July 2010 Notable Toys — Card Games

Wings of War: World War II Deluxe Edition is a great place for new users to start playing Wings of War, the action-packed game of aerial combat and World War II dogfights. This limited deluxe edition includes the complete rules of Wings of War (including the dive-bombing rules from Wings of War: Fire From the Sky), a full set of player boards, maneuver decks, and tokens, and four beautifully-painted and accurately-sculpted miniatures, based on the four major planes of the early days of World War II: the Spitfire, Messerschmitt, Zero and Wildcat. Rick Nuaertz, Sales Associate for Fantasy Flight Games, told TDmonthly, "Each plane has a specific maneuver deck with its own unique options, so players fly differently from game to game."

Wings of War is a game series that merges card and board game mechanics to recreate aerial combat. The first series of Wings of War games focus on the "knights of the air" age, World War I, portraying the abilities of the fighting planes of this period. Wings of War: Famous Aces is the first set of the WWI collection. It includes five types of planes: the Spad XIII, Albatros D Va, Sopwith Camel, Fokker Dr1 and the Sopwith Triplane. Each plane was flown by an ace: Baracca, von Richtofen, Rickenbecker, Fonck, Olieslagers and Baker. Fantasy Flight Games Sales Associate Rick Nauertz told TDmonthly, "By selecting from his maneuver deck, each player can plot out the loops, rolls and twists that his dogfighting plane will undertake."

These collectible tins can store decks, cards and other Yu-Gi-Oh! accessories. Each tin includes a Secret Rare variant card of the monster depicted on the tin, along with four additional Super Rare variant cards and five booster packs.

In this tactical card game, players are monarchs who rule small peasant kingdoms. The players compete to enlarge their kingdoms by claiming as much land as possible. The game is for two to four players and can be played in approximately 30 minutes.
— As of 1.06.2011 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 128 reviews on Amazon.com and was No. 29 on the top 100 bestselling toys and games. PROS: Variety keeps players entertained. CONS: Cards are easy to lose.

In this game, everyone plays the role of detective and suspect. At the beginning of the game, each player blindly draws a card from the deck, and the character on the card becomes their secret identity. The dealer deals the cards and roll the dice to set up the crime scene. Players can “solve the case” by matching their six fingerprint cards to the six fingerprint dice, and can "tamper with the evidence” by drawing a new card, or re-rolling one of the dice.

The SplashJack set of cards allows for card play in the water. SplashJack is simply Slap Jack, but played in water. To play, distribute the deck of cards evenly among all of the players. The player holds their pile of cards face down. Each player takes a turn placing their card face up in the middle of the group on the water. When someone places a Jack down in the pile, the first player to splash the pile of cards wins the cards. Play continues until a player has acquired all of the cards from the deck. Splashing the cards may also happen if the same number is laid down twice in a row or the same number sandwiches only one other card.

Splashimals can be played anywhere there is water but it can also be played on dry ground too. For ages 2 to 5+, depending on the age, children can use the cards for animal recognition, for creating new animals by mixing the combinations, for a game of memory, and for practicing reading skills.

This playing card set consists of four timeless card games - Crazy Eights, Hearts, Old Maid and Go Fish - each designed with its own vibrant and vintage Ringling Brothers artwork.

WOKER is Word Poker. The cards represent letters and the goal is to make the highest scoring words based on the points associated with each letter. The cards are dealt as in three popular poker games. "It can be a family game, a party game or an educational tool," LCT Enterprises President Lisa C. Teore told TDmonthly.

Word FRENZY is a fast-paced, word-forming card game that aims to foster spelling, vocabulary, word association and math skills. Playing with letter cards, players try to be the first to collect cards that spell a four-letter word relating to a category. "It's stealth education made fun!" Tame Tiger Marketing VP Steve Kam told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2009 Parents' Choice Approved Award; 2009 Dr. Toy's Best Picks; 2009 The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval; 2010 Family Review Center Gold Award; 2010 Family Review Center Editor's Choice Award

Booray! is a fast-paced New Orleans-themed poker game. The first player to obtain 400 Booray Bucks or to be the last player standing wins. This game consists of 52 custom-designed cards and 108 Booray Buck cards, and is designed for three to six players.

