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January 2026 Notable Toys — Board Games

By TDmonthly Staff






In Cold War Confrontation, you take control of either East or West Germany and guide your nation through the ideological and political battles of the postwar era. Your goal is to rebuild, compete, and demonstrate the strength of your chosen system. Historical events like the Oil Crisis, mass protests, and shifting global politics shape the gameplay, introducing unpredictable challenges that can disrupt even your most careful strategies. The game emphasizes tight, tactical card play, where you use action cards to grow your economy and improve living standards—success depends on smart timing, precision, and taking calculated risks to stay ahead of your rival. With the 2+2 expansion, you can play in partnership mode as one of four powers—East Germany, West Germany, the USA, or the USSR—forming alliances where only one side can win, so you cooperate when it helps but always watch your own conditions. Throughout, you balance military buildup and ideological influence while trying to avoid global catastrophe; push your agenda too hard, and escalation could end the game for everyone.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58090      (added 10/1/2025)
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This game encourages cooperative play, with each session lasting about 30 to 45 minutes. It also includes rules for solo play and for younger players, plus a helpful "How to Play" comic to get everyone started. The game was designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, the creator of the CatStronauts comic series.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58088      (added 10/1/2025)
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This matching bottle party game comes with 20 brightly colored bottles and a masking box that creates fun matching challenges by randomly concealing them. Designed for 2 to 4 players, it encourages teamwork and laughter with straightforward gameplay: shuffle the bottles, then take turns flipping or picking two—if the colors match, keep them as wins, and if not, return them for the next player. The player with the most matching pairs when all bottles are paired wins. For toddlers, the game helps develop grasping skills, color recognition, observation, and hand-eye coordination, making it an engaging activity for the whole family. Made from environmentally friendly wood with safe, water-based paint, the bottles are soft, skin-friendly, and completely harmless for players to handle. With its appealing look and interactive play, this game works well as a birthday, Christmas, or Halloween gift for boys and girls, adding fun memories to family time or gatherings with friends.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58084      (added 10/1/2025)
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This cooperative memory game invites players to work together as they help the iconic Very Hungry Caterpillar find matching snacks before the week ends and the leaf runs out. The interactive 3-D leaf board features a stand-up caterpillar mover and sculpted track that bring Eric Carle’s beloved artwork to life right on your table. With simple setup and quick turns, players flip snack tokens, watch out for sun tokens, and move the caterpillar through 15–20 minutes of family-friendly play. The game reinforces preschool skills like matching, days-of-the-week sequencing, turn-taking, and teamwork for children ages 4 and up. It comes with a convenient drawstring storage bag, a parent guide, and instructions for easy setup and quick gameplay. The box measures 12½ inches by 9 inches by 1½ inches. Inside you’ll find the 3-D game board, leaf tracker, day-of-the-week tracker, caterpillar mover, 7 sun tokens, 24 snack tokens, and easy-to-follow instructions, and it plays 2–6 players.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58087      (added 10/1/2025)
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Race through the colorful world of Who-ville in this festive Grinch-themed Candy Land game. You’ll journey past Cindy-Lou Who’s home, Max’s doghouse, and a twinkly holiday light path as you make your way toward Mt. Crumpit. Draw colorful cards, zoom down the sledding hill, and spread holiday cheer to melt the Grinch’s heart before your friends do. Play as beloved Who-ville characters and follow the cheerful path to relive the charm of How the Grinch Stole Christmas in a fresh, engaging way. Designed for 2 to 4 players ages 5 and up, the game offers simple rules for kids and nostalgic fun for adults. It’s a fitting choice for holiday gatherings, game nights, or as a gift that brings laughter and family-friendly entertainment.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58078      (added 10/1/2025)
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DragonIsles offers a new immersive fantasy adventure in the Dragon series, expanding on the worlds of Dragonwood and Dragon Realm with a setting inspired by Japanese mythology, landscapes, and traditions. Players select a character with unique strengths that grow throughout the game, letting you customize your playstyle as you complete encounters and explore the Isles. Trophies and points are earned by finishing the most encounters, visiting different locations, and mastering battle, with each decision affecting your score. Treasure cards provide special rewards, and potion tokens give you a helpful boost during tough moments, so you can use them strategically to gain an edge over rivals. Designed for players aged 10 and up who enjoy strategic board games, fantasy settings, dice-rolling, and evolving characters, DragonIsles offers engaging mechanics and plenty of replayability.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58089      (added 10/1/2025)
