first player is out wins The Chain Game! Fast, fresh and free flowing . . . The Chain Game is the link that brings friends and family together. Launch date: 2008.

Gold Digger sets two to five anxious prospectors on a quest to find their fortunes in gold. Picking the right mines will yield a conucopia of riches, but players must beware of fool's gold! This game has received the following awards: 2004 Traditional Games 100, 2004 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and Canadian Toy Testing Council Three Star Award. Launch date: 2003.

In a flurry of no-holds-barred trading, only the crafiest players will survive in this stock-taking, deal-making game. The first player claiming majority control is the winner. "The players control the entire game," Leah Osterhaus, VP of marketing for Out of the Box Publishing, told TDmonthly. It has won the following awards: 2004 Games 100, 2004 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, 2004 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Product, 2004 Parenting for High Potential Recommended, and 2004 Canadian Toy Testing Council Three Star Award. Launch date: 2004.

This innovative card game plays like a ball game and sends action in all directions. Players send a card to another player and see if they have what it takes to respond. "Pepper is based on the familiar playground game of four-square. It is a simple card game that is great for families," Leah Osterhaus, VP of marketing for Out of the Box Publishing, told TDmonthly. The game earned a 2006 Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence. Launch date: 2006.

First printed in 1903, Gavitt's Stock Exchange is an exciting card game that challenges three to six players to be the first to get all the cards of one railway line, call out "Topeka" and win the hand. It received a 2003 Major Fun Award as well as a 2003 Best Classic Toy Award from Dr. Toy. Launch date: 2003.

Kids can track the ball, take aim, swing the weight, IMPACT and score. In this game of skill and eye-hand coordination, players may swing too soon or too late and miss. Timing a swing just right earns points, and the highest score wins. Launch date: 2009.

Kids can make trick shots just like the pros, amazing and challenging their friends as well as themselves. The product is easy to assemble and comes with step-by-step instructions. Launch date: 2009.

In this bean bag game of skill and accuracy, kids have the chance to choose their strategy — get three in a row to win or UPSET your opponent before they win. Launch date: 2009.

Kids put their aiming skills to the test with this Shuffleboard-style tabletop game that's as fast as it is fun. The game includes dual-action bumpers for lightning-fast play. Launch date: November 2008.

This game balances fun with gravity. Players rotate the pivoting platforms to guide six steel balls and collect points, experiencing nerve-racking action as the balls begin to fall. "It's fully enclosed which makes for safe fun!" Janice Hudy, sales and marketing assistant for POOF-Slinky, told TDmonthly. "It comes with simple, easy-to-read game-playing instructions." Launch date: November 2008.

This spinner lets kids determine their own fate with chores around the house. Possbilities include "wash the dishes," "feed the pets," "mow the lawn," "take out the trash" and more.

Shape the World is a game for everyone, everywhere. Using the universal language of shapes and numbers, imagination and simple shapes are combined to create images of objects in the world around us, providing economical and intergenerational play with no drawing skills required, and no advantage with age. Just a little luck gives all players a chance to win. Easily customized, players can shape their own world. For one to six players, each player has one minute to draw up something to fit the designated category using the shapes available. Players decide if the drawing fits the category or not.