December 2011 Notable Toys — General Games

Kids can bring classic tales such as Mother Goose, The Little Engine That Could, The Berenstain Bears and Where the Wild Things Are to life with colorful game boards, including three-dimensional accessories and pawns. Each game is an adventure, much like the ones children read about in books. "No other game brings to life cherished childhood stories in the form of a board game that children will love to play over and over," Mary Dolan, public relations coordinator at Patch Products, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2011.
Awards: 2011 Dr. Toy Best Picks Children’s Products; 2011 Creative Child Game of the Year, in the Kids Games, Learning to Share category; 2011 Parents’ Choice Foundation Parent’s Choice Recommended Product Award.

In 100 Wacky Things, players will do some ridiculous things while laughing uncontrollably at each other. The game has two types of cards: Always and Whenever. If you draw an Always Card, you will do the wacky thing on your card every time it's your turn. A Whenever Card directs you to do what the card says whenever another player does something specific. And we can't forget the silly props: the elephant nose, feathered boa, funny glasses and echo microphone. Launch date: 2009.
Awards: 2010 FamilyFun 8 Best Family Board Games; 2009 Creative Child-Preferred choice award; 2009 iParenting Media Awards-Outstanding products; 2009 The National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval; 2009 Winner of the Washington Post’s KidsPost best toys

Players must complete each word challenge and motor across the USA. "Rest Stop" cards add to the fun along the way, with lucky breaks and the occasional pothole. Road Trip game contains 120 Challenge Cards, 40 "Rest Stop" cards, 7.5" x 20" Vintage Road Map Board, 30-sided Alphabet die, and 4 retro Station Wagon movers.
Awards: 2015 TDmonthly Magazine Top Toy Award; 2011 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award for Best Toys
— As of 10/21/2011 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 3 reviews on Amazon.com.

Think-ets Holiday Collection is a carefully selected assortment of well-known holiday items that will engage kids before and after all the presents have been opened.  Kids will love the holiday themed trinkets and will begin telling lots of great stories right before your eyes. The game has 15 miniature trinkets from around the world and the same instruction booklet as Think-ets Original, with 10 different games to play, all housed in a red or green mesh pouch. Now kids can have their own Think-ets game with a holiday theme to it. Sample contents include: snowman, snowflake, jingle bell, present, tree, polar bear, slice of Yule log cake, ring, milk bottle, plate, and more.

This nostalgic edition of the classic CANDYLAND ® game is a “sweet” way for young children to have fun and learn at the same time. The adventure takes you on a wonderful journey, travelling past the Crooked Old Peanut Brittle House, and Lollypop Woods until you eventually reach Home Sweet Home…
As this magical experience unfolds, your child is learning colors without reading or counting.
This collectible tin edition features the charming graphics of the 1955 edition as well as the iconic gingerbread men. It is a timeless edition to be enjoyed by children of all ages with a sweet tooth for fun!

This premium edition game features the great fun of Monopoly with many premium upgrades including a solid wood cabinet in a black painted finish with a recessed flocked silver foil stamped rolling area.  Other upgrades include an integrated storage area with lined compartments and a wooden banker's tray.  This deluxe set also includes a silver foil stamped game path and Chance and Community Chest cards, Monopoly money with silver ink printing, wooden houses and hotels and plated die-cast tokens.

For game fans who like nostalgia and style, Winning Solutions’ Library Classic Collection includes special editions of MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE and CLUE board games, packaged within a luxe faux-leather “book” that makes a decorative addition to any bookshelf. Each game design is inspired by original graphics and game pieces that made these brands cultural icons, such as wooden houses and hotels in the MONOPOLY Library Classic game, and die-cast metal “weapon” play pieces in the CLUE Libary Classic version.

Players of all ages and abilities will enjoy the new BIG scale Scrabble, which is 50 percent larger than the original version, making the print easier to read and letters easier to manipulate for older (and even younger) players. The Giant SCRABBLE game features an oversized, rotating wooden game board. The tiles and rack are also made with wood and the gold-foil raised grid keeps letters in place during play.

