TWM Games and Puzzles September 2021

September 2021

The Team...

John Baulch

Publisher and Managing Editor john@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 408 07932 651 207

Mark Austin

Sales Director mark@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 405

Anita Baulch

Circulation and Financial Director anita@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

from the editor

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elcome to the bumper 2021 Toy World Games & Puzzles supplement, which this year is published alongside our landmark 10th anniversary main issue.

In 2020, we saw the Games & Puzzles category pull off an astonishing performance, fuelled by soaring demand for at-home entertainment amongst lockeddown families. After such strong growth, and with the majority of UK Covid-19 restrictions now lifted, the question on everyone’s lips coming into 2021 was whether this year’s performance would pale by comparison. Happily, it appears that consumers’ appetite for games and puzzles is not yet sated, with sales remaining high and products rolling out right through to a Christmas that many believe will easily surpass last year’s. Both the companies interviewed for this supplement are enjoying a hugely positive nine months to date, while some specialist retailers are reporting that sales have actually increased since the third (and hopefully final) lockdown ended. It appears that the interest in the space generated by the pandemic has turned into a real addiction for some; now socialising is back on the cards, gamers and

puzzlers both new and old are keen to share their passion with friends and family.

It remains to be seen what impact stock shortages may have on the category – consumers are being warned to begin their Christmas shopping earlier than ever this year due to anticipated disruption – but suppliers are going above and beyond to bring in shipments any way they can: in the words of one interviewee, by ‘planes, trains and automobiles’ (also my favourite festive movie).

Over the next 80 packed pages, we bring you the latest insight and news from the Games & Puzzles category in the form of in-depth interviews with Tomy’s Mary Wood and Exploding Kittens’ Joeri Hoste, a Touching Base feature with input from leading suppliers, and a special Talking Shop in which Toy World speaks to a selection of expert retailers including the largest jigsaw store in Yorkshire. Plus, of course, a comprehensive overview of the latest games and puzzles to hit the market, and those yet to arrive on-shelf. Game on!

CONTENTS September 2021

News

34 Feature: Games & Puzzles

04 06 12 14 18 24 30 34

Rachael Simpson-Jones Editor rachael@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

Sam Giltrow

News Category Overview NPD Insight Talking shop Touching Base Company Profile: Tomy Company Profile: Exploding Kittens Feature: Games & Puzzles

Assistant Editor sam@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 406

Mark Crowford

Design and Production Manager markc@toyworldmag.co.uk 01442 502 405

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News Konami reports huge Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG success as new products continue to launch Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG has had a remarkable summer, according to the company. Following the popular introduction of Remote Duels in 2020 – games played online using mobile or web cameras and physical TCG cards – July saw the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series tournament held remotely for the first time ever.

The event has been hailed a resounding success. In Europe alone, more than 1,800 players came together to play the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG remotely, all at the same time. Across the globe, that number rose to an impressive 6,700.

The month before, fans were able to acquire a very limited-edition item – a special Blue-Eyes White Dragon card made of 99.9% pure silver and burnished to a beautiful platinum-coloured finish. The 1,000 copies made available sold out within just a few hours.

With demand unabated throughout lockdown, and stock continuing to sell out, retailers can rest assured that there’s a raft of Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG products to look forward to during the remainder of 2021. The 12th of August saw the first of four new booster set releases, kicking off the roll-out with Dawn of Majesty. This new pack features the iconic Stardust Dragon from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds animated series and offers fans 100 exciting new cards to acquire.

Also on the way is the Brothers of Legend all-foil booster set, which will let players strengthen their collections with a total of 60 new cards and more than 30 returning cards, including never-before-released cards from the first six Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series.

Collectors will also be eyeing up the upcoming 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles, a stunning gold-coloured tin case featuring the middle section of the mysterious Pharaonic tablet.

Each tin contains three extra-large Mega-Packs, full of some of the most popular and sought-after cards from 2020. The 2021 Tin of Ancient Battles is set for release on the 30th September.

Other Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG products on the way this year include collector’s sets, tournament packs, structure decks and accessories.

Konami is also beginning to re-open organised play in its official tournament stores across Europe, a move which is being carefully implemented from region to region. The company has also said it will continue to offer Remote Duel play through the transition, giving players more choices and ways to play the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG as life – and duelling – continues to adapt in 2021.

For more information, please visit the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG website: www.yugioh-card.com/uk.

Exploding Kittens catches Happy Salmon Exploding Kittens, the hit tabletop game creator, has announced its acquisition of popular, fast-paced card game, Happy Salmon, from North Star Games. Happy Salmon will join Exploding Kittens’ current portfolio of games, including Throw Throw Burrito, Poetry for Neanderthals and Bears for Babies.

Designed by Quentin Weir and game developer Ken Gruhl, who has since joined the Exploding Kittens team as senior game designer, the company is reimagining Happy Salmon with an Exploding-Kittens twist and re-releasing the game this November. Until then, the current version of the game will still be available.

“While we’ve spent so many years building an incredible pipeline for games, we know the best ideas don’t always come from within our four walls,” said Zach Schiff-Abrams, head of Creative Development, Exploding Kittens. “We want to develop new games and brands, whether that’s through our internal team, working with external designers, or by acquiring IP and talent like we did with Happy Salmon.”

Asmodee details senior appointments as Sophie Gravel and Steven Kimball re-shuffle Asmodee has announced Sophie Gravel as head of studio at Z-Man Games, the Asmodee-owned board game studio that publishes Pandemic, Carcassonne and more. This marks Sophie’s second tenure leading Z-Man Games, where she previously spearheaded the launch of Pandemic’s Second Edition among other successful projects.

“I look forward to driving the continued growth of not only our iconic games like Pandemic, Carcassonne, and Love Letter, but also to take Z-Man’s signature approach of building games that are different, unexpected and special into new games and projects,” said Sophie, who is re-joining Z-Man Games with over two decades of leadership in the board game industry.

Steven Kimball, Z-Man’s prior head of studio, has been promoted to Asmodee’s director of Special Projects.

Steven is a seasoned executive in tabletop gaming who has worked in various roles at Asmodee North America for over 11 years at Z-Man and Fantasy Flight Games. As Z-Man’s head of studio since 2016, he assembled and led the talented team responsible for new editions of Love Letter and Citadels, as well as Pandemic 10th Anniversary and two Pandemic Legacy games.

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Games & Puzzles

Category Overview

There ain’t nothing like a game!

With Games & Puzzles enjoying such a strong year in 2020 it was always going to be a challenge to keep the momentum going but, as Sam Giltrow discovers, sales are thriving and still up across the board.

H

ow do you follow a year like 2020? The games and puzzles category was one of the standout pandemic performers, with adults and children alike discovering or returning to gaming to help while away the hours and keep spirits up during lockdown.

Although it is undoubtedly a better class of problem to be coming off the back of such a strong year’s trading, it is nevertheless a challenge to anniversary previous numbers of that magnitude. Thankfully, talking to a host of games and puzzles suppliers, the vast majority are confident that games and puzzles sales will be maintained in the run-up to Christmas this year.

Meanwhile retailers, concerned about the current supply problems caused by Brexit, Covid-19 and supply chain issues, are already squirrelling away stock to meet demand, as families start planning entertainment for (hopefully) bigger gatherings this year. Indeed,

research commissioned by games giant Hasbro shows that game nights which started during the pandemic aren’t going anywhere, with 90% of parents/families saying they have no plans to stop playing even as the world re-opens.

As Jake Cannon, of Firestorm Games in Cardiff, tells Toy World, challenges such as supply issues, along with the increased demand for games, have created a perfect storm: “Game releases and restocks are expected to be very important this year. After industry warnings that stock will run out earlier this year, we have taken the decision to confirm orders for core lines in August and September, instead of October as we traditionally would.”

Toymaster marketing director Paul Reader concurs with this approach: “We’re sensing that when suppliers are introducing brand new games to the market this year, they are adopting quite a tight production and availability schedule. With the classic games which sell year-in, year-out, they have a good idea of the numbers they are likely to sell, so

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they are confident in making stock to fulfil the anticipated demand. It’s a relatively safe bet.

However, sales numbers on new games are far harder to predict, so we’re finding that they’re taking a more cautious approach. If a new game really takes off, there might be quite a battel for stock across the trade.”

One of the major advantages of the games and puzzles category for specialist independent retailers is its consistency, as Paul explains: “This is always a solid category for the independent retail channel. Because of the pandemic, it exploded and became a phenomenal category last year. This year, it has returned to being a solid category again.

Puzzles have reverted to a more steady level of sales for obvious reasons, especially as people gradually return to offices and aren’t spending every day at home. However, games are holding their own against last year, especially if you include Pokémon trading cards in the numbers.”

Ah yes, the eternal dilemma: are Pokémon

trading cards classified as a game, or a collectible? Or both? Either way, specialists have been reporting exceptional sales of the range all year, and with the 25th anniversary celebrations reaching a peak in October, it is entirely plausible that the best is yet to come.

It’s a remarkable performance from the brand, so it is no wonder that specialist retailers have been heavily backing it. In turn, this has helped to open up the toy market to other classic, enduring trading card ranges, such as Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh!, which also has a strong release schedule throughout the autumn.

It isn’t just trading cards which are seeing a surge in popularity amongst both the kids and kidult demographics: according to Paul, there has also been a noticeable increase in the number independent retailers enjoying success with specialist games from the likes of Asmodee and Ravensburger, which often attract more committed gamers to frequent their local toy store.

Speaking to games suppliers, they are also optimistic about prospects for the category in the run-up to Christmas. Steve Asbey, national account manager at Cheatwell Games, reveals: “While not at the dizzy heights of 2020, there is still strong demand for all of our board games, certainly more so than we had in previous summers, when board games sales are traditionally slow.” He adds that sales of Cheatwell Games’ range of pocket money priced card and travel games have also shown no sign of slowing down, being snapped up by families enjoying staycations this summer.

