Toy World games & puzzles September 2019

September 2019

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Category Overview

Games & Puzzles

Go by the board It’s that time of year again: games and puzzles - perfect for chilly winter nights - are firmly back in the spotlight. 2019 has borne witness to some tangible innovation in the category, with offerings increasingly reflecting our modern, tech-connected lives. Rachael Simpson-Jones speaks to some key players in the category to find out more.

T

he Games & Puzzles category is a bright spot among the lacklustre first-half sales figures, as detailed by Melissa Symonds in her August Toy World column. Accounting for nearly 10% of total market sales, YOY performance shows the supercategory up +6%, largely driven by strategic card games like Pokémon, as well as card games such as Mattel’s Uno and Asmodee’s Dobble. (More on this on page 6). That Dobble is a main driver of success for the Games category shouldn’t come as a surprise; the quick-fire symbolmatching game was named the best-selling game of 2018, according to NPD YTD December data.

“Looking at recent NPD data, Games & Puzzles appears to be one of the few categories that is growing despite a very difficult marketplace,” says Ben Hogg, Asmodee’s marketing manager. “We’re really pleased to see games are bucking the trend and this is reflected in our sales, too. We’ve had excellent interest in our key product ranges such as Fun Fast Games and Party Games, with some exciting new titles being released in both ranges, including Telestrations and Time’s Up. Dobble continues to go from strength to strength and we have been really pleased with the growth of our Bananagrams sales, even before the launch of the Bananagrams Schools Club; over 1,700 schools will be playing the game during the new academic year.”

“Dobble was not only Asmodee’s, but also the UK’s, best-selling game in 2018, and we would be delighted if the game was to achieve that mantle again this year,” Ben adds. “At the end of July, we released a very exciting new version that has been over two years in the making - Harry Potter Dobble. The game has got off to a fantastic start for us, despite only being available for half the year. It looks like it will be our next biggest seller behind the main game.”

Sales for games and puzzles seem to be rolling in later and later each year, with the 2018 festive selling period nail-bitingly close to the mark. As a result, some companies are choosing to stall their marketing campaigns until later in the season. Tomy, which invests heavily in substantial marketing campaigns, ensures that the level and type of its TV investment takes last-minute shopping habits of games consumers into consideration.

Vivid is employing a similar strategy, as Emma Weber, marketing and licensing director, explains: “We saw last year’s sales in games happen so late that, as a consequence, we are planning our marketing and communications much later in the season to ensure our messages are relevant and timely when consumers are ready to buy games,” she says.

“Although we know that the main sales push for games will be much closer to Christmas, we’re delighted to see that some of our new launches, such as Escape Room and Sequence, are already showing strong starts to the season.”

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Tomy tells Toy World that the company has had a positive start to the year, with its classic and carry-forward lines continuing to perform in line with, or above, expectations. Moving into autumn/winter, the company is launching 10 new products across the Drumond Park and Tomy portfolios; with TV campaigns starting last month, the company is looking forward to a very exciting games season.

“Under the Drumond Park brand, Articulate and Logo have strong distribution and high investment, so we expect these to be a big hits for adult games – Articulate Phrases is a key new launch appealing to Articulate fans and new consumers,” notes Mary Wood, general manager UK & Ireland, Tomy. “The partnership with Drumond Park has strengthened our portfolio even further, and we have managed to secure broader distribution in our key retailers across many games categories, which has also allowed us to enter into new retail partnerships. We are very excited about the 35 games we have to offer for 2019 and are already well into the planning stages of 2020, so we are looking forward at seeing where this new partnership will take us.”

This year has seen the introduction of some major new trends in gaming, as elaborated upon by the board game critic and author Owen Duffy in his interview on pages 8 and 10. Perhaps the most noteworthy is the combination of analogue gaming and voice-activated technology seen in the likes of Hasbro’s Monopoly Voice Banking and Ravensburger’s new game Know!.

“We’re always on the lookout for new and emerging trends, and voice activated technology is something that is becoming part of our everyday lives,” says Louisa Parast, marketing director, Hasbro UK and Ireland. “We recognised this and decided to introduce voice technology to our latest Monopoly edition, Monopoly Voice Banking. This new game gives players the opportunity to get to know the beloved Mr Monopoly for the first time; he’s both competitive and comical, and his real-estate expertise make him a great banker. We’ve also endeavoured to design Mr. Monopoly so he is as helpful as possible. Players are given a list of commands when they begin the game, along with tips for using the unit, which include choosing a quiet place to play, speaking clearly and using the names and words as they appear on the board. We recognise that people may not always stick to the script and have made sure to account for this with some special surprises, to make the gameplay even more fun.”

Ravensburger’s Know!, the first board game to be powered by the Google Assistant, lets 3-6 players enjoy a decidedly different quiz game experience, by allowing them to consult Google for answers to questions.

“I'm expecting a strong performance from our new Know! game,” says Katy Fletcher, head of marketing and product development, Ravensburger UK. “It's the first board game to be powered by the Google Assistant, meaning a completely up-to-date quiz game and bringing newness for the games aisle. It's packed with different types of challenge, and there are many ways to play. There will even be new content added regularly to keep the game play refreshed. We're making major marketing investment to support the launch, and our campaign, like the game, features innovative new ways to put it in the spotlight.”

Board game cafes continue to play a role in the success of the category; where else can you go to enjoy a product you potentially want to buy with your friends, while enjoying a coffee and a slice of cake, all the while under little to no pressure to make a purchase? While some may grumble that they impact sales by giving people unfettered access to product, my personal experience says the complete opposite, as customers try before they buy. Games cafes have helped turn a seasonal activity to a year-round one. As Katy Fletcher notes: “Consumers are looking more and more to analogue games and activities to create quality connections outside of screen time. The ever-growing numbers of board game cafes and clubs pay testament to this - game playing is no longer confined to Christmas and the home, and there is more opportunity than ever before for us to boost sales outside of that traditional window with powerful marketing.”

The vast variety of games on offer means the category is also shaking off any historical pre-conceptions about its accessibility. A few weekends ago, my husband and I managed to teach my parents how to play Coiledspring’s The Mind, a simple game in which players lay down cards in ascending number order without communicating in any way. We got rather good; until, while on the brink of reaching Level 7, my mum played her entire hand after mistakenly thinking she was the only player left with any cards, stripping us of our last life and bringing the game to an abrupt but hilarious end. C'est la vie– a lesson in not literally playing your cards too close to your chest, perhaps. A couple of years ago, the thought of sitting down with my mum to play anything other than Monopoly or Scrabble would have been daunting, but so many current games are breaking away from convention that the category has thrown its arms wide open to welcome just about every possible type of game-player out there. From trivia games such as Winning Moves’ Top Trumps to tactile titles such as Character’s Options’ What’s in the Box?, which draws on recent social media trends, the category has everyone covered.

“There continues to be great innovation in this part of the toy industry, and in the nine years I have worked within games there has been an obvious shift in attitude from your average potential customer,” says Ben Hogg. “We find there is much less of ‘I don’t play games, they’re not for me’ and much more ‘I’ve heard there are some really fun games, where should I start?’. It’s obviously our job to guide people through the rabbit hole to the gaming promised land.”

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Suppliers continue to see success by demoing their wares at trade fairs and consumer events like the UK Games Expo, which Vivid attended for the first time this year under its Goliath brand. “It was Vivid’s first time at a consumer show and we will definitely be returning next year,” enthuses Emma Weber. “We completely sold out of product that we had on sale, got great consumer feedback on our ranges and identified how popular our new launches for Escape Room and Sequence were in time to make more accurate calls on forecasts for this year.”

Forming a healthy 17% of the Games & Puzzles supercategory, Puzzles is also outperforming the overall toy market with a 1% rise driven by adult puzzles from suppliers including Gibsons, Jumbo and Ravensburger. Based on rate of sale, Gibsons was the UK’s best performing manufacturer in adult puzzles for the whole of 2018 (The NPD Group Inc, January-December 2018, based on product value velocity (rate of sale)), and continues to be the home of the thickest 1,000 piece jigsaws on the market. Jumbo is continuing to invest heavily in the adult puzzles market, releasing 18 new offerings this month across its Wasjig, Falcon de luxe and Jan van Haasteren ranges, including Christmas specials and puzzles featuring traditional British illustrations.

The acquisition of Paul Lamond by University Games in late 2017 has strengthened the companies’ combined portfolio of games and puzzles for the pre-school through to the adult market, and momentum for products is continuing at a rapid rate, according to Richard Wells, managing director of University Games and Paul Lamond Games.

“Games and puzzles is a solid and very stable marketplace that is not overly affected by trends within the toy sector,” Richard explains. “Q4 is renowned for being the strongest quarter of the games and puzzles year.

I believe it always will be, but we continue to see significantly strong sales throughout the year, especially through our pre-school and children’s lines. We really do have something for everyone, whether that be a 4,000-piece Educa Landscape puzzle or Murder Mystery Dinner party game, through to our renowned 3D Football Stadium Puzzles, innovative family board games and fun, educational pre-school games and puzzles.

However, if I had to pick out a Christmas best-seller this year, it would have to be our stunning new licensed 3D Game of Thrones puzzles of King’s Landing, the Red Keep and Winterfell. These are going to be highly sought after and are certain to make the ultimate Christmas present for any Game of Thrones Fan.” Richard adds: “A strong formula for us, when creating iconic games and puzzles for children is to combine much-loved literary characters with great gameplay and educational elements. This is evident in many of our successful children’s games and puzzles including Let’s Feed the Hungry Caterpillar, Dinosaurs Galore from The World of Dinosaur Roar, and our three new educational games from Roald Dahl. Games and puzzles that successfully combine fun with educational values and, importantly, actively encourage family time and face to face interaction are a winning combination. In this age of technology and social media culture, these values have never been more important to parents and grandparents.

From a retailer’s perspective, this creates strong sales and decent margins – which are both always welcome.”

We hope you enjoy this year’s dedicated games & puzzles supplement, which features 60 pages of the latest product information, opinion, facts and figures for this stellar supercategory. Game on.

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Q&A

Owen Duffy

Above board

Toy World editor Rachael Simpson-Jones spoke to Owen Duffy, board game critic and co-author of Kickstarter success The Board Game Book, about why analogue gaming endures in a time of tech and what the future holds for the category.

Why is analogue gaming increasingly popular when so much of the world around us seems to be so digitally focused?

The rise in gaming is almost a push back against the increasing dependency on technology. With so much of our entertainment being screen based and therefore quite solitary, people appreciate having something tangible and sociable to enjoy – a way in which they can interact with friends and family, rather than staring at a phone or TV screen in silence.

The other element people tend to overlook is

that games are getting so incredibly good. There’s been an explosion in new games over the last 10 years, and there are some hugely talented designers trying out some unique concepts. Last year there were over 4,000 new games released, and within that number were several absolute gems that really blew things out the water. The games community is interconnected and tight knit, so a good game can generate a fair bit of buzz very quickly.

Over the past few years, what trends have you noticed emerging in gaming?

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There’s been some cross-pollination in different aspects of hobby gaming. A couple of years ago, you would have seen clearly delineated sectors within gaming; you had people who were into board games, people who were into miniature battle games like Warhammer, people who were into card games like Magic: The Gathering and people who were into roleplay games like Dungeons & Dragons. Modern games have taken ideas from these different sub-sections, thrown them together and shaken them up to see what happens. Now you have board games that incorporate the story-telling elements of role-playing games, board games with the lavishly produced

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Q&A

Owen Duffy

miniatures you’d usually find in a battle game and deck building games with self-contained units, like a board game combined with ideas from collectible card games like Magic and Netrunner. This exchange of ideas has resulted in some great new titles coming out.

If you look at trends within gaming, it seems like every few months there’s a hot new mechanism coming out that designers are tinkering with. For a while there was a trend for tiny games, which was kicked off by a game called Love Letter by Seiji Kanai. On the back of this came a number of small box, low-component games from people keen to see just how much gameplay you can pack into a very small package. And deck-building games started out from a game called Dominion; people ran with the idea, and want to see what can be done with these collections of cards and the different spins you could put on the gameplay.

Recently, there’s been a surge in highquality kids and family games. Big Potato is developing some quirky, interestingly packaged and well-thought-out games, which are often very simple in terms of the rules but have been designed to offer something beyond more traditional titles. Its games also foster a fun party atmosphere.

Opinions and tastes vary wildly, but what would you say makes a good game?

