July 2011 Notable Toys — Board Games

KATATU, which means ‘three’, is a unique abstract strategy board game, very rich in history, that takes its roots from a 3000 year old game that was played originally in Italy and Egypt and eventually made its way to Southern Africa. KATATU is adapted from this ancient game that has never before been available in a packaged form to the Western part of the world until now. Very easy to learn, but hard to master, KATATU can take some surprising twists and plays in about 15 minutes. Ages 5 and up. Where Tic-Tac-Toe leaves off, KATATU picks up.
Awards: 2012 Game of the Year and 2012 Preferred Choice Award from Creative Play Magazine; 2012 Seal of Approval National Parenting Center; Dr. Toy 2012 winner Best New Products; 2011 Preferred Choice Award Creative Child Magazine; TDmonthly Magazine Staff Pick August 2011

Chaostle is a board game that has many levels of strategy, from picking a starting army to moving throughout the multi-level castle towards victory. Chaostle has many fates that constantly effect the game, ranging from mild setbacks to cataclysmic earthquakes. These unpredictable twists of fate can be either from the card of happiness or the card of doom. Chaostle offers a wide range of fantasy characters to strategically build an army. The game comes standard with sixteen of these custom collectible miniature characters. Chaostle features 23 three-dimensional castle walls that are secured onto the game board. The fantasy fighters can move any direction throughout the castle including up and down stairways to change levels.

Control the flow - control your opponents. Game for 2 to 4 players. Game time: 30-45 minutes. Control the flow by altering the flow directional tiles. Gain a reward token each time you either push an opponent's pawn out of the board or into an existing infinite loop. Collect most tokens at the end of the game to win.

Burning bridges behind you is not all bad! In this game it's the only way you can win.
Game for 2 or 3 players. Game time: 15 - 30 minutes. Take turns in moving from island to island across a bridge. After crossing the bridge set the bridge on fire. Once the fire is set no one can move or jump over it. The game continues until there are no more bridges remaining, all the scorch points have been awarded. The player with the highest count of scorch points wins.

Each player is a daemon that guides and influences the main character. The game is a struggle between daemons to control main character's mood by using the environment surrounding the character. Daemons take turns playing cards to trigger the environment to shift the mood. Each player's actions directly affect decisions and strategy of the other players. The game ends when Moody enters the mood wheel. Players uncover both mission cards and check how close they are to Moody's final mood determined by the mood marker. Each space gives 1 point. Count how far is the distance from your mission mood to the final mood marker. The player with the least points wins the game. Each game can end up in a draw between 2 players. Play more than one game to truly establish who is the MOOD MASTER.

Players move on a 6 x 6 game grid. Movement is determined by roll of dice and coordinates embedded in each game place. Along the way players can pick up booster cards which can help them get to the target area or hinder the efforts of their opponents. The seemingly simple concept of transferring the game pieces from start to finish takes a different shape in Avodome. The game “twists and turns” after each move and is never decided until the last playing piece of one player lands on the target area. No player is ever in the lead since the boosters add a special dynamic to the game where a player seemingly “in the lead” can be blocked, forced back and actually loose the game to a player who appears to be “dead last”.

Features 36 party gras bead strings, 300 party gras cards, 1 rule sheet, for ages 13 and older. 4 to 12 players. Party gras is a perfect way to spice up any social occasion. Unlike other games, you won’t be stuck sitting around a table. Players stand up, move around and try to cleverly complete the lively mission on their cards. Mind control: make someone refuse to throw away the trash. Caught in the act: catch someone text messaging. Talk it out: find someone who likes werewolves better than vampires. Players must use charm and wit to get those sparkly beads away from others, all while they’re trying to get beads from their opponents. Collect the most beads to win. 10 or more minutes to play. Created by GaZima Games.

Diception is a strategic board and dice game for 2 to 4 people. Players must bluff and bid their way through the game. Each Diception board game comes with 20 dice, a Second Chance Cube, four high quality genuine leather tumblers, instruction booklet that reveals multiple different ways to play, and a convenient and durable carrying case, complete with carrying strap.

Small World Underground is a stand-alone game set beneath the surface of the same fun, light-hearted Small World universe of epic conquests and fallen empires. Featuring new Races and Special Powers, Small World Underground also introduces Monster occupied regions that protect Relics and Places of great power! It can be played on its own or combined with other Small World game elements, and is recommended for experienced Small World players. "The new game mechanic (conquering Monster-occupied regions to gain Righteous Relics and Popular Places) brings a new twist to original game play," Mark Kaufmann, VP of Sales & Marketing at Days of Wonder, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.

In the game Fauna, players are not expected to know all the answers, simply gather their wits and make an educated guess. Right on target? Great! Close? That's good too, since players can score partial points. The more they play, the better they get.  Playing Fauna involves some fun betting for points. Contents: 1 double-sided game board (metric & imperial units); 180 animal cards with 360 animals; 1 card box; 42 bet markers, divided in 6 colors; 30 black evaluation markers; 1 lion marker (for the starting player). Launch date: July 2011.
Awards: 2009 Spiel des Jahres Nominee Germany

The taiga is home to many kinds of animals. Families of red foxes, porcupines, beavers, snowy owls and caribou live there, hidden in nature. Sarah and Jacob, two biologists, are trying to study them and need to take a closer look. Players must help them find the hidden animals. In this memory and deduction game, flip the wooden disks to reveal the animals hidden below. Contents: 10 cards; 10 wooden discs; 1 bag; Wooden tokens; Game rules. Launch date: July 2011.

