May 2012 New Specialty Toys — Board Games

Collect the magic gems and free the Wizard in Electronic Labyrinth. The enchanted Labyrinth is in danger. The evil witch Grimelda banished the wise wizard Akata, guardian of the Labyrinth, into a magic book. Can players break her evil spell and free the wizard? Dangers lurk everywhere; Grimelda has put a curse on anyone who has tried to save him and turned them into mythical creatures. Contents: 1 playing board, 1 magic book, 37 Labyrinth cards, 17 object cards, 5 treasure chest cards, 4 mission scrolls, 4 magic keys, 4 playing pieces, 60 gems, instructions. For 2-6 players. Playing time: 45-60 minutes.

Duple is a quick-thinking game of symbol matching and word-finding. Players flip letter cards in turn until the symbols on two players' cards match. Matching players face-off by being the first to shout a word which contains the letters on both cards. Correct answers must be at least 5 letters long and conform to ever-changing categories. Wild Cards and Cascades create unexpected face-offs and the All Play card gets everyone facing off a once. Distributed by Everest. Launch date: February 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval

Polar Eclipse is an educational board game created to raise awareness about climate change and lifestyle choices. Published in 2011 by turn 4 turn llc. based in Park City, Utah, the game is created for global citizens 8 years and older. Designed, tested and re-tested with students who attend a Utah K-8 charter school, the game offers players the opportunity to add their ideas to the discussion and move toward their survival by doing so. The game board is a warm to cool, and past to future grid; a game about time and temperature. The object of the game is, as one of five species, to make it into the future and get cooler, to survive. If you hit 100 your species becomes extinct and you are out of the game. The motivation to create this game comes from the inventors background as an elementary teacher and the concern for the natural world. By playing the game, it is hoped that the mix of experience that sparks awareness, concern and stewardship to protect the natural world will expand. Knowledge is power. The game includes a die to set your place in time, 184 event cards to experience cause and effect, 64 arctic cards to offer open-ended and multiple choice questions, five players/species, the game board and a rules and reference booklet. Playing time ranges from twenty to forty-five minutes depending on the set of cards you play and number of players. Eight blank event cards are included to create your own events to add to the game. A secondary activity is to sort the event cards into sets of eight cards, by a symbol on the card, and assemble puzzles that make up the photographs on the cover and sides of the game box.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

This 65-piece set features five game ideas that introduce and teach shapes and objects with unique tactile game play. Little pirates will be ready for games like "The Sneaky Seeker", "The Blindfold Grab", matching games, and more. For a traditional favorite, flip the game board over and play a classic game of Checkers. Clean up is easy as the 18"x18" game board has a Velcro pocket for storage and play. The gameboard is also a great map for role play adventures. BeginAgain uses plant-based and recycled materials whenever possible. The treasure map game board is made from natural (unbleached, unprocessed) cotton and the 20 game cards and 20 matching game pieces are made from recycled paperboard and colored with water-based inks. The 24 treasure coins are made from natural rubber (from rubber tree).
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

Deluxe Super Scrabble combines the "bigger. better" game play of Super scrabble with an innovative gameboard that holds letter tiles firmly in place. Launch date: July 2012.

The Classic Game of Threezer® Riddles. The fun starts with three seemingly unrelated clues.  What do Roses, Doughnuts and Jurors have in common? Players win the card if their team guesses, “They come in dozens.”  How about A Violinist, An Archer, A Fancy Gift? (They all have bows!) First team to collect the winning number of cards claims victory. TriBond “Threezers” are challenging, clever and contagious. The game’s edge-of-your-seat excitement has sparked sales of over 3 million copies. Launch date: July 2012.