Designers need to be aware of the audience they are creating for, as people come to the table with differing ideas of what to expect. If I’m playing with some of my geeky friends, we might pull something like Twilight Imperium off the shelf, which is a huge, sprawling space strategy game that takes 4-8 hours to play and has in-depth systems for war, trade and diplomacy. On the other side of the spectrum you have games like Blue Lagoon which has roughly a page and a half of rules, lightning fast turns and can be played in 15-20 minutes. At its core, designing a good game is all about nailing the idea that appeals most to a particular group of players, but there’s so much more that goes into it. While some might get bogged down in the mechanical side of things, the artwork and presentation add to the atmosphere each game brings to the table. A big part of the love for card and board games is that they are physical objects; having big, chunky dice and chips, tactile pieces and stunning artwork contributes to the feeling of a shared social experience.

How do you see the games category evolving over the next few years?

It’s difficult to make predictions even six months ahead, due to the pace at which new concepts and mechanisms are coming out. One thing we’ve seen designers doing recently is incorporating electronic

What are the major challenges facing the games industry at the moment?

It’s quite a healthy category as there is a very enthusiastic and passionate fanbase out there that’s happy to support new titles - and spend quite a lot of money on them too. The willingness of customers to support games is heartening and really does boost this sector.

One thing concerning quite a few people in the games industry at the moment is what is going to happen with Donald Trump’s tariffs against China.

So much of the production of games and toys is done in China. Even for those manufacturers who are looking at potentially switching production to the USA, the question is whether there is the capacity for loads of companies to move at the same time, as well as whether they can do it and make it economical. The situation is likely to drive prices up for the consumer whatever happens.

Brexit is the second big challenge.

Germany is a huge producer of board games and has traditionally been a hub of European-style gaming; some of the big manufacturers are based in Germany, and at this stage no one really knows how the effects of Brexit are going to pan out once we leave the EU.

elements into board games, driving the gameplay through companion smartphone and tablet apps.

XCom The Board Game uses an app to set mission parameters for players defending earth from an alien invasion. Detective, from Portal Games, is a crime-solving game that requires players to look up information on the internet as they play, trying to find the clues that will help solve the case.

In recent years we’ve also seen an increase in legacy games – games that you play over a campaign, just the once. Take Pandemic Legacy for example.

You play through 12 months of campaign and the events that happen, and there are permanent changes you make to the game as you play, such as writing on the board, tearing up cards once you’ve used them, and opening compartments to introduce new components and rules to the game. What you end up with is a very carefully plotted story that unfolds over a course of linked game sessions. This kind of episodic, story-driven content is going to be a big thing.

In recent weeks, we’ve also seen the big US publisher Fantasy Flight games announce that it’s secured the Marvel licence for games. Two new titles will be coming out, and with superheroes so hot right now, I think we are going to see a lot more in the way of pop-culture tie-ins. There’s always been a crossover between comics, movies and games, but with these cultural phenomena enjoying a moment in the spotlight, this is surely going to expand further.

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What can retailers do to drive purchases and make the instore experience part of the overall gaming mix?

Having knowledgeable staff is so important; people who play games themselves, have a vested interest in their in-store selection and know what new titles are coming up. Independent retailers are particularly good at providing demo space compared to the big chains. One of the best stores in the UK is Eclectic Games in Reading; it has a huge space where people can bring their own games to play or buy them in-store and play them, and it also hosts organised play events laid on by games publishers. A lot of publishers offer promo components or prizes that retailers can use to encourage people in store to buy games and take part in tournaments.

The big thing about games stores is that they can act as the hub of a local gaming community. Yes, people can perhaps pick up a game on Amazon cheaper than they would elsewhere, but a good brick & mortar retailer will build emotional and social connections to encourage people to spend their money there, instead of with Jeff Bezos.

I’ve also noticed that more and more people are setting themselves up as much as cafes and social venues as they are as retailers. That way, even if someone isn’t necessarily coming in to spend £50 on a game, they might be spending £5 several times a month on a coffee and a slice of cake instead. In this climate, every little helps.

Touching Base

Meeple power With the Games & Puzzles supercategory one of only two growing sectors in the market, things are looking bright for manufacturers and suppliers. We spoke to some key players in this category to find out what challenges they face despite the positive outlook, and what they think will be their big Christmas best-seller.

Phil O’Nion - UK Sales manager, Tactic Games I think that the board game category is fairly buoyant this year. Despite what you read about families relying on tablets and devices to entertain children, there is still a strong desire to play traditional games together around the table, and there will always be a thirst for trivia and skilful gameplay. There is the obvious challenge of competing for shelf space that continues to shrink, and this makes securing strong listings for the all-important Q4 period an even greater task. At Tactic however, we have a varied portfolio across pre-school, family, party and adult games to offer great choice at competitive price-points for our customers, and we are pleased with how business is going this year.

Our new family game Don’t Upset the Llama is proving to be a highlight for 2019. Identified as one to watch back at Toy Fair with a Hero Toy accolade, the game has certainly captured imaginations. Our product development team in Finland is always monitoring trends and, with the popularity of llamas rising substantially this year, we are confident that this game is going to be a hit with families this Christmas. We will be starting PR activity in September and are looking forward to seeing influencers share their game-play experiences online, to show just how much fun you can have with a llama spray gun!

Samantha Goodburn - Marketing & PR manager, Gibsons One of the biggest challenges in the games category is reluctance to try new games. People tend to stick to what they know, which means hundreds of new games are being missed because consumers are unwilling to take a risk and spend £30 on a game that they might not enjoy.

We have found that we can avoid this by either introducing new quick-play games with a lower price point, such as Zonkers, Mind the Gap and Pixit, or by re-releasing classic games from the 20th century that consumers remember fondly, such as 221b Baker Street, Civilization and L’Attaque. We’ve found that attending consumer games shows, such as UK Games Expo and Tabletop Gaming Live, as well as ensuring our products are available at game cafes, gives people the opportunity to try new games without the monetary risk.

I’m certain that our No.1. Christmas best-seller will be this year’s Christmas Limited Edition jigsaw puzzle, Secret Santa. These puzzles always perform exceptionally well; last year’s version was the bestselling adult jigsaw puzzle in the UK based on rate of sale (Sept-Nov 2018, The NPD Group Inc, UK).

Secret Santa is our best design yet. It’s been painted by the talented artist Tony Ryan, and we’ve used shiny gold eco-foil on the box, so it really stands out on-shelf. We wanted to create an extra special version to celebrate 100 years of Gibsons, and we’ve definitely achieved that.

This will be closely followed by the brand-new Mike Jupp puzzle, I Love Weddings, which is arriving in September. Mike’s ‘I Love...’ puzzles are always best-sellers; fans have been waiting for over two years for his next instalment, so we’re expecting great things.

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Tim Hall - Managing director, Ravensburger UK

Like most categories, one of the biggest challenges is standingout against such a diverse media landscape. As our audience's habits have evolved, we must be ever more creative and innovative in reaching out to them, while ensuring we don't spread the message too thinly. So, in addition to our strong TV campaigns, we will also be investing heavily in social media, YouTube, events and demonstrations.

Know! is a huge launch for us this year and is bringing something completely fresh and new to the games aisle. The first board game to be powered by the Google Assistant, it provides an always up-to-date, evolving quiz game experience. There will be new content added regularly; some fantastic festive challenges at Christmas for example, so it's a different game every time, giving games fans fantastic play value. We’re making a major marketing investment for Know! that will deliver real standout, so I expect this game to be a big hit for Christmas get-togethers.

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Each player receives a Genius Square grid (two are included) and a set of the nine coloured shapes, plus seven ‘blocker’ pieces. Roll all seven of the dice together and place a ‘blocker’ piece into the squares matching the seven co-ordinates that appear on the dice. Now race your opponent to fill every other space on the grid using the nine shapes.

There are 62,208 possible combinations in which the dice can fall. Using a specially devised computer programme, we have confirmed that all of them have at least one possible solution. Some combinations will be easy to solve, some much harder. It’s all in the luck of the roll of the dice.

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Creating happiness, one puzzle at a time

Touching Base Dr Graeme Fraser Bell - Chief executive officer, Accentuate Games The barriers to entry into the games market are lower than ever before, but the barriers to success are even higher. There are so many new games being launched, kickstarted or self-published which are simply nuanced or hybridised versions of previous games, that it’s becoming harder and harder to differentiate your game and brand. The space on high street shelves is not increasing; if anything, it’s decreasing at a time when game producers are competing to have more of their best-sellers listed.

Unless you have a Cards Against Humanity, Ticket to Ride or Dobble in your offering, doors and shelf space are closing.

However, I think we should push back on the short-term challenge and highlight the long-term prospects. Consider market projections that forecast the global board games market will grow to US$12b by 2023 with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9% between 2017-2023. How many industries are we aware of that have those kind of projections, in an era of such uncertainty? Is it an aberration? I don’t think so - the fundamentals are driving it, analogue games are gaining immense popularity, and they’re bridging the gap between generations with growing popularity across territories and demographics. This new hands-on and heads-on revolution is set to continue and is, I believe, fuelled by the explosive growth in board game cafes and bars, exemplified by the fact that 5,000 new ones opened in the USA in 2016.

Whilst Accentuate is always our best-seller at Christmas, our new game, Rats to Riches, is gaining accolades, reviews and awards at a much earlier stage and at a higher degree than our previous games, due to its mix of innovative board design, quality meeples and multi-layered strategic gameplay with a hugely attractive theme. The signs suggest it will be an inter-generational hit, and an addictive one at that.

Joanna Drage - Sales director, Kosmos Games I think that the biggest challenge that the games category is facing is the sheer number of titles being released due to the Kickstarter trend. It’s difficult for fans to keep up with the new games, hence many good titles are lost within the masses. In the current market, it’s important for publishers to stick to what they do well and earn their reputation. We have various types of games that we concentrate on; we invest heavily in co-operative series like Exit, the Adventure Games and Legends of Andor. We’ve also developed a great twoperson series - there are very few games that play well in pairs, but there are plenty of enthusiasts that don’t have an opportunity to play in anything other than twos.

Despite the runaway success of the Exit series and the imminent release of the Adventure Games, I think that our board game adaptation of the hit PC game Cities Skylines will top our best-sellers list this Christmas.

The original PC game has over 6m players, and, based on the social media response so far, this adaptation seems to have whet the appetite of both on-line and board gamers alike. Having played an early version of the game, which will be released in October, I am convinced that popular author Rustan Hakansson (Nations, Tribes, HexRoller) has produced one of this year’s great games.

Daniel King - General manager, Cartamundi I don’t think anyone can argue against the fact that retail is facing some challenging times; latest NPD data (June ‘19) has the toy market down -6% in value and -15% in volume, even adjusting for the closure of Toys R Us. However, Games & Puzzles was the fastest growing supercategory YTD June ’19. It appears that in these uncertain times, the Great British public is ‘Keeping Calm and Playing Games & Puzzles’.

Our games manufacturing business is booming and supports the NPD figures; we are seeing double digit growth in new business from titles that were previously sourced in China. By offering shorter lead-times and distribution solutions, we’re able to be reactive to so-called ‘quick strike’ opportunities. Leftfield trends are both a key opportunity and challenge for the games category, kickstarting a race to get to on-shelf before they pass by. A great example this year is Ryan’s World Ludo, which Cartamundi turned around from design to shipping in six weeks. I believe that our quality, innovation and shorter lead-times are driving our success, and we’re looking to build on this for 2020.

I have seen some great games coming through for 2019, and I believe that the category can and will grow further this year. The challenge is to keep innovating, and to support the design and inventor communities - they are the lifeblood of our industry. Cartamundi is proud to support events like the Mojo Nation Play Creators Festival, and to offer its Make My Game service to budding game inventors.

Our Christmas best-sellers this year will be our Frozen II games, created in partnership with Disney. I can’t say too much with embargos in place, but the hype is building rapidly, and we’ve even had urgent requests for samples from the film’s producers - we think we have something pretty big.

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University Games / Paul Lamond Games 31 Newington Green, Islington, London N16 9PU Tel: 020 7254 0100 Email: sales@ugames.uk.com and sales@paul-lamond.com

www.university-games.co.uk www.paul-lamond.com

Touching Base Darrell Jones - Head of marketing, Toys & Games, Vivid The extreme seasonality of the games category is still frightening. It’s no secret that games are a late purchase; however, in 2018 18% of Q4 sales came in week 51. And at the same time, we had serious competition from video games which surpassed total toy sales for the first time last year.

The acquisition of Vivid by Goliath last year has opened up an expanded games offering. We’re launching 20 new games in key categories including pre-school, kids action, family and party games. We’re particularly excited about Sequence, which has been a huge success in America with over 10m units sold, Escape the Room, which is tapping into the booming Escape Room trend, and On Your Marks, the fast- paced, brand collecting game. Alongside all these titles, we continue to offer popular children’s games such as Gator Golf, Shark Bite and Lucky Ducks.