“We are thrilled with the current sell-through,” he says.

Like many games suppliers, Cheatwell is planning a raft of new launches this autumn/ winter, including an updated version of the ever-popular Spot the Intro game, which now uses smart phone technology. The company has also received positive feedback for its new Family Quiz Night, described by one industry stalwart as being ‘like Junior and Regular Trivial Pursuit all rolled into one’, and takes pride in keeping its trivia games regularly updated to make them more relevant. “You will find questions in our latest releases that include events from this year, so while we probably don’t have the most recognisable brand in the market, we have a solid base of consumers who see Cheatwell as the go to brand for their quiz time fix,” explains Steve.

One of the best ways to demonstrate new releases is with retail games events, which have unfortunately been off limits since the start of the pandemic. Cheatwell acknowledges some of its retail partners are still being cautious and Steve says it will be led by them as to when they feel the time is right to re-introduce demos.

“We host regular play and learn to play events at all three of our branches for board,

miniature, card games and role- play games,” says Firestorm Games’ Jake Cannon. “This ‘organised play’ is essential for bricks and mortar stores to offer something unique, which online deep-discounters cannot.

Gaming in the modern age is much more than buying a game to play at home with friends.

The experience of meeting and playing, or learning new games whilst socialising in a fun environment, is now in higher demand than ever before.”

“The reduced ability to offer hands-on engagement for consumers due to the pandemic is, I think, the biggest challenge,” concurs Roger Martin, Hobby & independent channel director, Asmodee.

The success of Asmodee’s major titles such as Dobble, he says, can be traced directly back to the impact of in-person demonstrations.

“The instant feedback and response that you get when seeing someone enjoying a game is priceless,” he tells Toy World.

Roger adds that in order to create a strong seller in the Games category, there are a multitude of factors to take into account, but the key is to make it engaging, entertaining and fun. “There are a lot of new board games constantly entering the market, so the most important thing that a product can deliver is a better gameplay experience than the rest and stand out on sheer entertainment value,” he explains.

Sales of Asmodee’s trading card games have also continued to perform strongly, particularly for the ever-popular Pokémon brand. “We were always expecting the Pokémon Trading Card Game to have a good year as the franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary – but it has surpassed all of our expectations,” says Roger.

“The excitement around the game is as strong

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as it’s ever been, and that’s set to continue with some special celebration product lines that are making their way to shelves.”

Asmodee is also continuing to see the importance of brand loyalty in the success of brands such as Dobble, Catan and Ticket to Ride. “Consumers keep coming back to games that have given them great experiences, something we see in both the success of licensed Dobble partnerships with the likes of Pixar and Paw Patrol, as well as the warm reception to premium titles like this year’s Ticket to Ride Europe 15th Anniversary Edition,” adds Roger.

Ravensburger, which will launch more than 100 new lines across games and puzzles this autumn/ winter, also boasts huge brand loyalty among its followers; a brand tracker study, commissioned by the company this year, showed brand awareness of over 60%, with a strong conversion rating. The company’s games, and particularly, puzzle sales were exceptional from March last year and this year it is currently tracking above 2019 and expecting further growth for the rest of this year, especially in Q4. The company’s 1000pc puzzles remain the most popular, however as more consumers have taken to puzzling over the last 18 months, there has been an appetite for lower piece counts that appeal to both younger and more mature audiences. Nostalgia puzzling has grown particularly, with themes such as reading, country and garden scenes, tourist destinations, animals and wildlife, while interest in puzzling together as a family has also increased, with Ravensburger’s escape puzzles ranges, available for both children and adults and the 3D range both enjoying growth, notably the planetary system and free-standing globes.

The company’s licensed children’s range has also continued to expand, with the business now holding a healthy selection of the top licences. “Over the past 18 months, our licensed range has performed incredibly and the newly launched Bluey and CoComelon lines are exceeding all our sales expectations,” comments Katy Fletcher, head of marketing and product development at Ravensburger. On the games side, Ravensburger has launched its Upside Down Challenge Game, which has been refreshed to celebrate its 35th anniversary, and immersive games Alien The Game – Fate of the Nostromo, and The Princess Bride Adventure Book Game. Strong sales are also anticipated for Marvel Villainous and Disney Villainous, because of their expansion packs and general popularity.

With the perennial challenge of finding a compelling and innovative game or puzzle that resonates with consumers, and with technology creeping more and more into today’s games, Kelly Philp, director of marketing, Mattel UK believes a combination of offering both classic games and those with more digital interaction is a winning formula.

“Classic board games are always going to be

important with their unique gameplay and sense of nostalgia for all ages, and we see that in the data, with Scrabble continuing to grow, now number two in the Family Games Supercategory (NPD June 2021 YTD),” she tells us. “However, we also recognise the importance of innovation through tech, giving us the opportunity to expand on gameplay and add new features we know people will love.

We have seen that work well with Pictionary Air in particular, now number four in the Family Games Supercategory (NPD June YTD 2021).” Building on the success of its techdriven innovation, Mattel is set to extend the Pictionary Air concept with the introduction of new Pictionary Air Harry Potter.

One of the classic games which continues to perform well for Mattel is card game Uno, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year, after enjoying an exceptional 2020. In addition, the company is rolling out a selection of new products, including the launch of reactionbased electronics game Crossed Signals, as well as Uno Extreme. Mattel also recently teamed up with The Entertainer for a new campaign, The Summer Games, to tap into the big summer of sport the UK has enjoyed and

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encourage family ‘athletes’ to battle it out over games such as Uno, Scrabble and Pictionary.

Hasbro too says its much-loved classics such as Monopoly, Cluedo, Twister and Guess Who, are just as popular as they have ever been, though it is continually looking at ways to refresh these core titles. Developments for Q4 include the launch of Monopoly Decoder, a game that allows players to use Mr Monopoly’s decoder so they can find fake money and still make a fortune. Q4 will also see the launch of Trivial Pursuit Decades 2010-2020, aimed at adults and teens, and this October, Cluedo fans will also have the chance to purchase their own personalised version of Cluedo as part of an initiative which will run with Smyths.

Social media is becoming an increasingly key component in marketing campaigns, and Anne Leonhardi, marketing director, Hasbro North Europe says it is also extremely useful for providing an understanding of what consumers want. “Hasbro is home to some of the most popular games that generations have grown to love,” she says. “Social media has become a powerful tool in helping to create new play experiences which build on these classic games. We are constantly monitoring and analysing new trends and watching how consumers are playing with our existing products to stay ahead of the curve and provide fans with the experiences they want most.”

A prime example of a social media success story is The Floor is Lava from Goliath Games, which gained massive traction and has been featured on multiple influencers’ social media, including Billie Faiers, LadBabyMum and, most recently, Ryan’s World, with a combined audience between them of over 33 million.

“Within our social advertising we will provide click through links to our retail partners to enhance the traffic to our listings and ultimately lead to more conversions on their sites,” says Vivid Goliath marketing manager Ben Hogg.

Goliath has expanded its games offering across the Kids, Family, Party and Strategy categories and is expecting sales to grow significantly throughout the rest of the year.

Ben says a particular trend, for which there has been a growing appetite over the last couple of years, is escape room games and Vivid Goliath is just about to launch the third instalment of its popular Escape Room The Game.

Mike Berry of Leisure Games in London says escape room games have been “flying off the shelves” of his shop, adding: “I think they appeal to quite a wide market, as they are a combination of game and puzzle.”

With hopes for a bumper Christmas as more families look forward to get-togethers, the countdown to the festive period will be ramping up imminently, with games and puzzles certain to feature somewhere in the

family entertainment schedule.

“As you would expect, we always see upward sales in the latter part of the year for both family games and puzzles and this year we are anticipating a surge as families can, hopefully, come together for the first time in two years,” comments Ravensburger’s Katy Fletcher. “Based on our expectations, we have focused on stock planning to support anticipated demand and the sales team is working closely with all our retailers to ensure we collectively meet that demand, particularly on lines where we are investing in media spend.”

“We are looking forward to a busy run up to Christmas, and fingers crossed that families will be able to get together this year,” says Leisure Games’ Mike Berry. “Party games have, unsurprisingly, fared less well than our other games over the last 18 months, but hopefully that will change now restrictions have been lifted and we head towards Christmas.”

Over the next few pages, Toy World shares the latest releases from Games and Puzzles companies that they hope everyone will be enjoying together very soon.

Insight

Fun and games

NPD’s Moneeba Baloch examines whether the recent exceptional growth seen in the Games & Puzzles category can continue this Q4.

G

ames & Puzzles was a lockdown consumer favourite last year, as people stayed at home looking for ways to keep busy and have fun.

The supercategory finished 2020 up +19% vs. 2019, generating a value of £265m. As restrictions have been lifted and experiences such as socialising, travelling and dining out have become available once more, the trend has slowed slightly, -1% YTD. However, when measured against 2019, the supercategory has still grown by a huge +38%.

Games continues to grow so far this year, +6% with a value of over £75m. There are three main subclasses that are driving the growth. Strategic Trading Card Games, driven by Pokémon cards;

Travel Games and Brainteasers. With more travel options open again, travel games have sold nearly a third more than in 2019, while Rubiks Cube is driving the Brainteasers subclass. Outside these three subclasses, there are some hero items which have continued to perform well. Monopoly Deal has grown by +16% YTD with a value of £445k and Uno Flip has generated £361k, growing by +56%.

Whilst puzzles is showing a small decline so far this year, when it is compared to 2019 the segment is in a very healthy position, up +41%.

Adults, Children’s and 3D Puzzles are all showing double digit growth against 2019. Adult puzzles is worth £8.4m so far this year, having sold over 720k units. New puzzles coming into the

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market are embracing the mindfulness trend.