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In this cooperative board game from Peaceable Kingdom, players work together to keep a ghost from escaping a haunted manor after two kids and their dog accidentally wake it in the attic. The game is designed to encourage strategy, cooperation, and shared decision-making, all while providing a unique play experience in the dark with a glow-in-the-dark game board and a light-up ghost mover. It supports emotional development, creative problem-solving, and positive self-esteem in a relaxed, non-competitive setting. The set includes a game board, a light-up ghost, three explorer movers, four camera flash tokens, a spinner, and instructions, and it’s suitable for ages 5 and up.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58068      (added 10/1/2025)
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Narwhal Waterfall is a fast-paced family board game where players work together to guide five narwhals safely up a moving river, trying to avoid tumbling over the waterfall. This cooperative game encourages shared decision-making, simple strategy, and teamwork as everyone collaborates against the game itself rather than competing against each other. The game includes a moving gameboard that adds dynamic play, along with five narwhal figures, one die, 36 swimming cards, 8 special action cards, and instructions. It’s designed for ages 6 and up.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58072      (added 10/1/2025)
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This toddler matching game helps preschoolers learn pattern recognition and strategic thinking through hands-on play that builds fine motor skills. To play, children spin the spinner and use the Sophie Squeezer to pick up a shell that matches the pattern they land on. The first player to collect five shells with different patterns wins. It’s designed to bring early learning into family game night, helping toddlers practice social-emotional skills like taking turns, sharing, and handling wins and losses. The set includes one Sophie the Otter Squeezer, 20 shells in five patterns, four shell snack mats, a spinner, and a game board that also serves as the box for easy setup, cleanup, and storage. This makes it a fitting gift for birthdays, holidays, or classroom use. For more preschool games and educational activities for ages 3 and up, visit the Educational Insights store.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58056      (added 10/1/2025)
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In Peek-A-Boo Zoo, an animal has escaped, and players travel around the board to figure out which one it is. As you play, you’ll practice color recognition, deductive reasoning, and taking turns. To start, slide a card into the board, roll the die, and move to the nearest matching color. If you roll a Peek-a-Boo space, you can open the nearest peek window for a clue. The first player to correctly guess the missing animal wins. This fast-paced, sensory game helps toddlers connect observation with reasoning in a fun, engaging way. With a simple setup—just insert a card, choose a pawn, and start rolling—it’s easy to jump right into play. Invite friends over for a detective challenge that’s great for playdates or sleepovers.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58058      (added 10/1/2025)
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In this family strategy game, you can dive into a neighborhood, meet iconic Sims, and work toward fulfilling your life’s aspirations. Gather up to five players, each crafting their own unique story as you collect matching SIMbols along the way. Every game brings a fresh journey with unexpected surprises, so your life story can turn out differently each time you play. Fans will appreciate the nostalgic details, including iconic artwork, plumbob movers, interaction dice, and a needs tracker—making the game both fun to play and nice to display. It’s designed for 2 to 5 players ages 12 and up.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58076      (added 10/1/2025)
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Step into the world of One Piece with this cooperative board game, where you and up to four friends can join Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat crew on an adventure across the seas—from East Blue all the way to Wano. Designed for players aged 10 and up, you’ll recruit allies, complete missions, and battle familiar foes as you work together to help Luffy become the Pirate King. With 100 characters from the beloved anime series, each featuring unique skills that fans will appreciate, the game offers rich detail and replayability. Multiple difficulty levels make it enjoyable for both dedicated gamers and casual players, and its compact box makes it easy to bring along for travel, game nights, or to give as a gift.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58080      (added 10/1/2025)