Emily Bond - Head of sales, Big Potato The majority of our product range is board games, which means that we’re a 4th quarter business. PostChristmas can be a challenge for us because games aren’t in such high demand, so we’re always looking at ways to introduce new products that are suitable for the other seasons. This year, we’ve focused on expanding our range of travel-friendly games, so that customers can take them on their summer holidays.

I think another challenge faced by the games category is rule reading. These days everything is instant, and people can be entertained at the click of a button. A new board game can seem unappealing to some people because it requires effort and a willingness to sit down, read and understand the rules. We’ve tried to tackle this challenge by creating a ‘how to play’ video for each game we release, and we make sure to promote this tool through all our core marketing activities.

Our No.1 Christmas best-seller is definitely going to be our Blockbuster game, due to nostalgia being such a big trend at the moment. Blockbuster is also a unique and iconic licence to have; we love witnessing people’s reactions when they see the VHS-style box.

Kay Thompson - Head of UK sales,

Shahbaz Kahn - Country manager,

Winning Moves

UK & Ireland, Clementoni

In terms of the challenges the category faces, we have to consider technology, the digital age and our ever-decreasing attention spans, not to mention the vast increase in SKUs constantly fighting for attention. With more choice than ever in front of the consumer, it's important to provide product that is suitable, current and portable while maintaining a value price point that appeals to today's market and the lifestyle of the person making the purchase.

We’re excited for the long-awaited release of what is certain to become a family favourite - our Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit Ultimate Edition. This is going to be stacked with Harry Potter questions - 1,800, in fact - and we can't wait to see the results. It will hit shelves in early November, and we’re predicting that it will be our best-seller for Christmas 2019.

Puzzles are an evergreen category, but it’s important to maintain interest and create excitement as we’re talking to a tech-focused generation and therefore face competition from other categories. For children, the key is to create a licensed offering with their favourite characters, but also to offer something extra that enhances the appeal. With adults, we strive to add an additional level of puzzling challenge, in the form of high-quality products featuring incredible imagery.

Cheap commodity product poses a threat, but we pride ourselves on providing our retail partners with great value offerings manufactured to a high standard, to ensure that they can offer their customers better product at an everyday price.

We’re thrilled to have launched our Harry Potter line of puzzles this year, a franchise we’re immensely proud to be a part of. Harry Potter continues to be a strong licence and appeals to all generations, so this is a big deal for us. 2019 is also the year for big movie releases such as Toy Story 4 and Frozen II; in terms of gifting, both these licences will be a big focus this Christmas and present a great opportunity for our puzzle ranges.

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Touching Base Louisa Osmond - Senior product manager,

Roger Martin -

Hacche Retail The ever-changing face of the high street and fluctuating economic climate present ongoing challenges for the games category.

With a lot of uncertainty looming around Brexit, it’s hard to predict people’s buying patterns for this coming Christmas and the effect they will have on games sales.

Retailers seem to be more conservative about the number of ways they’ll buy into games, and this makes the competition for listings challenging.

We’re very excited about the launch of Taskmaster The Board Game. The show has a huge cult following and we’ve had a fantastic response to the game at trade shows and on social media, which is why we expect it to be a key seller for us this Christmas.

It has play-tested extremely well, and it’s been fascinating to see the individual flair with which people have approached the tasks. With 200 tasks to choose from every game we’ve played has been unique, and the Final Task in each game is delivered as a video by the Taskmaster’s very own assistant, Alex Horne. We can’t wait for people to enjoy it, and we hope they share more of their antics with us when they do. Series 9 starts on Dave on the 4th September, so the timing is perfect - we expect the new series to generate a lot of publicity, and, in turn, interest in the board game.

Managing director, Coiledspring Games

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The games category is a vibrant, dynamic sector.

As it is constantly innovating and evolving, with more and more games being published each year, making sure the best, top-quality games get noticed by consumers is the biggest challenge. In addition, there are the macro challenges of shaky consumer confidence and the uncertainty of Brexit.

In volume terms, The Mind will be our Christmas best-seller this year. It’s a game which appeals across the games, gift and toy markets as it’s more than just a game - it’s a mind-blowing experience.

Game difference Moneeba Baloch, NPD account manager – UK, Toys, Euro Toys, looks at the Games and Puzzles categories.

The Games & Puzzles supercategory is one of only two growing sectors in the market YTD (Jul-19) and is the fastest growing in terms of value sales. Accounting for nearly 10% of total market sales, YOY performance shows the supercategory up +6%.

In addition, four of the top fastest growing subclasses in the total market are from the Games & Puzzles supercategory; Card Games, Strategic Trade Card Games, Family Board/Action Games and Brainteasers.

The biggest supercategory is the Games segment, accounting for 83% of share and growing by +7%. The number one item this year is Asmodee’s Dobble, which has a share of 2% of the total Games segment and is growing by +17%. Other items in the top 10 also include Hasbro’s Monopoly

Classic and Mattel’s Uno Original, both showing YOY growth. The number one new item YTD is Monopoly Fortnite, which accounts for 1% of the segment share, whilst Fortnite is the number one new licence for the Games segment.

The Puzzles segment, which is worth 17% of the Games and Puzzles supercategory, is outperforming the market, up +1%, solely driven by adult puzzles. Seven out of the top 10 puzzle manufacturers are showing growth. The most successful price point is £10-15, which accounts for 33% of Puzzles sales and is up by +12%. The main contributors to this price bracket are items from Gibsons, Jumbo and Ravensburger. In Children’s Puzzles, licensing accounts for 44% of the total segment vs. 22% of the total market, with licensing in puzzles declining at a slower rate of -4%, versus the total market rate of -14%.

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Talking Shop

My sweet board Independent retailers tell Toy World about their games and puzzles offering and how are uniquely placed to offer a personalised service to customers looking to buy items in this category.

Dyfed Bowen - Rules of Play, Cardiff Business has been very good lately; we’re always busy over the summer. As soon as the kids are off school, everything ramps up. It stays that way through to Christmas, even after kids are back at school.

At Rules of Play I think it is our absolute honesty that boosts business and appeals to customers. We have a range of customers from those who have played a particular board game that they want to buy and those who haven’t ever tried it. Our staff try out as many games as possible so they can give customers a full and honest review. Even if we haven’t played a game, we educate ourselves about it so we can tell customers everything we know.

The reputation of games is a huge help when selling them. Our current best-sellers include Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Sushi Go and Exploding Kittens. At the moment, customers seem to like strategy games as well as smaller, fun card games. Games like Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne came out in the early 2000s and have built a strong reputation; we all know they are not a flash in the pan. There are 10th and 15th anniversary editions, which means they have been around long enough for word of mouth to have spread; it can easily take 10 years for a game to become widely known. At least 90% of the population recognises Monopoly or Cluedo, games that existed in the 30s and 40s.

Ticket to Ride has recently become well known, but it’s not a new game, just new to the mass consumer. Games like Exploding Kittens show how social media can play a role in building up a reputation and consumer interest.

When it comes to purchasing new games, I think that fear of the unknown can detract consumers. Faced with a lot of games that you don’t recognise, you’re naturally going to be a bit scared to take a punt. Anything that will make the game familiar helps; if a game resembles a map, for example, a customer might liken it to Risk and instantly feel more comfortable. Those little cornerstones help greatly when choosing a game.

Some games are riddled with jokes, which show that it isn’t too serious, and artwork which is cartoon based can indicate a light-hearted game without complex rules. A lot of people only feel comfortable buying a classic like Monopoly or Cluedo – and sometimes looking at instructions can put them off. With staff

expertise, we can make them feel more comfortable by comparing a newer game with something familiar, or by sharing our experiences of enjoying it.

Licensing plays a part in influencing purchase decisions, with customers sometimes led by a theme rather than the game concept. We have just introduced the new Harry Potter Dobble; sales of the regular Dobble have dipped slightly but Dobble sales overall have spiked. The Harry Potter version is two pounds more expensive, and has been selling extremely well. A product like Monopoly with a Spider

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Man theme instantly attacts customers; a licence can take the thinking out of a decision, especially when buying a gift.

I’m already placing orders for the festive season. Essen Spiel is coming up, where we will look at new products, but before that we are building stock ready for the Christmas rush. After the show, everyone will know what the hot games are - including customers - so I need to put my orders in soon, to avoid running out.

We run events at least a couple of times per week, but around Christmas there are less events because the retail side is chaotic.

From the first week of December, we have to focus on the Christmas rush and getting through the ten-hour days. Hopefully by then, our customers have tried out the games that they will purchase.

I look forward to working in the shop around Christmas. Board games and Christmas have a magical relationship.

On Christmas or Boxing Day afternoon, so many people are going to be playing games.

Although I don’t get to see that part, I love to see the anticipation of customers choosing a new board game especially to be played at Christmas. I love the feel-good atmosphere, with Mariah Carey playing through the speakers and all the shelves covered in tinsel. On the business front, sales should only increase from now until December.

Throughout the year a lot of people want to browse, but between now and Christmas, they are seeking our help to buy a game and their ultimate goal is to walk out of the shop with a new purchase.

The upcoming Brexit deadline is a worry.

A big part of my job is managing stock and checking that we paid the same amount for a product as last time. Sadly, from 2016 onwards, when the pound crashed after the referendum result, we have seen three years of repeated price increases.

The majority of our stock comes in from Europe and America, so everything is more expensive. “Nonessential” purchases like toys might be the first things that are going to suffer. I’m not too worried about what will happen before Christmas, though, I think the long-term ramifications of what is happening is more of a concern.

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Talking Shop Mark and Heather Stewart - Wise Owl Toys,

Business has been steady over the summer months.

This year, we introduced Meeple Mondays between the hours of 10am-4pm, where customers can play games with one of our members of staff who is a huge fan of boardgames. This runs alongside Wise Owl Wednesdays, aimed at younger children with free craft activities like Hama Beads, lateral thinking puzzles and games like Fishing Frenzy. It has been great fun doing something different to make our store stand out and bring customers in. I think there will be a short lull when the children go back to school, but footfall should build up again once consumers begin shopping for Christmas presents.

We are a traditional toy shop and the bulk of our current games range is from Asmodee and Big Potato. We have always done well with Dobble; we were the Dobble capital of the country after we outsold everyone in the year Dobble launched. We outsold Hamleys, selling over 1100 pieces, and were also the biggest seller in the second year as well.

You would have thought Worcester would be saturated with Dobble by now, but we expect even more sales

Worcester

with the recent release of the Harry Potter version.

Dobble has been so popular because it is easy to learn, easy to play and exciting. Gameplay can get very lively, particularly if players are competitive. It’s also good for travel, it’s not English language specific, and you can play with a large number of people, so it’s really very inclusive and fun.

toyworld The business magazine with a passion for toys

I think parents like to buy games as they get kids away from sitting in front of a screen and are less mind-numbing. They are looking for something more sociable that will activate the child’s brain. I think there has been a backlash against the overuse of computers and digital gaming recently. Customers like traditional games; they remain consistent sellers and I don’t believe they are going anywhere. There are a lot of new games around though, with more yet to be launched, and customers are very keen to get their hands on them. We boost interest in new products by changing our window displays on a frequent basis and putting new products on our social media pages. We have distributed 30,000 flyers around Worcester to entice people into store, as we enter the run up to Christmas.

The games category is particularly exciting around Christmas time – although we stock them all year round and enjoy showing people how to play them, there is always a huge uplift in demand at this time of year.

If you’d like to be featured in a Talking Shop article, or have independent retail news to share, please get in touch by emailing

rachael@toyworldmag.co.uk or lisa@toyworldmag.co.uk or call 01442 502 406.

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Feature

Games & Puzzles Hasbro

0208 569 1234 | www.hasbro.co.uk Hasbro Gaming continues to bring fun and freshness to the gaming market with the launch of the Monopoly Voice Banking game. This new version of Monopoly features lights and sounds and comes with an interactive Mr. Monopoly banking unit. The iconic Monopoly top hat is voice-activated and the personality of Mr. Monopoly handles all of the game’s transactions, keeping tabs on players' money and properties so there's no cash or cards to think about. When players talk to Mr. Monopoly, he responds. For example, if a player presses their token's button and says: ‘Buy St. James Place’, Mr. Monopoly will track the transaction to keep the game moving. To win the Monopoly Voice Banking game, players aim to accrue the most money and highest property value by the end of play.

The Tiny Pong Solo Table Tennis game brings fun bouncing action to the palm of a hand. Players launch the ball off the court and bounce it repeatedly to rack up points by moving the court back and forth under the ball. Users should aim to keep the ball going, scoring a point for every bounce. To increase the challenge, players can switch from Beginner mode to Expert mode. The game responds with lights and sounds as players try to beat their highest score by getting in as many bounces as they can.