Each player has 8 tiles. The first player puts one of their tiles on the table. In turns, they place their tiles edge-to-edge. The graphics must match perfectly (sea must connect to sea and land must connect to land) and players have to respect a 4x4 grid. The last player to be able to place a tile wins the round. They receive one island token. The first player to receive 3 island tokens wins the game. Contents: 16 wooden tiles; 5 island tokens; 1 bag; Game rules. Launch date: July 2011.

Two spider clans are fighting each other in an epic duel. Spiders in bigger groups will defeat the weakest in the intersections of the web. A thrilling and challenging strategy game, where players attack and capture their opponent's spiders. Contents: 18 spiders (9 white and 9 red); 1 board; 1 bag; Game rules. Launch date: 2010.

To play, players take turns placing their wooden "wall" pieces on the board, attempting to complete squares while preventing their opponent from doing the same. The player with the most completed squares at the end of the game wins. TRAPPEX is simple enough to be played by children, strategic enough to engage a true gamer. The rules have been drafted so that there is always a winner, no ties, stalemates, or cat's games. Hand crafted from high quality hardwoods. Playing time is 10-15 minutes. Includes game board, 60 wooden wall pieces, 25 two-sided game discs, and instructions.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Classic Toys

CirKis is a fun, award-winning game in which players take turns placing pieces and compete for control of point-scoring zones. Played on a beveled, circular board, the game challenges players to use their spatial reasoning to strategically place their pieces. The game is governed by a single, simple rule: each piece must touch -- or "kiss" -- the piece placed before it. As the game progresses, players have to devise strategies to corner their opponents and achieve victory. Designed for ages eight and up; game time is 15 minutes.
— As of 06/14/2011 this product had 3 out of 5 stars from 22 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Scoring track is on the board; easy but requires strategy; visually striking. Cons: Some said it was boring; several said it was too complicated.

Have you ever heard a word that triggered you to sing a song?  If so, then YOU are Spontuneous™!  One player says a word and the race is on for the others to sing a song containing that word.  The game Spontuneous™ Challenges players to think of lyrics to songs they know and love.  It’s fun, fast paced and full of laughs!

Colorio is a strategic game of memory and daring. Each round, players have to remove some of the caps to reveal the colored discs beneath. But players must be careful; if they reveal five discs of the same color they are out of the game. So, players must try to remember where the colors are placed and dare to remove more and more caps to trap their opponents and push them into making mistakes. Colorio is a simple game that is quick to learn, fast to play and offers challenges to players of all skill levels. Launch date: February 2011.

In Ponder, players must race to get their frog to the other side of the pond. It’s the annual Frog Race and the distance is one English pond; the aim is to get one''s team over to the other side of the pond before everyone else does. However, the frogs are not very fit, so they need the lily leafs to step on to cross the pond. The pond is crowded and one may only move as the cards dictate. Ponder is a fast and strategic race game for the whole family. Set in a beautiful pond with floating lily leaves, sun shining and a summer breeze; lazy frogs included. Launch date: February 2011.
Awards: 2010 Golden Dice Family Game of the Year, Sweden.

Repello is a game of grasped opportunities. The aim is to push as many Repellers and opponents as possible off the board. Objects pushed off the board are worth points and the player with the finest collection at the end of the game is the winner. There is one basic rule in Repello: All objects repel each other, and players decide which object pushes which. In a single move one may set off a chain reaction that will spread over the entire board, sending valuable Repellers, or opponents, over the edge. Master the pushes and bounces; see the possibilities in each moment and one stands a very good chance of winning. Launch date: February 2011.
Awards: 2010 Golden Dice Game of the Year, Sweden.

Skateboard Madness is a board game of skateboarding. The object of the game is to win the X Games Championship in skateboarding while meeting the four Madness professional skateboarders; Andy Macdonald, Corey Duffel, Tony Mag, and Ron Allen. Along the way, players must collect sponsorship cards from the official Madness sponsors.The game includes an extensive trivia section and random action for skateboard enthusiasts. "There is nothing on the market like it," Monica Lucas, VP of Operations at Mindtwister USA, told TDmonthly.

Maple Landmark Woodcraft has had animal and vehicle dominoes for years, and now they have developed a colorful set of standard dominoes. This 28-piece, double six set is made from locally harvested hardwood maple. Each domino measures about 1 1/4" wide X 2 1/2" long and about 3/8" thick. The colorful dots are done in a very durable non-toxic ink. Each number is in a different color. The set comes with a drawstring cloth bag and a playing instructions and suggestions. "The dominoes are made in the USA," Barbara Rainville, marketing manager at Maple Landmark Woodcraft, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2011.

Experience Perfect Stride, the exciting horse-themed card game for 2-4 players ages 8 and up using our Junior/Basic rules. Players are riders who partner up with a horse of their choosing for a high-speed race across the countryside over a hidden course of jumps. Riders collect ribbons with each successful jump as they race toward the finish line. The rider with the most ribbon points wins the game. Launch date: September 2010.

GALLOP! The Game includes a game board with a magical Scanimation door, two dice (colors and numbers, depending on the age and ability level of the players), five animal movers (horse, cat, turtle, butterfly, and rooster), and four guess tokens. Players take turns opening the Scanimation door to see which animal will move around the track on each round. The first player or players to strut, gallop or flutter their way around the track wins. It is the "Only board game to feature the magic of Scanimation from Rufus Butler Seder’s popular book, GALLOP!," Natalie Dent, director of PR at Discovery Bay Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.

Goggle Eyes is the hilarious family game that challenges players' vision and balance. To win, players must be the first to get to the finish point by winning challenges such as writing their name backwards, drawing, or performing actions - while wearing wacky glasses provided by the game that alters players' vision. "The glasses that the game comes with alter your perception and has three settings that makes the actions performed harder than they would normally be, and also adds a funny twist to the game," Jennifer Robinson, manager of public relations for Goliath Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.