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Mission: Red Planet is a space exploration strategy game where players act as mining corporations competing to colonize Mars and gather valuable resources like celerium, sylvanite, and ice. The game unfolds over 10 rounds, giving you opportunities to deploy astronauts, control resource-rich areas, and secure the most valuable materials before your rivals. Each round, you'll use unique character cards to decide when your astronauts launch and what special actions you can take, adding strategic depth to every decision. You can also complete secret missions for extra points and use research cards to change the value of resources on Mars, introducing layers of strategy and surprise. Designed for 2 to 6 players, this game blends tactical choices with resource management, making it a great option for family or game nights with friends.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58086      (added 10/1/2025)
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This time-telling game helps students build their skills through play, using three card decks that progress from telling time to the hour and half hour, up to 5-minute intervals and elapsed time. Kids practice with both analog and digital clocks using multisensory tools like squishy toys, a hands-on fidget clock, and colorful visual cards, which help reinforce concepts through movement and touch. Designed for grades 1 to 5, the game aligns with US and Canadian provincial standards and works well for review, enrichment, or introducing new skills at any point in the curriculum. It includes visual aids and manipulatives to support learners of all abilities, including those with autism, ADHD, or learning differences. Created by teachers, the game uses repetition, sensory engagement, and cooperative play—where players work together to rescue their Squishy Pals—to build confidence and support classroom, homeschool, small group, or family learning.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58082      (added 10/1/2025)
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The Hag's Gaze adds a twist to the maze by letting you place the Hag figure on a tile and switch on her UV eye. This reveals hidden paths and traps, but only in the area where she's standing, so the maze changes right under her watchful gaze.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58091      (added 10/1/2025)
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Step into the world of the Cthulhu Mythos in this mystery game set in 1920s America, where you and your fellow agents of the Bureau of Investigation work to uncover supernatural threats inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. As a cooperative detective game, players team up to investigate five peculiar cases—each one strange enough to test your resolve. Based on the rules of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective with some new investigative mechanics, it offers a fresh challenge for fans of that series while remaining accessible to newcomers. You'll explore locations like Boston and Arkham, follow leads, interview witnesses, and piece together clues across five highly variable cases that blend twists and new gameplay elements. Designed for 1 to 8 players ages 14 and up, each session typically lasts between 2 to 4 hours.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58063      (added 10/1/2025)
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This two-player strategy game lets you relive the Battle of Hoth, where you can take command of either the Imperial Army or the Rebel Forces in a fast-paced, head-to-head showdown. The game includes a set of detailed miniatures featuring iconic Star Wars characters, vehicles, and troops to bring the battle to your tabletop. With custom dice and tactical options to guide your decisions, each playthrough offers a dynamic and unique experience. It’s well suited for Star Wars fans and players who enjoy immersive, tactical games.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58085      (added 10/1/2025)
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This cooperative game invites 1–5 players to defend the city of Waterdeep and the depths of Undermountain from four legendary Dungeons & Dragons monsters: the Beholder, Displacer Beast, Mimic, and Red Dragon. Work together to protect citizens and outwit these iconic foes in a strategy-focused adventure that encourages teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Each session lasts about 60 minutes, and with each monster presenting unique tactics and challenges, the game offers plenty of variety and replayability. Inside the box, you’ll find a richly illustrated game board, sculpted monster miniatures, hero badges, citizen standees, a custom d20, cards, dice, and all the tokens needed to start your quest right away.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58079      (added 10/1/2025)
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Explore the world of Awesome Animals with this engaging board game for kids ages 4 and up. It encourages creative play, teamwork, and memory skills as children interact with their favorite animal characters. Designed for two players, the game challenges kids to align their character cubes vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to make matches. You can earn extra points if the character on your cube matches one of the two cards you hold. This matching activity helps develop observation, critical thinking, and memory in a fun, interactive way. The set includes a game grid, 25 character cubes, 15 character cards, and instructions. Compact and easy to carry, this mini board game is great for travel, parks, classrooms, or parties, making it a versatile choice for families and educators. It’s also a game that both kids and adults can enjoy together, offering strategic challenges for family game nights or casual play. As a thoughtful gift for 4-year-olds and up, it supports cognitive development through playful learning and is equally appealing to boys and girls.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58060      (added 10/1/2025)
