May 2012 New Specialty Toys — General Games

15th century princes from the Loire Valley devote their efforts to strategic trading and building in order to bring their estates prosperity and prominence throughout Burgundy. Two dice set the action options, but the players always make the final choices. Trading, livestock farming, city building or scientific research many different paths lead to the prosperity and prominence of the players. The many ways to gain victory points in this building game require careful thought and extensive planning ahead. The different estates ensure that no two games are alike and that the game remains challenging for long time.

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

Contents: 61 colored domino blocks, 6 pieces of untreated wood, 1 ball, 1 building block clamp, 1 arched clamp with little bell. Endless building fun with abundant options for experimenting. Helps kids learn cause and effect.

This set comprises of 19 wooden house parts and 1 board. Kids can stack the interchangeable pieces any way they like to create their dream home. Encourages creativity and helps kids develop their fine motor skills. The pegging board and colored stacking pieces are made from solid beech wood.

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

Rockboard takes boarding to an all new level in 2012 with the brand-new Descender, the first of its kind! Featuring innovative high-performance treads never before applied to the boarding experience, this unique cross-over board bridges the gap for summer and winter outdoor sports enthusiasts, enabling riders to “surf” down grass and all-terrain hills. With its four treads positioned around triple sets of wheels for maximum traction and power, The Descender extends the fun of snowboarding and surfing into every season. Launch date: June 2012.
Awards: 2012 TIA Outdoor Toy of the Year

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.

The MLS Light Up Soccer Goal and Ball Set encourages active play even when the sun goes down. This complete soccer set features a goal with glowing edges, and a red light up soccer ball. Now, kids can play their favorite sport with excitement day or night. Includes stakes to hold the goal securely in the ground, light up goal, light up ball, and 1 3V battery. 6 AAA batteries also required, not included. Goal measures 37.5 inches x 24 inches.

This outdoor game combines the fun of soccer, kickball, ying discs, and golf. The Kickin' Putt 2 player game is complete with 2 kick around golf balls and the ying scoring disc. Toss the scoring disc to set the hole, and get ready for a game of soccer meets golf. The scoring disc is made in the USA from wheat based plastic and the kick around golf balls are made from natural rubber.

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.

Build some sweet structures. Stretches creativity, problem solving and fine motor skills. Includes chunky, durable candy pieces in a variety of fun, familiar designs plus Activity Guide with illustrated, step-by-step building directions. Largest piece measures 7"L x 1⁄2“ in diameter. Launch date: January 2012.

The HAPPY HOOP has an innovative new design which allows for the full adjustment of both ring size and weight. Eight colorful ring-pieces can be added or subtracted to created the perfect hoop-size. The unique molded curves each ring-piece increases grip and controllability while massaging the waist, stimulating blood circulation.

One of five unique hexagon-based pieces make up a single block piece providing versatility, variety, and extended thought. The five hexagon-based pieces include: a single hexagon; 2, 3, and 4 hexagons - joined in linear arrangement; 3 hexagons joined in a non-linear arrangement. Includes 24 Congruently cool & colorful hexagonal building blocks; 5 unique hexagon-based pieces - a single hexagon; 2, 3, and 4 hexagons - joined in linear arrangement; 3 hexagons joined a non-linear arrangement; Full-color illustrated Building Guide with 20 engaging design challenges; facts of hexagons in nature & mechanics.
Awards: 2011 Parents' Choice Recommended Award

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.

Flingin’ Frogs is for one or more players, and play involves catapulting 12 miniature frogs onto five tiers of lily pads, worth varying levels of points. Children can play by themselves or challenge their friends. The lily pad play piece conveniently turns into a storage and travel case too. Big Little Games are available in three titles: Flingin’ Frogs™, Spurtle Turtle™ and Super Shooter Basketball™. The games’ small size makes them perfect for birthday gifts, Easter basket stuffers and small rewards. Launch date: May 2012.

Nine Squares + Three Rules = One Solution. This collection of 48 puzzles will enhance critical thinking, logic and deductive reasoning skills while sharpening math and sequencing. Each EquiLogic puzzle provides number, symbol, color or shape hints. Using these clues, players put their deductive reasoning skills to the test and must find the magic number by identifying the correct combination of tiles and numbers. With only three rules to follow, kids will quickly be scratching their brain to arrive at the solution.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval

BINGO on the go. Choose an appropriate theme among the eight provided, slide a card into each game boards and pay attention to the passing scenery. Includes two game boards and four double-sided game cards. There are no loose pieces and everything stores conveniently in the board. Great for travel.
— Laura Turman, owner of One Two Kangaroo in Shepherdstown, W.Va., told TDmonthly in an April 2012 survey that Travel Bingo is her best selling travel toy.
— In a late Summer 2012 survey, Mike Castor, owner of Pentwater Toybox in Pentwater, Mich., told TDmonthly that they sold 71 travel bingo sets in the past three months.
— In an April 2013 survey, two out of 12 retailers told TDmonthly that Travel Bingo from Melissa & Doug is their bestselling travel toy.

Noah’s Ark Balance Game comes with pairs of brightly painted wooden animals and can be played either cooperatively or competitively by the entire family. Kids learn about weight distribution and how the shape of an object affects where it is able to be balanced. Played against an opponent, kids learn to place animals just so their opponent has difficulty finding a spot for their piece. Pieces are the perfect size for ages 3+. Kids can also work together to see how quickly they can stack all the animals on the rocking ark. Sevi is Europe’s oldest wooden toy company.

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.

Another stone building set from Anker Blocks, made of natural ingredients, these shapes of stones will allow kids to create endless forms. It contains 20 sample cards to fire kids' imaginations. With 36 stone building bricks made from the original Anker stone material kids can construct creative buildings and let their imagination run riot. There are countless possibilities to build mosaics, aesthetically appealing puzzles and edifices using the stones of the New Stone Age. Made in Germany of chalk, quartz sand, pigments and linseed oil.

Rhino Hero is out and about again. The super hero from the animal world fearlessly scales the highest houses looking for burglars and rogues. He is as strong as a lion and as smart as a fox but also as heavy as a rhinoceros. So even the most robust multi-story buildings may start to wobble. Kids must try to help Rhino Hero accomplish his wobbly mission and build a skyscraper as tall and solid as possible. A heroic 3D-stacking game for 2-5 super heroes ages 5-99. Available with English packaging.

A classic memory game made only the way Sevi could. Beautiful hand-painted daisies are the prize for uncovering matching pictures found beneath. The hardwood base of the game holds 5 templates, so players choose a game, place the cover on top and begin. With five levels of difficulty and different configurations, kids may never remember if they played the same game twice. Did we forget to tell you that Sevi is Europe’s’ oldest wooden toy maker? Oh, sorry if we did. Then you probably remember that they use only vegetable-based paints and smooth hardwoods, right?  We have a feeling you are going to be very good at this game.