2011 Toy Fair Favourites 2011 Toy Fair Favourites
Walking the Toy Fair aisles is every bit as tiring as a mega holiday shopping spree. But we trudged through booth after booth in New York and Toronto, and with about 7,000 brand new items debuting in 2011, we’ve seen so many toys it feels like December is just around the corner. Here’s a few that caught our attention…. a small taste of what you’ll see on toys shelves this year.
Laugh & Learn™ Baby iCan Play™ Case (6-36 months, Fisher-Price)
Available July 2011
Babies love grown-up electronic devices, but even the most indulgent parent gets a little uncomfortable watching their expensive device mauled and mouthed. This durable, rubber case has a clear screen cover that protect mom or dad’s iPhone or iPod Touch from baby’s dribbles and drools, and easy grasp handles help baby hold the device while she plays with it. Or use the flip-out stand to prop the screen for easy viewing. Fisher-Price even provides a number of apps that are just right for baby (you can download the free from the iTunes store). Best of all, the case is designed to entertain baby even when the electronics aren’t in it – in case you want to use the device yourself on occasion.
Triazzle Kids (3-6, Be Good Company, $9.99)
Available March 2011
The classic versions of this brainteaser puzzle - which challenge puzzlers to match pictures on all three sides of each piece - have been confounding fans since 1991. This new line for preschool puzzlers is a simple, straightforward matching challenge: fewer pieces (9 instead of 16), and a single, one-sided match to either the frame, or one other piece.
Chuggington Wooden Railway (3+, Learning Curve)
Available Now
Based on the popular Chuggington series, this new wooden railway toy features rich colours, versatile designs and a wheelbase and track that are compatible with other wooden railway sets. What differentiates Chuggington sets is that sitting on that standard size wheel base is a chunkier train that's a better size for younger hands.
Skreemsters (3+, Bandai)
Available Fall 2011
Despite the name of the toy, no yelling or screaming is needed. All you do is talk - or even whisper, into the "Skreem-intake valve". The longer you talk (up to 15 seconds), the further the car goes (up to 50'). According to Bandai, the car uses patent pending technology to turn ordinary speech into the energy that powers it. Real or not, the idea that speech powers the car is just plain fun, and there are lots of opportunities for creative families to extend play. Challenge your kids to a battle of words: give each a topic, let them talk away, then see whose car goes the furthest.
Tales to Play (games for 3+, 4+ and 6+, Patch Products)
Available June 2011
Eye-catching, with attractive graphics and detailed 3D figures, these new preschool games are a great way to bring classic children's stories to life. Interesting design features, like molded Max pawns that piggyback onto their Wild Thing once they meet up, are an added bonus.
Perplexus Rookie (4+, Busy Life)
Available Spring 2011
A 3D maze enclosed inside a clear plastic ball, the original Perplexus was phenomenally popular. The new Rookie version is smaller, both in terms of its 6.5” physical size, as well as having fewer challenge barriers (just 75 instead of the original 100). Ideal for younger players who want to try this addictive ball-turning, marble-rolling challenge.
Art Studio in a Box (5+, Glitter Pie)
Available Now
Definitely NOT the usual assortment of basic supplies, the materials in this kit are whimsical things that pop with attention getting, vibrant colours and fabulous “I want to touch them” textures. Just seeing all the cool stuff in these kits would make anyone want to grab the glue and scissors and get creative.
Meon (5+, Skyrocket Toys)
Coming Soon
This has the same 'playing with light' appeal as Lite Brite, except that the Meon activity is more like doing lacing cards than a peg board. At $29.99, the deluxe size is the set to buy. In addition to the lacing activity shared by the smaller sets. This larger set features some rudimentary animation that pulses to the beat of music playing nearby, interactive games, and a room alarm. Available in a variety of licensed themes, including CARS and Disney Fairies.
Redakai (6+. Spin Master)
Available Spring 2011
Each card in this new collectible game features a holographic 3D image, as well as some pretty sophisticated animation (eg a monster with a swinging tail). The largely see-through cards also make a composite picture when a card is played on top of another. Besides the cool graphic representations of what’s happening in the game (eg. seeing the character actually trapped inside an attacking green vortex), the game data is also displayed in an easy to grasp way. So instead of just admiring the cards, younger players can actually play the game. But the game also has enough depth of game play to capture the interest of older core gamers, too, so that kids will keep playing it for years to come.
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Salt Water Fuel Cell Car (8+, Unicorn Enterprises)
Available Spring 2011
A car that runs on water? It’s a chemical reaction that powers this car, when a drop of salted water makes contact with the Magnesium sheet in the car. The kit includes three replaceable Magnesium metal sheets and each sheet will run the car for about 5-7 hours of continuous operation. At the very least this is a fun novelty car, and potentially an excellent hands-on learning opportunity, as well.
Tilt (8+, ThinkFun)
Available Now
An innovative new take on the classic sliding puzzle, your goal is to slide and sink the green disks through the center exit hole. The challenge is that you need to keep the blue sliding disks on the board while you do it. Fortunately, each puzzle set up includes a few strategically placed blockers that you can use to hold the blue chips in place while you dump the green ones.
Monopoly Live (8+, Hasbro)
Available Fall 2011
Not only does the computerized tower keep track of each player's finances, it literally has "eyes" that can tell you if you've miscounted and landed on the wrong spot. But the most exciting thing about this new version is that the "smart" tower also creates random events throughout the game: horse race, auctions, and gas taxes. You even have the option to green up your utilities. Free Parking is another interesting twist. The coveted piles of money are gone, but you do get the opportunity to collect a little extra cash by flicking the taxi and seeing how far it travels around the center track. It may not feel quite like the old game, or reinforce math skills in the same way, but Monopoly Live does offer its own brand of fun.