February Newsletter

• In-line With Online
  - Ecommerce know-how and can-do,
• All Aboard
  - Beating the winter blues with games and puzzles that offer innovative play.
• Lets Be Crafty -
  - What’s hot in DIY arts and crafts.
• Just for You
  - Mother’s Day Inspirations.
• Soft Furnishing Trends for the Year Ahead
  - 2011 and 2012 seasons are expected to explore new beginnings.

All Aboard

Rainy Day Entertainment

Beating the winter blues with games and puzzles that offer innovative play

The autumn/winter months are all about keeping warm, plus family bonding over hot chocolate on cold weekend afternoons. But when cabin fever inevitably sets in, retailers are sure to attract parents looking to ward off their children’s winter blues by stocking shelves with games and puzzles that are educational, inventive and exciting for the entire family.

Carter Keithley, president of the North American Toy Industry Association (TIA), says playing together is a great way to connect, have fun and make new memories. “Play is also an essential part of development at any age,” he adds. Luckily, there is a wide variety of options for retailers looking to revamp their inventories with fresh versions of classic games and revolutionary ways of play that are appealing for all ages. Games that are intergenerational, 3D and constructible, tech-driven and innovative are just a few examples among the countless product categories that are enticing families to shop.

Intergenerational

Intergenerational games that bridge the gap between children and their parents or grandparents are suitable and challenging for all who play. “Intergenerational play is an evolving category that ensures all ages can play together, have fun, and build memories in the process,” says Reyne Rice, toy trend specialist at TIA. “Families who play together discover new things about one another and gain respect for each individual’s knowledge, strengths and values.”

Parents looking for games that appeal to the whole family are likely to be drawn to classic boardgames or cards, which remind them of their own childhoods spent playing with beloved favourites. With this in mind, toy companies have refreshed and reinvented their tried-and-true classic games, in some cases adding a technological component, making them just as popular with kids as they are with adults. Some great suggestions include:

• Scrabble Flash (Hasbro), a tech version of an old classic that is ‘board-less’
• LOL (Discovery Bay Games), a text-messaging version of Scrabble
• Uno Attack (Mattel) shoots out cards randomly for skill-levelling game play
• Monopoly Revolution (Hasbro) features an electronic banking system, a musical component and a round game board
• Loopz (Radica/Mattel), a fast-paced strategy, memory and pattern game
• Family Talk, Grandparent Talk and Buddy Talk (Around the Table Games), which are card games that stimulate conversation
• Rory’s Story Cubes (Gamewright), which stimulates imagination through story-telling
• Top Trumps Card Games (Top Trumps), card games that compare statistics in various categories, including animals, presidents, and dinosaurs.

3D and constructible

The 3D and constructible game category is another exciting new segment in the toy industry that takes gaming far beyond the traditional boardgame format and fosters innovative types of play. 3D and constructible games are paving the way to the future of play; retailers in the know will want to snap up these games for their store shelves.

“The 3D component allows people to experience the game in a new way and helps younger children understand spatial relationships, which is a key aspect of this category,” says Rice. “The building component allows players to build a game, break it down and re-build the game . . . each time you play, it’s a different game.”

Some examples of games that offer a multitude of play experiences include:

• Classic games with a building component such as U-Build Monopoly, U-Build Sorry and U-Build Connect 4 (Hasbro)
• Creationary and Minotaurus (Lego Games)
• Stix & Stones (Educational Insights)
• Contraptions (Mindware)
• Make or Break Challenge (Ravensburger)
• Fundex’s Castle Logix, which are 3D constructible challenges for preschoolers
• Math N Build Games (MegaBrands).

Electronic and educational

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the toy industry, particularly in the realm of educational games. A wide variety of play components will continue to interest players over a long period of time, as they include skill-levelling capacities and age-appropriate content – the games ‘grow’ with the child.

“Child versions of adult tech devices are particularly sought-after. While an adult e-reader doesn’t have pictures, a child’s e-reader does,” explains Rice. “The added bonus about child ereaders is that kids learn to read faster when they connect words with visual elements.”

When parents need a break from family game night, there are a slew of possibilities to keep their little ones engaged playing on their own while still having fun:

• Explorer (Leapfrog), a hand-held electronic and educational device for kids aged 3–8
• MobiGo (VTech), a hand-held learning and gaming device for kids aged 3–7
• V-Reader (Vtech), an e-book that teaches kids how to read
• iXL (Fisher-Price) has six applications – photo album, e-book, music player, notebook, art studio and game player
• Alphie (Hasbro Playskool), a talking robot with learning cards and games
• Who Knows Math? (Learning Resources), an electronic mathematical challenge game.

Innovations in puzzles

Today, there is a whole new batch of puzzles on the market that present stimulating challenges for avid puzzlers as well as innovative components for young children and adults who are looking for a change of pace.

“Puzzles develop a child’s hand-eye coordination and, best of all, kids love them,” explains Rice. “It’s a challenge for kids to find pieces that fit together, and they get a real sense of accomplishment when they complete a tough puzzle. It’s very good for their self-esteem.”

Today’s most innovative puzzles are 3D (children use glasses with lenticular lenses to see their puzzles come to life), big floor puzzles with chalk-compatible surfaces, mosaics (which use little horizontal and vertical pieces rather than interlocking pieces), puzzle balls (pieces are hinged together), and more challenging puzzles that don’t have edges or have pieces that are all a single, uniform colour.

Companies have also recently come out with puzzle accessories, such as the Stow N Go (Ravensburger) puzzle mat, which allows a puzzle in progress to be rolled up and stowed neatly without being ruined.

Some examples of revamped puzzles include:

• PuzzleBalls (Ravensburger)
• Konexi (I Can Do That Games), a 3D wordpuzzling game
• ChalkBoard Floor Puzzles (Lafayette Puzzles)
• Shaped puzzles (Lafayette Puzzles), puzzles shaped like butterflies, hot air balloons, etc
• Lenticular puzzles and floor-sized lenticular puzzles (Cardinal Games)
• Impossible Puzzles (Fundex), with no defined edges.

More trend-spotting

For more information on the most cutting-edge toys and games, visit ToyInfo.org and view the regularly posted trend videos, featuring TIA’s trend specialist, Reyne Rice. For additional guidance on the benefits of intergenerational games and play, Play is Forever, a free guide from the Toy Industry Association, can be downloaded from the Links/Resources section on ToyInfo.org.