May 2010 New Specialty Toys — All

The adorable 10” Snuffles is celebrating his 30th birthday with a special commemorative medallion. This cuddly bear is ready to show his affection with two colors: frosted-tip, caramel plush fur or frosted-tip, chocolate plush fur.
— Joe Berardoni Jr., owner of Pun's Toys in Bryn Mawr, Pa., told TDmonthly that their best-selling plush is Snuffles.

There is more Snuffles to love with the 15” 30th Birthday Snuffles, which features a special 30th birthday commemorative medallion. Available in frosted-tip, caramel plush fur or frosted-tip, chocolate plush fur.
— Rick Henry, owner of Stellabella Toys in Cambridge, Mass., and three other toy stores, says they sell about12 brown Snuffles per month.

The classic GUND icon Snuffles is celebrating his 30th birthday in 2010 and GUND has created a high-end one-of-a-kind Snuffles valued at $10,000 and one of the largest Snuffles ever made. Draped in diamonds, the 30th Birthday One-of-a-Kind Snuffles is wearing a birthday necklace of real diamonds totaling nearly 10 carats on a white gold chain. This 10” Snuffles is made from soft white alpaca fur, features genuine leather accents on the nose, and eyes of 100% Tahitian pearls.

The Mystic Treasure Chest the players seek sits on the altar behind the Guardian Ghoul. Players must complete challenges of the ancients to earn the right to try and open the Chest. They must also choose a mystic key carefully, as only one will unlock the chest to reveal the gold coins and any other key will wake up the guardian bringing the sleeping skull to life. The skull’s teeth grind, clatter and bang while his eyes wobble and shrieks a warning at the player who dares try to steal his treasure. For 2 to 4 players.

Princess slippers are made from metallic sequin knit with a foam sole and non-skid vinyl bottom. Decorated with marabou and roses. *Winner of the 2010 Children's Choice Award- Best Toy In Pretend Play", by the Canadian Toy Testing Council.

Grateful Dead-Opoly was created by music industry veteran and longtime Grateful Dead associate Debbie Gold, and includes artwork by comic book illustrator Timothy Truman. Each game comes with a VIP Pass and tokens that include a guitar, drum, amp, a tour bus and even Bob Weir’s dog, Otis. Players circle the board, attempting to acquire album-themed properties. Along the way, they might catch a show at Winterland, hang in the Parking Lot or even get thrown Off the Bus. Grateful Dead fans will surely appreciate the game's attention to detail. For 2 to 6 players.

Discovery Bay Games partnered with Broadway Video Enterprises to produce this “Saturday Night Live” board game. The SNL game allows players to choose content from their favorite SNL era (70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s) in order to compete in interactive challenges and answer trivia questions.

Designed after old-fashioned farms in Germany and Holland, this high quality cardboard farm from Calafant USA is a pretty large home for the farmer, his family and all his animals. Made from recycled material and is 100% biodegradable.

This Halo has a comb to affix it to a child's head and is adorned with bows, flowers, ribbon and rhinestones.

This two-in-one kit for "Following Directions" and "ABCs and Simple Shapes" was developed by an occupational therapist and contains 20 hands-on games in a no-spill carrying case. It's designed to get children prepared for school through activities such as ABC fishing, letter building, turn taking, coloring on bumpy line pages to enhance concentration, and more. It comes with an illustrated guide for parents.

Part zoo adventure, part songbook and part early confidence builder, through this musical journey, children can appreciate their individuality and have loads of fun along the way. Dance routine, CD and sheet music included.

Musically motivate toddlers to get out of their diapers and onto the toilet seat with a bouncing island beat that will have children motivated to transition from diapers to the toilet. A full musical CD and sheet music are included.

Take a trek through the deserts of Arabia. Traverse the desert, capturing wild animals to sell at the city markets. The journey is harsh and the desert sands can shift without warning. Can you make the biggest offering when the pilgrim arrives in Mecca? Don't get too far behind, or you'll be lost in the desert. For 3-6 players. Play time: 45-60 min. For ages 10 and up.

It's Fair time. Send your pickers and gardeners into the orchards for the best fruit. But watch out for the raccoon, or they may return empty handed! Pick the most fruit to attract special visitors to your farm. They'll help you send your fruit on to the fair. Whoever makes the best showing wins first prize. For 3-5 players. Play time: 45-60 min. For ages 10 and up.

Fly the crowded skies of Europe. Claim important airlinks from city to city across the countryside. Assign your airplanes to a path that satisfies the public demand for air travel. To keep adding planes to your fleet will take money, and that means claiming some of the profitable short flights before you can try for the more valuable long flights. In the end, the player who can best manage both money and airlines will be the winner. For 2-6 players. Play time: 90-120 min. For ages 12 and up.

This small reading couch for kids comes with red or blue cushions and includes storage with tubs underneath the seating and slots to hold books along the back. The bench is 11" high and the couch is 18.5" wide, 42" long and 23.5" high. Launch date: February 2010.

Ninja Batty Shogun flies around at night with his best pal Ice-Bat, he does up the real dealio in an actual Ninja costume. No red flames, stripes or other crazy decorations. No spelling Ninja with a “Z” at the end. Just straight up stealth mode; that’s how he rolls. No sword though, those are sharp!
Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010. Launch date: 2010.

Cosmos' parents are getting a divorce. Cosmos has a lot of questions! Is it his fault? Where will he live? What will happen? Tips & interactive play therapies at end of book.

Chloe's new baby brother is coming home from the hospital! Chloe doesn't know what to expect, but she’ll be a big sister, and that is a very important job! Tips & interactive play therapies at end of book.

Will Danny like his new house, his new school and his new friends? Discover with Danny that although moving can be scary it can also be fun and exciting. Tips and interactive play therapies at end of book.

Cartoon DVD vignettes on behavioral issues along with a coloring and puzzle book. This set mainly focuses in on valuable lessons for young children such as lending a helping hand, the importance of paying attention, sharing with friends, and being polite.

The Curse of Pirate Island is designed to encourage young adventurers to dig up buried treasure. Will they find jewels? Gold? Something else? Variations in buried items and creepy surprises will keep young treasure hunters coming back for more. The Excavation Set features a sand-based island with buried treasure box. Children dig using a stainless steel hammer and chisel to uncover treasure. The excavation glasses add to the "archeological experience." "Most of our competitors use plaster digging blocks. Plaster is extremely messy and gets everywhere! Our Sandblocks are made of a course sand that is dust free and easy to clean up," Andrew Tober, Director of Creative Development, BSW Toy Inc., told TDmonthly.

Children can use a real, kid-sized motorized pottery wheel to shape clay creations. It includes a foot pedal for speed control, six colors of paint, two lbs. of clay, cutting/sculpting tools and complete instructions on how to throw and mold bowls and vases. The compact dimensions of the electrically operated wheel let kids use it anywhere they like, and it runs on batteries if a plug isn’t handy. An AC adapter is included, or it uses 8 C batteries (not included). "This pottery wheel has the most powerful motor in the market," Andrew Tober, Director of Creative Development, BSW Toy Inc., told TDmonthly.

This window-climbing robot scoffs at the forces of gravity, using suction cups built into its feet to climb up, down, around and even upside down smooth surfaces like windows, mirrors and metal file cabinets. It requires 2 AAA batteries. Instructions for product can be found sandwiched between the cardboard insert that includes important battery replacement directions.