TDmonthly's ToyFair 2006 Preview--Puzzles & Skill Product Category

Swimming Champions Scramble Squares® by b. dazzle, inc.

Olympic backstroke champion John Naber, one of the four Olympic swimming champions featured on the new "Swimming Champions" Scramble Squares® puzzle from b. dazzle, inc., says, “These Scramble Squares are so challenging, they provide hours of challenge. It’s a gold medal puzzle!” This puzzle received Dr. Toy's 10 Best Socially Responsible Products Award for 2006 and was a Best Product Award Winner for Dr. Toy's Summer 2007 Resource Program. 4/25/2006 (Price: $8.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Alaska Scramble Squares® by b. dazzle, inc.

The majesty and unspoiled wilderness of America’s largest state is beautifully depicted in this “Alaska” Scramble Squares 9-piece brain teaser puzzle from b. dazzle, inc., the newest puzzle in b. dazzle’s rapidly growing Scramble Squares line that now exceeds 120 different styles of original art for ages 4 to 104. Scramble Squares teaches patience, perseverance, fine motor schools and critical thinking skills and helps maintain mental agility while providing stimulating entertainment as a either a solitaire game or a cooperative activity. Each puzzle package includes a panel of fascinating facts on the subject of the puzzle, as well as a trivia question and hidden answer, all packaged in a unique and handy resealable clear vinyl pouch, which can be stored easily in a standard 3-ring binder. "Alaska" is among four Scramble Squares® puzzles receiving Dr. Toy's Smart Play/Smart Toys Award for 2006 from the Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco. 4/14/2006 (Price: $8.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Puzzle-Up Aquarium by BLUE ORANGE GAMES

This is a six-piece wooden puzzle that creates a fishbowl filled with three brightly colored fish. The puzzle can be constructed flat or upright. 4/12/2006 (Price: $14.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

4 Sun 10 Step Mawariyabane by PUZZLE MASTER

Packaged in an impressive Pressboard Gift Box, this three-dimensional puzzle box is crafted in high quality wood material (Katsura). It has a beautiful finish and is stamped by the craftsman on the inside of the lid. There is only one unique way to open it, so it makes a super secret holder. 4/3/2006 (Price: $88.75) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

All About: Coffee by PUZZLE MASTER

This 1000 piece puzzle features a beautiful picture of coffee, surrounded by colorful scenes detailing its rich history. Puzzle makers will become coffee experts and have a terrific story-telling puzzle to display or work again. From ancient times to today’s trendiest cafes, coffee has kept the world moving for centuries. 4/3/2006 (Price: $24.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Holiday Puzzles by KIDKRAFT

A set of 4 holiday puzzles provide great value, while celebrating positive play habits. Each peg puzzle set comes in a colorful wooden puzzle rack to make storage simple, and includes 1 Chanukah Puzzle, 1 Shabbat Puzzle, 1 Passover Puzzle, and 1 Rosh Hashanah Puzzle. 3/30/2006 (Price: $29.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Alligators Scramble Squares® by b. dazzle, inc.

Wrestle with these Alligators! b. dazzle’s new ALLIGATORS SCRAMBLE SQUARES® puzzle is a brain teaser that's among four Scramble Squares® puzzles to receive Dr. Toy's Smart Play/Smart Toys Award for 2006 from the Institute for Childhood Scramble Squares® puzzles are exercise for the brain and are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!® for children, teenagers, college students, adults and senior citizens from age 4 to 104. Scramble Squares® puzzles teach patience, perseverance and critical thinking skills, while providing stimulating entertainment. Over 120 hundred exquisite styles of original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, occupations, fantasy, science, technology hobbies and activities. Scramble Squares® is a Learning magazine Best Educational Game award winner and a winner of the Dr. Toy “10 Best Educational Products” Award. 3/30/2006 (Price: $8.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Pirates Scramble Squares® by b. dazzle, inc.

