February 2015 Notable Toys — Family Games

It's a modern twist on the popular Simon game, the classic fast-action game where you need to remember and repeat the patterns. The Simon Swipe game has the iconic colors, lights, and sounds of the classic Simon game in which you respond to the ever-increasing pattern of the light and sound combinations, but now touch screen technology adds an extra challenge to the game. Swipe the lights to conquer the colors! To master this challenging game, you need to tap, swipe, and reverse your way to victory as you try to repeat the pattern of lights and sounds. When you hear the music and see the lights flash, you've leveled up and a new pattern will start. If you make a mistake, the buzzer will signal the end of the game and the unit will let you know your score. 4 ways to play!
Awards: 2015 TIA Game of the Year

Split before he splats on you! Players squeeze the seagull's tail as he flies over the sunbathers below. The kid-powered pump on the seagull's tail randomly squirts bubble solutions; if he splats on your sunbather you lose a playing piece. This unique games provides hours of foamy fun for all ages! 2-4 players.

SPECTACULAR, QUICK, KALEIDOSCOPIC ROLLING CUBE GAMES
30 COLOR CUBES – 6 COLORFUL GAMES!
Imagine 30 of the most beautiful, multi-colored cubes you’ve ever seen. Fun to hold, fun to ROLL, and Spectracube includes rules for SIX different games, from fast to strategic, to satisfy all fans of rolling dice game action!

LOVERS OF CHESS, CHECKERS AND PUZZLE GAMES WILL LOVE JUXTABO! THE COLORFUL GAME WHERE YOU STACK TO WIN
Juxtabo is a fun 3D game where players stack colorful pieces to create patterns on the challenge cards. The board is different every single game, because players create the board with Juxtabo pieces. As the game goes on, the board grows, and it starts to look like a colorful mountain range. The player with the most challenge cards completed at the end of the game wins!

IELLO's Kobayakawa is a quick and fun betting and bluffing game with a poker-like feel. In feudal Japan, powerful samurai clans battle for dominion over the land. But just being the strongest isn’t enough. The powerful Kobayakawa clan shifts allegiance like the wind, bringing victory to the weak. Do you have what it takes to outsmart them? Kobayakawa is a simple card game for 3-6 players. Using just 15 cards, bluff and bet your way to victory over seven rounds.

IELLO's Eat Me If You Can! is a quick-to-play, easy-to-learn bluffing game with characters from famous fairly tales. The Wolf is back, and he is not happy! But Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Little Pigs, and the Seven Kids may yet have the last laugh! Each turn, take on the role of one of these famous characters. As the Wolf, try to surprise the other players in their sleep by sneaking into their lovely little cottages. But beware, Wolf! Your tender victims may have laid traps for you! A quick game to enjoy with family or friends! Explained in 2 minutes! Be crafty, and don’t hesitate to bluff if it will save your skin!

IELLO's King of New York is a follow up to Richard Garfield's award-winning King of Tokyo - now with buildings and military units to destroy! There’s always something happening in the city that never sleeps. Maybe it’s the lights, maybe it’s the energy, or maybe it’s the giant monsters trying to demolish the place! Get ready for Richard Garfield’s follow up to the best-selling King of Tokyo! Who will be the King of New York? King of New York introduces lots of new ways to play, while still keeping the core ideas of King of Tokyo. There are Buildings to Stomp! Vengeful Military Units to Destroy! Six brand new Monsters! Every roll of the dice might mean that your monster feels the OUCH, as military units open fire. Will you grab the spotlight, and become a celebrity Superstar? Or will you become the defender of the city, and befriend Lady Liberty? Each of New York’s boroughs has its own charms, but to truly rule the Big Apple, you have to control Manhattan. Defeat the other monsters and rule the city...Become the King of New York!

IELLO's The Grasshopper and the Ant - the newest in the Tales & Games series! IELLO's Grasshopper and the Ant requires players to alternate between the Grasshopper or the Ant, as they gather the provisions for winter. The Grasshopper, who played away the summer, was made foolish by this tiny but industrious Ant. But the Grasshopper has hatched a plan: follow the Ant to some remote field, in order to steal her precious yield.  To pass the long, cold winter without without undo hardship, alternate playing as the Grasshopper and the Ant to gather the provisions that will lead you to victory!

