October 2009 Notable Toys — Card Games

Instructional videos are available for the following Dream Green games: Tic Tac Chec, 1-2-3 OY!, A-B-C OY!, Noble Celts and Uthini/Mancala. Launch date: October 6, 2009.

Players compete by placing cards to line up three in a row of the shape that matches their secret Goal. The first player to score five Goals wins. But beware ... placing a card can help opponents as easily as it can help you. Triplica includes two multi-player games and an addictive solitaire version. "Triplica is a challenging and competitive game based on the very simple idea of making three in a row," Jeanine Calkin, president of Fun Q Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2009.

The Circle Out! game is a game of abstraction and visual memory. Twelve to 16 cards are laid out and players race to find the most circles of the largest size. The “circle” aspect of the game is all abstract. Each card has two features — a top and bottom triangle of different colors. Circles are formed by connecting cards of the same color together: red to red, blue to blue, etc., until the same color connects the chain of cards together at both ends. Bottom Triangles only link to Top Triangles and vice versa. A circle of three linking cards are worth one point, four linked cards are worth two points, and five linked cards are worth three points.

Jukem is a fast game that can be played in 20 minutes or less. The game lasts two times through the deck. No prior knowledge of football is required.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This all-new sentence completion game is the vibrant sequel to the original Thoughts and Feelings, new sentence stems, new illustrations, and new ways to engage children of all ages. This deck compliments and adds to Thoughts and Feelings 1, and is a great way to build a set of therapeutic tools. Thirty five cards are included.

This cheerfully illustrated therapeutic tool for parents, teachers, and mental health professionals is designed to engage children of all ages.The deck contains 35 cards especially effective in helping children identify, process and work through a variety of issues, including changes within the family, trauma, grief, anger, depression, anxiety and fears. It's also available in Spanish. This product was named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009.

Why do onions make you cry? Where was the first hamburger served? The TastyTalk deck is full of delectable tidbits about food, with intriguing questions that get conversations cooking. Each deck contains 50 illustrated cards, ideal for family time. "The delightful artwork and open-ended questions make this conversation deck appealing and engaging," Lynn Araujo, communications director of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., told TDmonthly.

Wizard apprentices develop their powers of premonition by predicting the exact number of tricks they can win in each round of this enchanting card game. Humans, dwarves, elves and giants compete for power, but none can conquer the all-powerful Wizards. The game includes 60 character cards, a scorepad of truth and a set of instructions. "Building on the worldwide popularity of Wizard, this new card game bridges the markets between traditional family card games and fantasy gamers," Lynn Araujo, communications director for U.S. Games Systems, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2009.

More than just a card or just a toy, the Maxus Dragonoid is a monstrous combination of six Bakugan Traps and a Dragonoid Bakugan. The package also includes a Gate Card and an Ability Card. The year 2009 saw growth in the line with new mechanics and game play modules, as well as a second season of the cartoon show. Launch date: October 2009.

Wizards of the Coast calls Magic the biggest of the collectible card games. With millions of players in tournament and casual play, there is a strong market for all new releases. Zendikar features new Planeswalkers, a relatively new type of card with game-changing powers. One new Planeswalker is Nissa Revane, who came to fame in the Xbox Live Arcade game “Duels of the Planeswalkers.” Fifteen-card booster packs are listing at $3.99. Intro packs, consisting of a 40-card deck, 1 premium card, 1 booster, a learn-to-play insert and a strategy insert, are $12.29. Fat Packs, made up of eight booster packs, a card box, player's guide, learn-to-play insert, land pack, and an excerpt from the upcoming “Path of the Planeswalker” graphic novel, are $34.99. Launch date: October 2, 2009.

Kwizniac is a trivia countdown game designed to test your knowledge under pressure. The object of the game is for players to accumulate as many points as possible by correctly answering as many trivia questions as possible. Because Kwizniac consists of only cards and the players’ brain power, it can be played everywhere and at any time. Kwizniac can be played with just two people or a whole group. Watch Kwizniac: Top-5 Video, Toy Fair 2010

Selection is the company's most popular game and can be played with 1 to 7 players. Players have to select hands that match the categories on the playing sheet. The game takes about 25 minutes to play.

This educational card game is great for teens. Launch date: 2009.

