July 2009 New Specialty Toys — Board Games

The mail must go through!

The whole family will have fun trying to overcome the hurdles of your local letter carrier! Enjoy this hilarious race full of suspense, unexpected twists and turns, and be the first to deliver all your mail to the neighbourhood.

Reeves International announced its exclusive U.S. distributorship for WWF® - Games by Terra™ in 2009. Under the license of the largest multinational conservation organization in the world, the World Wildlife Fund, Terra Toys introduces the Wildlife Conservation Collection. These classic, timeless, family-friendly games and puzzles are made from sustainable materials, incorporating 19 endangered species and their habitats that are currently under protection. In Amur Chinese Checkers, players choose their favorite feline and walk, run or leap to find out the fastest route through the wilderness of the Amu-Heilong region. It includes 60 wooden playing pieces (six colors), an Amur-Heilong themed wooden playing board and playing instructions. Launch date: September 2009.

This hands-on way to help students identify beginning, middle and ending sounds in words can be played with an entire class, an individual student or a small group of students. The set includes six double-sided boards, six race cars and an activity guide. Launch date: 2009.

Packaged in a hexagonal shaped box, these award-winning illustrations by Melissa Sweet are designed to help kids learn about phylum in the world that surrounds us. With the names indicated on the inside of the lid, Life On Earth Bingo offers a way for children to identify plants and animals. This game is made using 90-percent recycled grey board and non-toxic inks. Launch date: June 20, 2009.

The Alphabet Race Track offers a hands-on way to help students learn to recognize the letters of the alphabet. It can be played by the whole class, in small groups, or by individuals who need help identifying upper and lower case letters. The set includes six double-sided boards, six wooden race cars and an activity guide. Launch date: 2009.

This game asks the question, "Can you keep your dinosaur alive into the 21st century?" It's a board game full of pitfalls and promotions as each player's dino works its way from the Jurassic to modern times, trying to avoid terrifying predators and extraordinary earth events in order to survive and be the winner. It comes with six free dinosaur replicas and is made in the USA. This game received an Oppenheim Gold Award. Launch date: March 31, 2008.

This is a fast-paced, fun Spelling Board Game that teaches spelling, vocabulary and reading as it's played using spelling words taken directly from any child's grade-appropriate spelling list. Also available in challenging Adult level for those who think they can spell but might find out otherwise.The fast-paced game teaches spelling, reading and vocabulary. "There are no other board games on the market which allow each player to spell words selected from their own grade level and which combine elements of chance, strategy and spelling knowledge in a way that makes learning to spell fun and easy," Richard J. Sullivan, president of The Spelling Bee Game, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: July, 2009.
Awards: 2010 Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year, Children's Educational Board Game Category; 2011 Creative Child Magazine, Game of the Year, Children's Educational Board Game Category.

This addictive puzzle is currently available on all major mobile phone cariers in the USA and on Iphone Worldwide. It is also available daily in the USA TODAY newspaper in a daily puzzle. Txtpert the card game works exactly the same way as all the other brands. Launch date: June 2009.

2-Player Perpetual Commotion is the original Perpetual Commotion specially designed for two-player speed and excitement. Play as many cards as you can into a center Arena to earn points. Gain extra points by being the first to empty your Feeders pile—but watch out! A single roll of the eight-sided die can change your score.

One of two Perpetual Commotion Expansion Packs, this set allows players of Perptetual Commotion to make room for four more players. If players thought Perpetual Commotion was total chaos with six players, they'll need to brace themselves to now be able to include up to 10. Not for use with 2-Player Perpetual Commotion.

Spell words, build bridges, and block your way to the Treasure, matey! Arrgh! Players make their way towards the treasure by creating paths of words and bridges across the shark infested waters.  Cunning pirates make good use of rock walls to block their enemies from reaching the pirate loot first. Now more game play! Enjoy endless play with a two-sided dry erase game board.  Pick the original game board or the new updated shark attack mode.  For 2-4 players.

