November 2011 New Specialty Toys — General Games

Welcome to Ankh-Morpork - the oldest, greatest, and most odorous city on Terry Pratchett's Discworld, a place where trouble is always in the cards. Players are one of seven personalities vying for ultimate control of this proud and pestilent city, using their cunning and guile they'll encounter wizards, assassins, watchmen and thieves, all of whom will affect their fortunes. A finely detailed map and over one hundred individually illustrated cards depicting the city's most beloved and infamous characters, locations, and organizations immerse the player in Discworld's most unruly city. Discworld Ankh-Morpork blends the distinctive humor of Terry Pratchett's best-selling novels with strategic challenge and a dose of mayhem into one devilishly addictive Discworld adventure for two to four players.
— As of 11/23/2011 this product had 7.06 out of 10 stars from 835 ratings on BoardGameGeek.com.

In this multiplayer game, players must unearth dinosaur bones by excavating the mountain. But watch out- If more than one boulder tumbles off, if Tim is hit, or the big dinosaur topples over the turn is over.

A cleverly cunning cubical conundrum. Individual cubes attached by twisting, turning joints. Flexible tetris-shapes are satisfying to flip and spin. Attempt to recreate the cubical configurations of emerald, ivory & black shown in the Tridio Puzzle Book. Scan the two-dimensional designs pictured, and set kids' minds & hands in motion. Modify the three tetris-shapes. Consider the color placement. Stack the Tetris pieces. Bring images to life in three-dimensional structures. 48 visual challenge puzzles.

Gary Gouda is cheese hunting again and no piece is safe. But with every piece of cheese the risk of becoming stuck in the mouse holes increases. Only the one who can remember the sizes of the different holes and doesn't get caught by quick pet cat Kiki will reach the target. Who can help Gary memorize the best way and collect the most pieces of cheese? A light-fingered memory game for 2-4 players.

The Xiliens have pitted Godzilla, Rodan, Gigan and King Ghidorah against each other in a catastrophic battle and only one monster will emerge victorious. In Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars, players pick a monster and a scenario, stomping over terrain and destroying buildings on their warpath - all while fending off aggressive military attacks, bombs, traps and, of course, other KAIJU. Special abilities are used to eliminate the competition or to tuck their tail between their legs and run away before they are taken out.  The game is jam-packed with pieces sure to please any gamer. Along with the four fully painted 2 3/8 inch plastic Kaiju figurines, the game also includes 90 stackable plastic tiles for building skyscrapers, four individual monster playmats, 86 terrain and power tokens, and much more. Launch date: May 2011.

The finish line of the city stage is fast approaching and the red team holds a slight lead. To take the lead, the green team Formula One racer fires its missiles, but can the driver avoid the red team's spikes and stay in the race long enough to win? Includes 4 minifigures: 2 Backyard Blasters: Bart Blaster and Billy Bob Blaster; 2 X-treme Daredevils: MAX-treme and REX-treme.

In this game, only one player will ultimately become the LEGO Champion and win the trophy. Find out who will win the many challenges, claim the trophy. A multi-challenge family game for 3–8 players. Contents: 1 buildable LEGO dice, 9 LEGO microfigures, 206 LEGO pieces, rules booklet, building instructions.

This is a "Twist on the Classic Four-in-a-Row Game." It's full of secret colors, sneaky moves and wacky wild tokens that make players Swivel. Just when one player is about to get four in a row, another player may have to twist a level of the 3-D board and change everything. Launch date: 2011.

Kids can bring classic tales such as Mother Goose, The Little Engine That Could, The Berenstain Bears and Where the Wild Things Are to life with colorful game boards, including three-dimensional accessories and pawns. Each game is an adventure, much like the ones children read about in books. "No other game brings to life cherished childhood stories in the form of a board game that children will love to play over and over," Mary Dolan, public relations coordinator at Patch Products, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2011.
Awards: 2011 Dr. Toy Best Picks Children’s Products; 2011 Creative Child Game of the Year, in the Kids Games, Learning to Share category; 2011 Parents’ Choice Foundation Parent’s Choice Recommended Product Award.