Porcupine Pop is an exciting kids’ game that combines simple play with silliness and suspense. Kids roll the dice, press the porcupine's nose that number of times and hope his darts don't fly out. The only player not to make the porcupine pop wins. Kids can switch up the gameplay for added play value, trying a round in which whoever makes him pop first wins. Alternatively, each dart colour can be assigned points; when the porcupine pops, players race to grab as many darts as they can. The player with the most points wins.

Alongside these new releases, Hasbro Gaming continues to cater for families with its array of classic games including Monopoly, Cluedo, Connect 4, Hungry Hippos, Jenga, Operation, Twister and more.

Tactic Games 01483 332 070 | www.tactic.net Tactic has launched a selection of fun and entertaining games this year which will sit alongside classic favourites as the company continues to provide creative, challenging and educational game play for children and families. The introduction of two new licensed collections, in the form of Masha and the Bear and Angry Birds, is another exciting development for the coming season; both properties will be a key focus for marketing activity in the run up to Christmas.

New family game highlights include Don’t Upset the Llama; a fun game which challenges players’ reaction times, as children race to be first to grab the llama water gun and spray their opponents. Board game Doodle Doo has also been receiving excellent reviews for its family entertainment value. Players draw their way around an animal maze whilst blindfolded; if they hit the wall, another player squeezes the included whoopee cushion to alert them. Tactic’s Speedy Beedy matching game has proved a popular choice among consumers encourages colour, shape and pattern recognition in younger children. Also recently released is Mud Party, a farm animal themed game which comes with a mud pool, mud tiles and a rubber pig to create a pool-party scene for splashing, muddy fun.

Ideal for creative game lovers, the newest version of Draw Out takes drawing to another level. Draw Out Extreme comes with a wobbly pen to provide players with lots of hilarious ways to draw words for others to guess. In the world of trivia, the newly launched List It Right invites players to answer questions by making top-5 lists, plus the latest version of Tactic’s family of Alias games, UK Alias, tests vocabulary and knowledge about everything British. The new and compact Wonders of the World will educate players about some of the most amazing and unique sights on the planet.

For pre-schoolers, Tactic is offering a trio of eye-catching Masha and the Bear games, including the matching-pairs inspired Memorise, the memory challenge game In The Forest, and the snakes and ladders inspired Race to the Treehouse. For fans of Angry Birds, there is also a new collection of party games coming later this month to capitalise on the popularity of the Angry Birds 2 Movie. Don’t See Red contains six mini games such as bird spotting or catching pigs against the clock, whilst How Pig R U? invites players to think of things to say in response to different situations - the more mischievous they are, the better. Completing the range is Word Bomb and an Angry Birds version of the classic game Kimble.

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Funko is making its first foray into board games following the acquisition of the creative powerhouse Forrest-Pruzan (now Funko Games) earlier this year. Responsible for early versions of Cranium, and the development of 30-40 games a year, the newly renamed acquisition will be responsible for developing the games element of Funko’s business.

Q4 sees the introduction of Funkoverse, a new strategy game that appeals to both serious board gamers and the family gaming audience. The company says the game is a logical brand extension given its link to pop culture and Funko’s existing community driven brand, and will offer fans a new way to immerse themselves in their favourite stories.

Funkoverse is a tabletop board game featuring multiple story-based scenarios with easy to learn gameplay that offers both basic and advanced variants. The four-player game comes with four exclusive Pop! characters in a brand-new size (slightly smaller than regular Pop!) which are sure to appeal to Funko fans.

The game premise is this; the Funkoverse has been fractured and Freddy Funko has gathered all his friends to collect the fragments needed to put it back together. Players control a team of heroes or villains and compete in a race to gain fragments by completing a variety of story-based missions and character goals. Players take turns using each of their characters, which all have special actions unique to each figure, representing their individual powers and abilities. There are references throughout the game which serve to increase credibility and entertain fans.

Initial 2019 launch licences include DC superheroes, Harry Potter, Rick & Morty and The Golden Girls; all feature the exclusive figures as playing pieces. As well as the full four player game, there are two figure ‘expandalone’ packs on the Harry Potter and DC licences to help deepen the gameplay and the collectability of the products.

The range will benefit from the same focus that Funko brings to all its commercial and marketing efforts. Strong social support will run throughout Q4, ensuring consumers are aware of Funkoverse and driving preorders and post-launch sales. Additional support includes social media and PR to increase awareness through the board game community and the wider Funko fanbase.

Available at retail from October in four European languages, this new launch is sure to drive the board game category as part of the key Christmas sales period. Funkoverse will also continue to grow into an ongoing brand in the coming years. More variants will come in 2020, expanding this gaming proposition further and ensuring that there is a wide choice for fans.

Paul Lamond 020 7254 0100 | www.paul-lamond.com Catering for the whole family, from pre-school puzzles and educational games to Murder Mystery dinner party games and action-packed family and adult games, Paul Lamond has something to suit everyone.

For ages 12+, new family games are set to make the festive season even more fun. Quirky trivia-based game ‘Are You Dumber Than a Box of Rocks?’ will see players pitting their knowledge against the Rocks in this hilarious, quick play game. The format is perfect for parties, since any number of players can take part.

New for the autumn is Tip of the Tongue - a fun, fast-paced game that will have the whole family in stitches. Players have just two seconds to attempt to answer the quick-fire trivia questions – the answer might be on the tip of their tongue, but players need to think fast.

There is now a new edition of the family game Smart Ass available with a completely new set of questions. Each question has 10 clues, the first player to shout out the correct answer wins the round and takes a step closer to being the ultimate ‘Smart Ass’. For even more fun, there are also a further two new sets of questions now available; Geek Chic and 90s Nostalgia.

For younger board game fans, the award-winning Gangsta Granny ‘Stash the Swag’ game is certain to be a hit with fans of The World of David Walliams books. Granny and Ben are planning the greatest jewel theft in history, but need to avoid the Queen, collect and stash all the jewels successfully. This easy play game is for players aged seven years and over and encourages strategic thinking.

Another game arriving this autumn is the much-awaited Horrible Histories Board Game where players frantically race through history answering “Horrible” multiple choice questions, acting out charades and trying to avoid Rattus and his tricky “Chance” cards.

University Games and Paul Lamond Games has strong media campaigns planned for September through to December on key lines including Smart Ass, Google Eyes, Senor Pepper, Sort it Out and Kersplatt! including TV and online support. In addition to this there will be online and social campaigns for Stupid Deaths, Tip of the Tongue and Are you Dumber than a Box of Rocks? Kersplatt! and Sort it Out will see new, thought-provoking TV creatives.

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Games & Puzzles

Vivid Imaginations 01483 449944 | www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk

Winning Moves 0207 298 9507 | www.winningmoves.co.uk Winning Moves is launching new additions to the Top Trumps Quiz range for Autumn 2019. The new range is fun for all ages and playable in small spaces, with a neat instant play case designed to stand out on shelves. Top Trumps Quiz is the perfect travel companion; with a quick open and close case, youngsters can play on the go in a plane, train or in the car.

The dealer deals five cards to each player to begin the game. One player asks the first question to see if their opponent gets it right or wrong. Whoever answers correctly wins the card but if it’s a tie, the question master must move onto the next question on the same card. The aim is to be the first to win three pairs, but the Top Trumps Twist means players must shuffle the same cards and play again, using their memory to win back the game.

For older players, Top Trumps Quiz with a Twist also has a Pub Quiz edition with five different categories comprising Sports, Music, Film and TV, Science and General Knowledge.

For Friends fans, Winning Moves is launching the new Friends Quiz in October. Questions are based on all the favourite iconic moments, from Ross and Rachel’s Vegas wedding to the Holiday Armadillo.

Young Wizards and witches can test their wizarding knowledge with the Harry Potter Quiz. Players answer questions based on the Harry Potter films, some of which would challenge even the smartest of wizards.

Families and friends can assemble to play the Marvel Quiz, set to be in store in 2020. With 500 questions about everyone’s favourite characters from the Marvel series, players aim to outsmart their opponents while discovering new and exciting facts.

The World Football Stars Quiz features 30 football stars from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, including Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Players can enjoy questions on World Cup action both on and off the pitch and take on the ultimate footballing test.

Goliath Games is launching over 20 new games for autumn/winter 2019 across pre-school, kids, adult and family, licensed and party games categories.

Suitable for younger children, Early Bird is a new game that involves pulling back the bird so he can peck at the tree and try to get to the worm that pops out. Little ones can also enjoy the popular Foxy Pants and Shark Bite, and classics such as Don’t Wake Dad!, Lucky Ducks and The Magic Tooth Fairy Game.

The kids games portfolio includes new game Dragon Snacks. Players take it in turns to try and remove coloured snacks from his tummy. If the dragon burps, players must put the snack back. Gator Golf allows kids to play mini golf at home. When players hit the ball into the gator’s mouth, he will fling the ball back from his tail. The portfolio also includes Wordsearch Junior and iTop, a pocket-sized electronic spinning top.

Freeze Fall is a new game for the whole family to enjoy, where the ice can fall at any time on unsuspecting players, while On Your Marks is an all new game of quick brand recognition. In this fast and frantic game, players collect brands that match the cards being read out. The player who collects three brands first will win.

Escape Room, The Game is new to the range and has three different rooms for players to try and escape from within 60 minutes. Catchphrase is based on the ITV game show, and joins Silly Sketch drawing game and Dizzy Letter Disc, a head spinning word game. Sequence is a classic game where players need to check their cards and place their chips to get five in a row to make a sequence.

The Tri-Wizard Maze is the first of two new Harry Potter games and is a twist on the fast-action Pop ‘N’ Race play as players race around the Triwizard hedge maze to capture the Triwizard cup. The Magical Beasts Game requires players to move through Hogwarts’ grounds and collect all the magical beasts that have broken loose. Ryan’s Pop ‘N’ Race, from YouTuber Ryan’s World, is another twist on the classic game, while Ryan’s World Springin’ Spiders sees players compete to catch as many spiders in the web as possible.

Four new party games include Burger Party, where players need to create a hamburger by collecting all its ingredients; Colour Smash, the fast moving game of colour coordination; True Colours, where players can find out how much they know about their friends and vice versa and Side Effects, a game of experimental charades and absurdity.

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Games & Puzzles

Revell 0845 459 0747 | www.revell.de Revell’s new 3D Puzzle range launched earlier this year and continues to grow. Made up of several series incorporating famous historical buildings and vehicles, Revell 3D Puzzles are constructed from full colour paper/EPS foamboard, are supplied on multiple flat-packed sheets, assemble easily, require no special tools or glue to complete and are aimed at ages 10 and above. Completed puzzles provide a beautiful display piece and, with more subjects planned for release in 2019, can form the basis of an impressive collection.

The Mini series is aimed at the complete 3D Puzzle beginner and deliberately has a lower parts count to keep the construction simple and quick to build. Priced at £4.99 each, Mini 3D Puzzles are perfect party gifts, stocking fillers and general pocket-money items. Subjects include famous worldwide landmarks and vehicles including the Statue of Liberty, R.M.S. Titanic and the iconic London Bus. Each Mini 3D Puzzle averages 200mm when complete.

The Skyline series is more challenging and retails at £19.99. each puzzle focuses on a famous city from around the world. Each set includes a selection of the most famous structures from each city and groups them on a self-contained display base with a name plaque included. With the London set measuring an impressive 535mm long once complete, these are real head turners and great fun to build. Accessories are also included, as is a waste-removal tool to aid in building each subject.

Current subjects include London, Paris and New York, with more to follow this year.

The Famous Buildings range includes worldwide landmarks. Builders can choose from the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, Cologne Cathedral, Rome’s Colosseum, Bavaria’s fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle and Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. Each is supplied on its own display base with a name plaque included. Prices range from £14.99 to £19.99 and parts count varies between 39 (Eiffel Tower) to 194pcs (Sagrada Familia).

The larger vehicles series launches, quite literally, with two of the most famous ships in history, the R.M.S. Titanic measuring 800mm and Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory which measures 570mm long on its included display base.

Notre Dame de Paris is the first from the Masterpiece series and includes 293 parts arranged on 20 A3-size sheets, plus printed clear ‘stained-glass’ windows, double-sided tape to secure them with and a waste-removal tool. Unlike other Revell 3D Puzzles, Notre Dame is detailed both inside and out and features a fold-out action that lets people view the awe-inspiring interior. Notre Dame de Paris measures 586mm in length once complete.