Players pick one of eight quirky characters and make their way around the board answering "Scatterbrainz" categories and "Quizzle" trivia, or acting out "Stuntz" and "Showbiz" cards, all while following the "Roolz." "Quelf provides cross-generational appeal that is active, wholesome and hilarious fun that the whole family can enjoy together. It is the most random and silly game on the market and will provide players with a memorable night!" Jill Schneiderman, in marketing for Imagination International, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2005. This game has received the following awards: 2007 Creative Child Seal of Excellence, 2007 iParenting Media Award, 2006 Major Fun Award, 2006 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and 2005 Upbeat Magazine Board Game of the Year.

In this game, the goal is to collect monster friends. Kids learn more about each monster by flipping over their deed and reading the bios. Players can also learn cool monster jokes to share with friends. Launch date: June 2009.

Know It or Blow It tests teams’ knowledge of general information and fun facts, such as the three singing chipmunks, the five Great Lakes and Santa’s eight reindeer. For each round, a team captain picks the order in which teammates will respond. If a player knows an answer, great. However, if they're not absolutely, positively sure, they can stop rather than risk their team’s points. "The best part about Patch Products new party game, Know It or Blow It, is that one person doesn’t have to know everything. Instead, teammates work together to know it all," Jessica Wineke, PR coordinator for Patch Products, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 7, 2009.

Everyone takes turns to spin the hamburger to see how many bites the pig will take. Players move the pig's hand to his mouth each time he takes a bite. With every bite the pig's stomach gets bigger, bigger and bigger. But the player who feeds him too much loses the game. This game has no loose parts, making it ideal for fun on the go. Launch date: July 2009.

There is a fly hidden in the trash can. Players take turns filling up the trash can by pushing the buttons on the outside of the trash can with different types of trash on them. At random, one of the buttons will make the trash can spring open and release the fly. To reset the game, players just push the fly back down and close the lid. Each time, the button that opens the trash can randomly changes so players never know when the fly is going to fly out. This game has no parts to lose, so is ideal for trips. Launch date: July 2009.

In this colorful family game of strategy and bluffing, players try to capture all the STIXX of their own color. They can bluff by also taking different colored STIXX in an attempt to thwart opponents. Players who believe they know their opponent's secret color can call them out but will lose a turn if wrong. Launch date: 2008.

This family oriented strategy game for two to four players is simple to learn and comes in a plastic case that snaps shut and is designed for ease while traveling. The object for each player is to surround their opponents' playing pieces and switch them to their color. The person who has made the most pieces of their color at the end of the game is the winner. Launch date: 2008.

This simple game is designed to be learned in about a minute and played with the entire family, with kids from 4 to 10 years old. Game play takes about 15 minutes. The object is to surround opponents' playing pieces and switch them to your color. The person who has made the most pieces of their color at the end of the game is the winner. Launch date: 2008.

Players take turns placing their tiles in the correct sequence, racing to get rid of them in this fast-moving game. The game can have unexpected turns as special tiles let players change direction, give tiles to opponents, skip opponents, or play wild cards. The game includes 106 high-quality tiles and four holding racks. Launch date: 2008.

Tayu is named after the legendary Chinese hero who saved his country from flooding by creating a series of waterways. In the game, each player trys to create as many water channels from one side of the board to the other, while at the same time blocking his competitor. Twists and turns are the norm in this fast-packed strategy game. "Choosy, quality toy-store owners agree that this game is of the highest quality and provides the most fun for the money," Jodi Swindle, operations manager for Goliath Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2008.

Players place the Bloqs to try to surround unused squares on the board, and the player who can isolate the most of these squares wins. All of the playing pieces in the game are the same but can be played in many different ways to create space to win. Launch date: 2008.

This game was designed to transform checkers into a game of cunning and luck where kids can beat their parents. On each turn, players spin to see if they either move, or open and close trap doors. If a checker is on one of the trap doors, it might fall through. Trapdoor Checkers features "quality components that stand the test of time," Jodi Swindle, operations manager at Goliath Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2008. This game earned a 2009 Major Fun Award.