This card deck sports a new suit: stars. Each of the five suits also has its own distinct color. Also, the #1 makes an appearance for the first time in a card deck, which makes it easier for kids to learn to play. However, the aces haven't been excluded. Finally, a new princess card joins the royal family, to make the deck more appealing to girls. Five jokers brings the total number of cards in the deck to 80. All of the traditional card games can be played with this deck, but the increased number of cards allows a greater number of players to join the fun.

In this game for two to four players, participants aim to gain cards by matching or adding cards from their hand to equal the number on another card, then adding up the ingredients and measuring the powers indicated to earn the most points. Playing time is about 20 minutes.
—  Shana Hack, owner of Moon Rabbit Toys in Santa Fe, N.M., told TDmonthly in early September 2009 that her store sells about 25 Frog Juice games per month.
— Ten of 38 retailers named something by Gamewright when asked about best-selling card games.

In this fast-paced word game, two to four players race to alter the present four-letter word and be the first to get rid of their cards for the win.
— Scrabble Slam is the best-selling card game at The Toy Store in Highlands, N.C., where it sells 36 units per month, Owner Michelle Bears told TDmonthly in August 2009. “One person has it, and it spreads,” she said.

This collection of trading cards takes players right to battle, with dragon-type Pokémon, including Rayquaza and Charizard, along with new characters and Pokémon SP. The collection, which includes special, photographed clay designs of characters as well as some Shiny cards with unique numbering, features more than 150 cards in various packs.
—  Aunt Jean’s Toys & Treats in Montclair, N.J., sells about three dozen Pokemon card packs per month, Owner Jeanette Lauture told TDmonthly in August 2009.

The five shards of Alara meet conflict in Conflux, where Bant Knights battle Naya Behemoths and displaced vampires add to the havoc. Conflux features 145 expansion cards and is available in intro and fat packs as well as boosters.
—    In late summer 2009, three of 38 retailers named Magic as their best-selling card game. Fifteen of the top 25 card games at Toy City in Keene, N.H., are Magic units, Owner Steve Levy told TDmonthly in August 2009, at which time his store had sold 850 Conflux boosters for the year.
—    Mike Lane, manager of Hobbytown in Cumming, Ga., told TDmonthly in late summer 2009 that his store attracts up to 25 kids for Friday night Magic tournaments. He cited sales of about 50 packs of month of Magic: The Gathering cards.

Like its counterpart, in Bailout! The Card Game; debt is king. You will get caught up in this non stop gotcha action experience.  Just when you think you have the upper hand; the Bailout cards will be flying.  

This game creates fierce competition and there are no guarantees that any of your actions will save your bank.

Players compete as their favorite bank (Bankruptcy O’ America, Worth Farless, No Cashvia, Liquidation Brothers, Greedy Investors of America, or Washed Up Mutual)  to compile Bailout Bundles and get a Bailout.

To better your chances of getting Bailout Bundles you engage in hostile takeovers, risky sales and acquisitions with rival banks to get Bailout Bundles to obtain the bailout. Your conduct causes other banks to focus on your bank as a target.

Can you keep your doors open long enough to get enough Bailout Bundles to get a Bailout?

Be the Bank, Lose Billions, Get a Bailout!

Numbers of Players: 2-6 | Ages: 12 to Adult | Play Time: 10-30 min.

Made in the USA

Visit www.bailoutthegame.com for more information.

THIS PRODUCT IS NOW DISTRIBUTED BY MELISSA & DOUG
This box features 52 classic, interactive games that don't require dice, boards or equipment. Launch date: September 15, 2009.

THIS PRODUCT IS NOW DISTRIBUTED BY MELISSA & DOUG
With 52 questions, this game is designed to let players know how well they you know their BFF, and how well their best friend knows them. Launch date: September 15, 2009.

Kids can learn state facts fast in this card game that's available for 11 states: California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Six fun ways to play include matching, trivia, and rummy-style games. The card facts and graphics include more than 40 state facts including state map, symbols, trivia, spelling and true-or-false. Launch date: January 2008.

CrossCribb® is the award winning, exciting strategy game that takes the traditional favorite, cribbage, and multiplies the fun times five. CrossCribb uses conventional cribbage scoring rules as you try to build five high scoring cribbage hands while simultaneously sabotaging your opponents' hands. It's easy to learn, but difficult to master.

Intended to bridge the gap between entry level and advanced game play in the extensive Magic the Gathering trading card game system, the Classic two-player game is comprised of 350 cards from a wide variety of the line’s various expansions. 
— Two of 49 retailers surveyed in July 2009 told TDmonthly Magic the Gathering is their top-selling collectible toy line.