As the importance of mental health has been highlighted during the pandemic, we've seen items such as Spin Master’s Calm Mindful Puzzle Assortment climb the ranks in the Adult Puzzles subclass.

Both the Games and Puzzles categories attracted new consumers during the pandemic.

With Q4 fast approaching, it is safe to assume that some of those new consumers will be retained during the Christmas selling season.

Both categories are always popular over the festive period, so we hope to see the success continue for the rest of the year.

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Talking Shop

Boxing Clever Sam Giltrow spoke to a selection of indie retailers about their Games and Puzzles offerings, finding out what’s selling well and how they encourage customers to see them as a go to destination for the category.

Mark Green - The Yorkshire Jigsaw Store, Easingwold

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e stock all the major brands of jigsaw puzzles. Our bricks and mortar store in Easingwold was a newsagent in the town for 50 years, but the shop was rebranded to The Yorkshire Jigsaw Store in 2014 with the aim of creating the largest jigsaw store in Yorkshire.

We take puzzles from all the major manufacturers and sell them through the store and website, which has been getting busier and busier each year - and as soon as Covid hit, it went ballistic. Sales have been phenomenal; anything and everything was selling, particularly nostalgia lines, but during lockdown a lot of manufacturers were struggling to produce stock and get it to us. It was a matter of taking anything they had, and I think people were so desperate for puzzles that they didn’t really mind too much what the design was.

With regards our success during these covid times we wouldn’t have been able to manage without our team who ended up working much longer hours than in usual times, to fulfil all the orders.

Ranges which have done particularly well for us during the last year include Falcon De Luxe from Jumbo, which regularly brings out new titles. As soon as they are released, people want them straight away.

Jumbo also seem to have had consistent stock available.

Gibsons are getting back on track now and we have been taking in a lot of stock. They produce many puzzles with designs local to us, such as Scarborough, York and Staithes, which are very popular with our customers, so we’ve been delighted to see those back on the shelves.

We also carry other ranges from Jumbo and Kidicraft, while Clementoni ranges are solid performers too.

Hopefully it now seems to be back to business as usual in terms of stock availability, across the board.

We offer advice to our customers who want help with choosing puzzles, particularly if they have not bought puzzles before. They ask things like which brands they should go for; certain ones have smart-cut pieces which are irregular shape and more difficult to complete than the standard shape. But other people come in that have been doing jigsaws all their lives and probably have even better knowledge of them than we do.

Although sales have quietened down a bit since restrictions were relaxed, our customer base is now much higher than when we first started. We now have over 30,000 people on our mailing list, including international customers, and are having a warehouse built just outside town, because we have outgrown where we used to store our puzzles above the shop. We are expecting the new warehouse to be operational by the middle of September, just in time for Christmas.

We are confident it will be a busy Christmas with so many new customers and we send out marketing emails twice a week. A new release, such as a launch from Falcon, will see a spike in orders in response to our email announcement, so we know the customers are

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there – we just have to balance getting the right stock in, at the right time.

We are a destination store. We have spoken to holidaymakers staying in the area who say one of the reasons for coming up this way is to come and visit us, which is great. We have even had people travelling for three hours on a day trip just to come to the shop.

Since Covid, the number of people who are really into jigsaw puzzles has grown – some tell us they are addicted to them. We even had some customers, who were holidaying up here in their caravan visit the shop because they had forgotten to bring their puzzle board.

We can lend them an ex-demo board for the week – it’s lovely to be help people like that.

We haven’t yet held demonstrations in the shop, but it is something we had started to consider before Covid hit. We know a couple of illustrators who are based in Yorkshire, and it’s something we will look at again for the future.

As things return to normal, we’re looking forward to seeing the reps again face to face. Our suppliers have been very supportive, and we have a good relationship with all of them. We are looking forward to the run up to Christmas and seeing the new festive releases, which always sell well, such as the Gibsons limited edition puzzle and the Falcon De Luxe two-pack of 2,000-piece puzzles, which they release each Christmas and are extremely popular.

For children, licensed puzzles such as those from Ravensburger, with characters like Marvel Avengers, are perfect pick-up lines for a Christmas gift. We also stock a good selection from Orchard Toys, which parents love as they are educational and help with subjects like spellings and maths for early years children.

There really is something for everyone in our shop, and we are confident that sales will continue to do well in the run up to Christmas and beyond.

Talking Shop Jake Cannon -

Firestorm Games, Cardiff

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e currently have three bricks and mortar stores as well as a busy webstore, and specialise in tabletop miniature games, board games, card games and anything else that’s cool and collectible. Being part of the Toymaster group, we deal with many suppliers, and one of our main ones is Asmodee.

Over lockdown, we saw sales of board games peak.

This has now plateaued, albeit to a higher level than preCovid. This would suggest customers who have been introduced to games as a hobby, or who have returned to it, are still enjoying it and are going to continue purchasing.

Some customers know what they want while others have an idea or framework, and our staff members ask questions so they can gauge what the customer is looking for. There is no point recommending a game like Pandemic to someone who is looking for a competitive,

back-stabbing game, while Dobble is unlikely to satisfy the thirst for a heavy Euro gamer.

The webstore has been vitally important over the last 18 months while our stores were closed, and the lockdowns forced us to discover new methods of

reaching and interacting with our customers. Social media was an obvious outlet but producing original content in the form of product and company update videos has proved very productive.

Now our stores are open again, we have been so happy to see customers returning to shop in person, as well as to play in our gaming areas. We expect online sales to remain strong and peak again in the run up to Christmas, when we also expect store sales to steadily increase as people return to the experience of in store shopping more and more. Christmas itself will be an interesting time in retail this year.

We host regular play, and learn to play, events at all three of our branches for board, miniature, card games and role-play games. This organised play is essential for bricks and mortar stores to offer something unique that online deep-discounters cannot. Gaming in the modern age is much more than buying a game to play at home with friends - the experience of meeting and playing or learning new games while socialising in a fun environment is now more popular than ever before.

Games releases and restocks will be critical this year.

After industry warnings that stock may run out earlier, we have taken the decision to up-order core lines in August and September instead of October. Ticket to Ride and the other games making up the ‘Asmodee greatest hits’ sell out every year and we are never able

to get enough stock. This year, we will be relying on established names/games. There simply isn’t enough Pokémon stock on the planet to satisfy the brand’s popularity so this has to be carefully managed; with the 25th anniversary celebrations due this October we are expecting demand to spike.

Suppliers have been offering support for re-opening - competitions from Asmodee to highlight bricks and mortar stores and extra promotional materials from companies such as Konami, Wizards of the Coast and Pokémon have helped immensely and encouraged players to return to the store to buy and play. Playing games with others and socialising is still a fantastic experience.

With games such as MicroMacro Crime City winning the Spiel de Jahres this year, I think this shows the industry is up to the challenge of providing fresh and interesting ideas for an entertainment starved public.

Our flagship Cardiff branch is moving very soon to a new, world-class venue. Still in Cardiff, the site will house our bricks and mortar store, webstore warehouse and shipping operation as well as hosting the South Wales Gaming Centre where people can come and play all types of games. An in-house café is something we are really excited about, and the location is very easy to get to. We look forward to continuing to expand and introducing more people to our wonderful hobbies.

Mike Berry - Leisure Games, London

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e aim to stock as wide a range of games as possible, but with so many new titles now published each year, we have to pick and choose to some extent. The majority of our games come from Europe and the US, and we generally buy them through distributors such as Asmodee UK and Coiledspring.

Two player and solitaire games have been very popular recently and escape room type games have been flying off the shelves. I think they appeal to quite a wide market as they are a combination of game and puzzle, can be played as a two-player or as a solitaire game, and are also a good price point. Party games have, unsurprisingly, fared less well over the last 18 months, but hopefully that will change now restrictions have been lifted and we head towards Christmas.

We buy virtually everything through distributors, and they are getting stock in now, in preparation for Christmas. We don’t generally worry too far in advance

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about stock, although we will start building it up a bit earlier than usual this year because of anticipated supply problems. We have noticed in the last few weeks that the number of new release games is lower than normal. I suspect this is down to shipping – some of the new releases are just not reaching us yet – but there’s also a reduced number of games coming through Kickstarter at the moment due to the pandemic.

We fared well throughout most of lockdown because we already had a very strong online presence, so were easily able to switch to 100% mail order. As shops reopened, our mail order sales unsurprisingly decreased, although in store sales have not yet recovered to prepandemic levels.

During the pandemic, a lot of people discovered modern board games and I think many of them will continue to enjoy playing them. We have found it more beneficial than ever to have a hand-picked core range of games displayed in one area of the shop - games which the staff know well and can point people towards with

confidence as being reliable, enjoyable games.

We love helping customers to find the right game and find they fall into one of three categories. Hardened games enthusiasts know exactly what they want and rarely seek advice from staff. More casual gamers who have quite a lot of experience of games are easy to help, as we can suggest games based on what they have enjoyed in the past. The non-games players are more of a challenge, as they can be scared off if we recommend something that looks or sounds too complicated. Some really only want Monopoly and finding something new to suit them can be a real challenge.

We have really missed holding in store events as demonstrations are the best way to show what the games are all about. For the time being, we have had to change the shop layout, but we are looking forward to having people back playing games in the shop, where we can comfortably seat around 24. We hope to get back to holding in store events next year.

Asmodee UK has been very pro-active in supporting such events and even sent out ‘care packages’ to retailers, consisting of games to give away in a competition and to use as demo copies. We were also pleased to take part in the ‘Love Your Game Store’

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promotion, whereby customers could scan a QR code in store once a day to enter a draw with a first prize of £1,000 cash and a number of £50 store credit vouchers.

We are looking forward to a busy run up to Christmas, and fingers crossed that families will be able to get together this year. We always stock up on the most popular evergreen titles which can be relied on to sell well, such as of Ticket to Ride from Days of Wonder and Forbidden Island from Gamewright. The big seller at Christmas in the more specialist hobby end of the market will be decided nearer the time - and might well not even have been released yet.