In 100 Wacky Things, players will do some ridiculous things while laughing uncontrollably at each other. The game has two types of cards: Always and Whenever. If you draw an Always Card, you will do the wacky thing on your card every time it's your turn. A Whenever Card directs you to do what the card says whenever another player does something specific. And we can't forget the silly props: the elephant nose, feathered boa, funny glasses and echo microphone. Launch date: 2009.
Awards: 2010 FamilyFun 8 Best Family Board Games; 2009 Creative Child-Preferred choice award; 2009 iParenting Media Awards-Outstanding products; 2009 The National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval; 2009 Winner of the Washington Post’s KidsPost best toys

Players must complete each word challenge and motor across the USA. "Rest Stop" cards add to the fun along the way, with lucky breaks and the occasional pothole. Road Trip game contains 120 Challenge Cards, 40 "Rest Stop" cards, 7.5" x 20" Vintage Road Map Board, 30-sided Alphabet die, and 4 retro Station Wagon movers.
Awards: 2015 TDmonthly Magazine Top Toy Award; 2011 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award for Best Toys
— As of 10/21/2011 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 3 reviews on Amazon.com.

Think-ets Holiday Collection is a carefully selected assortment of well-known holiday items that will engage kids before and after all the presents have been opened.  Kids will love the holiday themed trinkets and will begin telling lots of great stories right before your eyes. The game has 15 miniature trinkets from around the world and the same instruction booklet as Think-ets Original, with 10 different games to play, all housed in a red or green mesh pouch. Now kids can have their own Think-ets game with a holiday theme to it. Sample contents include: snowman, snowflake, jingle bell, present, tree, polar bear, slice of Yule log cake, ring, milk bottle, plate, and more.

This nostalgic edition of the classic CANDYLAND ® game is a “sweet” way for young children to have fun and learn at the same time. The adventure takes you on a wonderful journey, travelling past the Crooked Old Peanut Brittle House, and Lollypop Woods until you eventually reach Home Sweet Home…
As this magical experience unfolds, your child is learning colors without reading or counting.
This collectible tin edition features the charming graphics of the 1955 edition as well as the iconic gingerbread men. It is a timeless edition to be enjoyed by children of all ages with a sweet tooth for fun!

This premium edition game features the great fun of Monopoly with many premium upgrades including a solid wood cabinet in a black painted finish with a recessed flocked silver foil stamped rolling area.  Other upgrades include an integrated storage area with lined compartments and a wooden banker's tray.  This deluxe set also includes a silver foil stamped game path and Chance and Community Chest cards, Monopoly money with silver ink printing, wooden houses and hotels and plated die-cast tokens.

For game fans who like nostalgia and style, Winning Solutions’ Library Classic Collection includes special editions of MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE and CLUE board games, packaged within a luxe faux-leather “book” that makes a decorative addition to any bookshelf. Each game design is inspired by original graphics and game pieces that made these brands cultural icons, such as wooden houses and hotels in the MONOPOLY Library Classic game, and die-cast metal “weapon” play pieces in the CLUE Libary Classic version.

Players of all ages and abilities will enjoy the new BIG scale Scrabble, which is 50 percent larger than the original version, making the print easier to read and letters easier to manipulate for older (and even younger) players. The Giant SCRABBLE game features an oversized, rotating wooden game board. The tiles and rack are also made with wood and the gold-foil raised grid keeps letters in place during play.

In this game, players build a railroad empire in the land of the rising sun. Players use their initial investment to build track. Then pick up commodities where they are grown, mined, or manufactured and deliver them to a lucrative place of demand. Players complete a delivery and make the money they need to buy larger, faster trains, and expand their railroad empire. Win the game by building the most effective railroad empire. Obstacles are rival tracks and Japan’s great mountains, channels, and rivers and restrictive coastline.
Nippon Rails is geographically accurate. The game depicts Japan’s rivers, plains, and mountains, as well as its natural resources. It’s a great way to learn about the geography, business, shipping, and transportation of Europe while having fun with friends or family. For 2-6 players. Playing Time: 120-240 minutes. Launch date: October 20, 2011.
— As of 10/20/2011 this product had 6.7 out of 10 stars from 358 ratings on BoardGameGeek.com.

