News – headlines and more from around the industry

Independent Toy Awards winners unveiled

Toy Shop UK has announced the winners of the 15th edition of the annual Independent Toy Awards, as voted for by indie retailers around the UK.

Gold, silver and bronze winners have been unveiled among more than 30 different categories, with further commendations also awarded.

The full list of winners can be seen at www.toyshopuk.co.uk/ita.

Toy Shop UK founder, Michael Hawkins, said: “It’s strange to think that the awards are now in their 15th year, but we continue to be blown away with the winning products, which reflect the life, character, and occasionally eclectic nature of the independent toy retailers that bring so much to our industry.”

Magic man

appears in London

The man behind Marvin’s Magic received the ultimate accolade from the powers that be in the world of magic after appearing at the Magic Circle’s first-ever convention.

Marvin Berglas appeared at the London event hosted by the organisation to give a lecture entitled Magic, Marketing and Mojo.

It comes as the company celebrates its biggest-ever order and increasingly close links with US retail giant Costco, including appearing in its magazine and shipping the Ultimate Magic 400 Tricks and Illusion set to more than 600 of the retailer’s stores in October.

Berglas said:

“I feel honoured to be invited as the opening lecturer at the Magic Circle’s first-ever convention. Exciting times! Celebrations are in order with the Marvin’s Magic 35th anniversary next month and our Costco partnership definitely the icing on the cake’’

Asmodee reveals latest game line-up

With a new licensed take on its bestselling card game Dobble leading the charge, Asmodee unveiled its Q4 lineup of games to the media and a raft of influencers in east London on September 8.

The company, along with its partners, hosted a wealth of experts, journalists, writers, YouTubers and of course Toys ‘n’ Playthings editor Tim Murray, to show off its key wares for the coming months.

Asmodee is working closely with games-based bar operation Draughts, which has venues in Hackney and Waterloo in the capital, to highlight its titles. The games on show included old favourites such as Dobble, with a new Friends version due to launch shortly. Marketing manager Jo Shapley told TnP: “The series is enjoying another resurgence right now, with new fans discovering it on Netflix.” It will join the original version and licensed SKUs such as Harry Potter, Marvel Emojis, Paw Patrol, Minions and Pixar. Other party faves include another old favourite, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (Asmodee said: “Our first licensed version is coming out soon”); Sock Game (“a really good seller for us and is a great stocking filler”) and Telestrations, as well as its more mature counterpart Telestrations After Dark, which both continue to be seasonal favourites.

Meanwhile, Asmodee’s new party partners, Format Games, the company started by radio and TV personality Matt Edmondson and his brother-in-law Laurence Emmett, was on hand to show off some of its wares, fresh with a new award for one of its earliest titles, Noggin. The duo have already got 11 games under their belt in a matter of months, with eight now live and a further three in development. The pair, hugely enthusiastic and great fun to actually play their games with, were showing off new additions such as Karen (billed as “a game of one-star reviews”) and the excellent Wheels Vs Doors (we did pretty well in this, given we were up against its creators) joining the likes of Ansagrams, and So Wrong It’s Right.

On to Asmodee board games and there’s a new addition to the Ticket To Ride series in the form of a new San Francisco version, as well a Ghost Train take which will land in time for Halloween.

Elsewhere, CATAN continues to excel, while Yak was proving popular with the kidfluencers.

Zombie Kittens is a new development alongside the Exploding Kittens line, while Harry Potter Stupify features lots of spells for gamers to take on board. There were further sneak previews of as yet unannounced games.