May 2010 New Specialty Toys — Board Games

All players help a dreaming little boy, chased by tigers, collect all four teddy bears and a toy collection. Then, they get him back to bed before he wakes up. The game includes a board, tigers, candy, wake up card, little boy, card stand, toys, dream tools, and rules for basic and hard games.

Grump has taken the villagers' treasures and is now fast asleep at the top of the beanstalk. Together, players climb to the top to recover their treasures. If Grump is awakened, he takes back everything. Players share the treasures and leave some behind for Grump. Their kindness will help change him. The game is won when everyone has some of the treasure.
Awards: 1981 Canadian Toy Testing Council  Top Rating

Players help each other plant as big a flower garden as they can, and also help the Growlies find what they need most, so they don't pick and trash the flowers instead. With some sharing of ideas and talking over of strategies, players can will help change Crabby, Messy, Greedy, Stinky and Snobby into happier creatures. Each game unfolds differently. The game includes a board, 16 flowers, five growlies, a growly lodge, nine special items, scoresheets, a handy chart, and rules for regular and hard versions.

Players act as Camel Drivers, guiding caravans from their home village through the desert, gathering various valuable things to trade and sell in the city. The game includes a board, special dice, sandstorm card and holder, caravan movers, desert caravan collector card, and an assortment of special cards including tents, thieves, valuables, guards, camels, food, water and jeeps.

Players work as a team to feed the hungry bus passengers entering the diner. This game is quick-paced, original and challenging. It comes with three sets of rules, for younger children (5 to 7), middle years (7 to 12) and adults. "Our games foster the spirit of co-operation. Players help each other ... they are never against each other," Family Pastimes President Jim Deacove told TDmonthly.

The Tower of the Hand is the third installment of 40 fixed cards for the King’s Landing expansion to the A Game of Thrones card game, based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire saga. It contains 20 different never-before-seen cards designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the A Game of Thrones metagame. This is not a stand-alone deck. An A Game of Thrones: The Card Game core set is required to play. Launch date: July 22, 2009.

A Time of Trials is the second installment of 40 fixed cards for the King's Landing expansion to the A Game of Thrones card game, based on the George R.R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire saga. It contains 20 different never-before-seen cards designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the A Game of Thrones metagame. This is a not a stand-alone deck. An A Game of Thrones: The Card Game core set is required to play. Launch date: June 29, 2009.

In the game of Cornerstone, players build and climb towers in a race to reach the top. Each turn, players build by strategically placing blocks, gaining a better vantage point for their climber, or blocking an opponent as the towers grow taller and more unstable. Matt Mette, Co-Founder of Good Company Games, told TDmonthly, "This game is universally appealing." Awards: 2009 Mensa Select; Parents' Choice Silver Honor. Launch date: October 2008.

This game is part of eeBoo’s eco-friendly board games series and is designed to develop patience and number skills. Each player works his way around the solar system (game board) and collects one element from each of the planets to complete a space lab. Children can learn counting, judgment, cooperative play and taking turns, as well as strategy, planning ahead and how to win a race. Along with learning the names of the planets, their gases and the solar system, the game includes additional facts about each planet.

This is a game of collaboration, learning and discussion full of strategy, with each player making an important contribution. Set in 1895, players are a group of peaceful Christian villagers in Russia who drive wagons through the countryside, visiting homes to collect firewood and weapons for the building of ploughshares in the village center, all while avoiding confiscation and imprisonment by the Tsar's patrolling soldiers. The game includes a 17" x 17" board, special playing cards, movers, dice, collection chart, wagons, and rules for regular and advanced games.

Messages consists of three games for those who love playing with words and ideas. Players must express their cleverness, creativity and sense of humor by using symbol tokens to form picture phrases and sentences, known as rebuses. Players pool their ideas to make rebuses to fill the board, red spots add challenges, and each game played is a different experience. The package includes a 7.75" x 7.5" board, 100 symbol tokens, a glossary of suggested meanings, rules and a storage bag.

The adventure scenarios in this game are the actual journeys of such explorers as Marco Polo, Nansen, Scott, Drake and Cook. Players pick a journey, make preparations, assemble crews and venture forth together, each handling different aspects of the expedition. The package includes an 18" x 22" world map board, dice, a land and sea log of adventures, money, crew cards and assorted charts. Jim Deacove, president of Family Pastimes, told TDmonthly this product is "an educational eye-opener about the life of explorers — a good family and classroom game."

Twisty Word Fun! Lexigo is a challenging new game for word lovers from Wiggles 3D. All new high quality pouch for travel and tile drawing.  Players add letter tiles to a grid to spell out words. What's unique about this game is that words can be spelled in any direction – forwards, backwards or in a twisting path. Players can also bump each other's pawns off tiles to gain an edge in this fast-paced game.
Awards:  2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Gold Seal and Good Housekeeping Magazine Game of the Year.
Supported by the new Lexigo app for group play.  Bonus! Every purchase of the word tile game receives 'coins' for use in the app.al.