The goal is to reach the exit before Sweet Little BOO gets upstairs. Who will succeed? Laura, Elliot, Albert, Rose, Alec, or Fixela? Together or by themselves, family members can engage in this exciting race. With each roll of the dice, some players will move faster, some will have to step back, others will discover secret passages, but everyone will have fun. Includes 1 game board, 7 character pawns, 3 dice, and Instructions.
Awards: Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval; Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence Award.

Spuzzle is a fun-filled race to see who can finish their puzzles first. Designed for children, this game will challenges kids to finish their five puzzles first. Includes 5 sets of 20 puzzle pieces (blue, yellow, purple and red), 1 game board, 28 Spuzzle cards, and Instructions.
Awards: PTPA Seal of Approval, Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award, National Parenting Center Seal of Approval.

Codigo Cube is a socially interactive trivia game that uses players' web-enabled camera phone, a free app, and a patent-pending 2D bar-coded die. Codigo Cube is updated with new questions daily. Whenever breaking news happens Codigo Cube gets updated. Playing is fun and easy. Players simply download a free QR code reader for their phone, then scan any side of the cube. Roll the cube, scan the code, and answer the question from a list of four multiple choice answers. Guess correctly and re-roll. Guess wrong and the cube is passed to the next player. Launch date: October 2011.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, January 2012; 2011/2012 The Toy Man Award of Excellence; 2011/2012 The Toy Man eChoice Award; 2011 The Toy Man Top 50 Toy Of The Year Award.
— Why it won: Codigo Cube is harnessing new technology for an innovative and inexpensive new game. Players simply scan the QR code on the die with their Smartphone to access a trivia question online. The trivia questions are constantly being updated, so the game never gets old.
— As of 9/21/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 23 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Easy to use; more variety than a traditional trivia game because questions are always being updated. Cons: Needs to be played in a well-lit area or the QR code readers can scan the codes properly.

Players take turns to search the Labyrinth for their magical objects and characters by carefully moving through the constantly changing maze. The treasure cards are divided between the players, without revealing them to the other players. The maze cards are randomly placed on the playing board and the first player uses the extra card to start moving the first wall. Players strategically move the walls so they can collect their treasures, but block the path for the other players. Labyrinth comes complete with 1 game board, 34 moving wall cards, 24 treasure cards and 4 different colored playing pieces. This 25th Anniversary Edition of the game comes packaged in a high-quality and stylish tin. Content: 1 game board 34 maze cards 24 treasure cards 4 playing pieces Instructions. 1 game board, 34 maze cards, 24 treasure cards, 4 playing pieces, Instructions.

Whoowasit? is an interactive board game with an exciting electronic feature. Players must find the magical ring that was stolen from the wise king by a castle resident under the spell of the evil wizard. Playing against the clock, players move through the castle rooms to uncover clues to who stole the precious gem. Along the way, talking animals help players solve the mystery of the stolen ring with the help of a treasure chest that randomly supplies clues on behalf of the animals. Players must seek food, communicate with and then feed the animals to receive clues that help eliminate the suspects. Whoowasit? helps reinforce memory, tactical and teambuilding skills. Playing time 40 minutes. Contents 1 game board, 4 doors (to place on the board), 1 electronic chest, 4 playing pieces (red, yellow, green, blue), 1 ghost, 1 cat (game board), 9 food tokens, 4 key tokens, 10 suspect cards, 1 die, 1 ring, 1 ring base.
Awards: Children's Game of the Year 2008 in Germany

This is a brand new double sided, laminated, educational desk map. Learn A Map is a terrific learning tool for children. It's easy to read and easy to use. It is double sided and laminated so it can be drawn on and easily erased. Learn A Map can be used anywhere, at home, at school, or on the road. Bulk ordering is available and there is free shipping on orders of 100 or more. Launch date: 2011.

Take the fun outdoors with eeBoo Sidewalk Games. Set includes a gold coin to toss, four vibrant chalk sticks and a booklet of instructions for sidewalk games such as Hopscotch, Skelly, London Calling and more. "A child, a coin, some colored chalk bring hours of fun to a plain sidewalk. Learn games that generations played when fun and toys were all homemade!" Regina Gelin, sales & marketing associate for eeBoo, told TDmonthly. Launch date: August 2011.