In this card game, when a player gets four-of-a-kind in his hand, it is just like the music stopping in a traditional round of musical chairs. The player grabs a chair and all other players react and grab for a chair, too. There is one less chair than the number of players in the round and the player without a chair is out.

The Chat Pack contains 156 cards, each featuring a question meant to get people talking. This game is designed for dinner parties, family gatherings, car trips, and classroom activities.

Les Mess is an organizational card game designed to encourage kids to pitch in when it comes time to clean and get rid of clutter. By completing one of the tasks on the cards, children earn a prize while making the home more organized.
— Jennifer from The Dirty tShirt tried the cards and found them simple enough for even her toddler. She recommended Les Mess “to everyone trying to teach their children the wonders of organizing their things.”
— Quiverfull Family’s Jennifer used Les Mess to get all of her children excited about cleaning and organizing. She said Les Mess is best “when approached with a light heart, and a fun-filled attitude.”

Formerly called Patchwork, FlipOut is a fast-paced logic game for two to five players designed to build logic, memory and patterning skills in a fun setting. Players trade colorful, two-sided cards between plastic racks to create sets, or steal them from each other. Game play takes 20 to 30 minutes.

Kids can learn to multiply numbers 0 to 12 with these 55 pocket-sized flash cards.

In this game, three to eight players get the chance to be seriously rich but must beware of the Taxman. Participants fiddle in finance, dabble in real estate, or make millions in movies, and should be clear thinking, quick of hand and shout the loudest. There is no set order of play. Players simply shuffle cards according to the number of players, deal, then shout or trade their way to build up a full set of cards and make a billion dollar fortune.

This clever memory recall game challenges players to memorize as many details as they can in just 10 short seconds. To play, turn the timer over, concentrate on the card and try to memorize as many details of the picture as you can. Players then roll the die to determine which question will be asked and quiz each other on what they remember. Is the starfish red or blue? What 'giant' creature is shown? Is a purple coral shown? The nature theme will keep young minds engaged in this fast-paced game of concentration and detail.

The game begins with a Random Universe arrangement. Players try to create an Ordered Universe of life and form. The illustrated cards represent various thought-provoking concepts. The game also includes The Collection, a booklet of 40 more co-op card games for the same deck.

A fast-playing, portable game of Scattergories.  Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game wins. Included are a deck of letter cards, a deck of category cards, 2 "I Know" cards, and a card tray.

The Adventures of Tommy the Tomato Playing Cards is an extension of the alphabet book for children. It is a memory, "go fish" and trivia game all in one. The games are designed to teach children literacy though the alphabet as well as the benefits of nutrition while being interactive.

The popular Calico Critters by International Playthings are the focus of this new card game. In Who’s Missing: A Calico Critters Card Game, two to four players try to memorize an ever-increasing number of cards and remember the missing cards after some are removed by the dealer. The 48 cards feature pictures of the Calico Critters families and can be used to play two additional games.
— Katie of Katie’s Nesting Spot reported that the adorable Critters attracted her daughter to the game and kept her interested while building her memory and number recognition skills. Katie felt that the increasing number of cards in play and inclusion of several styles of play provided “a great way to keep older kids challenged and engaged.”
— Jocelin Cap of BSCKids liked the quality of the oversized cards, noting that the thickness of the laminated cards “allows the children to manipulate them from a slick tabletop a lot easier.” Jocelin played the game with her two young sons, who “loved when they were dealing and had the opportunity to trick us when they pulled a card away.”

In this card game, players enter a small dense forest, hidden from humans, filled with hobgoblins, elves and leprechauns engaged in a fierce struggle to see who will become Grand Master of the Woods. The cards show the various inhabitants of the forest and in each round, one plays a card to immediately apply its magical power. Depending on the powers, played cards will be stolen, swapped, lost, regained. Ruby Nikolopoulou, Marketing Manager at Asmodee, told TDmonthly, "The pocket format makes it easy to take on vacation." Launch date: October 2009.