In this game, players build a railroad empire in the land of the rising sun. Players use their initial investment to build track. Then pick up commodities where they are grown, mined, or manufactured and deliver them to a lucrative place of demand. Players complete a delivery and make the money they need to buy larger, faster trains, and expand their railroad empire. Win the game by building the most effective railroad empire. Obstacles are rival tracks and Japan’s great mountains, channels, and rivers and restrictive coastline.
Nippon Rails is geographically accurate. The game depicts Japan’s rivers, plains, and mountains, as well as its natural resources. It’s a great way to learn about the geography, business, shipping, and transportation of Europe while having fun with friends or family. For 2-6 players. Playing Time: 120-240 minutes. Launch date: October 20, 2011.
— As of 10/20/2011 this product had 6.7 out of 10 stars from 358 ratings on BoardGameGeek.com.

It’s four Simon games in one. The Wonder-Link technology lets the cubes know where players shuffle them, when they win and what they scored. The yellow game is Simon Lights Off. The red game is Simon Shuffle. The blue game is Simon Secret Color, there’s only one order that will show the same color on all four cubes. The green game is Simon Classic Stop shuffling.  Can be played as a group or alone. High-tech twist on the legendary Simon game tests memory and logic skills. Includes 4 electronic cubes, game case, rules and quick-play card.
— As of 10/18/2011 this product had 3.8 out of 5 stars from 22 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: No rating below 3 stars; different modes of play keep it interesting. Cons: Expensive; not challenging.

Thanks to innovative Wonder-Link technology, these super-smart dice know what was rolled, what the player decided to hold and automatically re-roll the rest. Choose from four ways to play - Poker, Max, Wild or Flash. Can be played as a group or solo. It comes with 5 Electronic Yahtzee dice, a game case, Rules and Quick-Play Card. It includes 5 button batteries.
— As of 10/18/2011 this product had 3.5 out of 5 stars from 21 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Ideal for single player usage; nice storage case. Cons: Screen can be difficult to read; scoring happens too quickly; not as fun as the original.

The game of exciting skill and action game based on the best-selling phone app, Angry Birds On Thin Ice, lets players build, launch and destroy with fun features, including pigs with helmets, breakable ice block building pieces, an "exploding" TNT box and the large red bird character. Players draw a card and build the structure shown before their opponents launch Angry Birds in an attempt to knock down the structure-and the pigs-to win points. Includes 2 Angry Birds, 3 green pigs, 1 slingshot-style catapult launcher, structure pieces and mission cards.

The goal is to reach the exit before Sweet Little BOO gets upstairs. Who will succeed? Laura, Elliot, Albert, Rose, Alec, or Fixela? Together or by themselves, family members can engage in this exciting race. With each roll of the dice, some players will move faster, some will have to step back, others will discover secret passages, but everyone will have fun. Includes 1 game board, 7 character pawns, 3 dice, and Instructions.
Awards: Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval; Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence Award.

Spuzzle is a fun-filled race to see who can finish their puzzles first. Designed for children, this game will challenges kids to finish their five puzzles first. Includes 5 sets of 20 puzzle pieces (blue, yellow, purple and red), 1 game board, 28 Spuzzle cards, and Instructions.
Awards: PTPA Seal of Approval, Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award, National Parenting Center Seal of Approval.

Codigo Cube is a socially interactive trivia game that uses players' web-enabled camera phone, a free app, and a patent-pending 2D bar-coded die. Codigo Cube is updated with new questions daily. Whenever breaking news happens Codigo Cube gets updated. Playing is fun and easy. Players simply download a free QR code reader for their phone, then scan any side of the cube. Roll the cube, scan the code, and answer the question from a list of four multiple choice answers. Guess correctly and re-roll. Guess wrong and the cube is passed to the next player. Launch date: October 2011.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, January 2012; 2011/2012 The Toy Man Award of Excellence; 2011/2012 The Toy Man eChoice Award; 2011 The Toy Man Top 50 Toy Of The Year Award.
— Why it won: Codigo Cube is harnessing new technology for an innovative and inexpensive new game. Players simply scan the QR code on the die with their Smartphone to access a trivia question online. The trivia questions are constantly being updated, so the game never gets old.
— As of 9/21/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 23 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Easy to use; more variety than a traditional trivia game because questions are always being updated. Cons: Needs to be played in a well-lit area or the QR code readers can scan the codes properly.

