News - the latest toy industry headlines

Wonderwall picks up awards

Wilton Bradley’s new Waterwall product has scooped more accolades.

It has received a recommendation from The Good Play Guide, founded by child development expert Dr Amanda Gummer, and has also gained an award for Top Summer Toy from US toy news, reviews and gift guide website The Toy Insider.

Waterwall helps to teach kids aged three to eight about gravity, angles and water flow. With a range of modular accessories included, kids can have fun creating their own water flows and seeing their problem-solving skills come to life as they pour water from the top.

Made from sustainably sourced wood, Waterwall is weather-resistant and can be used outdoors or indoors thanks to the included bucket, which catches the water when it reaches the bottom.

University Games

makes Forbidden deal

University Games has acquired Racoon Tycoon, Mosaic, and the rest of the intellectual property of Forbidden Games, the brainchild of Glenn Drover, game designer and president of Forbidden Games.

Racoon Tycoon is the leading game from Forbidden Games, which launched its first game, Railroad Rivals, in 2018. This year the company will introduce its next hit game: Mosaic, which has raised more than $1.2 million through its first round of crowdfunding.

University Games plans to increase the introductions of new games and help Forbidden Games reach a global audience.

Forbidden Games will become a division of University Games. University Games will realign its Briarpatch and Front Porch games division to create product lines that best fit the addition of Forbidden Games.

“I am extremely excited that our games will join the impressive product line at University Games, where they will benefit from University’s broad market penetration and channel expertise,” said Glenn Drover, who will be joining the team at University Games as VP of the Strategy Games Division. He added: “I anticipate being able to add a ton of value for University Games in a booming category that weaves perfectly into their existing strengths.”

Bob Moog, president of University Games, said: “Glenn is a highly regarded game designer and business leader in the strategy game category, with more than 30 years of experience. When he says that he can help us, he isn’t talking poppycock. We are psyched!”

Ravensburger Invests in board game crowdfunding platform

Ravensburger is investing Euro 4 million in the Polish start-up Gamefound. The international board game crowdfunding start-up is the first to receive funding from Ravensburger’s innovation and investment programme Next Ventures.

“With Gamefound, we are investing in a strong team of founders with industry expertise; a start-up with extremely high potential in our core segment of board games,” said Thomas Bleyer, group director corporate development & new business at Ravensburger AG, who is responsible for the Next Ventures programme.

Gamefound (www.gamefound.com) was founded in 2019 as a spin-off of the board game publisher and crowdfunding expert Awaken Realms. Gamefound’s specialised services help board game developers interact with their community and transform ideas into games. Gamefound was soft-launched in 2021 and has already hosted more than 30 campaigns, which raised over USD 22 million in total funding. Ravensburger’s investment will enable the rollout of the platform to all interested creators worldwide.

INDX show

donates toys to charity

More than 400 toys have been donated to two charities by the INDX Toys and Nursery Show.

A total of 80 exhibitors donated a wide range of toys to support the work of a homelessness charity and a hospital charity.

Rosie Marshall, head of toys and children’s gifts (AIS), said: “We were blown away by the generosity of our exhibitors and would like to thank them so much for their support. These toys will really make a difference in the local communities where they will be received. The donation will be split between Worcester Street Kitchen and Radio Cherwell.”

Worcester Street Kitchen is a homeless charity that will be raffling off the toys to fund its work supporting and feeding those in need. Radio Cherwell, based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, will use the toys to entertain and engage children receiving treatment.