November 2010 Notable Toys — General Games

Featuring two playtime activities in one, each Find It! product combines a puzzle and game into one educational, interactive learning experience. This Find It! version teaches children the ABCs. First assemble the puzzle, then play the game using the enclosed game pieces. For an additional learning experience, flip the game pieces over to play a word recognition game. Each 50-piece puzzle measures 3’ x 2’.

Featuring two playtime activities in one, each Find It! product combines a puzzle and game into one educational, interactive learning experience. Puzzle Doubles Find It! Friends teaches children about multicultural friends. First assemble the puzzle, then play the game using the enclosed game pieces. For an additional learning experience, flip the game pieces over to play a word recognition game. Each 50-piece puzzle measures 3’ x 2’.

Featuring two fun-filled playtime activities in one, each Find It! product combines a puzzle and game into one educational, interactive learning experience. The Find It! series teaches children about the USA, dinosaurs, ABCs, 123s, Canada, the solar system, and multicultural friends. First assemble the puzzle, then play the game using the enclosed game pieces. For an additional learning experience, flip the game pieces over to play a word recognition game. Each 50-piece puzzle measures 3’ x 2’.

This game is currently licensed to Spinmaster.
Outwit your opponents by stomping their marbles before they stomp yours! Outmaneuver by leaving their Stomper trapped with no escape. For 2-6 Players.

In this creative and competitive game of Kewbz™, opposing players compete for ownership of 'tower units' by positioning the final cube on top. Each time a corner is made, a cube is stacked at the intersection. For 2 players.

Includes Board + 6 Ghost Hunter Characters + 24 Ghost Cards + 12 Room Cards + 36 Cover Up Counters (one set for each character) 24 Numbered Counters + 6 Ghost Sheets + 6 Room Sheets + Dice.   For 2-6 players.

Inch Worms™ is the measure, matching, worm-catching game that will have children checking to see if their worm measures up. Players spin the spinner and pull the worms from the board one segment at a time until their color is revealed. Some worms may be long and some may be short, but they will never know until they pull. If they free a worm, it's theirs to keep. Once the last worm is pulled, players line up all their worms and the longest Inch Worm wins! The game board turns into a handy storage case that eliminates lost pieces and makes clean up a snap.
Inch Worm™ is designed for 2-4 players, ages 4 and up.

Various activities about feeling and touching. The two tactile games introduce first games with rules. A game collection for 1 - 2 players ages 2+.  This game stimulates perception, recognizing shapes, learning to understand rules.

The fox and little sheep meet with all the other animal kids to play together. Four animal kids always meet on a picture card. With a bit of luck you are the quickest and the first to find the animals of your picture card thus winning the game. An assigning game with animals for 1-6 children age 2+. Includes variation for older players.
Contents: 24 wooden pieces, 6 cardboard picture cards.

Families are rolling in fun with Ligretto Dice from Playroom Entertainment. Players roll and reroll their dice early and often to play their dice in numerical order. The player who gets rid of all their dice first wins!
— As an enthusiastic gamer, Dice Tower’s Tom Vasel enjoyed Ligretto Dice but found the game too simple. His daughter, however, “loves it,” leading Tom to conclude that “It’s a very good family game and it’s one we’re all equal at.”
— “It's so pure in concept and execution, I can only give it the highest recommendation,” proclaimed Mark Schildberg of Examiner.com.  Mark added, “Ligretto Dice is habit-forming fun for two to four players, and most rounds finish in two minutes or less, so the game progresses quickly.”

Product features 1 buildable LEGO Die, 9 LEGO microfigures which includes Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore, building instructions and 1 rule booklet, and 332 LEGO pieces.  For 2 to 4 players.  Be the first to successfully navigate the magical castle to collect all your homework from your classes and get back to your common room.
— In late Spring 2011, 5 of 12 retailers surveyed said that LEGO was their best-selling brand of licensed products. Joe Berardoni Jr., Owner of Pun's Toys in Bryn Mawr, Pa., said that "We try to avoid licensed products...that said, however, we still do carry LEGO, and their licensed kits sell well, such as Star Wars and Harry Potter."
—As of 10.25.2010, this product had 4.5 out of 5 stars from 30 reviews on Amazon.com and was No. 7 on the top 100 best-selling toys and games. PROS: Build your own gameboard. CONS: Not suitable for younger kids.

