May 2010 New Specialty Toys — Board Games

Reminiscing is the game for people over 30 and the younger people they let play. Asking pop culture questions from 1950-2009, this fun family game includes questions that allow players to reminisce about their own personal past. "In this game, older is better, but [it] plays best with teams of mixed ages," Sandy Bergeson, Exec. VP of TDC Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 5, 2009.

Wits & Wagers Family takes the unique trivia-betting game play of Wits & Wagers and makes it more family-friendly, for three to 10 players. The simplified, faster game-play and kid-friendly questions are designed to level the playing field and provide instant fun for all ages. "Previously found in hobby oriented board games, meeples have been gaining in popularity as gaming pieces. These cute wooden pieces serve as the perfect family-friendly replacement for the poker chips found in the classic Wits & Wagers game," Matt Mariani, Director of Marketing, North Star Games, told TDmonthly. Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010; Mom's Best Award 2010. Launch date: March 2010.

In this game designed by Klaus Teber, three to four players who are immigrants to Catan must develop their colony on the island by establishing roads, villages and settlements and making strategic trades of bricks and lumber, livestock or other commodities to obtain necessary resources. Play takes about 60 to 90 minutes. The first player to 10 points wins. "The new edition was released three years ago and has sold more copies in those three years than the first, second or third editions combined," Bob Carty, Sales & Marketing Director, Mayfair Games, told TDmonthly in early 2010.
— In August 2010, five percent of 43 retailers surveyed named The Settlers of Catan an overall top seller. The same month, Steven Levy, owner of Toy City in Keene, New Hampshire, told TDmonthly his store sells approximately three Settlers of Catan games per week.
— “It's real easy to teach, and then you just develop strategies from there," Mike Snyder, owner and manager of Cville's Hobbies, Games and Toys in Charlottesville, Va., told TDmonthly in a February 2012 survey about best selling games. Cville's sells 16-20 copies of the game each month.
— As of 12/17/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 632 reviews on Amazon.com.

Celtic Challenge is a timeless strategy game for one or two players. Crafted in an old-world style, the game features rustic tiles, a Celtic "rune" staff for scoring, and an elegant hardwood playing board. Players try to remove as many tiles from the board as possible in the turns allowed. Legend has it that no one has ever accomplished the nearly insurmountable "Celtic Challenge" — sweeping all tiles from the board in one game. Rich with Celtic symbols, this game is designed for families, dads, or anyone looking to expand their library of classics. "While it is evocative of mah jong or solitaire, our Celtic Challenge game can be learned in less than five minutes, and played in 10-15 minutes. The sheer beauty of the game, and the look and feel of the playing tiles, set the product apart as deserving of an everyday place on the coffee table or anywhere in the home," Brian Maggio, Sales, Find It Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2010.
Awards:  2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Gold Seal.

Do Tell Family game takes five minutes to learn and requires no knowledge of anything. The game sets up quickly and the average play time is about an hour. In this game, players get to reveal themselves using both words and actions, some thought-provoking, some side-splitting. DO cards invite you to step into the spotlight and demonstrate your talents, TELL cards invite you to share your thoughts and feelings, RISK cards add excitement to the game, and WILD cards shake things up. Contents include four decks of cards, eight tokens, two dice, scorepad, pencils, timer, and instructions.

In this game for three to six players, each participant in turn is given a picture card, while the other players receive a hand of six pictures. The designated storyteller uses a word or phrase to strategically hint at his picture (without being too obvious), and the other players each choose one of their cards that best fits the description. Everyone then bets on which picture belongs to the storyteller.

One hundred giant elephants are running amok, but one tiny mouse has got their number! Roll the dice and move the mouse around the board, searching high and low for elephants that are either higher or lower than the number on your card. If you spot a mouse hiding on a card, shout “Eeek!” and grab the mouse figurine before it scampers away! You’ll need to have a memory like an elephant and be quick as a mouse to win. Includes 100 elephant cards, 2 custom dice, 1 mouse figurine, Rules of Play, and Instrucciones en Español. For 2-6 players. Launch date: Spring 2010
Awards: 2010 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award, Major Fun Award, Tillywig Best Family Fun Award, Dr. Toy’s Best New Products Picks, Parents’ Choice Recommended, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award.

In this interactive party game, players must quickly come up with the most unique answers pertaining to fun and entertaining topics, in order to earn more points and be the first to reach the center of the gameboard. There are hundreds of options on the included 150 cards (with 450 categories), and it comes with a one-minute timer.

