This game of deductive reasoning involves life-like candy play pieces. Players examine all the clues on the cards before making a move. Once they discover where to put a chocolate piece, they combine this knowledge with the clues to learn more information. Some clues give exact or possible locations, while others just give you the token color or shape. Narrow down all of the possibilities to fill each candy assortment. Challenges range from beginner to expert. Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy 2008.

Where to Buy: Rocking Horse Toy Store; Berkira

This gravity powered logic maze is sure to put your visual perception and reasoning skills to the test. The colorful, translucent towers can be arranged in a plethora of visually stimulating structures but, for each challenge, you’ll have to think carefully to build a path that will successfully carry your marble to its target. 60 challenges, ranging in difficulty, will give you plenty of creative building time while you maneuver the maze in your mind!
— Phyllis Stroud, owner of Rocking Horse Toy Store in Natchitoches, La., told TDmonthly in a January 2015 survey that Gravity Maze from Thinkfun was one of their store's best-selling STEM toys.

Laser Maze is an innovative new game that integrates the use of laser beams into a mind-challenging logic game. 60 challenges flex strategic thinking muscles and ignite the light both on the grid and in players' minds.

Where to buy:
NORTH EAST

Hello Sunshine is a delightful learning game for toddlers. Play hide and seek with Sunshine – a huggable plush toy – while teaching your toddler positional words such as In, On Top, Below and more. As one of your child’s first games, Hello Sunshine builds interaction between parent and child while building vocabulary and language skills.

Who knew that positioning a word in one continuous ring would make it so tricky to read? WordARound is a fast-paced, fun party game where players race to decipher the word in the ring. The game is addictively fun, yet also helps build focus, attention and vocabulary skills.
— In a February 2014 survey, Michelle Sahr, owner of My Little Red Wagon in Hudson, Ohio, told TDmonthly in a February 2014 survey that Word Around was one of their best-selling games.

Zingo! Sight Words is a fun, interactive game that teaches reading skills through fast-paced play. Designed for players ages 4-6, this game teaches early readers to recognize and read some of the most common words in the English language. The sight words featured in this game were identified by leading educators as the most fundamental. Learning and mastering them is key to becoming a successful, fluent reader - doing it through play makes learning fun. Launch date: September 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval, Play On Words (PAL) Award
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps kids learn to read; Easy to learn, but still challenging and fun.

PathWords Jr. is a clever word search puzzle with a twist. To complete each themed challenge, place colorful Tetris-style puzzle pieces over letters to spell a word forward or backwards. With its unique design and tactile appeal, PathWords Jr. builds spatial reasoning and strengthens vocabulary with clever graphic hints and funny word play. An ideal game for children ages 6 and  up, PathWords Jr. instills a lifelong love of word puzzles and logic games.
Awards: Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Product Award; ASTRA Best Toys winner in 2011; Creative Child Puzzle of the Year; Parents' Choice (Gold); Oppenheim Toy Portfolio (Platinum); Teachers' Choice; National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA).
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps build logic and spacial skills; helps kids develop literacy skills.

Featuring cool transparent cards, Swish is an innovative spatial game for children ages 8 and up that challenges mental muscles to the extreme. Players must examine cards, mentally flipping & rotating to make matches, or “Swishes.” Swishes are made by layering cards so that every ball swishes into a hoop of the same color. Players must prepare their brain for a seriously fun workout during this fast-paced challenge that’s fun for the whole family.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Silver Honors award; TOTY Nominee for Educational Toy of the Year 2012.
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 56 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps develop spatial relation skills; Well designed; innovative gameplay. Cons: Might be difficult for younger kids.

Brain twisting game of 40 challenges. Four challenge levels accommodate the skills of everyone in the family. Develops reasoning abilities and fine motor skills. Tactile, dual-colored design. Includes folding hexagon puzzle, booklet with 40 challenges.

Players take turns drawing number cards and remembering a growing sequence of digits. If a player draws a Distraction card they must answer a quirky question before reciting the numbers in order. Get caught repeating the sequence incorrectly and collect the cards – the first player to run out of cards wins.

The goal is to move the colored tokens through the maze to their respective corners. To do this, players must pass through turnstiles, shifting walls to form new pathways...and new barriers. Clever challenges exercise strategic thinking muscles, as one turn may lead to victory or may leave players stranded.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval

To play, simply toss the big plush cube and identify which colored side faces up. Choose a matching color card and perform the simple activity shown. “Make a happy face,” “Moo like a cow,” etc. The activities supported by Roll & Play are designed to help kids shine, supporting healthy development and celebrating success. Roll & Play gently introduces play patterns and rules through a loving, joyful play experience. Launch date: 2012.