Put these pirates in their place! Fit the nine pieces together in a square so that the images all match up -- there is only one right way to make them fit. With its new "Pirates" Scramble Squares puzzle, b. dazzle, inc. reminds us that piracy is as prevalent today as it was in those swashbuckling days of sea exploration. As a means of providing leadership in advancing ethical business practices, b. dazzle, inc. is an official member of the “Character Counts!” Coalition of the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles. The purpose of the “Character Counts!” Coalition is to fortify the lives of America’s young people with consensus ethical values called the “Six Pillars of Character.” These six key character values, which transcend divisions of race, creed, politics, gender and wealth, are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. "Pirates" is among four new Scramble Squares® puzzles receiving Dr. Toy's Smart Play/Smart Toys Award for 2006 from the Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco. 3/30/2006 (Price: $8.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Extra-Large 3-D Tyrannosaurus Puzzle by FIRST LEARNING

This large 3-D Tyranosaurus Rex puzzle is sure to increase any child's appreciation for these prehistoric creatures. The quality hardwood pieces interlock without requiring tools. It measures 64"L by 39"H. 3/30/2006 (Price: $39.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Puzzle Doubles Find It! Floor Puzzles by THE LEARNING JOURNEY INTERNATIONAL

The Puzzle Double series are two great products in one. Each Find It! Puzzle includes a giant 50 piece 2’ by 3’ beautifully illustrated “talk about” floor puzzle. Once the puzzle is completed, it becomes a game that can be played in two ways: 1) Object Recognition — by having the child place a game piece over the object on the border once it is located inside the illustration. 2) Word Recognition — Flip over the game piece and the name of the object appears. As the object is identified in the illustration place the word game piece over the same object located on the pictures border. Puzzle Doubles are a fun and educational tool for all early learners. 3/30/2006 (Price: $12.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

ColorKu by MAD CAVE BIRD GAMES LLC

ColorKu is a high-quality wooden board game based on the popular Sudoku puzzles. It uses 81 wooden marbles in nine distinctive colors placed on a 9" x 9" wooden grid to solve puzzles. The board is solid wood and 13½" x 13½". The game comes with 104 puzzle cards, but it can be used to solve any Sudoku puzzle.
— “We had people ask for a new colorized Sudoku called ColorKu,” Mike Castor, owner of Pentwater Toy Box in Pentwater, Mich., reported to TDmonthly. “We were able to find the manufacturer in the next county, got a hold of him in Grand Rapids and got a shipment in 48 hours. We sold a bunch.”
—  “We believe ColorKu is the best Sudoku product on the market. Players can solve puzzles individually or in groups, and it can be made competitive by setting up the same game on two or more boards,” said Mark Asperheim, president of Mad Cave Bird Games. “It’s also a beautiful piece that looks great on a coffee table!”
— Three of 63 retailers who spoke with TDmonthly named ColorKu as one of their top selling games. ( Watch Video) 3/27/2006 (Price: $29.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Silent “E” by PUZZLE MASTER

Players remove the brass-colored ring from this metal “E” to achieve a sense of satisfaction and superiority … or else they don’t, and hope to try again. This metal puzzle is rated “8” on a scale of 1 to 10 for difficulty. Small and compact, it can easily be stowed in a pocket, and then whipped out to test the mental and spatial acuity of random passersby. This toy was launched in March 2006. ( Watch Video) 3/20/2006 (Price: $4.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Inversion Puzzle by TOYS AND GAMES INTERNATIONAL

The Inversion Puzzle has over 351 trillion different combinations. It turns puzzle makers upside down before they can turn it inside out. Each cube of Inversion consists of blue and red faces. By sliding one cube at a time, the player attempts to conceal the red faces while revealing the hidden blue face, ultimately changing Inversion from one color to the other. 3/9/2006 (Price: $6.00)

A Girl With a Watering Can Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle by LIBERTY PUZZLES

