Games, Playthings, and Plush

Alex Breaux , who co-owns the business with her sister-in-law Jessica Breaux. ThinkFun’s Invasion of the Cow Snatchers game is currently very popular. “It’s a logic puzzle, single player game. A lot of parents have been buying more logical games for their kids so they can do more puzzle-y type things,” said Alex Breaux. Telestrations, a game resembling the old telephone circle game only with drawings, is another big-seller. “It goes around person to person and things get all twisted. It’s cute. It’s a good family fun game.” The fact that all games are housed in the back of their 1,000-square-foot store creates a certain element of intrigue. “People are always curious. They’ll say ‘Oooh! What’s in the back room?’ We answer we have all of our fun games in the back room. So, it’s always a reason to talk to people because we do have them merchandised in a separate area.”

Jigsaw puzzles have been flying out the door at Wonder World Toys, especially those in the 300-to500-piece range. “People have more time to do them. They’re not just picking up a 100-piece puzzle for a weekend. They’re getting the larger puzzles they can spend time working on, especially as a family. A lot of people are doing them like that now, which is nice. It’s something we’ve never seen before,” said Alex

Breaux. The MasterPieces brand is a strong seller with animal-themed puzzles emerging as a favorite. “Animal puzzles always do better for us. It could be because we cater towards children and animals are just always so happy.”

Games are a major part of business at Franklin’s Toys, with two Maryland locations – a 5,000-square-foot space in Severna Park and another 3,000-square-foot one in Annapolis. “We sell a lot of cooperative games. Those are the types of games where you’re not really playing against each other but you’re moving pieces around the board to see which piece wins,” said Stephen Kaufman , who co-owns the business with his partner Anne Barnes. Other popular genres include mystery games, games where everybody plays at once creating a real sense of emergency and excitement, and classic games. “We’ve been seeing a real resurgence in the classic ones – more than ever before. But our game sales throughout COVID have been very, very good across all of the different categories, without a doubt.”

Kaufman attributed games’ popularity to parents’ new roles. “We hear the same thing over and over

Simple or Complicated Directions? Which Board Games Sell Best?

Simple directions rule at William’s Fun Smart Toys in Macon, Ga. “The simpler the game is, the better it sells and the more people enjoy playing with it,” said Owner Florence Allen.

Customers like simple board game directions at Wonder World Toys in Medford, N.J. “If I can’t explain it in like, a minute, I’ve lost the person,” said Alex Breaux, who co-owns the business with her sister-in-law Jessica Breaux

Games aimed at kids aged 3-8 sell best with simple directions at Franklin’s Toys’ two respective locations in Annapolis and Severna Park, Md. “That is our sweet spot. However, we carry board games for families, teens, and adults who enjoy a little bit more strategic type of play,” said Stephen Kaufman, who co-owns the business with his partner Anne Barnes. For the latter kind of game, product knowledge is key, plus the ability to summarize it in a fairly short pitch. ❖ again. Parents come in and say they’re not just parents anymore. They’re teachers, they’re day care workers. They’re all of that rolled into one. During downtime they want something that their child can play with his sibling or they can play by themselves.” Increased family time has also created a need for games everybody can play together or strategic varieties that adults and teens would enjoy. Luckily, Franklin’s Toys has something for everybody. Puzzles have exploded as well. “In the first month and a half of the worst of the COVID when things were pretty much shut down, we sold as many puzzles as we normally would middle of November through Christmas.” Like many retailers, Kaufman sometimes found it hard to keep puzzles in stock. They were selling faster than manufacturers could make them. “We had to get inventive and really source puzzles from wherever we could.”

Ravensburger Puzzles are Franklin’s Toys’ number one seller and its two stores stock more of them than anybody else around. Kaufman noted that although 24-piece floor puzzles and 200-piece jigsaw puzzles for kids have always sold well, puzzles in the 300, 500, 100, 1500, even 2,000-piece range have found a new audience of adult puzzlers during COVID. “Adults did one, loved it and then wanted to do more and more.” Women like depictions of outdoor scenery while men tend to favor collage imagery of say vintage cars or sports. Ravensburger Escape Puzzles – a jigsaw puzzle and escape room challenge combo – are currently gaining fans. Just keeping up with demand is all that is required to sell puzzles right now at Franklin’s Toys. However, the trick to selling more games is to be familiar with them. “If staff knows what the different games are, then they can explain them properly and thoroughly to customers. And then it’s much easier for them to decide which game they want. That is the key to the whole thing –product knowledge,” Kaufman concluded. ❖

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Kellytoy’s New Squishmallows Easter Squad

Delivers a Basketful of Fun

Easter baskets and egg hunts will be a lot more fun and exciting this year with the new Squishmallows® Easter squad from Kellytoy, a subsidiary of Jazwares, LLC. Fans have scooped up more than 65 million of the “chonky” and collectible Squishmallows since they launched—helping to make Kellytoy’s best-selling line into an international phenomenon with more than 700 characters available in 40 countries. Meanwhile, Squishmallows have exploded in popularity on the TikTok platform with more than 315 million organic video views for #squishmallows (and related) video tags.

The nine new Squishmallows in the line’s Easter squad include bunnies and other animals, and eggs.

“Spring is a celebration of renewal and hope, and we wanted to introduce a cuddly and snuggly squad just for the occasion,” said Kellytoy Co-President Jonathan Kelly in a press release. “Here’s your chance to add some spring to your squad with adorable bunnies, colorful eggs, newlyhatched chicks and party-loving animals that can’t wait to make the season more special for kids of all ages. These Squishmallows are also a great way to make anyone’s Easter celebration more festive.”

There are nine new Easter squad members available in four sizes – 5 inch, 8 inch, 12 inch and 16 inch, depending upon the character.

Each Squishmallows character’s name and