Tomy 01271 336 155 | www.tomy.com Players can entertain family and friends with the brand-new board game Articulate Phrases. Suitable for four or more players aged 12+, the game sees teams compete to be first round the board by guessing words that their teammates describe. The team which gets the most phrases right and moves around the board the fastest is the winner.

Puff Ball is a new and unique way to get a ball from one cup to another. Players connect the cups and add different stunts to build unique tracks, then race against each other by blowing the ball from one cup to the next with a single puff. There are four sets to collect, priced between £9.99 and £24.99; the starter set gets the ball rolling, while the other three sets contain more pieces so multiple players can make bigger and more exciting tracks to race with.

The popular Pirate Pete is back, but in a new form. Offering new gameplay to enjoy, Pump Up Pirates challenges players aged 4+ to see who can blow Pete up the fastest. Each player gets a pirate and a pump, and can use their hands or feet to pump as quickly as possible. When a player’s pirate is fully inflated, they win.

Snap Dragon is a game of teeth-snapping tension for 2-4 players aged 4+. Players take turns to pull the dragon’s tongue according to the number on the dice. If they pull his tongue and he doesn’t wake up, they can steal one of his coins. Players continue taking turns, stealing as many coins as they can and attempting to avoid a bite; if bitten, that player must give the dragon a coin to let them go. The first to collect six coins wins the game.

In Sushi Scramble, players take a sushi menu card from the stack and switch on the sushi table and chef.

Each player uses their chopsticks to pick up pieces of sushi, attempting to complete the order shown on their menu card. However, the sushi chef in the middle can knock the pieces of sushi players need off the table, and they cannot be picked back up. Whoever fills their card first wins.

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Games & Puzzles

Big Potato 07472 824 526 | www.bigpotato.co.uk Big Potato has recently launched two brand new party games, just in time for Christmas. The new line-up includes a Disney version of the company’s original colour trivia game Colourbrain and a new family betting game called What Came First.

Disney Colourbrain is a Disney-themed quiz with two colourful twists. The first is that players are given all the answers before the start, and the second is that they’re all colours. Each player starts with 11 Colour Cards in their hand. In each round, they must decide which colour or colours they want to use as their answer to one of the Disney trivia questions, which could be anything from the colour of the feather in Captain Hook’s hat to Buzz Lightyear’s Star Command logo. If players successfully guess every colour in the answer, they could receive more and more points as the game goes on, but there is a catch. Players only score points if at least one of the other players slips up; if everyone gets the answer right, everyone scores zero. If only one player gets it right however, they receive a lot of points.

With 300 different questions that cover over 20 different Disney classics, and a deck of Colour Capture Cards to help turn the tide at the last minute, the game is sure to get hearts racing and players laughing as they race towards the finish line.

Big Potato’s other new game, What Came First, involves two icons pitted against each other - like Cher or Tupperware, Bruce Lee or KFC. Players have to figure out which came first. Bets are made by placing chips on either side of the board, which includes a guess-the-year section for anyone feeling extra lucky. If players pick the right side, they could double their bet. If they pick the right year, they could quadruple it. The more players win, the quicker they get to the finish line but losing on a big bet could mean moving backwards in a hurry.

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CONTACT YOUR JUMBO SALES REP FOR MORE INFORMATION Jumbo Games, 2 Carters Row, Hatfield Park, Hatfield, UK, AL9 5NB Telephone: 01707-289289 Email: uk.saleshotline@jumbo.eu www.jumbo.eu

Games & Puzzles

Smart Games 01903 885669 | www.smartgames.eu Smart Games’ Brain Train is ideal for the smaller members of the family aged 3+. This colourful game not only doubles as a toy but also promises to excite and develop young minds. Players need to match the shapes in the challenge and follow the sequence; with fewer hints provided for each level, it gets trickier at every stage. The aim is to ensure the wagons are connected before the train departs.

Budding car enthusiasts will enjoy SmartCar Mini, a new game that encourages players to use their brain to create a car. Players build their car according to the plan by placing four blocks correctly, before taking it for a test drive. SmartCar Mini is a fun and compact 3D-puzzle with 24 multi-level challenges, plus a further 48 challenges available online from the Smart Games website.

Kids can discover the magic of classic fairytales with the Smart Toys and Games Once Upon a Time collection, featuring Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty Deluxe is an enchanting game in which players aged 3-5 years aim to navigate through a maze to the magical castle. The game also allows older children aged 5-7 to play as the fiery Dragon, hindering the knight from reaching the castle.

Finally, new game Atlantis Escape is a compact travel puzzle game which has 60 3D multi-level challenges to enjoy, from easy to expert. Players aged 7+ navigate staircases to find the shortest path from the high tower to the harbour where a boat to safety is waiting for them, to escape from Atlantis before the city disappears underwater. This game provides an adrenaline rush as players try to solve the puzzle and find their way out before it’s too late.

Gibsons 020 8661 8866 | www.gibsonsgames.co.uk Gibsons is celebrating its 100 year anniversary this year. In its centenary year, the company continues to entertain all generations with the launch of a brand-new children’s collection; Little Gibsons, to sit alongside its adult jigsaw puzzle range. Initially offering three jigsaws and two games, a further two jigsaws joined the range in time for summer. All of the new puzzles from the latest range have been tailor-made for inquisitive pre-schoolers thanks to the bright, quirky packaging and on-trend themes.

The jigsaw puzzles are made from the same high-quality materials as Gibsons’ award-winning adult jigsaw range, which guarantees durability and resilience. Each jigsaw has been designed by a British artist and is presented in an innovative box that links to the artwork theme. For example, the 36-piece puzzle Camp Gibsons is presented in a tent shaped box, which complements the explorative treasure map puzzle that’s inside. The Sweet Dreams puzzle is presented in a striking crystal-ball shaped box, to portray the mystical dream-world jigsaw that’s filled with unicorns and llamas.

Two Memory Games were added to the Little Gibsons range in August, both of which accompany an existing puzzle in the range; Sweet Dreams and Superhero City. Each game includes 36 tiles and players must match the pairs which include characters from the corresponding puzzles. New launches also include two brand new puzzle designs including the 48 piece You are Awesome and Animal Party, a 24-piece puzzle featuring favourite furry friends.

Clementoni 020 3206 1397 | www.clementoni.com Puzzles continue to be a strong foundation of the Clementoni business. The licensed range for 2019 will see new launches tied into properties such as Harry Potter and the cinematic release of Toy Story 4 across Clementoni’s most popular concepts; the head-scratching Impossible 1000-piece, as well as younger offerings including 180-, 104-, 48- and 24-piece puzzles.

In May, Clementoni announced its partnership with Harry Potter for puzzles across the UK and Europe. The resulting range of puzzles for adults and children includes the Impossible 1000-piece, Panorama 1000-piece, and a Special Edition 1000-piece in a Harry Potter style briefcase presentation box.

To mark the cinematic release of Toy Story 4 in July, Clementoni partnered with Disney Pixar to release a puzzle in its popular Impossible concept. There are also plans to launch a range of glitter puzzles and magic crystal sets later in the year, to coincide with the highly anticipated film release of Frozen II. Disney has been a key licence for Clementoni for some time; visuals of well-loved characters appear in a wide selection of puzzle formats, with varying price points to appeal to different audiences.

Clementoni is renowned for its high-quality materials and precision crafting. The latest launches add to an impressive portfolio of generic products, as well as licences from major TV and movie properties.

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CONTACT YOUR JUMBO SALES REP FOR MORE INFORMATION Jumbo Games, 2 Carters Row, Hatfield Park, Hatfield, UK, AL9 5NB Telephone: 01707-289289 Email: uk.saleshotline@jumbo.eu www.jumbo.eu

Games & Puzzles

John Adams 01480 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk John Adams Leisure is expanding its games portfolio for 2019 with a host of fun lines for the whole family to enjoy.

Joining the range is Bank Attack – an intense and thrilling cooperative game, where players work together to crack the vaul, release the gold hidden inside and steal the 50 million dollars. Each person is assigned a role, and must listen to the boss to swap and use tools, making sure to press buttons at the right time to open the vault before the alarm goes off. The game includes five challenging levels, plus one bonus level.

With Shake Off! the aim of the game is simple; the more you shake, the more you score. Players must spin the spinner to decide where they will wear the shake-o-meter, then once ready, press the timer and shake.

The hilarious family challenge game Whoopee Doo involves players sitting on the large inflatable whoopee cushion and completing challenges before the time runs out.

Clock It! is a new game where players have to say, draw or mime against a time limit.

12 cards are placed around the clock-face board before the clock timer starts, which shows the card they have to draw, mime or describe to the other players. Competitors must guess as many cards as possible before the time runs out.

There’s plenty of fun for younger kids with new action game Shark Chase. Players attempt to escape the shark to be the winner and avoid being the shark’s dinner.

With Tetris celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2019, the collection has been extended to include new single and multiplayer games all based around the iconic Tetrimino shapes. Tetris Shake is a stacking, shaking strategy game where a player’s skills and nerves are tested.

With 43 quintillion combinations and its unique turning and twisting action, the Rubik’s Cube has boggled minds since the 80s as the ultimate brainteasers. The new Rubik’s Cage is a fun and strategic game of Tic Tac Toe for up to four players. It may seem easy to get three in a row, but the cube can twist and turn to re-shuffle the game and even turn upside down to really scramble players’ chances.

Fans can also take on a new challenge with the Rubik’s Edge. The 3x3x1 Cube is a single layer puzzle with nine cubes in a square, and is harder than it looks. In Rubik’s Match, players race to build the pattern on the challenge cards, using their own set of Cubie Cards.

The first person to complete the pattern wins the round.

All key new launches will benefit from TV, VOD and digital advertising as well as full PR and social media plans.

Interplay 01628 488 944 | www.interplayuk.com Following the successful introduction of its games portfolio, Interplay is adding new titles to the range in 2020.

Available in spring 2020, the new light strategy family game Meltdown for ages seven and above is an innovative, unpredictable stacking game that combines strategy, skill and luck with the unique putty goo used in gameplay. Players shape the goo however they want, place it atop the tower, and then stick the balancing platform on the goop.

From there, they take turns stacking their cubes on the slippery, shifting plate without letting them fall. If there’s a “Meltdown” and any cubes fall, that player has to add them to their pile. The first player to get all of their cubes stacked wins. Meltdown is a fun game that requires strategy, thought and skill.

Interplay is also strengthening its travel games range with Take ‘N’ Play, featuring fun and traditional family games in magnetic tins, as well as popular games with classic play patterns that both kids and parents love, such as 5 Second Rule Mini.

Interplay is supporting its new games range with significant marketing investment.

Advertising campaigns are designed to appeal to a wide family audience – featuring new TV creatives and videos commissioned by Interplay. The launch range, 5 Second Rule (Junior, Board game and Mini game), Ultra Dash and Orangutwang will benefit from high-level TV promotion running from September to December. Social media and YouTube campaigns will promote the games portfolio in the key pre-Christmas buying periods and PR campaigns will run across all titles – securing reviews, gift guide placements and social media word of mouth across all platforms.

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Games & Puzzles

Mattel 01628 500 000 | www.mattel.com In 2019, Mattel continues to strengthen its games portfolio with an extensive offering whilst expanding original favourites.

Pictionary Air is the brand-new way to play Pictionary that reinvents the much-loved game for a digital audience, combining screen time and family time. Just as fun as it is innovative, the game includes a special pen with a light-up tip and pairs with a Pictionary Air app. Gameplay echoes original Pictionary, this time using the pen to illustrate clues in the air, and players can also interact with their drawing. The guessing team points the in-app camera at the drawer, and their masterpiece will appear on the screen. This exciting new Pictionary includes multiple ways to play, new themed cards perfect for screen play, and the option to record playes for hilarious replay which can then be shared on social media platforms. Pictionary Air will launch with a social media campaign and autumn/winter 2019 TV advertising.

Blokus is a family game where players use strategy to claim and protect their territory.

Players take turns placing their 21 pieces on the board: each piece should touch another of the same colour, but only at the corners. Players fit as many pieces on the board as possible while strategically blocking their opponents. The game ends when no more pieces can be placed, and the player with the lowest number remaining wins.

After making a splash at launch in 2018, Flushin’ Frenzy continues to offer families a hilarious fun game which taps into gross toilet trend humour.

Mattel round out its portfolio with Balderdash, whilst world-class heritage brands Scrabble and Uno continue to bring families and friends together including famous celebrities and footballer fans. New for 2019 is BTS Uno, inspired by the biggest boyband in the world.

Jakks Pacific 01344 638 900 | www.jakks.com Jakks has unveiled the latest ‘cheeky’ addition to its games portfolio – Pull My Finger.