This heirloom-quality wooden jigsaw puzzle is made of real 1/4" maple-veneer plywood. It shows the painting, "A Girl With a Watering Can" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It contains 20 percent whimsy (figural) pieces. It is 12.75" by 17" and has 462 pieces. It was launched in October of 2005. 3/9/2006 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Rubik's Sudoku by WINNING MOVES GAMES

Rubik's Sudoku combines the best of two of the greatest puzzles of all time - it's Sudoku without the pencil and without all the erasing, and a process for solving the puzzle that will appeal to fans of both Sudoku and Rubik's(R) alike. Players try to fill a nine-by-nine grid so that each row and each column contain the numbers 1 through 9, and also that each three-by-three grid contains each of theses numbers. Instead of a pen, moveable pieces with numbers and in nine different colors are set on the board and the number finding process can begin! A storage tray and a booklet with 100 starter puzzles and solutions make this a take-anywhere, play-anytime puzzle. 2/22/2006 (Price: $11.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Personal Platinum Puzzle by BATTLE ROAD PRESS

British premium puzzle maker, The Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw Company, is launching a top-end gift puzzle for 2006. The Wentworth Personal Platinum Puzzle is a 500-piece puzzle in which the customer chooses the image and the special shapes (whimsies) that appear among the pieces. Words can be either written over the image or appear to be cut out of the puzzle itself. Individually designed and manufactured in the company’s factory in Wiltshire, England, this product will be a must-have for the discerning US gift-buyer. The puzzle is laser-cut from 3/8” 5-ply veneer plywood and boxed in a presentation box bearing the customer’s initials engraved on an inlaid brass plate. (Price: Ranges up to $1500) 2/22/2006 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Wasgij: Sunday Drivers! by FALCON PUZZLES

This 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle includes a scene on the box that is not the same as that on the completed puzzle. The box asks the puzzler what the character in the scene is looking at, for example, “What does the buggy driver see?” The answer is the image depicted on the face of the completed puzzle. 2/2/2006 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Puzzle 3D: Camelot by WREBBIT INC.

This 608-piece jigsaw puzzle features a three-dimensional image of King Arthur’s Camelot castle. It measures 16.5” by 19.75” by 10”. 2/2/2006 (Price: $29.99)

Puzzle 3D: Bavarian Clock by WREBBIT INC.

This 404-piece jigsaw puzzle constructs a working clock. It measures 10.5” by 4.5” by 17.75”. 2/2/2006 (Price: $24.99)

The Alphabet Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle Games: E is for Espresso by TDC GAMES INC.

This product contains a written mystery and two 500-piece jigsaw puzzles (13” by 9”) mixed together in one bag. Puzzlers use the images on the two puzzles to help solve the mystery. To make it more challenging, the puzzle images are not reproduced on the puzzle box. 2/2/2006 (Price: $14.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Mixtery: Jungle Jumble by BUFFALO GAMES INC.

This jigsaw puzzle has 1026 pieces. The box graphics are the puzzle image broken up into sections and "scrambled." The puzzler must unscramble the sections to complete the puzzle. 2/2/2006 (Price: $16.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Lost in a Jigsaw: Escape from Eden by BUFFALO GAMES INC.

This 545 piece jigsaw puzzle features a maze. The puzzle can only be constructed one way if the puzzler hopes to escape the maze after completion of the puzzle. 2/2/2006 (Price: $12.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Art Fraud: Mona Lisa by BUFFALO GAMES INC.

This 1026-piece jigsaw puzzle features an image of the Mona Lisa. The box graphics are a forgery and contain 15 errors that the puzzler can discover after completing the puzzle. 2/2/2006 (Price: $16.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

3D Spherical Jigsaw Puzzle: World Globe by BUFFALO GAMES INC.

This 530-piece 3D spherical puzzle is self-supporting. It resembles a globe when completed. 2/2/2006 (Price: $20.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Eye-Spy Series: Safari by JAMES HAMILTON GROVELY PUZZLES LTD.

This 70-piece jigsaw puzzle features wild animals and challenges puzzle makers to find hidden images. 1/24/2006 (Price: $10.55) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]