Touching Base

The players Following the Games and Puzzles category experiencing a surge in sales in 2020, Toy World spoke to a number of suppliers to ask them how sales can be maximised this year and what their advice would be to retailers wanting to hold in-store retail games events and promotions.

Ben Hogg - Marketing manager, Vivid Goliath

Roger Martin -

Undoubtedly, Games & Puzzles has been one of the categories within Toys to see a real boost from the Covid-enforced lockdowns of 2020 and the increased amount of time spent at home by families. I think it’s fair to say that this boost has continued to make its presence felt in 2021, and we are optimistic it will hold out for the autumn/winter period too. Given there are more shoppers in the market, we must make it as simple as possible for them to stay in the market and interact with our games, making our titles not only more discoverable but also ensuring they work harder to lead to a sale once we have that initial interest. There are multiple routes to achieve this online, and to get them in front of the correct audience.

Physical stores also have a part to play in helping customers navigate games shelves, whether that be via clever merchandising that sorts the games into categories, or through solid in-store expertise.

It’s difficult for retailers hoping to run events in-store around games, especially if that involves actually playing with or touching them. For the last year and a half, we’ve been told to not go near people outside our household, let alone sit a few feet from them and touch the same pieces repeatedly. For the time being, we need to engage with customers in ways that don’t involve being in such close proximity.

Over time, I’m sure events will be able to make a gradual return – we are already seeing the start of this, with events such as UK Games Expo taking place - but they are not (and will not) be the same as we’ve previously known them for the foreseeable future. If we can get to a point where evidence suggests they are safe, I still feel there may be a significant mental hurdle for customers to overcome in terms of attendance.

In terms of maximising games and puzzles sales, retailers should play to the strengths of what we can do now - i.e. live experience. The success of this year's UK Games Expo showed that there's an appetite for people to get together and play games. Retailers need to be creative about how they maximise their appetite through their customers' in-store experience.

When holding an event in-store, retailers must fundamentally get the basics right: know why you're doing the event, who you're targeting and how you're going to get them engaged. Events are so important, which is why we've made them part of our Retailer Reward Scheme - and we're on hand with our unrivalled team of demonstrators who can be booked to deliver a friendly, knowledgeable and engaging introduction to key products in store.

Karen Clarke - UK brand director, Smart Toys & Games During the lockdown, friends and families have all enjoyed playing Smart’s games and puzzles. Many more have rediscovered their passion for a good night in and the fun you can have by getting everyone around the table at home or playing head-to-head virtually.

We believe that word of mouth drives so many games sales, and we see that working well with stores as they have reopened. As we get back to establishing our consumer events programmes and in-store demonstrations, we will support retail with all the tools and displays they need and full use of our training studio in Arundel on how to host an in-store event. Who wouldn’t want an afternoon tea or Pimm’s in Arundel full of fun and games?

Business will boom as a result.

Creating theatre and a destination for both children and adults to enjoy playing games in-store will definitely encourage growth. Managed by our lovely in-store demonstrator Carolina, our Smart Games display stand in Hamleys is a perfect example of creating the right balance of engagement, fun and learning.

Toy World 18

Hobby & independent channel director, Asmodee

Touching Base Toby Davies -

Commercial director, Steamforged Games

Hannah Cornish -

Account manager South & Ireland, Big Potato Games To support sales, my advice would be to utilise social media as much as possible and get the games experts involved. People spend so much time on their phones and in front of screens on a daily basis that it is the ideal way to get as much reach as possible, attracting the right people's attention. Retailers can really cause a buzz about games events with the experts there to help. This will benefit high street stores that may be struggling to get more customers into bricks and mortar outlets.

People are understandably still nervous about Covid, so providing reassurance and implementing safety measures is key to making sure people will still turn up.

However, because of Covid, board games have become a real habit in the last year.

There’s an appetite there which we are hoping will continue.

Live game demos in-store have always been a really effective way of maximising sales. Our head of events, Ben, helped our retailers to host in-store events prepandemic and they really do cause a buzz and shows customers how to play, without too much effort from them. They just have to turn up and have fun.

Stewart Middleton I would recommend that retailers talk to publishers about how they can support in-store activities to help educate, engage, and excite customers, and give them the experience they can only get in store. This can be reinforced with an online presence that provides decent overviews of the products, good imagery and even playthrough videos to help your customers make buying decisions without the benefit of being in store.

Getting product on time, especially coming into peak season, is another challenge. The hike in costs we’re all seeing has been wellpublicised. Shipping delays are pushing dates to the right, so on key lines it’s well worth going a bit deeper and ordering earlier if the opportunity arises to secure stock -even if it's across multiple drops.

Right now, tabletop gaming is bigger than it’s ever been, and people are trying more diverse games than ever before, so it’s a great time to look at running events for less ‘mainstream’ games to attract a new audience. Roleplaying games, for example, have seen a huge influx of new customers, many of whom also play tabletop games.

There’s a real opportunity to increase basket value for these customers and introduce them to products they might not have considered before.

Because there’s a plethora of RPG stuff to choose from, a tight range of onboarding products (that don’t need a lot of education for store staff) is a good place to start. One of our bestsellers has been the Animal Adventures Starter Set, which not only onboards new players but can be used repeatedly as part of other RPG campaigns.

That said, with lockdowns easing, gaming now needs to compete with other leisure activities that people have been denied for a long time. So, to get the most out of events and maximise sales, it’s crucial you provide as much relevant content as you can both instore and online.

Consultant, VR Distribution

We have seen an increase of over 40% in Q1 & Q2 YOY growth and firmly believe the category will continue to grow for a number of reasons. Even with lockdown/ restrictions being lifted, the past 18 months has changed the way people relax and socialise, and games and puzzles fit more than ever the ‘new normal'.

People are socialising at home more, and games are a great, fun way to involve everyone. At VR Distribution, our ranges have expanded with many new titles added and we are forecasting significant further growth - above the 40% already achieved - for Q3 and Q4. Alongside well-established, global best-selling games like Cards Against Humanity and What Do You Meme, we have introduced family safe versions and expansion packs that add new cards to the base game, so even if the consumers have played it to death, they can start again with one of the many expansion packs. The Family safe versions also open up these great game concepts to a whole new audience.

Games and puzzles events are a fantastic way to engage with consumers for a low financial investment from the retailer and, this year especially, will help encourage consumers to visit the store. As a company, we are happy to support retailers with games and point of sale, and have a great range of fun family games from Amigo & Gigamic that are ideal for events. The key factors are that the games look exciting and attractive, are easy to learn, allinclusive and fast paced to hold players’ attention.

Daniel King -

General Manager, Cartamundi UK 2020 saw exponential growth in the games and puzzles category, largely driven by the lockdown. The category is still incredibly strong - according to NPD, it is -1% vs 2021, but vs 2019 it is +38%. Naturally, families and friends will be eager to venture out with their new found freedom rather than stay at home and play games. However, I believe that the category growth vs 2019 shows that many are returning to board or card games as a great way to connect with each other. There are some really exciting launches within kidult games and some great licensing collaborations. I can also see further exponential growth in the hybrid or “Phygital” arena.

We are partnering with Q Play on a game called Outsmarted, a world first as a live board game with remote play technology, which was funded on Kickstarter in nine hours.

For retailers, I think it’s clear that consumers want to connect and engage again, and games events are a fantastic way to do this. Obviously, there have to be the right safety measures in place. Retailers have the perfect opportunity to showcase the hybrid play of games and could quite easily host a virtual or remote play event. By offering a hybrid event, they can satisfy all types of consumers.

Many games companies adapted well in lockdown with lockdown versions. Personally, I was partially impressed and had lots of fun with Articulate.

Toy World 20

Touching Base Katy Fletcher -

Head of Marketing and Product Development, Ravensburger At Ravensburger, sales momentum continues within both the games and puzzles categories. Compared with 2019, NPD is reporting (value) +40% on Ravensburger games, +21% 3D puzzles, +7% adult puzzles, +21% children’s licensed puzzles and +75% in our children’s non-licensed range. We believe this is set to continue through the remainder of the year in the lead-up to Christmas, as families rejoin for quality festive celebrations.

We have been focusing on building inventory across the board to ensure we have the breath of range going into Autumn and the Christmas build up and moving onto early next year where we see demand continuing through the dark winter months. Our national account managers and sales agents are in regular contact and working closely with our retail trade partners to ensure they have a good level of the right stock for their respective businesses. Most of our products are manufactured in Europe, meaning leaner lead-times and more flexibility compared with goods shipping from the Far East.

In terms of events, historically Ravensburger has seen great success when instore events are layered with all our other marketing support. Last year we really missed events and hands on demos. We are now geared up to support instore events on some key lines, however we are working cautiously. Where it’s not possible to hold events, we are investing in standout point of sale, including video screens showing a host of different videos across our ranges, and we also have some great bespoke social media solutions to help drive footfall into stores.

Phil Hooper -

Commercial Director UK, Spin Master Sales in the Games and Puzzles sector have been strong in the last year as people spent more time inside and looked for different and entertaining things to do while locked down. The ames sector can continue to benefit from this surge in interest this year as families and friends begin to mix and come together after many months apart due to Covid.

Sales can be maximised further through broadening retail offerings with the increased number of licensed games and puzzles that Spin Master has introduced to its autumn/ winter product roster. These include The Paw Patrol Movie Adventure City Game, Jumbling Tower and Pop Up Game from Paw Patrol, Catch the Snitch from Harry Potter and the Jumanji Deluxe board game, which all benefit from the extremely strong fan bases on those properties.

Spin Master also has some brilliant options for family reunions across all age groups, including Beat the Parents, the exciting child vs. adult quiz game and Hedbanz Blast Off, the fast pace guessing game - to name just a few.