Players and the rest of the group all share a quirky problem that is interfering with their lives, so they have gathered together and invited a psychiatrist to figure out what’s wrong. Will the psychiatrist be able to diagnose the problem, or will he end up just as crazy as the players? Launch date: July 2012.
— "This is that rare party game that combines zany interactivity with a solid yet simple mechanical structure. As a patient, it’s a lot of fun to learn your secret prompt and know that the psychiatrist player doesn’t know it. As the psychiatrist, it can be challenging and hilarious to watch your friends act crazy." - a review on Wired.com.

Kids and their friends are going on a photo safari. To see as many animals as possible, they will have to plan their trip well. Whoever visits the most areas and takes the best photographs will be the safari champion. Launch date: July 2012.
— "My little geeks and I have played DiceAFARI a number of times and keep enjoying it more and more. The dice certainly add an element of randomness and luck to the game but also act as an equalizer...Light, flexible, customizable, and accessible, DiceAFARI is a fun game that will challenge and entertain." - Review on FatherGeek.com.

Telepathy Jr is the younger version of the Telepathy board game. Telepathy Jr teaches kids how to use logic and deduction at an early age and is important in the area of critical thinking. Game plays in around 10 - 15 minutes. "There are not a lot of logic/deduction games for youngsters out there and Telepathy Jr will help kids practice their deductive skills," Derek Chinn, owner of LMD Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2012.

Famed puzzle inventor Ivan Moscovich has an eye for the unusual and a mind for enigmas. His latest magnetic collection of brainteasers, Craniatics is a visual cocktail of new configurations. Includes ten magnetic challenges with solutions. Includes three Craniatics games suitable for 1 or more players.

The aim is to reach the other end first. The problem is that each opponent puts up fences to slow the other down. Not to worry, there's always a way out. But who will find the shortest route? Created by Gigamic; exclusively distributed through Back Alley Traders in the USA.
Awards: May 2012 TDmonthly Top Toy Award. Why it won: This beautifully designed wooden strategy game has won several prestigious awards already in the US and in Europe. It also has great user reviews on Amazon.com. TDmonthly staff who saw the game demoed at Toy Fest West 2012 were impressed. Other awards: 1997 Mensa Select Top 5 Best Games; Games Magazine Game of the Year 1997; Best Bet of the Toy Testing Council 1997; Prix d’Excellence des Consommateurs; Consumer’s Toy Award 1997 Quebec; Spelgut 1997; Grand Prix du Jouet 1997; Games Magazine “Games 100 Selection” 1998; Games Magazine “Best Games.”
— As of 4/10/2012 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 25 reviews on Amazon.com.

Each of the 16 pieces has 4 different attributes. The aim is to line up 4 pieces which share the same attribute. The problem is players can't choose which piece they're going to play - their opponent chooses for them.

From Basher, the illustrator who showed the periodic table in a whole new light and gave us his fresh spin on physics, biology, astronomy, rocks and minerals, planet earth and chemistry, comes a book that shines its light into our magical and mysterious oceans. Not content to stay on dry land, Basher takes to the high seas in this friendly guide to everything above and below the oceans. Meet the members of the Shoreline Gang, the Deep-down Dandies, and the characters in the Open-water Crew. Encounter deep trenches, curious creatures, mountains taller than any one will find on land, and the mixers and stirrers that keep the water flowing. Throughout it all, Basher’s bold, cheerful artwork pairs with rock solid scientific information to personalize readers’ understanding of Earth’s mysterious underwater world. Bonus: includes a pull out poster of the oceanic characters. Launch date: March 27, 2012.

World of Warcraft Collector's Edition Monopoly features a custom game board with iconic locations from the World of Warcraft virtual world! Also included in this edition are 6 collectible Warcraft-themed tokens voted on by the fans, 'Treasure Chest' and 'WOW Chance' cards replacing classic Community Chest and Chance Cards, and Custom Towns and Cities replacing traditional Houses and Hotels.

Like how every great inventor has a lab, the Nanopad is the ideal platform for Nanodot creations. Made from a fusion of ferrous metal and fabric, the Nanopad is a flexible double-sided surface that is attracted to magnets but isn’t magnetic. Each Nanopad features an imprinted grid on one side making it an ideal play surface for chess, checkers, go, as well as role-playing and card games. Available in two sizes: 16" and 26".