Players take turns to search the Labyrinth for their magical objects and characters by carefully moving through the constantly changing maze. The treasure cards are divided between the players, without revealing them to the other players. The maze cards are randomly placed on the playing board and the first player uses the extra card to start moving the first wall. Players strategically move the walls so they can collect their treasures, but block the path for the other players. Labyrinth comes complete with 1 game board, 34 moving wall cards, 24 treasure cards and 4 different colored playing pieces. This 25th Anniversary Edition of the game comes packaged in a high-quality and stylish tin. Content: 1 game board 34 maze cards 24 treasure cards 4 playing pieces Instructions. 1 game board, 34 maze cards, 24 treasure cards, 4 playing pieces, Instructions.

Whoowasit? is an interactive board game with an exciting electronic feature. Players must find the magical ring that was stolen from the wise king by a castle resident under the spell of the evil wizard. Playing against the clock, players move through the castle rooms to uncover clues to who stole the precious gem. Along the way, talking animals help players solve the mystery of the stolen ring with the help of a treasure chest that randomly supplies clues on behalf of the animals. Players must seek food, communicate with and then feed the animals to receive clues that help eliminate the suspects. Whoowasit? helps reinforce memory, tactical and teambuilding skills. Playing time 40 minutes. Contents 1 game board, 4 doors (to place on the board), 1 electronic chest, 4 playing pieces (red, yellow, green, blue), 1 ghost, 1 cat (game board), 9 food tokens, 4 key tokens, 10 suspect cards, 1 die, 1 ring, 1 ring base.
Awards: Children's Game of the Year 2008 in Germany

This is a brand new double sided, laminated, educational desk map. Learn A Map is a terrific learning tool for children. It's easy to read and easy to use. It is double sided and laminated so it can be drawn on and easily erased. Learn A Map can be used anywhere, at home, at school, or on the road. Bulk ordering is available and there is free shipping on orders of 100 or more. Launch date: 2011.

Take the fun outdoors with eeBoo Sidewalk Games. Set includes a gold coin to toss, four vibrant chalk sticks and a booklet of instructions for sidewalk games such as Hopscotch, Skelly, London Calling and more. "A child, a coin, some colored chalk bring hours of fun to a plain sidewalk. Learn games that generations played when fun and toys were all homemade!" Regina Gelin, sales & marketing associate for eeBoo, told TDmonthly. Launch date: August 2011.

Players have a couple of seconds to observe the little sardines, memorize them and find them again in the box. For 2-4 players; game time is 15 minutes.
— Dean Smith, co-owner of Jazams in Pennington, N.J., told TDmonthly in a September 2011 survey that he sells 12-18 copies of Sardines each month.

The Ultimate FX Lightsaber puts users in the action with battle sounds and glowing blade. Clash the blade or power up and down to hear power activation humming and other sounds. Includes 3 "AA" batteries. Launch date: October 2011.

Founding Fathers is a game for 2-5 players competing to be the man remembered for the writing on the US Constitution.  Play revolves around delegate cards that can be used for several options. "The game also comes with a brief history of the constitutional convention as well as the delegates," Jim Dietz, president of Jolly Roger Games, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2011.

This exciting new word game requires a quick hand and a keen eye. Players create words by combining letters from their own racks with letters from another player's rack. With double-sided letter cards, everything can change in a flash. When the timer goes off it becomes  a free-for-all FlashRound. Game includes 100 two-sided letter cards, 4 card racks, FlashWordz Timer, and FlashRound Token. Launch date: July 2011.
Awards: 2011 Creative Child Preferred Choice Award.

Play more than 20 classic tabletop coin games with this unique contraption- Basketball, Baseball, Football, Hockey and many more. Includes the official SLOTTER, flip card & instructions in a Peg Pack package. Launch date: May 2011.
— In a February 2014 survey, Dean Smith, owner of Jazams Toys in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly that Slotter is their best-selling wooden toy. They sell around 10 each month.