David Harrison -

Licensed channel sales controller, IG Design Group Games IG Design Group UK has seen highs and lows within our categories during the pandemic as the world has adjusted to the enforced lockdown.

One of the categories that has seen positive growth is our Kids Play gaming range, which covers board games and has been perfectly placed to capture the imagination of kids, young adults and families alike, keeping everyone entertained within the home.

Redefining what family life will look like going forward, kids will hopefully retain the connection to family time and gaming in particular, seeking out and spending quality time together.

Looking ahead, our focus will be to maintain current space at retail, and grow incrementally, by bringing out game formats that include fun and novelty elements, always striving to delight consumers. We will also introduce innovation to attract new consumers to the category.

Jack Probyn -

Sales and marketing specialist, Winning Moves Here at Winning Moves, over the lockdowns of the last 15 months we’ve managed to spend quality time with our loved ones, playing games, completing puzzles and picking up new pastimes (although ‘Extreme Ironing’ probably won’t last as an ongoing hobby). During that time, like many other game manufacturers, we saw a massive surge in popularity of board games and especially jigsaw puzzles. As a result, and to keep up with the demand, our licensed puzzle offering in particular has increased four-fold, focusing on the most loved brands and the hottest licences, while our overall offering will always continue to grow and bring exciting new products to market each year.

After such a long period of delays to film/tv production, and with various movie releases being pushed back many times, we are really excited about the upcoming deluge of movie franchises steadily hitting cinema screens over the coming months and into 2022, with fantastic movies such as the hotly anticipated James Bond No Time To Die, DC’s The Batman and SpiderMan No Way Home to look forward to. We think this will really help consumers reconnect with both big cinematic releases and licensed products. Winning Moves is well placed to be a part of the conversation with our range of games and puzzles.

We know there are currently significant challenges with supply chain and are not immune to it ourselves, so with this in mind our advice to any retailers wanting to hold retail games events and promotions would be to get in touch with us. We have lots of new and relevant SKUs that have either arrived in stock recently or will do so in time for key Q4 trading and will be happy to discuss ways to fill any gaps on shelves.

Toy World 22

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Company Profile

ahead of the game

Following a year which saw unparalleled sales resulting from the unprecedented situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was very much anyone’s guess as to how the Games category would fare in 2021. Tomy, then, is understandably pleased with its astonishing performance in Q1 and Q2, which has set it up for an even bigger and better 12-month period than it enjoyed in 2020. Rachael Simpson-Jones paid a visit to the company’s head office, and sat down with Mary Wood, general manager UK & Ireland, to find out more about Tomy’s upcoming releases, marketing plans and strategies for the year ahead.

“

Tomy was very fortunate to have an exceptional 2020, due to the fact it has a strong presence in the categories consumers were seeking,” Mary tells me, safely distanced at the other side of the company’s expansive games showroom. “In the UK, we had the best year we’ve had in a decade, which was surprising but obviously satisfying. Our performance gave us the momentum to enter 2021 on very strong footing; when we previewed selections for customers for autumn/winter, we were doing so off the back of some great sell-through. Nothing was overstocked, and retailers were very receptive to what we had to say. We’re trying not to be too overenthusiastic – we knew it would be hard to have as good a year on Games as we did in 2020. However, our numbers are solid and we have strong listings across the board, meaning it may well, incredibly, be even better this year.”

Toy World 24

Brand loyalty has always been a key factor in the toy space, but even more so over the past year. During the pandemic, we saw consumers lean into brands they know and trust, and Tomy benefits from having several big brands in its portfolio. Within the Drumond Park portfolio, this includes No. 1 adult game Articulate, whose sales have doubled since the pandemic began.

The introduction of Logo Second Edition marks the first time in over a decade that a new Logo game has arrived on the scene; in terms of volume, the follow-up game is expected to achieve even higher sales than Articulate. Tomy’s Pop-Up Pirate has been its No. 1 Kids Game for the last few years and appears in no danger from being ousted from its top spot, while Screwball Scramble Level 2 will be TV advertised this year for the first time, with aim of bolstering the success of both the new game and and its predecessor, the original Screwball Scramble.

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Company Profile W

Mary tempers her optimism for Q4 with a warning that stock levels might scupper even the best laid sales forecasts. Like most other toy companies that source from the Far East, either in full or in part, container availability and pricing is a significant challenge for Tomy.

Although container rates are being managed by the company’s diligent logistics team, cost pressure is still being felt, and notice of what is going into a container and when has been slashed from a few days to mere hours, in some instances, making it much harder than it would ordinarily be to plan autumn/ winter TV campaigns. At the end of the day, the big winner this Christmas might not be who has the best products, but who has the most stock.

Luckily for Tomy, all its card- and board-based games, and the entirety of its Drumond Park range, are made in Europe. CoOperate, which should prove popular with fans of Articulate, has already arrived in the UK, along with Best of… Kids and Best of… Sport & Leisure, the two new titles from the Best Of… range, and Logo Second Edition. That said, when we met up Mary was waiting to hear when some of Tomy’s new games would make it on to containers from the Far East, though the belief was that they would arrive in good time for the key Q4 season. When it comes to shipping, it really does seem as though everyone is in the same boat. And while it’s reasonable to assume that Brexit may have impacted Tomy’s European manufacturing, it seems that Tomy’s logistics team has once again risen to the challenge. A temporary warehouse was established in the UK to ensure product supply, mainly of games, wasn’t interrupted.

The decision proved fortuitous during the pandemic, because it meant Tomy had a ready supply of some of the most sought-after products available and ready to go.

“There’s no point spending money on advertising, be that digital or TV or anything else, if you don’t have the stock,” replies Mary, when asked how stock shortages might impact Tomy’s pre-Christmas marketing efforts. “The ways of communicating with consumers are massively diversified. TV is still important but equally so are other mediums. Picking the right ones is challenging, but influencers are a big part of the marketing space now too. Sampling is great, but again, there’s no point doing it unless you

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have stock in the market. We’re having to monitor very closely where stock is coming in, and we’ve pushed back a couple of campaigns where the timing hasn’t worked.”

Eight new games due to launch for autumn/winter will build on Tomy’s current Games portfolio. The titles comprise a healthy mix of adult, family and kids’ games, and span Tomy Games, Drumond Park and French company Zanzoon, a distribution line.

CoOperate, billed as Articulate’s ‘wilder, louder, more collaborative cousin’, is expected to be a slower burn than some of the kids’ games; TV advertising doesn’t have the same impact with adults, Mary explains, and sales tend to be condensed into the last few weeks of the year.

That the game is from the makers of Articulate will go a long way in ensuring success, however, and Tomy is leveraging this any way it can for the launch. Some 300,000 CoOperate surprise sampling games will be included in Articulate and Logo boxes this year, giving consumers a little taste of what the full version offers and hopefully turning players of those games into purchasers of the new Drumond Park offering. And speaking of little

Toy World 26

tastes, 2021 also sees Drumond launch The Magic Oven Baking Game, a baking-themed game which challenges players to make and bake apple pies without burning a crust which is ‘magically’ added to the pie during cooking.

Best of… Sport & Leisure follows the same format as other titles within the range, just a different topic, so uptake will be high among existing players. Best of…

Kids, meanwhile, takes that format and makes it kidfriendly, just as Articulate Kids has done for Articulate.

Mary explains: “If you have a best-seller, whether that’s Scrabble or Monopoly or Articulate, a kids’ version is a good way to extend the line.”

Three of the eight new games are from Zanzoon, which specialises in electronic games and therefore brings a tangible point of difference to the range.

The gameplay of Word Fever is reminiscent of a TV game show, Mary says, while the Friends Interactive Quiz will tap into the hype for the smash American sitcom in the year that saw the cast reunite for the first time ever for Friends: The Reunion (AKA: The One Where They Get Back Together). Suitable for a slightly younger audience is Super Magic Jinn, a fun interactive guessing game with voice recognition technology.

This game has already sold tens of thousands of units worldwide, but has never been sold in the UK, making it a particularly exciting addition to the marketplace.

Rounding out the autumn/winter 2021 launch slate is a major new member of the Pop-Up family – Pop-Up T-Rex, based upon the $5b global franchise Jurassic World. The game is part of a wider licensing partnership Tomy enjoys with NBCUniversal; readers will be aware that the dinosaurs have already made their way into the Toomies pre-school range.

“Because they are first and foremost good games, and because we had such an overwhelmingly positive 2020, our new games will enjoy the wide distribution the rest of our portfolio does,” adds Mary. “Not everything will work of course - no one is that lucky - but there’s some excellent opportunities out there and we’re well-placed to take advantage of them.”

Tomy’s internal 2022 previews will commence this month, ready for external ones from October onwards. While retailers have opened their doors to consumers, the general feeling Mary and her team is getting is that many are not yet ready to resume in-person meetings with suppliers. Tomy is therefore holding virtual previews with the aid of a

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Company Profile

professional film crew and all the latest mod-cons. Retailers that would prefer a face-to-face meeting are, of course, more than welcome. Spring 2022 will see Tomy launch four new titles - Best Of… Sport, Best Of… Food, Best Of… Kids and Logo Second Edition - from its popular mini-games range, which were reformatted and repackaged last year. The games are perfect for travel and include different questions, making them a great add-on line for existing players. Autumn/winter 2022, meanwhile, will welcome new games from Drumond and Zanzoon, with six titles in currently in development from Tomy alone. On top of these, between 5-10 carefully selected brainteaser games from Tomy’s new Fat Brain range will also be available, following the acquisition of the privately-held developer, marketer and seller of toys, games and gifts

in 2020. Speaking with Mary, it’s evident that Tomy’s full-throttle approach to the Games space isn’t slowing down, and that the company is being very careful not to introduce anything that has the potential to cannibalise anything else.