This fun new game combines monkeys and farts to create a play experience that’s sure to get everyone giggling. Players spin the banana spinner to reveal their next move, be it how many times they should pull the monkey’s finger or skipping a turn altogether. With each pull of his finger, Mr Buster’s butt gets bigger; players need to avoid the farts to win.

Suitable for two or more players, Pull My Finger will benefit from new content creation plus YouTube and influencer partnerships to drive video views. Jakks is also undertaking a big push on social media, with a call to action at retail.

Trends 01295 768 078 | www.trendsuk.co.uk The Guinness World Records annual is the world’s best-selling copyright book with 138 million copies sold in more than 100 countries, 2m YouTube subscribers, 12m Facebook followers and more than 21m annual visits to the GWR website. The brand has an enormous established fan base for the Guinness World Records Challenges game.

The Guinness World Record Challenges game puts player’s knowledge about Guinness World Records to the test and challenges opponents to demonstrate record - breaking skills using everyday household items. Players compete to answer questions from the 600 Guinness World Record question cards, but the crux of the game is to complete the challenges quicker or more successfully than opponents. Players must cross the finish line with three challenge cards in their possession to be the winner.

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Games & Puzzles

The Happy Puzzle Company 020 8953 4484 | www.happypuzzle.co.uk

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In January, The Happy Puzzle Company launched The Genius Square to the UK trade.

This deceptively simple yet addictive game has been gaining global momentum since launch, with the company adding a further new country to its distribution network every fortnight.

Each player receives a 6x6 Genius Square grid (two are included in each set) and a set of nine coloured shapes, plus seven ‘blocker’ pieces. One player rolls all seven of the dice together, to decide where the blocker pieces should be placed on the grid, and then the opponents race to fill every other space on the grid using the nine provided wooden shapes. Some combinations will be easy to solve, some much harder - it’s all in the luck of the dice. Most rounds take under two minutes to complete, with the aim of the gameplay being speed rather than difficulty. Players can also enjoy the Genius Square solo, aiming to beat their own PB. Invented by an Algerian mathematician, the game has been produced with the help of Trevor Fenner, professor of computer science at Birkbeck College (the University of London), and a specially devised computer programme to ensure that every single game played has a solution. The result is a game with 62,208 possible puzzles to solve; there may be times when it seems impossible, but there will always be at least one solution – hence the name The Genius Square.

The game launched in the US in February and has already reached the finals of US Game of the Year. TV advertising is expected to commence in 2020; demand for the game has been so high that the company is committed to investing in the additional manufacturing infrastructure needed to fulfil orders. A second factory has been engaged in China alongside the original, and a third is on the cards.

The game is proving particularly popular among Toymaster members, and is currently being stocked by around 50 independent toy and game retailers. The Happy Puzzle Company is working to provide giant demo versions for in-store display and try-before-you-buy, and is happy to supply additional sets for retailers looking to trial them with their consumers. As a quickfire, simple game, Genius Squares lends itself well to demos, and drew crowds at both the London Toy Fair and UK Games Expo earlier this year. The game won an Amazon Choice award within four days of launching and consistently gets 5-star reviews.

For more information, or to order stock, contact Carl Dudley at The Happy Puzzle Company info@happypuzzle.co.uk, or call the number provided above.

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Games & Puzzles

Accentuate 07713 877 032/ 07748 184 525 | www.accentuategames.com Sibling inventors, Graeme and Fiona Fraser-Bell, the duo behind hilarious guess-the-accent game, Accentuate, launch their latest strategy game, Rats to Riches this month.

The Accentuate Games team joined forces with new game designer, Eugene Lim to launch his first creation, Rats to Riches - ‘The strategy game for scheming rats’. Based on the financial ‘Rat Race’, Rats to Riches casts every player as a scheming rat, racing to collect $100 and work their way to a better class of sewer.

Rats to Riches has been designed to create a business strategy game that can be played and enjoyed by those aged eight and above. The board is an integral part of the box frame with a unique design and a rat theme that runs throughout the gameplay, bringing the board to life and creating a fun feel.

Players can collect income, buy and sell assets, purchase and trade cheese.

A strategy focused gameplay, combined with an attractive set of meeples, challenges players to navigate through the rat race and be crowned the Big Cheese at the end of each round, or assume the roles of Red Ruffian, Green Gangster or Blue Boss.

Rats to Riches is simple to setup, with a clear, easy to read illustrated guide and is perfect to play with family and friends, with gameplay lasting between 15 – 45 minutes.

UKGE 2019 attendees were the first to experience this new strategy game for scheming rats. The game will debut across John Lewis stores and online from September 2019.

In addition, FReNeTiC, launched in 2018, has received numerous awards and recognition since its launch, most notably being selected as one of Tom Vasel’s Top 10 party games for 2018 and the The Telegraph citing FReNeTiC as one of the Top 10 family board games of 2018. Its fast and furious word play, with a scientific twist using element symbols, is perfect for 2019, as the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Periodic Table is celebrated.

Rummikub 01480 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk With over 1m games sold to date, Rummikub continues to go from strength to strength, recently claiming a Family Classic Award in the 2019 Imagination Gaming Awards.

A firm family favourite, with over 50 years of heritage, more people than ever are enjoying the numbers strategy game. With even more ways to play, Rummikub offers something for everyone.

Distributed by John Adams Leisure in the UK, the Rummikub range includes junior and travel versions in addition to the Classic game, plus Rummikub Word, the Rummikub X-Press dice game and Rummikub with a Twist which includes four different types of Jokers to really mix up the game.

Rummikub benefits from a full 360 marketing strategy across TV, VOD and digital as well as full PR and social media plans.

Grassroots marketing is a key part of the plan to further develop the Rummikub community, with 200 schools across the UK being gifted Rummikub Classic and Rummikub Word, to play in their own board game clubs, as part of the John Adams Schools’ Board Game Club initiative.

Families having a staycation in the UK, will be able to play Rummikub at 10 popular Forest Holidays locations too. Rummikub has been placed in the Golden Oak cabins for families to play, with Rummikub Word also on offer within special games crates that are available to hire out at all Forest Holiday sites.

John Adams also holds an annual national tournament at the UK Games Expo, which was this year won by Craig White who has been actively competing for over five years. With celebrity fans like Vamps singer James McVey and an array of fan photos on Instagram, Rummikub is proving that classic games can still be a hot property for Generation Alpha and the millennial market.

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Games & Puzzles

Asmodee 01420 593 593 | www.asmodee.co.uk With Christmas on the horizon, Asmodee UK has a new range of Party Games suitable for family and friends. Ideal for larger groups, the range includes major new titles such as Time’s Up – a game of guessing famous names in teams against the clock –and Telestrations, a riotous game of drawing and interpretation where simple words are guaranteed to be hilariously misconstrued.

Also part of the Party Games range is Just One, a word game which this summer won the Spiel des Jahres award. The range is completed by dexterity games Crazy Eggz and Maki Stack, plus top-selling word game Codenames.

Dobble continues to headline Asmodee’s Fun Fast Games category, which highlights fast-paced titles suitable for all ages. These include cult-hit word game Bananagrams, the creative Rory’s Story Cubes, the reflex-testing Cobra Paw, hilarious memory game Who Did It? and the quick-witted trivia of Dice Academy.

Asmodee is also set to bolster its stable of TV-licensed games with two hot new lines to launch this year. Tenable, based on the hit ITV quiz show hosted by Warwick Davis, will see players completing top-10 lists as they test their knowledge on a variety of topics.

Meanwhile, Carpool Karaoke adapts James Corden’s popular viral segment into a board game for the whole family. Assisted by their favourite music streaming service, the game has players singing along under unusual conditions, completing lyrics after the music stops, answering musical trivia questions and more.

Asmodee’s Modern Classics range continues to champion the essential collection of modern board games. Comprising critical and commercial successes Catan, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride Europe, Carcassonne, Dixit and Splendor, Modern Classics –as with the other key ranges – can be supplemented with a variety of POS support.

Ticket to Ride, in particular, is to receive a boost with the launch of Ticket to Ride: London, a bite-sized edition of the iconic family game that plays in just 15 minutes. This 1970s-set spin-off will benefit from an exciting launch event held at the London Transport Museum in September. As well as the Route master buses that are featured in the game, guests will be able to play Ticket to Ride: London on a variety of other trains, buses, tube carriages and more in an atmospheric celebration of this quick, fun and highly accessible game.

Asmodee UK recently acquired fellow UK games supplier Green Board Games, which has seen the Brainbox and Fat Brain ranges move across to Asmodee.

Flair 020 8643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk New family games from Flair include Belly Bashimi; a sumo smashing showdown. Each game comes with two inflatable bellies that any sumo wrestler would be proud of. Players simply inflate, wear and let the games begin. The aim is to knock opponents out of the sumo ring with one belly push, as they try to reach and collect the Sushi playing pieces included in the box.

HeadSplat is a water challenge game where players use their head to flip a water balloon into the splash out cup. If they hit the rim or miss, the balloon will burst and soak the player.

For the cerebrally minded, 20Q is the ultimate tech toy and game that, through its in-built algorithms, always knows what players are thinking. The concept is simple, players must think of something and then let 20Q guess what it is; it will invariably succeed in doing so in less than its allotted 20 questions. For those who loved the original, this 20Q is smarter than ever and comes with a new ergonomic design that makes playing it even easier. Players can use it solo, testing it against whatever object they can think of, or amaze their friends as, with 20Q’s help, they will be able to read their minds.

Trefl 07850 779797 | www.trefl.com Trefl is one of the biggest manufacturers of puzzles and games in Europe and holds most of the major licences for children’s properties. The company also has a comprehensive portfolio of licensed games, with a strong UK focus for 2019 on its Mistakos stacking chair game. Suitable for up to four players, the game has sold over 480,000 pieces worldwide in three years.

As products are delivered direct from the factory in Gdynia, Poland, Trefl can offer competitive pricing and has seen a 45% increase in its UK business. For 2019, the range has been increased by 25%; the company now offers over 600 items.

This year, Trefl has launched its 1000-piece Crazy Element Puzzles range.

Unlike most puzzles, these innovative offerings lack a square edge so they really challenge the puzzler - no more getting the outside frame completed first.

For more information, please contact Trefl’s representatives Steve Richardson or Ria Richardson of SJR Associates to arrange an appointment: sales@sjr-associates.co.uk.

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Over 4 million copies sold worldwide!

Qwirkle and the wider MindWare range are now available exclusively from Coiledspring Games

Contact sales@coiledspring.co.uk or call 020 3301 1160 to stock

Games & Puzzles

Character Options 01616 339 800 | www.character-online.com Character Options is launching two family fun games this year that present a modern twist on classic favourites.

Keeping up to-date with the recent YouTube trend and with over 500 million views, the What’s in the Box? Challenge game provides the perfect way to task players of all ages to blind guess what’s inside an all-encompassed tabletop crate.

Each set contains the all-important box, built-in timer, scorecards and instructions with two ways to play. Using the timer, players have 10 seconds to make their guess then pass the box to the next player to take their turn. When everyone has taken part, players can compare answers to see if anyone has guessed correctly. For even more amusement, each round can be made individual by opening the side panel of the box so everyone apart from the ‘guesser’ can see what’s inside.

Character Options will also introduce a new high-energy adrenaline-fuelled game, suitable for the whole family. Tap It is a brand-new electronic game, featuring four electronic light-up pods with four different modes of play. Players can pass the coloured light from one side of the pod line to the other in a game of Pong, challenge the brain in a game of Memory, or challenge others in the Switch and Tap It games. Each of the new games is fast paced and fun for all players, with the aim of the game to master the beeps and defeat the opposition.

Bandai 020 8324 6160 | www.bandai.co.uk Having identified a gap in the sector for accessible, quality interactive games, Bandai UK has recently introduced engaging family games which combine fun and learning with strong mainstream appeal.

Partnering with Zanzoon, Bandai’s family games portfolio includes Froggy Party and Fan Zone. Froggy Party stimulates imagination, concentration and agility, and boasts 50 different challenges to encourage children as young as three years old to get active while having fun. The interactive frog instructs kids to sing, dance or imitate before running to the nearest lily pad. Combining entertainment with physical play, Froggy Party includes everything required for an exciting and enjoyable interactive gaming experience.

Fan Zone features over 500 football related questions and can be set to one of two modes, 7+ or 14+ - depending on the ease/difficulty of play required. The virtual games master can test players on five football topics to discover the ultimate football fan. The games master does it all; explains the rules, asks the questions, counts the points and gives out the scores, without the need for any additional devices or applications.

Bandai is also expanding its offering within the gifting/tech games space with Gorilla Games. A range of classic arcade games is now available in miniature for ‘finger-sized’ play, all featuring light and sound effects, and set to appeal to children as well as tap in to the popular kidult trend.