Ready, Set, TACO! Take an order ticket, grab a taco shell and be the first player to stuff your shell with all the correct toppings! It's fast, fun, and NACHO average game!

Pentago 10th anniversary commemorative Jubilee Edition is a two player, five in a row strategy game. A stylish, sleek black and white board is wrapped in an elegant smoky black cover; the marbles are a glamorous black and gold to make a powerful visual impression on all players. Pentago Jubilee is packaged in a clear clamshell packaging to show off the beauty of the game itself, the showy clear visual of the game, framed by a graphically appealing box that communicates the many awards Pentago has claimed over the decade.

6 TIME X-GAMES GOLD MEDALIST CREATES A BOARD GAME INSPIRED BY DAUGHTER! Bucky Lasek’s Ramps and Rails game play is mix between a fun chute and ladders race and an educational tool, which helps children better understand the relationship between numbers and spaces. Recent trends in accelerated learning of science and technology have shown the "count-on" method of play yields real benefits for children with their ability to use numbers.

Bellz is deceptively simple and yet supremely challenging at the same time. Just open the travel pouch and you’re ready to play! The pouch opens to become the game arena. Inside there are 40 custom bells in 4 colors and 3 different sizes. Players use the magnet wand to pick up bells of only one color. Make a string off the end of the magnet wand, or create a cluster — just don’t pick up bells of any other color or the turn is over. Each player must decide how far to push their luck on every turn. The first player to collect all 10 bells of one color wins!
The magnet wand can be used two ways:
Use the small end for precision grabs, or try the larger, more powerful end to make really long chains. You choose which end to use each turn.

A pirate track game with a wind-up pirate galleon to sail around the treasure island. Be the first player to fill your loot bag with coins from the treasure chest before the pirates catch up with you in their galleon! For 2 to 4 players. Contents: game board, wind-up pirate galleon, 4 loot bag boards, 24 play coins, 4 pirate counters with stands, dice, dice shaker, guide. Mention ToyDirectory for special considerations

Blurble is a hilarious, fast-paced card game that is great for nearly all ages and group sizes. Flip over a card and be the first to say a word that starts with the same letter as the image on the card. Proper nouns, numbers, and words with fewer than three letters are not allowed. The winner of each card moves on to challenge another player, and the player with the most cards at the end is the winner. Aside from the hilarious gameplay, Blurble is also a great educational tool for children.

Solve 2-D and 3-D puzzles by rearranging game pieces. Pick a puzzle from the book, set up the challenge and then place the remaining game pieces to solve the puzzle. Kanoodle Genius offers 200+ brain-busting puzzles for you to solve all on your own. If you've completed the puzzles of the original Kanoodle, you'll love the even more challenging Kanoodle Genius. You'll feel yourself getting smarter.

It is the early 1900’s and you are the owner of one of the fastest growing rail companies in the eastern USA. Expand your rail network as you connect cities in order to pick up and deliver more goods. Complete contracts and routes to bring in money to modernize your train. Upgrade your engines, tenders and railcars to transport the most freight. Build farther, transport more and amass wealth on your way to become 'King of the Rails'!
2–4 players • Ages 14 and up • Playing time: 60 min

Figure out who your frozen friends are in this hilarious new party game. Is he hurling a javelin or being a superhero? Is she a tumbleweed or a hedgehog? It’s a laugh a minute as you guess what your friends are trying to be while they… Strike A Pose. Each round, all but one player (the Guesser) must freeze into a statue depicting one of the people, places or things on the current card in play. When everyone is set, the Guesser enters the room and decides who’s who after looking at the current card! Lots of laughs in this game that’s great for families, parties and groups!
3–14 players • Ages 10 and up • Playing time: 45–60 min

Where the heck are your friends...in this party game of outlandish locations and cryptic clues? With only thirty seconds to paw through a giant pile of photo clues, the pressure is on to pick ones that describe your secret hiding spot so you can be found. When time runs out, the Messes are passed around and you must guess which of the possible locations landed in front of you. What will YOU choose when you have to...GUESS THE MESS!
3–8 players • Ages 10 and up • Playing time: 30–45 min