In this game, players take turns tiles with leaf designs on the playing field so as to benefit their plays and thwart their opponents.' In turn, after laying down three drawn tiles, each player strategically turns over two. The goal is to make sure there are not three tiles in a row with the same color leaves; the number of leaves indicates potential point values.

This eco-friendly board game has children compete to create their very own garden. Each player travels around the board visiting different vendors to pick up vegetables, flowers, herbs, and more for their garden. The first to gather all items and head home to tend to their garden wins. Game board folds out to 18x18" and all game pieces are made without plastics.  For 2 to 4 players.

Using the two captivating books included in CHESS: Once A Pawn A Time, this kit is designed to help children enjoy learning and playing chess. The endearing chess characters and story-book style are created to engage them in the game. "This imaginative approach to teaching chess was developed by author Patzi Stewart over her 20 years as a chess teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. The box opens so that customers can examine the books and understand the uniqueness of this chess product prior to purchase," Rachael Norman, Sales, Norman & Globus, Inc., told TDmonthly. Awards: 2010 Dr. Toy Best Toys Award. Launch date: February 15, 2010.

CATTURA is played with Italian cards — the player to collect the most cards wins The Royals on the board stop the players from collecting cards, and players must fight them off in order to win the game. "The imported Italian cards set this game apart from any other," Kristine Troiano, Owner, Italian Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 15, 2010.

The object of Cattura is to "capture" as many cards as you can. The player with the most cards wins. Cattura comes with imported Italian cards and instructions on how to play.

The Best Party Game is a provocative adult board game that challenges players to get out of their social comfort zone with personal questions and crazy activities. It’s not about trivia, or strategy, or guessing; it’s all about what’s true for you. Not for the faint of heart, the questions and activities here are specifically designed to make everyone squirm.

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ChiTag 2009

These are hard plastic 28mm multi-part figures for wargamers, modelers and collectors. It's the first set in the Hammer of the Gods Dark Ages range and features 24 multi-pose Vikings. Award: 2009 Reader's Choice Award - 2nd Place Tabletop Gaming News. Launch date: October 2009.

The Sketch Jr is Hi-Tec Art LLC's most versatile version of Hi-Tec Art. It runs on three AA batteries and is very lightweight and portable. Includes patented technology that lets the user "play" with LEDs. There are three versions of this toy: Camo for boys, Flower Power for girls, and Games for kids of all ages. "The technology is brand new, the possibilities are endless, and kids absolutely love bringing light to their art!" Roy Smith, CEO, Hi-Tec Art, LLC, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 5, 2010.

Players must carefully weave their pieces past each other to Home (the opposite corner). A traffic jam will lose the game for everyone. Tactics involve self-sacrifice, luck of the dice and cleverness in using the opportunities that Chance provides. The game is designed with the "feel"it of backgammon. For younger players, it can be set up with fewer pieces. For serious strategists, the game can be recorded as players delve into the intricate world of openings, and mid and endgame tactics. It includes a 12" x 12" board, four sets of colored wooden pieces, dice and illustrated rules.

The players of this cooperative game are shepherds and farmers who put as many sheep and lambs to pasture as they safely can, but from time to time the coyotes come around. They are tricky, but not always as clever as the farmers, who have barn space and the help of their trusty Sheep Dog and Amazing LLama to protect the flock. As Night approaches, players have to be especially alert and ready to work as a team. The game includes a 12" x 12" board; 55 sheep, coyote, dog and llama cards; 35 time of day cards; and rules for basic and advanced games. Launch date: October 2009.

In this party game, gamers must place Movie titles and TV shows in sequential order by wide release or air date before the time's up. Can players sort "Cheers," "Frazier" and "Seinfeld" in correct order sequence from the date they first premiered on the silver screen? Added play elements such as “Critic’s Corner” and “Rapid Reels” exist to make game play all the more fun. The first player to collect all the letter cards that spell ROLL’EM! wins. Launch date: 2010.

ThriveTime for Teens is the first-of-its-kind money and life reality board game just for teens. Offering a fun, interactive and family-fun approach to empowering teens with the basic financial skills, each decision in the game either drives you to thriving success or diving debt. The game delivers real-life experiences with credit cards, jobs, work/life balance, time management, charity, savings and effective communication.

In this game, players try to concoct believable descriptions of more than 150 inventions straight from the U.S. patent office, and then guess which explanations are correct. It includes cards with pictures of some very unusual creations.