The 19th Century has arrived and Americans are heading west. Wagon trains are forming up and heading out to settle new lands and build new cities. These new cities will need railroad lines to bring in new people and necessary goods. Some head west for the adventure, some to start a new life, still others to find work.

Look west to make your fortune. As the population grows, resources will dwindle and the smart money seeks new sources and new markets. Finance your settlers as they head west to build the cities of tomorrow. Link these cities with rails of steel and operate your railroad to supply the townsfolk with goods. To the west lie lands to settle and fortunes to be made!

Settlers of America: Trails to Rails utilizes the familiar Catan hex-tile grid to present a map of the United States. Players collect and trade resources, in order to purchase, migrate and build settlements, forge railroads and acquire locomotives. Railroads are used to distribute goods to the interconnected cities. As westward locations are settled, old sources of resources deplete. The addition of gold adds to the depth of play and increases options for the players.

First launched in the UK, About Time USA edition has all the features of the original board game plus new American content. The objective is to be the team that guesses closest to the actual date (year) of an historical event. Categories include Heroes & Villains, The Arts, Everyday Life, Innovation, Word & Thought and State & Nation. It features more than 1,600 original questions on American history and culture and world events up to and including 2009. Player pieces are historical characters including Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon and Shakespeare. The game is for two to eight players or teams and lasts between 25 and 90 minutes.

Rise of Empires play is divided into three eras. Choices made early in the era are repeated late, so your decisions must have both short-term and long-term benefits to be successful. This process requires tough decision-making and promotes an atmosphere with nail-biting suspense. Victory points are rewarded for building cities, having an empire, for progress in science, and for trading goods.

In Nuns on the Run™ you explore the exciting nocturnal world of a grand abbey filled with intrigue and deception. As the old abbess, the noble prioress, or a simple novice you become hunter or prey. Everyone gets a special “blessing,” but only the novices try to fulfill a “secret wish.” They must sneak through the dimly lit halls, corridors, and gardens, seeking keys and treasures unique to their goal. Meanwhile, the vigilant abbess and prioress patrol their routes, ever watchful of young novices who should be fast asleep in their austere cells. Are you wily enough, or sneaky enough to fulfill your quest and win the night?

England in the 12th Century. The players take on the roles of Prior Philip and Bishop Waleran. Philip wants to build the most beautiful cathedral in England. Waleran is planning his own project, a mighty fortress. Both players are trying to simultaneously build their buildings. To construct your building, you must obtain raw resources and convert them into building materials. You are supported by your friends and powerful allies, but are constantly opposed by dangerous foes. If you manage to overcome and build your building first, you win!

Brave Arkham Detectives Battle the Elder Evil Step back to early 20th Century New England. Here, the horrible "Great Old Ones"-mysterious inhabitants of a dark, unfathomable void-seek entry into our world. One of their imprisoned overlords gathers them, just as his worldly servants open portals throughout Arkham for the coming onslaught. Only Salem's master witch, Robert Craven, holds the key to safeguarding mankind.

1853 is a railway building game using the 18XX game system, set in imperial India. It was originally published in 1989 by Hartland Trefoil.  Contrary to many other 18XX games, 1853 does not require aggressive stock trading, but skills in engineering the best possible routes.

You control a faction in beautiful Atlantis, the glorious civilization built upon the sea. No other city rivals its power. None command such riches. Now, the link between the land and your beloved home of Atlantis is crumbling! You must race to move your people along the great bridge to the mainland before it disappears into the thundering waters below. AtlantisT is a very casual, social game for 2-4 players ages 10 and older.

You are all employees of Glenn’s Gallery, a prestigious art gallery where you are learning the ins and outs of the business of selling fine art. Your job is to look at trends in the art world, and recommend to Glenn the types of art that are going to attract the most customers. Customers are represented by cards, and at the beginning of each turn, you have a certain amount of information about the customers that will show up this month.

These hardwood maple and cherry chess pieces are made in Vermont. The pieces are blocks with a traditional characters engraved on two sides. All the pieces are 1" wide and 1" deep, varying in height depending on the strength of the character. The pawn stands at 1.25" tall and the Queen is 2.25" tall. Each set comes with a cloth pouch for piece storage when not in use. Barbara Rainville, marketing manager for Maple Landmark Woodcraft, told TDmonthly, "Each piece has a diagram to show how that character moves engraved on the bottom — for new players or those just a bit rusty." Launch date: March 13, 2010.

In this game, children work together to solve world and human problems presented in a simplified way. Players are divided into simulated social groups (tribes, nations, etc.). Each group gets World Problem Cards and a share of Solution Cards. Through discussion, trade agreements and world councils, the players try to solve all the problems facing them. The debriefing session at the end allows for everyone to learn from each other. Together includes two decks of cards, grouping tokens and rules for teacher preparation, interaction and final evaluation. Launch date: 1971.