Fishing Camp is a game where both children & adults can play & learn fun facts about Fishing. The game is designed to grow with the player, starting at level one questions, which are primarily identification of fish and fishing tackle. As the players increase in their knowledge about Fishing, they grow into the higher level questions. A fun & educational game where parents & children can play to see who catches the first fish and gets back to the docks. Game includes: 1 game board, 200 game cards(400 questions, and 100 fun facts), 1 decoder, 8 game characters, 1 die, 16 level cards, and 1 GPS card. Launch date: 2012.

Kids will share thoughtful, personal responses, and really listen to each other in this family-friendly game that includes game board, 7 character pieces, 7 token holders, 7 sets of tokens, 12 Wild Ernie tokens, and 1 pair of “Ear-Resistible” Jumper Rabbit ears. For 3–7 players. Launch date: April 2012.

There's a party tonight, and the players have been asked to bring the cupcakes. Be the first player to mix, bake, frost, and top the cupcake by visiting all 4 corners, and collect sprinkles along the way. The first player to reach the part with a completed cupcake and a sprinkle of each color wings the cherry to put on top. Launch date: June 2012.
Watch Video from ASTRA 2012

Dixit Journey is the version of the award-winning game of storytelling through imagination and clues where one picture is worth a thousand words. In this new version featuring a gallery of artistically designed cards that offer simple images for easy individual interpretation, younger players now have the chance to stretch their imaginations and incorporate their best vocabulary skills, all in the fun of creative play. The challenge is for the leader of the round to give a clue that is subtle enough to ensure that at least one player (but not all) will understand which card is his/hers and vote for that card. Points are scored in relation to the identification of the storyteller’s card. The players move their icons on the scoring track based on the number of points they earn each round. Launch date: June 2012.

Barbecue Party an action-packed game for preschoolers. It’s all about action-reaction as players try to load up the grill with all kinds of funny food before it pops a gasket.  Kids have to be very careful not to jiggle the grill when they lay an ear of corn, a tomato, or any of the other food pieces on top because it can jump at any time. Includes 16 plastic food pieces, 18 cards, & 1 pair of tongs/pliers. Launch date: June 2012.

Hey, That’s My Fish! is an engaging, award-winning board game of strategic fish hunting, in which 2-4 players control determined penguins hungry for their next meal on a bustling Antarctic ice floe. Since Hey, That’s My Fish! was originally published in 2003, it has become widely popular as an engrossing and strategic board game for casual family and tactical play. Hey, That’s My Fish! includes 60 hexagons to create an ice floe with new artwork renditions of fish, 1 rules sheet, and 16 newly sculpted colorful and animated penguin miniatures.

In the game White Water each player directs the actions of four courageous rafters. Each raft in the race contains four crew, with two crew from one player and two from another player. Players control the crew within a raft, but also may use Energy cards to additionally help one raft or the other. Dice represent the effects of hazards they encounter, and even the best-laid plans can be spoiled by another raft pushing players in a direction they don't want to go. Launch date: May 2012.

The Joker is up to his usual tricks, and he must be stopped. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and The Flash team up, calling on their special powers – X-ray vision, the Batarang, force fields and lightning speed – to dodge The Joker’s gags and stop him in his tracks before he reaches the getaway car. The Fun House game board is packed with preschool play power: a wacky rolling ball, secret messages, and a launching Batarang will draw young super heroes into the action. Launch date: 2012.

Kids must work together to make as many cupcakes as they can before it’s time for the party. Follow the recipe cards to pick the perfect fancy liner, frosting, and topper. Each cupcake creation is fit for a princess in this sweet game of matching and sharing. Launch date: 2012.
— In a May 2012 survey, 25% of retailers told TDmonthly that Disney Princess was their best selling licensed brand.