Yahtzee meets Tetris in this ancient-Egypt–themed game. Players take turns rolling five dice, up to three times a turn, as they try to win pieces by matching symbols on the dice to those on the treasure tiles. The tiles, which come in different configurations, are used to fill in the blank spaces on their playing cards.  For 2 to 4 players.
Awards:  2010 Disney FamilyFun Toy of the Year; Parents’ Choice Gold Award, Fall 2010 Games.

The PirateTalk Conversation Card deck features topics on pirate lore and legend, as well as facts about real-life pirates and how they lived life on the high seas. PirateTalk cards aim to fire up the imagination with topics like sunken treasure, swashbucklers in popular movies and books, and "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Each of the 52 colorfully illustrated cards presents facts with intriguing questions designed to get everyone talking about their own ideas and experiences.

With wicked humor, this witty playing card deck features 52 tragic female figures from history including Cleopatra, Ann Boleyn, and Diana Spencer. Each card includes a portrait and a brief history of how the royal met her fate. Suitable for most card games, the set comes packaged in a sturdy hinged box. "The deck is based on the book 'Doomed Queens,' which was reviewed by the New Yorker as a 'humorous and keenly observed history of women and power.' It's a delightful gift for women and girls of all ages," Lynn Araujo, U.S. Games Systems Inc. communications director, told TDmonthly.

Thanks A Lot! is a game everyone can enjoy. You receive six cards that say things like: 24 hours of invisibility, National Debt: paid Off, Shopping Spree.  You then give two of the cards to the other players.  They rank them in terms of their favorite things from 50 to 300.  You then get a corresponding chip to where they placed your card. 
Awards:  Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Platinum, 2010.

Here is a fun way to learn the names of the states, the capitals, products and a smattering of history.  This two sides map is an "add-on" to be used with the electronic Tag reading system. You need the sensor stylus to explore, answer questions, and play games on the big 35" X 20" map. Along with the kinds of info and quizzes you would expect, they have also added distances and travel times between places, animals, cardinal directions and other map reading skills.
Awards:  Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Platinum, 2010.

Players get a card with building plan and images of 8 pieces they need to collect to build their racer. Players take turns tossing the die and moving around the playing board and collecting the pieces of the vehicles pictured on the playing board. Winner is the first to collect and assemble their racing car.
Awards:  Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Gold Seal, 2010.

Players have to collect the plastic brick pieces to build their winning animal by going around the playing board and finding a chip that matches your building card. This is a game of chance but it does require dexterity, counting and matching skills. The building pieces are good size for preschoolers. The first player to collect all five blocks and builds their animal is the winner of that round.
Awards:  Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Gold Seal, 2010.

Kabongo’s exciting online brain play develops thinking skills that underlie learning, inspiring self confidence that contributes to child’s overall success. This product has been enthusiastically embraced in classrooms across the country and now Kabongo’s online brain games are being made available to parents. This game will help parents help their children learn and think.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

Zippy scooters are speeding round the corner. Who is as fast as the cars and can be the first to place their tiles of Domino Zippy Scooters? This fun car placing game for 2-4 children includes variation for a solo player. Includes 21 big wooden pieces that are perfect for small hands and the easy-to-learn rules are just right for beginners.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

In Gotcha! players race to hit the buzzer whenever they see someone breaking a rule – all the while making sure they are following the rules themselves!  The more rules that are played, the funnier the game gets, for a mix of laughter and mayhem. Group Rules are displayed for all players to follow, while some players will also have Individual Rules in play.  All eyes are on deck as each player tries to catch the others breaking a rule without compromising their own rules, which can send them back on the game board. 

This game is made up of five moveable electronic screens, each showing a letter. The screens contain a technology that recognizes words when placed side by side. Players move the screens to create words in 75 seconds, using only the letters given. The screens light up and beep when a word is formed, and they also keep time and score.
— As of 1.06.2011 this product had 4 out of 5 stars from 121 reviews on Amazon.com and was No. 7 on the top 100 bestselling toys and games. Pros: Lightweight; portable; three game options. Cons: Game allows some errors in spelling/recognizes words that do not exist.

In this game for 2-4 players, children try to complete a "Wanted" poster by solving simple math problems. Each player chooses a poster board, then draws from the pile of "sum" cards. The player looks for the matching "answer" card, using the "magic spy glass" to determine if the correct card was chosen. If the cards match, the player can place a sticker on his or her "Wanted" poster, and the first player to collect one of each of four types of stickers wins. This game is designed to teach elementary math skills and encourage problem solving.

This memory game for 2-4 players comes with 20 wooden pieces illustrated with images of favorite childhood toys, including dolls, blocks and teddy bears. Players lay the blocks out, then turn them over and try to match picture pairs by memory.