May 2010 Notable Toys — Travel

Designed to be comfortable and cozy for pet portability, this is a handy case in which you can put your pet. William Xie of China Toybiz told TDmonthly, "With our gadget, travel with your pet will be quite easier."

To help kids pass the time traveling, this Travel Kit includes fun activities, mini crayons and three draw-your-own postcards. Shelley Dieterichs of Good Buddy Notes told TDmonthly the Here We Go! Travel Kit's best features are its "price point, convenient size and packaging for travel." Launch date: 2008.

Featuring two wheels and a different SQUIGGLE on each page, one wheel features amphibians and insects, the other wheel features animals. Person spins both wheels, and combines the two results together to create a unique creature with the SQUIGGLE on the page.

An activity pad for multiple players. Player starts out spinning the wheel on the pad to land on a random category. Player then draws an item based on that category while other players ask 20 questions related to that category to guess what was drawn.

Ideal for travel, this creative activity includes four colored pencils and gives kids the chance to not only identify shapes but to create objects, patterns and characters. As children work through the pad, the shapes and designs become more complex.
― Out of 39 retailers interviewed by TDmonthly in March 2010 about top items in travel, two said Squiggle On-the-Go is a best selling product in their stores.

Mad Libs combine language education, creative stimulation, and just plain silly fun. Each page asks for a list of words by part of speech, which are then plugged into strategic blanks in a short story on the page following. When distributed throughout the Mad Libs framework, a list of seemingly ordinary words becomes inventive and hilarious.
― Two of 39 retailers who participated in TDmonthly's March 2010 survey of top-selling travel toys said Mad Libs are their best.
— “We sell three Mad Libs a day,” Ava Allen, owner of Be Beep A Toy Store in Columbia, S.C., told TDmonthly in autumn 2010.
— In an April 2013 survey, two out of 12 retailers said that Mad Libs are one of their best-selling travel products.

Be a super detective! Use your Invisible Ink pen to uncover the truth and solve the mysteries. Here are just some of the games you will find inside this book, decode the cryptograms, decipher Krazygrams, and nab the crook in jailbreak.
Each book includes 48 pages of fun and a special pen.
― Out of 39 retailers, four named activity books from Lee Publications as their top-selling travel item in March 2010, reporting sales averaging 24 per month.
― Kristen Dolle, manager of Playthings Toy Shoppe in Louisville, Ky. told TDmonthly in late Spring 2011 that Magic pen books by Lee Publications were a best-selling travel toy.
— In an April 2012 survey about best selling travel toys, Joe Berardoni, owner of Pun's Toys in Bryn Mawr, Pa., told TDmonthly: "As a category, Lee Publication’s Yes & Know books continue to sell out during travel time due to their wide age range and low retail price."
— Want this? As of 05/06/2011, this product was available for purchase at Playthings Toy Shoppe.

Kids can get all the fun of coloring in a neat, compact and portable kit. Use the washable, dry-erase crayons to draw and color on the included reusable activity sheets, then wipe them clean with the EZ-erase mitt. The pack includes four washable dry-erase crayons, eight reusable activity sheets, dry-erase case, EZ-erase mitt, and crayon sharpener. Launch date: 2010.

This is the travel edition of Mentirosa, a dice version of liar's poker. To win you must mislead your opponents and manipulate each turn to your advantage. Lie, taunt, tease...he who lies last, lies best. The object of the game is to be the last player standing. Each set includes 6 Mentirosa player's tubes, 6 sets of poker dice, Loser Chips, Mentirosa Travel zipper case, instructions in English. For 2-20 players.

Kids can pick up a pen and get started laughing with this wacky book of activities. The tote includes two write-and-wipe pens, a clean-up cloth and 17 pages of fun activities to play alone or with friends. Launch date: 2010.

BusyKiddy includes a collection of small toys and activities conveniently packaged in a reusable lunch bag — perfect for entertaining kids in restaurants, appointments or short trips. "We combine products from a variety of quality vendors to create an activity kit that will entertain for hours," Jennifer Untermeyer, owner, PurpleSnakes LLC (DBA TravelKiddy), told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 2009.

Dress up these stylish young girls in a variety of outfits. Each tin consists of 2 characters printed on the tin, activity card to be used on the tin and 1 sheet of magnets.

See how much you know with hundreds of interesting questions on dozens of different topics. Have fun competing with the invisible opponent as you play games by yourself. Each book includes 48 pages of fun and a special pen.

UNISET Magic Stickers Activity set is designed to offer a great and unique play pattern that is well-suited for traveling, with stickers created to stick over and over. It consists of two background scenes, Magic Stickers, a postcard, 10 activity and coloring sheets, and seven coloring pencils. The following titles are available: Winnie the Pooh, Disney Princess, Disney Pirates of the Caribbean and Disney Cars. Launch date: 2010.

Turn ABCs into a hilarious and challenging game. Players pick a category card from the deck and think fast to find the words to match — alphabetically. A, B, C might be easy, but the challenge is to see if one can get to X, Y, Z. There are multiple ways to play: individually, head to head, or competing in teams. Players can play in English, French, Spanish or German. Launch date: February 14, 2010.

Puzzles range from a few dots to hundreds of dots with images that cannot be guessed before the puzzle is started.

Crazy Cheese is both a puzzle and a brain-teaser, all in the same slice of cheese. With two levels of difficulty, the Crazy Cheese puzzle is designed to provide hours of entertainment for the whole family. "Beware, as simple as it appears, completing this puzzle without the solution key is a phenomenal feat of perseverance and brain power!" Bert Devort, Sales Department, Blue Orange Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 14, 2010.
― Two of 40 retailers told TDmonthly in June 2010 that Crazy Cheese is one of their top-selling puzzles.
— Jeanette Lauture of Aunt Jean's Toys and Treats in Montclair, N.J. Sells about two to four Blue Orange games per month, she said in the fall of 2010.

Players use their three dice hidden in their see-through cup and three community dice to make their combinations. The winner will be the one who can combine enough luck and strategy to walk off with all the chips! "Peek Poker is a fast-paced, fun and relaxed dice version of its cousin, Texas Hold’em Poker. Think you have got a good hand? Challenge your opponents ... And beware of bluffers, they’ll fill you with doubt!" Bert Devort, Sales Department, Blue Orange Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 14, 2010.
— "We always love new things from Blue Orange Games," shared John MacDougall, owner of Golden Apple Learning Store in Pleasanton, Calif., at Toy Fair 2010. "Peek Poker Holdem will be another hit for us!"

Cards are played in sequence, progressing up or down. A player sets down cards in number order. A yellow card means to take a chip out of the Golden Gate. But then, there's some skill involved: Can a player place them at the right times to get the best chips? Or will the opportunity pass? Getting stuck with red cards means a loss of chips. "Golden Gate is an exciting card game in which you combine a little bit of luck with the right plays to start piling up your points. It’s a fast, friendly showdown for the gold with the fine craftsmanship and colorful designs you’ve come to expect from Blue Orange Games," Bert Devort, Sales Department, Blue Orange Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 14, 2010.

This activity book has 96 pages packed with word find, crossword puzzles, color by numbers, word scramble and connect the dots, along with fascinating facts about life under the sea. It has a lenticular 3D/zoom front cover. Launch date: February 2, 2010.

This 100-page activity book includes six fun games in one book, including Tic-Tac-Toe, Pictionary, Doodle It, Hangman and Categories. It has a lenticular flip-front cover that changes from one colorful image to another. Launch date: January 11, 2010.