When looking at retail support for its games, Mary explains, Tomy looks at the top line marketing activity for each title and then works with key retailers to develop programmes that work for them. Smyths Toys, for example, is strong on social media, as is The Entertainer, so efforts lie very much in this space.

Indies benefit from Toymaster catalogue support and promotions that work with their format and needs.

The aim is to make every game work for everyone, and to avoid placing dependence upon a particular retailer. Spreading the business as far as possible is preferable. In-store events and activations currently aren’t part of the 2021/22 marketing plan; it’s easy to spend a lot of money for a modest return, and feedback indicates that floorspace is still a concern. Retailers wary of taking in FSDUs are unlikely to benefit from a play table dedicated to just one game. The company is, however, looking into the opportunities offered by games cafes, as ‘unlocked’ Brits seek out social experiences and activities. Tomy has also invested heavily in improving and expanding its online assets including demo videos, something consumers appreciate now more than ever. Such videos are also hugely helpful during retailer previews, as discovered since early 2020. They don’t need to be ‘completely glossy’, Mary stresses; those with a homemade feel can offer more authenticity and relatability than ones that appear to be highly manufactured and edited. Striking the right balance and tone is key. Claire Ridley, head of UK Marketing, is currently working with Tribe to this end. Founded by Aussie TV and radio host Jules Lund, Tribe is a self-serve marketplace that connects brands and agencies with social media micro-influencers to offer a cost-effective and highly efficient way of getting a brand out there among consumers. Tomy has picked a number of products across its whole portfolio, and Tribe’s influencers are now creating content that provides an organic and authentic view of each. It’s a modern solution to a very old problem – placing product in front of potential purchasers.

I wanted to know what else has changed in recent years and put this question to Mary.

“Not so many years ago, Pie Face was on the market,” she replies. “Pie Face was a gamechanger; consumers who had never before bought games found themselves picking up a copy, so it introduced a wealth of new players to the games aisle.

In response, a huge number of

Toy World 28

companies also jumped into the Games market, when previously they had no presence in it. The category was flooded with new products, many of which were very gimmicky action/reaction games, and consumers reached saturation point. Since that Pie Face peak, a number of manufacturers have found it hard to compete and have ultimately walked away, which has left the ground clear again for those that were always there. The strongest brands, such as Drumond’s Articulate, have been a mainstay throughout.”

Mary continues: “Look at the Family Games category, which is very hard to break into. There’s Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictionary, all decades old but still going strong. Kids Games remains the easiest way to enter the marketplace, while it’s very difficult to be successful in Adult Games. You have to invest a tonne of money to do well. Media costs are very high, and it takes time to bed in. You can launch a kids’ game and be successful with it in one year. Tomy launched a game called Fill Your Pants in 2020, a relatively low cost-of-entry game with limited tooling which was TV advertised, simple to play, and available at an attractive price point. It completely sold out. Adult games are a completely different kettle of fish. While there’s not necessarily a tooling cost, there’s a very heavy A&P costs due to the slow build. It’s an ask in the current retail environment for stores to stick long enough with an adult game for it to bed in properly. It can take two or three years. But if you have a successful Adult or Family game on your hands, such as Articulate or Logo (or Monopoly or Scrabble) then they’ll be a games powerhouse for a long time, particularly if you can get it into stores internationally. Look at all the variations of Monopoly that are available. That’s the beauty of a successful game. We’ve got Articulate Christmas, Articulate For Kids, Articulate Fame – you can really start to push that brand out further each year. It’s just getting there first that’s the challenge.”

As mentioned at the start of this piece, current forecasts suggest Tomy’s 2021 Games performance will be even better than 2020. Since April, the company has seen a shift away from online and back into bricks & mortar retailers, and some of Tomy’s non-games brand have enjoyed an unexpectedly strong start to the year as a result. Indies have thrown all the support they have behind Britains, for example, Tomy’s replica tractor and farming brand, meaning that the brand’s 100th anniversary year should be its best yet. In fact, Tomy’s indie business across the entire portfolio has recently overtaken all its other customers, a testament to the importance, dedication and experience of this group of retailers – and why companies shouldn’t hesitate to support the independent sector. Campaigns calling on consumers to support their local businesses and visit their nearest high streets will almost certainly ramp up again for Christmas, meaning the coming months could (and should) be very good indeed.

“I saw a report the other day that said 26% of all UK sales across all industries are currently made online,” notes Mary. “That’s more than in previous years, though it’s reduced since the height of the pandemic.

It’s very convenient to buy online. There are clearly certain types of retailer finding it hard at the moment, such as some department stores. We don’t know what the retail landscape will end up looking like, but Tomy will always support a broad number of retailers and retains a very strong independent retail base. We’d hate to ever be in a situation where we need to depend on just one or two retailers. It’s good to have a diverse retail base in the same way it’s good to have a diverse portfolio – you spread the risk that way. And for us, this approach is definitely paying off.”

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Company Profile

What’s in

a game?

In January 2015, Exploding Kittens – a card game designed by Elan Lee, Shane Small and Matthew Inman from The Oatmeal - made history by becoming both the most backed project in Kickstarter history, meeting its $10,000 goal in just 20 minutes. Six and a half years later, Exploding Kittens is a respected games publisher with a raft of unique titles to its name and big plans for the future. Rachael Simpson-Jones sat down with Joeri Hoste, general manager international, to find out more about the company’s approach to the Games category and what 2022 has in store.

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oming into 2021, Exploding Kittens’ major focus was on expanding its portfolio, which comprises the Exploding Kittens franchise, the Throw Throw franchise, Tacocat Spelled Backwards and games including A Little Wordy, Poetry for Neanderthals, You’ve Got Crabs, Bears for Babies and A Game of Cat & Mouth. Previously, the company was producing two, maybe three new games in a 12-month period; now, it’s staffing up on the development side with a view to ramping the release schedule up in a big way. The events that have unfolded over the past 18 months have given Exploding Kittens the momentum and financial strength to invest in product design and new talent, with +85% YOY growth in the UK in 2020 vs. 2019. And YTD until the end of July, despite initial concerns that last year’s performance couldn’t be replicated, the company finds itself enjoying a further +50% growth.

“Our performance over the past year and a half is partly due to the introduction of new titles and partly

due to the success of our existing games,” explains Joeri. “For many years, Exploding Kittens was our No.1 game and franchise, but Throw Throw Burrito, another Kickstarter success story launched in 2019, has now taken the No.1 spot at retail. It’s a higher price point, so it drives higher overall value sales, but it also delivers the numbers on units too. Although these games have been great for us, we still see the opportunity to grow. Each season, we see our unit performance and selection come on leaps and bounds, and it’s been a great first half of the year.”

Connecting people through play lies at the heart of all game development. By diversifying its portfolio, Exploding Kittens is also discovering new ways to do just that, via innovation and twists on its gameplay.

Unique 2-player word games A Little Wordy, a sneaky, tile-unscrambling word game for would-be word wizards, and Tacocat Spelled Backwards, a fun combination of strategy, luck and instinct, launched earlier this year when lockdowns were still in effect, and bored couples and housemates were seeking

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fresh entertainment. Both have proved exceptionally popular since arriving on the market.

Exploding Kittens has also moved into the licensing space with the release of Exploding Minions, based on Illumination’s smash-hit franchise, which is distributed by Universal Pictures. Far from slapping the licence over the top of its predecessor and calling it a day, the company has delved deep into the animated property to bring fans reimagined artwork by The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman, as well as completely new card types that reflect the Minions universe. Joeri says Exploding Minions has performed fantastically since being introduced in June.

Company Profile

“The introduction of 2-player word games and our move into the licensing space represent two of the ways we’re enhancing our portfolio, while still bringing people together over a game,” Joeri says. “Licensing helps us to expand our target audience, and so far, it’s been a hugely positive move for us. We’re now exploring other opportunities in this space; we really feel that carefully selected properties will help us add even more innovative twists to our game franchises, which will bring in new players and offer something different to existing ones too.”

Digital gaming also forms a chunk of the Exploding Kittens portfolio, with an Exploding Kittens premium app and the free-to-play Kitty Letter app currently available on IOS and Android, and a Nintendo Switch version of Exploding Kittens out too.

As mentioned at the start of this piece, Exploding Kittens emerged on the Games scene via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, which allows members of the general public to fund projects that inspire them. To this day, the Exploding Kittens Kickstarter remains the most backed project in the platform’s history, something Joeri considers a huge privilege and is incredibly proud of. Although this was nearly seven years ago, the company hasn’t forgotten its roots, or the fact that consumers paved the way for the success it enjoys today with their own money.

Joeri says this element of Exploding Kittens’ heritage remains front of mind throughout games development, and that every effort is made to connect with its community throughout the process. The company has a responsibility to its community, which is evolving all the time. To not build on its portfolio or explore new avenues would be to let its fans down, so keeping a high level of engagement is crucial. The community is consulted on gameplay, value perception, packaging concepts and much more via email marketing, website feedback and social media.

“We are fortunate in that we have a very broad player community, from younger children to adults and everyone in between,” Joeri adds. “Having a strong relationship with your end-users is key and, as we grow and expand, the focus will be on maintaining this just the same way we always have.”

Players familiar with Exploding Kittens’ games will know that they offer decidedly unique gameplay.

Every title is shot through with light-hearted, quirky humour, combined with a level of strategy that offers repeat playability and a truly engaging, competitive experience. Exploding Kittens also goes to great lengths to ensure its games provide something completely different to what else is available in the games market, whether that’s hurling weaponised avocados at your opponent, walloping them with an inflatable club, or wrapping your head around a palindrome-powered tug-of-war to win possession of a cat who is also a taco. Putting players in a position they’ve not been in before, Joeri tells me, leads to some very memorable experiences for people of all ages.

Currently Exploding Kittens works directly with Amazon while Esdevium Games, t/a Asmodee UK, serves the rest of the UK market. As of 2022, Exploding Kittens will be starting to build direct relationships with UK national retailers, while Asmodee UK will focus on indies and a number of other key accounts.