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In this family game, your goal is to reach the end of the board without exploding—but one wrong move can cause the board to flip over, revealing a whole new path where every step could be your last. Designed for 2 to 6 players ages 7 and up, it’s easy to learn and quick to play, with plenty of suspense, surprise, and laugh-out-loud moments along the way. It works well for parties, family game nights, or as a gift for fans of Exploding Kittens or anyone who enjoys a good strategy game. The game includes 65 action cards, 26 move cards, a pop-up game board, 6 character standees, and more, letting you play as characters like TacoCat, SushiCat, or GnomeCat, and use items like Meatpants, a Litterbox Sandworm, or a Butterfly Punch. This strategy board game celebrates 10 years of creating experiences that bring friends and family together for memorable fun.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58062      (added 10/1/2025)
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In Castles of Burgundy, players trade, build, and manage their realm through strategic decisions and careful planning. The game includes 164 six-sided tiles, 42 goods tiles, 20 silverlings used as currency, 30 worker tiles, 12 bonus tiles, 4 victory tiles, 8 playing pieces, 9 dice, a game board, and 16 player boards. Designed for 2 to 4 players, it works well for family or friend game nights. Recommended for ages 12 and up, it suits both teenagers and adults. A typical game lasts between 30 and 90 minutes and is geared toward an intermediate skill level, encouraging strategic thinking and planning throughout play.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58023      (added 10/1/2025)
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Build and expand your own 19th-century Norwegian fishing village by collecting fish, upgrading buildings, engaging in trade, and exploring new technologies. Each round, you’ll draft dice to activate buildings, gather resources, and take actions such as sending out fishing boats, completing trade orders, or advancing on technology tracks. The game offers strong replayability with variable setup—special abilities and end scoring tiles change each time, so no two games play the same. You can also unlock technological advancements to improve your fishing boat and gain special abilities, adding strategic depth as you progress. Designed for strategy game fans and family game nights, it plays in about 60 minutes and brings rich thematic elements inspired by Norwegian fishing culture.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58032      (added 10/1/2025)
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In this strategic origami challenge, players compete to become the ultimate Origami Collecting Master by gathering the most pieces of a single design. Each turn, an arrow token determines which row or column you can take from, so every move matters—not just for what you collect, but for what you leave behind for other players. The game includes 48 beautifully colored wooden origami tokens and one arrow token, offering both tactile appeal and vibrant visuals. It’s fast-paced and family-friendly, easy to learn and quick to play, making it a great choice for game nights, travel, or family gatherings. Suitable for ages 8 and up, the game has enough depth to keep adults engaged. With its compact size and dynamic mechanics, COLORO is portable and replayable, perfect for casual fun or more strategic play sessions.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58053      (added 10/1/2025)
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Lucha Lucha 345 is a fast-paced strategy game with a stack-based system that plays out in a compact arena, offering plenty of replay value. It's designed for players ages 6 and up, with straightforward rules and strategic depth that work well for family game nights, quick matches, or gatherings with friends. The game sets up quickly and plays in energetic rounds, making it a good fit for two players or larger groups. Built with durable components and a travel-ready format, it holds up well whether you're playing at home or on the go. As a thoughtful gift for birthdays or holidays, it appeals to fans of strategy games and casual play alike.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58054      (added 10/1/2025)
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Patterns is a strategic board game with a mandala theme, where players swap tiles on a tea towel play mat to claim territory. You’ll compete to mark connected colored areas as your own while trying to disrupt your opponent’s patterns. Clever scoring comes into play as you place markers to make each move count toward victory. The game is quick to set up and can be explained in under five minutes, so you can start playing right away. With its unique tea towel design and engaging gameplay, Patterns offers plenty of replay value for hours of fun.
ToyDirectory Product ID#: 58027      (added 10/1/2025)
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