Punch King is the ultimate boxing arcade game in a portable size. With two modes, players can battle to discover who has the most power and includes challenge cards for extended play value. Hammer King brings ‘King of the Hammer’ play to finger size – players pull back their fingers, flick and release to try and hit the highest scores.

Bandai’s much-loved Pac Man Connect n Play provides an evergreen favourite. A hero item within the company’s tech/interactive games portfolio, Pac Man Connect n Play comes in an iconic Pac Man games case and merges digital gaming with one of the world’s most iconic video game brands.

PikyKwiky 07507 115 268 | www.pikykwiky.com PikyKwiky is a start-up business dedicated to creating fun and educational games for children and families.

The first product from the brand is the card game Matchify. This engaging, addictive and challenging card game will have family and friends up and playing in minutes. Each card features nine symbols. Each card from the first deck has one symbol that can be matched with another symbol from any card in the second deck. For example, the 'Carrot' in the first card is matched with the 'Rabbit' in the second card in the Original theme, 'Bread' is matched with 'Wheat' in the MadeOf theme, 'Eiffel Tower' is matched with 'France' in the Travel theme, 'Banana' is matched with 'Fruits' in the TypeOf theme, and 'Tractor' is matched with 'Farmer' in the Professions theme. When a player spots the links on the cards, they simply have to shout it out to start racking up wins.

Matchify is an ideal travel game; contained in a neat tin, each 72-card set, comprising two decks, can be taken on planes, trains and in cars for playing on holidays, school trips and days out. The game is suitable for 2-8 players, can be played four ways - Valley, Mountains, Golden Frog or River Delta – and the instructions are available in five languages; English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

The innovative team behind PikyKwiky has plans to expand Matchify with new theme packs and a pipeline of other projects which it says will liven up homes across the country.

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Our contact in UK: Stephen Richardson, Ria Richardson SJR Associates Phone number: +44 7850 779 797 E-mail: sales@sjr-associates.co.uk

Games & Puzzles

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Spin Master continues to expand its Games & Puzzles portfolio with new introductions featuring the popular Baby Shark family.

Baby Shark has taken over YouTube, and Spin Master has created a wooden sound puzzle featuring the global phenomenon. Big, chunky pieces fit securely into board spaces, triggering the Baby Shark Song. The Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle provides a fun, engaging way for children to learn shape and sound recognition.

Each time a correct piece is placed into the puzzle, children are rewarded with the line from the song that corresponds to that character. Suitable for ages two and up, the Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle includes the puzzle sound board and five shark-shaped puzzle pieces - Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandma Shark, Grandpa Shark and, of course, Baby Shark.

The classic Fishing Game incorporates four adorable characters from the Baby Shark phenomenon—Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandma Shark and Baby Shark. Players grab the fish with themed fishing rods as the board spins and plays the Baby Shark Song, and the player who reels in the most fish wins. Including four fishing poles, 15 fish and full instructions, the Baby Shark Fishing Game is recommended for two to four players, ages four and up.

In Baby Shark Let’s Go Hunt, Baby Shark will tell players who to hunt for via a Baby Shark 3D Sound Pad. The first player to collect three sets of four matching character cards is the winner. As no reading skills are required, the game provides entertainment for all the family, and is suitable for ages 3+.

Spin Master is supporting these new additions to its games & puzzles range with strategic PR and marketing campaigns to drive awareness.

Hacche Retail 01242 241765 | www.gingerfox.co.uk Ginger Fox has created a brand-new range of innovative and appealing games, along with introducing all new licences. Players can put their brain power to the test in the new University Challenge, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Popmaster Quiz card games or take on a more off-the-wall challenge in the Taskmaster Board Game.

Based on Dave’s number one entertainment show hosted by Greg Davies and his assistant, little Alex Horne, the Taskmaster Board Game brings the essence of this peculiar and popular show to households.

Players can compete with friends and family in a series of ludicrous tasks to be crowned Taskmaster champion. Judge or be judged - this game lets players summon their inner Taskmaster.

Dough Nab is a bakery-themed blitz where players race to match cards and grab doughnut props. With action cards to shake up play and a stylish Head Baker’s hat for the winner, this family game comes in a tempting doughnut-style box. The rules are simply: see it, match it, nab it!

Speed is not of the essence in Ginger Fox’s Super Slow Sloths game where players can expect sloths, puns and sabotage. Players can snooze, sabotage and saunter their way to victory in a reverse race in which laziness, dawdling and daydreaming are the passports to success – the last player to lumber over the finish line wins.

Bump This! is the ultimate handshake showdown game. Players pass hilarious handshakes from player to player, trying not to lose their cool as the greetings get more and more elaborate. If players make one wrong move, they’re out.

Last but not least on the new line-up at Ginger Fox is the Itchy Feet Travel Game where players can trade, steal and swap their way around the world. This quirky cardcollecting travel game is made by travellers, for travellers, and doubles up as a pack of playing cards.

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Games & Puzzles

Hape 08456 000 286 | www.marbel.co.uk Hape’s latest four-years plus puzzles collection encourages extracurricular activity and offers an opportunity to make out of school learning more exciting for both parent and child, supporting age appropriate critical thinking, hand/eye coordination and dexterity.

In the Jobs Roundabout, a 19-piece, two-sided jigsaw puzzle, players need to keep the city running. A spinning feature which replicates a roundabout helps to solve the puzzle, and one side gives children a basic understanding of some of the vital jobs within the community such as firefighter, teacher, postal worker, chef, doctor and builder. Meanwhile, the second side of the puzzle shows where these professionals work.

Children can race friends around the world with the 2-In-1 World Tour Puzzle and Game. A combination of challenging, educational and competitive fun, kids need to first complete the 100-piece puzzle, which beautifully illustrates the countries of the world. Then they can use the wooden characters and dice to travel to each continent, learning about each nation’s wildlife and landmarks. To enrich a child’s understanding further, each game also includes a double-sided poster with more fascinating information and a breakdown of the game rules.

Hape also recently released the Solar System Puzzle - an educational 100-piece jigsaw puzzle. Designed for kids to learn more about the solar system, the puzzle measures 60cm in diameter and features spinning, solid-wood planet pieces such as Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A central glowing LED sun helps bring light to all surrounding planets , and each set comes with a double-sided poster which highlights the names of each planet and fun facts about them. This acts as a fantastic basis for teaching children about the universe.

Hape puzzles are an investment that children love and parents can trust. Not only does Hape go above and beyond in the meticulous choice of materials, this is combined with innovative design which is evident in the latest puzzle ranges. Hape Toys is proud to utilise the enormous capabilities of natural materials, durable enough to last for generations in order to encourage toys to be passed down rather than thrown away.

Cartamundi 01268 511 522 | www.cartamundi.com Autumn/winter 2019 will see the launch of some hotly anticipated games from Cartamundi. A partnership with Disney will see the introduction of Race Home and Home Sprint games, which capitalise on the collectible market offering fantastic gameplay along with collectible figurines as movers. Offering games from properties such as Toy Story 4, Disney Princess, Mickey and Friends and Frozen II means there is a game for everyone.

Cartamundi has a game based of the upcoming Frozen II film, and with TV advertising across EMEA, many are expecting this game to be one of the bestselling Frozen II lines. Further details will be revealed in the forthcoming Toy World Frozen II special edition. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of The Gruffulo, Cartamundi has teamed up with Yay Games to offer Games from the Deep Dark Wood; a compendium featuring games such as Hide in the Wood, Find the Gruffalo, Scare the Animals and Follow the Path.

After a sell-out success following the early launch in 2018, Color Addict continues to grow in strength in 2019 with a full marketing campaign to bolster sales.

Cartamundi has had great success with its Harry Potter card game ranges, and September will see the launch of a limited-edition playing card collector set which will feature a deck per movie in a special collector box. Each box will include a certificate and have a limited run of 10,000 sets. October will see the launch of I go to Hogwarts - a game where players can create their own Wizarding World story.

The Shuffle 4 in 1 Games range will see new additions such as Frozen II and Toy Story 4.

Cartamundi is building on its successful trivia card games range with AlphaZulu, which is a fun game where the answers are shouted out phonetically, suitable for anyone above the age of four. In partnership with VAP Games, Cartamundi is also bringing to market the Hashtag Card Game, with an integrated social media campaign behind it.

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le Removab to rd a o b ba c k es lv fit on she

Introducing Big Potato’s ‘Junior Potato Collection’. Three of our favourite games for ages 6+, wrapped up in a shiny new CDU. There’s OK Play Duel, a head-to-head tile race, Dino Dump, a poo-dodging card game, and The Muddles, a game about collecting animals and turning them into Muddles!

Fancy one for your shop?

Chat to Emily at emily@bigpotato.co.uk or give her a ring on 07427 824526. @bigpotato.com

@bigpotatogames

Games & Puzzles

Cheatwell Games 02392 524098 | www.cheatwell.com Quicksand, the new board game from Cheatwell Games, is guaranteed to add to the festive fun this Christmas. With over 300 topics and almost 2,000 things for players to draw, Quicksand is an imaginative family game that brings home all the seaside fun of sketching in the sand.

Ideal for those tired of trivia challenges where the clever clogs always win, Quiz Bingo lets anyone score at any time. Featuring favourite categories, from Entertainment to History and Science to Sport, players simply write their solutions down on the answer grid as they go and score just like in Bingo.

Pickles to Penguins is rapid reaction party game. Rather than taking turns, players simply race to get rid of their cards as fast as they can, checking their hand and playing a card if they spot a link with the cards on the table. However, stretching the connection too far will result in a penalty. There are hundreds of pictures, but the real challenge is seeing how many can be linked together.

Eye Spy With My Little Eye is the ultimate observation game for kids and adults alike; if a player can spot the lot then they are guaranteed to be the winner. This game helps children to develop their observation and communication skills.

Quirky boasts 100% five-star reviews, and Christmas sees the launch of two sister products in the series. Big 6 is a fast-thinking bidding game ideal for family and friends. Players have just 30 seconds to say how many questions they think they can answer against the clock - but can they meet the challenge? Read My Mind is a game in which like-minds battle quick-thinkers. Players write down their answer to a given statement then try to communicate it to another player, using quick thinking to make the connection before someone else beats them to it.

JUST SOME OF THE TOP WINNING TABLETOP GAMES PUBLISHED BY HURRICAN GAMES AVAILABLE FROM DAVID WESTNEDGE LTD.

Tel: 020 8789 208

Supporting the retail trade with live game demonstrations at Tabletop Gaming Live at Alexandra Palace.

Stand G102.

Web: www.davidwestnedge.com Email: office@davidwestnedge.com

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VR Distribution 033 0088 0941 | www.vrdist.co.uk VR Distribution is a new wholesale distributor which introduced a specially curated range of the most popular adult party games to the UK market in 2018. Extending on the success of this range, early in 2019 the company successfully negotiated to represent Amigo Games in the UK. Amigo is one of Germany’s top game manufacturers, with a portfolio including classic IPs such as Halli Galli, No Thanks and Saboteur. By starting with the best-sellers from Amigo’s portfolio, VR has been able to expand its offering from purely adult party games to quality family titles and offerings for serious gamers. VR now has a strong line-up of best-sellers, making it a key supply partner for any toy or specialty game retailer throughout the UK. Suitable for 3-7 players, Amigo’s popular card game No Thanks! launched in late August, while the classic 90s game 6 Nimmt! and Saboteur are both available now. These games were also displayed at the UK Games Expo, with many attendees expressing their delight at seeing 6 Nimmt! and Saboteur back up for sale in the UK after a long absence from the market. A board game version of Saboteur; Saboteur: The Lost Mine, is also set for launch later this year.

Launching this month will be a new game by Richard Garfield, titled Carnival of Monsters. Featuring luscious, custom artwork from famous gaming illustrators, this card drafting collection game has been garnering plenty of excitement and interest from retailers and gamers worldwide.

To date, Cards Against Humanity and What Do You Meme are the best-selling titles for VR. With the continual growth of these two key products, and a whole range of new games recently released from the What Do You Meme team now available through VR, the company expects big things for both brands this Christmas.

VR Distribution has a state of the art B2B system allowing quick and easy order processing whilst also showing live SOH, backorder management and product information. This is backed up with friendly, customer orientated account managers who welcome a phone call at any time. To open an account, please email sales@ vrdist.co.uk or go to www.vrdist.co.uk. Quote ‘Toy World’ with your first order to receive one Fruit Punch game FOC.

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Games & Puzzles

Jumbo Games 01707 289 289 | www.jumbo.eu With the Adult Puzzles category continuing to grow, Jumbo has invested heavily to meet the demands of consumers by releasing 18 new puzzles this month.