Nationals have been instrumental to the company’s success thus far. In the US, where Exploding Kittens currently deals directly with nationals, the assortment of games on offer at major stores continues to grow season after season, and the goal is to replicate the figures seen across the pond in our domestic market.

The focus will be on building brand awareness for its games and providing retailers with higher levels of support and new initiatives.

“Asmodee UK has been a tremendous partner for us,” enthuses Joeri. “We’re very grateful for all the support it has offered us over the past few years; in fact, Asmodee UK has supported us from the moment we landed in the UK following our Kickstarter success. Moving forward, Asmodee will remain a major partner for us, not just with Asmodee UK in the UK but also worldwide with other members of the Asmodee Group. However, building our own direct relationships with nationals

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is the next logical step in our growth; we’re reaching a certain size, growing from a company that has a couple of popular games to a publisher with 15+ different titles, licensing deals and expanding franchises. Off the back of two years’ strong growth under a UK distribution model, the time is right to make the next move. We’re having conversations with retailers in a way that allows us to anticipate their needs and the needs of their customers, and to build out the bricks & mortar retail support in the same way we have in the US.” Joeri adds: “A lot of people on the outside still look at us as a publisher that’s had some success in a niche part of the Games market, but that’s just not the case anymore. In the US, a lot of our business comes via mass-market retail, while UK NPD figures from December had us in the Top 50 Toys and Games companies for the month, and we were the No.2 card game too.”

Marketing efforts this year will centre on PR, digital and social media in the form of a robust campaign.

Exploding Kittens has invested a healthy amount in digital advertising for this year, providing strong support across all its titles, while 2022 will see things ramp up even further thanks to the extra margin unlocked by new and strengthened direct relationships with retail partners. Exploding Kittens will be building upon its franchises next year too, encouraged by the reception to Exploding Minions and Throw Throw Avocado, the latter of which was released in August.

Additions to the Exploding Kittens and Throw Throw franchises will be joined by expansions for Poetry for Neanderthals, which the company wants to transform into its third tentpole franchise. The company is also moving into new categories - a range of jigsaw puzzles is on its way. These will most likely see limited distribution this year, but both the offering and the marketing support behind it will be dramatically increased for 2022. This year also marked the first external acquisition for the company, with the popular, fast-paced card game Happy Salmon, from North Star Games, joining the portfolio. Designed by Quentin Weir and game developer Ken Gruhl, who has since joined the Exploding Kittens team as senior game designer, the company is reimagining Happy Salmon with an Exploding Kittens twist and will be re-releasing the game this November.

At the same time, Exploding Kittens is bolstering its team. Joeri is currently hiring for the international team, with a marketing manager to support the company’s initiatives top of the agenda. The product development team is growing too. In a far cry from its earliest days, when Elan Lee and Matt Inman designed each title themselves, Exploding Kittens now boasts 15 talented designers. If one thing is clear, it’s that this company has its sights set on big things – and 2022 could just be its most explosive year yet.

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Games & Puzzles

Asmodee 01420 593 593 | www.asmodee.co.uk With demand for family entertainment showing no signs of slowing down, Asmodee’s catalogue of board games for the coming months offers something for every retailer and every budget.

The company’s Family Games collection brings together the company’s most exciting bestsellers including the Sock Game, in which two teams rummage around inside an oversized sock, searching for a variety of objects using only their sense of touch. This hilarious dexterity game puts all players on an equal playing field and has already proved to be a huge hit.

Another instant success for Asmodee is BrainBox Harry Potter, a highprofile licensed edition of the millions-selling educational game. Built upon the proven BrainBox mechanics, in which players have 10 seconds to study a card before answering questions to see how much they can remember about it, this version tests memory and knowledge of the hit film adaptations of JK Rowling’s books. Featuring stills from the movies, this quick-playing card game is ideal for fans of the series as well as a fun and travel-friendly way to develop memory and reading skills.

Asmodee’s flagship Dobble brand continues to go from strength to strength as it enjoys its biggest year yet for new licensed editions of the top-selling game of speedy observation. Dobble Pixar, Dobble Paw Patrol, Dobble Marvel Emoji and Dobble Minions have all already hit shelves this year, and there are more launches to come. The image-matching card game has teamed up with several of the country’s biggest football clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, for special editions.

2021 has brought the opportunity to celebrate some of Asmodee’s most enduringly popular Modern Classics. Ticket to Ride Europe marked its 15th anniversary with a definitive collector’s edition, while Carcassonne is soon to release an eagerly awaited 20th anniversary set, while the upcoming Catan 3D offers the most vivid and inviting edition yet of the iconic game as it celebrates 25 years of success.

Another iconic Asmodee title is set to debut a new edition with the release of Pandemic: Hot Zone - Europe. A streamlined version of the pioneering cooperative game which can be played within half an hour, it tasks players to work together to contain a viral outbreak.

PlayMonster 01628 488944 | www.interplayuk.com | trade@playmonster.co.uk In the revamped classic edition of 5 Second Rule, the pressure is on in this fastpaced and frenzied family game. Players attempt to say three things in 5 seconds or less and risk ridiculous answers slipping out as the new electronic timer counts down to an alarming buzz. There are chances to duck the question or challenge opponents by using Switch or Pass On cards too, but all players race to reach the finish first. The game, which is suitable for ages 8+, will benefit from its biggest integrated marketing campaign to date across TV, digital, PR and radio.

Orangutwang is a fun, yet nerve-wracking, game where players take turns to hang fruit and jungle friends on the orangutan. However, at some point the orangutan will be holding too much and will spring up, sending everything flying. The fun is suitable for ages 4+.

For player aged 8+, Silly Sounds is the new family party game where listening is key as players try to guess, and make, the silly sound stuck on their headband.

Drone Home is the first ever game to feature a real drone. Players launch aliens down the ramp, attempting to land them inside the drone and once inside, the drone lifts off and the aliens can flee to safety. However, while the drone is preparing to fly, other players can sabotage the mission by knocking aliens out with their own. Suitable for ages 8+, the goal is to be the first to get all aliens safely home.

For younger players, PlayMonster is launching a selection of games all designed to encourage hand/eye co-ordination. Off The Rails is a great game of tension and speed in which Ted the Tortoise has fallen asleep and is heading for an unfinished section of track. Players have to lay new track fast enough to prevent him coming off the rails.

In Whose Nest?, Crafty Croc has stolen all the eggs and it’s down to the players to return all the eggs to their correct nests, while in Flippity Frog, Mummy frog must successfully carry her froglets on her back across the pond, leaping from lily pad to lily pad. Each lily pad reveals the next step she can take and the first player to return four froglets safely home wins. These three pre-school games will all be supported by a PR and digital campaign.

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Games & Puzzles

Golden Bear Toys 01952 608 308 | www.goldenbeartoys.com customerservices@goldenbeartoys.co.uk Golden Bear has expanded its range of hugely successful Trapped Escape Room Game Packs with the launch of three exciting new games.

The new game packs - The Zoo, Mission to Mars and Flight 927 – launched to rave reviews in June, and each has unique content and back-story that brings all the fun of an escape room into a thrilling game pack suitable for families with children aged 8+ .

There are three different levels to choose from. As the easiest of the levels, The Zoo is the ideal game to play with younger children, before progressing to the medium-level Mission to Mars or harder Flight 927 for teens through to adults.

Designed by real escape-room experts, these family-friendly are designed to get everyone up and about solving puzzles and having fun. The first series of Trapped launched in July 2020 and was an instant success.

Each game contains everything needed to turn any room into an escape room.

Players put the pack contents on walls and surfaces in a room of choice and then either work together, or compete, to crack the clues, solve the puzzles – and ultimately escape.

The new games are supported by a robust PR, social and digital campaign.

University Games 020 7254 0100 | www.university-games.co.uk Launching at this year’s Autumn Fair and joining the ever-popular and best-selling Harry Potter Wizarding World 3D Puzzle series, are three new spell-binding 3D Puzzle Models. The magical home of the Weasley Family, the Burrow 3D Puzzle will be joined by the transforming Knight Bus and Hagrid’s Hut. These fantastically detailed 3D Puzzles can be assembled without tools or scissors and make a brilliant gift for any Harry Potter fan.

Quicksand and Eye Opener are just two of the fun-packed new additions to the children’s games portfolio. Quicksand is a game of slip, slide and sink as players use their shrinking playing pieces to race through the jungle to get them, or whatever remains left of them, to the finish camp. Eye Opener, the hidden picture guessing game is great entertainment for the whole family, where players use the fun lever to slowly open the eye to reveal the hidden picture.

There are also new and on trend board games joining University Games’ family and adult games range. Autocorrect is a hilarious modern-day game perfect for those who can relate to sending that text too quickly, where players have to decipher some brilliantly autocorrected messages. There is also Five Star Review to draw out inner critics and AntiMonopoly, the real-estate trading game for the 21st Century as well as Judge Your Friends, a party game full of questions that players might just not want to know the answer to. A new series of strategy games is arriving this autumn, perfect for testing the grey matter: Pathagon, Quadefy and Eternas.

Q4 is a favourite time of the year for Murder Mystery parties and the evergreen Murder Mystery titles from University Games have been given a new contemporary look. Players will enjoy the same great content that has been entertaining friends and family for years, but in a new Millennial and Gen Z style. Adding to the strong Murder Mystery range are two new Case Files, Mile High and Chef’s Knife as well as four new Murder Mystery Puzzles, The Orient Express, Murder on the Nile, Murder on the Underground and The Art of Murder, which includes a large ‘murder board’ puzzle and lots of physical evidence including five smaller evidence puzzles to help solve the case.

The University Games Puzzle range was a huge hit in 2020 and new additions in 2021 include two new 1,000 piece puzzles in the top-selling Beatles puzzle range; Let it Be and the Ultimate Beatles Collage puzzle. This autumn, a new Beatles Christmas puzzle will also be available alongside a new Mindfulness and Impossibles series of puzzles.