Having already released 30 new Falcon de luxe puzzles this year, including the latest Christmas puzzle Santa’s Special Delivery, Jumbo will add a further 10 new offerings to its popular range of British illustrations. New releases include the 500-piece Christmas Window and The Nutcrackers Christmas, as well as the 1,000-piece Dolls House Memories, Autumn on the Farm and Christmas Conservatory.

As the Wasgij puzzle brand continues to grow in popularity, Jumbo remains committed to listening to its fans. With the demand for more puzzles not showing any sign of abating, the company has released its tenth puzzle this year - the latest Wasgij Mystery 17 Catching A Break! 1,000-piece puzzle. This joins June releases including the Original 32 The Big Weigh In!, Destiny 20 The Toy Shop!, and the Christmas 15 Santa’s Unexpected Delivery!.

Jumbo’s other distinctive puzzle brand, Jan van Haasteren, is similar in to Wasgij in many ways; it’s highly collectible, different to traditional puzzles, and boasts a strong and engaged fanbase. To ensure the brand keeps growing, new releases this month include The Start! 1,000- and 2,000-pieces and The Winery in 1,000- and 3,000-pieces. For fans of a comical Christmas, the Holiday Shopping 2 x 1000-piece box set is ideal.

Puzzlers also need a surface suitable for assembling, sorting and storing their unfinished puzzles. This is where Jumbo’s Puzzles Mates Portapuzzle range of storage cases comes in, complementing retailers’ puzzle selections and increasing the value of a businesses’ offering. Jumbo is happy to discuss multi-buy promotions – contact the company to find out more.

With only a month to go until Disney lifts the embargo placed on Frozen II product (4th October), Jumbo’s range of five new jigsaws for children aged 3+ includes the the 4-in-1 Puzzle Pack, Puzzle & Colour, 4 Shaped Puzzles, Movie Collection Poster and 4-in-1 Round Puzzles. In addition, Jumbo has developed a new co-operative game for 2-4 players titled True Friendship.

Ideal for pre-schoolers, Jumbo’s Moon and Me puzzle range is available now. The first lines to be released include the Shaped Floor Puzzle, 4 Shaped Puzzles and 4-in-1 Puzzle Pack.

Those looking for family strategy games should consider Jumbo’s Overbooked, How To Rob A Bank and Forbidden City games. Big hits at the UK Games Expo in June this year, Jumbo has some tempting offers for customers that want to list these products in Q4.

Coiledspring Games 020 3301 1160 | www.coiledspring.co.uk Joining the Coiledspring Games lineup for autumn is worldwide best-seller Qwirkle and the wider MindWare range. With over 4m copies sold, Qwirkle is a simple game of matching colours and shapes that requires quick-thinking and a well-planned strategy, making it a must-have for family games night. MindWare games have been carefully developed to foster lifelong learning, growth and success. The range includes hits such as Q-Bitz, Q-BA Maze and new release Marble Circuit.

Families and casual gamers can test their worker placement skills in the newest title from Iello, Little Town. By collecting, constructing and optimising, players discover which architect will be the most talented and ambitious as they attempt to build a perfect Little Town.

Over its 25-year history of publishing games, Gamewright has learnt that fans love playing Sushi Go! as well as games with dice. Combining the two, and with a limited pre-release at UK Games Expo, Sushi Roll is set to hit the shelves in time for Q4. Players can roll with their favourite Sushi Go! characters in Sushi Roll, a dice-based version of the best-selling card game.

To coincide with the theatrical release of Downton Abbey, Wrebbit 3D is launching an impressive 890-piece puzzle featuring Highclere Castle. Puzzlers and fans of the successful period drama series will now be able to relive the Downton Abbey experience one piece at a time, by building the famous castle in their own home. Wrebbit 3D puzzles are the sturdiest on the market, with the highest quality design and illustration.

Schmidt is launching two Thomas Kinkade Disney 1000-piece puzzles this autumn. Peter Pan and Mickey Mouse will join the best-selling Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella to form a 14-strong Disney range. All jigsaws are manufactured to Schmidt’s Premium 6-Star Quality standard.

Alongside new releases, Coiledspring Games has an array of must-stock games ahead of the Christmas period: Kingdomino, which puts a majestic twist on a popular classic; Forbidden Island, the first in the cooperative series by Matt Leacock; and The Mind. The Mind is more than just a game, it’s an experience. The group challenge is to lay the cards in ascending number order, without speaking and without communication – using just the power of the mind. A highly addictive cooperative card game that players will want to play again and again, and a perfect game to demo, The Mind has been a top performer in the Coiledspring range.

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are you ready for...

£13.50

£35.00 £15.00

£13.50

...aw19? www.kosmosgames.co.uk Call 01580 713000 or email games@thamesandkosmos.co.uk for more information.

Games & Puzzles

Kosmos Games 01580 212 000 | www.kosmosgames.co.uk Kosmos continues to grow its catalogue of board games. The Colour Monster, from Devir and based on the book of the same title by Anna LLenas, offers families or any other group of 2-5 players the opportunity to discuss emotional wellbeing. In this game, participants move weighty, tactile player-pieces of both the Girl and the Colour Monster around the board. As they go, they try to collect emotion tokens by identifying the emotions - Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear or Calm - correctly. In order to pick up an emotion token to place in a jar, players are encouraged to explain a memory or situation in which they would feel the emotion they are picking up. Just like the book it’s based on, The Colour Monster board game offers an accessible way to begin conversations around emotions.

Fans of the Exit series of games will want to keep an eye on the upcoming Adventure Games, due for release in September. Starting with two titles for the series, these escape games have been inspired by the choose-your-adventure games of the past, combining the idea with clever modern mechanics to bring something new to the table. Each game will feature a re-playable, story-driven scenario where players will have to work together to explore their surroundings, combine their findings and solve the mystery in order to succeed. Each scenario will have three chapters, with each chapter offering approximately one hour of gameplay. In order to see the whole picture, players may need to play more than once and try a different path to fully crack the case.

Finally, 6m enthusiastic players have already built their dream city on the PC in the popular video game Cities: Skylines. This October, Kosmos will be launching Cities: Skylines - The Board Game. With the complexity increasing as the city expands, the boardgame is suitable for newcomers and experienced players alike. Builders can work cooperatively to plan and develop their city while keeping the citizens happy in order to win. By placing polyomino zones together, the city will slowly start to expand, but at a cost. Players need to be sure to consider key factors such as the environment, crime, traffic-flow and education, balance the books to use the financial resources effectively and, of course, keep the population in a good mood. Whether they play solo or with a group, this game lets fans enjoy city-building at its best.

Ravensburger 01869 363 830 | www.ravensburger.com Following a strong performance throughout the first half of the year, Ravensburger is building on its momentum in the run up to the festive season with a raft of new puzzles and game introductions. Innovative marketing, hot licences and unique product propositions are set to deliver a wealth of opportunity throughout the second half.

The first board game to be powered by the Google Assistant, Know! offers game fans an always-up-to-date, multi-activity play experience. A series of games-within-games comprising different challenges based on intuition, fun, knowledge and creativity, Know! enables players to create a unique experience every time and is suitable for play both on or offline. Ravensburger will roll out a wide-reaching and impactful marketing programme in support of Know!, putting this product at the heart of games-night fun.

Children can enjoy edge-of-the-seat action with Monster Splat. Supported with heavyweight TV, this great value proposition sees players test the speed of their reactions as they try to be the first to swat the monsters with the sticky slime hands.

With interest in tabletop gaming continuing to increase, the Disney Villainous line-up likewise continues to grow. Villainous – Wicked to the Core, and Villainous – Evil Comes Prepared, both offer three new Disney villains for players to discover. The company’s Jaws game, with its high level of attention to detail, is already proving popular among fans of the hit movie franchise.

Aliens and farm animals collide with ThinkFun's Invasion of the Cow Snatchers.

This single player logic game challenges players to manoeuvre their UFO as they beam up the cows in the correct order. Among the other Ravensburger games to be TV advertised are ThinkFun’s Rush Hour as well as Labyrinth, Bugs in the Kitchen and new Bugacula game.

An established leader in the 3D puzzle world, Ravensburger will add to its lineup with an iconic London Bus edition, plus a Campervan created to celebrate Woodstock’s 50th anniversary. The new Harry Potter Knight Bus 3D Puzzle will spark the interest of Wizarding World fans too. Taking in the breadth of the company’s 3D offering, a major marketing campaign will showcase new dimensions in the puzzling experience with new TV, digital and in-store activations throughout the second half.

With Downton Abbey making its big screen debut this year, Ravensburger’s Downton Abbey 500- and 1000-piece puzzles capture the atmosphere of the era with stunning imagery featuring the beloved characters in their finery.

Disney Frozen II forms a key focus for Ravensburger’s licensed kids offering this autumn, with highlights including a 3D Castle Puzzle and 3D Olaf-shaped puzzle. As the franchise welcomes a new generation of fans, Ravensburger games including classic Mini Memory, Frozen Labyrinth Junior and Go Elsa Go! are sure to be popular.

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Share the fun with the li le people in your life!

• Fun themes • Quirky packaging • Gibsons quality

Games & Puzzles

Bertoy (32) 03 777 0533 | www.bertoy.com Crocodile Creek’s 200-piece Poster & Puzzle World is a true classic which parents and kids alike have come to love over the years. This eyecatching puzzle maps out the world in 200 easy-to-handle pieces. A fun and educational tool, it will help young minds understand world geography.

The Day at the Zoo 48-piece puzzle is an ideal observational puzzle for kids. Featuring a high level of illustrative details, this puzzle reflects all the activities that happen during a fun day at the zoo. A perfect first puzzle for any toddler, the 12-piece Mini Puzzle Unicorn encourages hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Kids can travel back to prehistoric times with Mudpuppy's Dinosaur Glow-In-the-Dark Puzzle. When the 100-piece puzzle is complete, kids can turn out the lights to see it glow.

Puzzling on the move has never been easier with Mudpuppy's Puzzle to Go - Animals of the World. Packaged in a travel-friendly drawstring pouch, this puzzle features illustrations of exotic animals from around the world.

For more information, please contact Bertoy’s UK country manager Philip Morris (philip@bertoy.co.uk) or call 07748 150906.

David Westnedge 020 8789 2081 | www.davidwestnedge.com David Westnedge is the exclusive UK distributor for the Piatnik range of jigsaw puzzles and games by Hurrican Edition, including Mr Jack, Kero, NagaRaja and Quadrio.

Mr. Jack is an asymmetric game for two players, where each player has a different aim. One takes the role of the Detective and the other Mr. Jack. The Detective must unmask Mr. Jack and then catch him.

Using successive deductions, and by moving characters in and out of the darkness, the Detective will reduce the number of suspects and attempt to capture Mr. Jack before the end of the eighth turn. Mr. Jack, meanwhile, uses the cover of darkness to slip away, while doing his best to slow down the investigation.

Following the success of Mr Jack London, the line has been extended to include a Pocket Edition and New York Edition.

David Westnedge is celebrating forty years of trading and will be promoting its games at Tabletop Gaming Live. In this way, the retail trade will be supported, as consumers are given the opportunity to try out the games, stimulating demand. A variety of classic and traditional games, along with the company’s wide range of playing cards and bestselling tabletop games, family games and strategy games will also be on show.

The company also distributes the largest selection of traditional fine quality Staunton Chess Sets in the UK. For more information, email marketing@davidwestnedge.com

Orchard Toys 01953 423 422 | www.orchardtoys.com Championing simple yet engaging gameplay, which is coupled with appealing graphics, Orchard Toys adds fun twists to the classic heads and tails game with two new lines just in time for the Q4 gifting period.

Rainbow Unicorns and Knights and Dragons both offer a refreshing new take on traditional heads and tails, with each boasting different characters and gameplay.

Rainbow Unicorns is more than just a game of heads and tails and is expected to be a popular addition to the range. Bursting with vibrant colour and characters, the unicorns go head to tails as they gallop around the board to reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Knights and Dragons adds fun elements to the heads and tails concept. Not only is it a race to match the most knights before the castle image is complete, the gameplay introduces the added fun of dragon chance cards – if players turn over an awakened dragon card they will scare their knights away, but turn over a sleeping dragon and a player could win back all of the knights.

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- Brand new TVCs for Articulate & The Logo Board Game - Heavyweight TV support in November & December - PR & Digital gifting campaigns

How many phrases can you describe?

Cracking Christmas Trivia!

STOCK UP NOW

Call 01932 281928 email ukcustomerservices@tomy.com www.drumondpark.com UK.tomy.com