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Games & Puzzles

Tomy 01392 281927 | www.tomy.com Tomy has several new introductions to its games portfolio for this year, building on the company’s established ranges.

An all-or-nothing team game full of noise and laughter, CoOperate is the wilder, more collaborative cousin of the much-loved Articulate.

To play, the whole team must collaborate to predict, in just 30 seconds, how many words they can shout out that meet the CoOperate card challenge.

As soon as they have predicted their score, they turn the timer - but if they don’t reach that number they will score nothing.

The CoOperate game challenges come in four categories: List Play, Describe Play, Word Play and Link Play, making it ideal for parties and families with teenagers.

There is also a bonus dice that can land on its faces or its corners, adding more excitement to every throw.

CoOperate is suitable for ages 12 years plus.

In Word Fever, players are given one topic and one letter and need to quickly find a word that matches.

But with stressful sounds to throw team players off and just 12 seconds to answer, it is down to who can give the fastest response. The game uses artificial intelligence and can adapt for players of all skills to play together.

The faster the player answers, the more points they score. There are 3,000 questions available, and the game is suitable for ages 7 years plus.

The Magic Oven Baking Board Game provides an exciting race around the kitchen; players simply move across the board to make pies and then ‘bake’ them in the magic oven by turning the cooking pot on the stove. Upon opening the oven, players will be amazed as the pie transforms from the ingredients to a baked, deliciously sweet-smelling apple pie, complete with a golden pie crust.

But they must beware of the hazards around the kitchen - if the player drops their pies, or it burns in the oven, they need to start all over again. The Magic Oven Baking Board Game is suitable for ages 5 years plus.

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Mattel 01628 500 000 | www.mattel.com Mattel Games continues to strengthen its games portfolio with an extensive offering, introducing new lines alongside iconic favourites, and adding licences into the mix.

This year, Uno celebrates its 50th Anniversary with new products and exciting campaigns. Joining the range this autumn is the new Uno Extreme, bringing even more action, suspense and surprise to the well-loved game.

Following the continued incredible performance of Pictionary Air in 2020, Mattel Games is expanding the range with new Pictionary Air Harry Potter.

A magical twist on the classic family drawing game, two teams, representing different Hogwarts houses, battle it out to see who will reign supreme. Players take turns drawing clues in the air while their teammates guess the images that appear on screen, and the team with the most points wins the house cup.

New to Scrabble this autumn/winter is the Scrabble Star Wars Edition. Players can play classic Scrabble or try out Galaxy mode and build words to advance their starship token around the board, collecting Galaxy Cards to increase their score and striking back at their opponents. Players can jump through hyperspace by playing words from the Star Wars glossary.

Joining Whac-a-Mole in Mattel’s Kids Games range is Crossed Signals, a new reaction-based electronics game, where players need to read the lights correctly or get mixed up. Players choose one of four different games, either playing solo or with friends.

Utilising light and voice commands, the Crossed Signals game will get players on their feet to challenge speed and accuracy – including a duelling showdown where two players each take a stick. The player with the highest score wins, and up to four players can enjoy the frenzied game of lights and action.

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Games & Puzzles

Toynamics 0116 478 5230 | www.toynamics.co.uk Toynamics UK & Ireland offers a wide choice of Hape puzzles in a variety of sizes, shapes and levels of difficulty for two-to-five year olds. All are designed to encourage ageappropriate critical thinking, hand/eye coordination and dexterity, ensuring that puzzling is fun.

Children can learn more about the planets with the Hape Solar System Puzzle, an out-of-this-world puzzle featuring solid-wood planet pieces, a glowing LED sun and a poster with all the planet names.

The Hape Animated City Puzzle is a large 49-piece cityscape with a magic card camera viewer that creates animated effects as children move across the completed puzzle picture.

The Hape Chunky Clock Puzzle gives children a bright and entertaining introduction to telling the time, while for younger children, the fun and colourful Hape Farm Animal Puzzle and Play encourages children to learn about where each animal feels at home.

For on-the-go, a new collection of Hape games in a tin includes Free Kick, 2-in-1 Tic Tac Toe + Snakes & Ladders, Magnetic Funny Face and Gone Fishin’, at a great entry price point.

Toynamics provides marketing support for all brands and in store product promotion is also available.

Exploding Kittens (31) 646 437 146 | www.explodingkittens.com Joeri@explodingkittens.com Exploding Kittens has announced the expansion of its two most successful franchises with the release of Throw Throw Avocado and Exploding Kittens: Recipes for Disaster. Throw Throw Avocado joins the wildly popular Throw Throw line-up as the latest dodgeball card game, while Recipes for Disaster introduces a collection of 13 new ways to play the original explosive card game. Additionally, Exploding Kittens enters new territory with the addition of jigsaw puzzles featuring original art by The Oatmeal and Exploding Kittens team that includes beloved kittens and other characters from the Exploding Kittens franchises.

Best for players ages seven and up, Throw Throw Avocado is the standalone sequel to Exploding Kittens’ Throw Throw Burrito, the world’s first dodgeball card game.

As the company’s highest grossing individual game in 2020, Exploding Kittens expanded on Throw Throw Burrito with a game that features new gameplay, new battle cards and a secret bonus game that unlocks when fans combine Throw Throw Avocado with Throw Throw Burrito. Just like the first game in the Throw Throw franchise, it provides a twist to traditional gameplay by combining dodgeball and card-based play and giving players of all ages the chance to throw squishy avocados at their friends and family.

Expanding on the Exploding Kittens franchise, Recipes for Disaster is the ultimate collection of favourite cards from the entire Exploding Kittens library in one box. Both new fans and experienced Exploding Kittens players can use the Recipe Booklets inside to play Exploding Kittens in brand new ways, such as a two-minute version of the game, or the most brutal version of the game ever created. Recipes for Disaster also includes an all-new Cone of Shame; a humansized turn indicator worn around the neck during gameplay to punish players who forget whose turn it is. Recipes for Disaster is the seventh rendition in the Exploding Kittens franchise, which also includes Exploding Minions, a family-friendly spinoff featuring fun illustrations of Minions as imagined by The Oatmeal.

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SJD Games 01296 583 315 | www.2way.games

SJD Games is set to hit the UK market with its exciting new 2 Way range of games, all offering strategic, educational and action-packed family fun.

The first two games to launch in May will be 2 Way Words and 2 Way Shapes, followed by four Expansion Packs introducing new themes that will appeal to a wide range of players; Animals, Flags, Numbers and Directions. This fun range offers a totally new gameplay concept which SJD Games feels will revolutionise the market. The gameplay can be adapted for younger players too, so the whole family, from ages 6-106, can enjoy playing it together.

2 Way Words is a duel between two players or teams, in which wordsmiths try to create three, four, five or six letter words while disrupting their opponent’s attempts to do the same thing. Words can be made horizontally, vertically and diagonally, and once made will dramatically change the gameplay dynamics; the completed word is removed and added to the tray, a move likely to spoil the other player’s progress and strategy. The winner is the first player to fill their word tray.

2 Way Shapes will appeal to a different mass market, with players battling it out to create various shape and colour combinations. A successful run of three, four, five or six shapes or colours will see those tiles added to tray, disrupting opponents’ efforts.

The 2 Way Games brand has been ingeniously developed so each of the four Expansion Packs can be used on the same battle grid, thereby offering customers great value and gameplay choices across a highly innovative and exciting games range.

Animated YouTube video sizzlers bring the games to life for consumers wanting to find out more about the rules and gameplay.

For more information, contact Shaun Delaney: info@2way.games.

Rascals www.rascals.uk.com | info@rascals.uk.com Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel has been a huge success for BBC One. The first series had one of the highest launches for an entertainment show in a decade, with a peak audience of 6.8m, and an average audience of 5.8m, which is well above the BBC One entertainment average - and above the average for that timeslot across all channels. The Wheel will be back for a full second series in November.

Based upon the hit show, the new board game from Rascals features a large 20cm mechanical spinning wheel with a push down button that works much like a spinning top. The object of the game is to be the first player or team to complete their own Wheel by correctly answering a question from each of the seven chosen categories. Play then moves to the End Game, where one final question stands in the way of victory. However, success depends on the spin of The Wheel; the red space leaves players Shutdown and thrown off The Wheel, while the gold space rewards players an easier ride through the category.

With a vast array of question categories including Science, Movies, Sport, TV, Superheroes, Video Games, History and Social Media, the 570 questions included cater for a variety of ages from 10 years to adult.

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Games & Puzzles

Flair 0208 643 0320 | www.flairplc.co.uk | sales@flairplc.co.uk From a talking toilet to a stacking game with a difference, Flair’s autumn/winter games portfolio is one not to be missed.

Combining all the things that young children (and easily amused adults) love, Shoot the Poop is sure to be a family favourite. In this hilarious game, players must shoot their toy poops into a talking toilet bowl called Tank the Toilet. Players simply place the poop on the poop launcher, aim and shoot, with the winner being the first player to shoot all of his/ her poops into the toilet. Shoot the Poop will launch in the UK, following an incredible consumer response in the US. Available from October, the game will benefit from extensive marketing support, including TV, pre-roll and influencer activity.

There’s more family fun with another new game for this year: Pick-Up Pete. This stacking game with a difference has already proved popular in the US. Perfect for preschoolers, players must pile up the chairs while Pete the Pick-Up truck drives around. The winner of the game is the first person to stack all his/her coloured chairs on the truck as Pete passes by. The game will launch in July, with a 360-degree marketing campaign, including TV, pre-roll and influencer activity.

Finally, following the drama and excitement of the recent Euros football competition and with the World Cup tournament set to place next year, Flair is bringing to market football inspired card game, Goal 10, that is sure to be right on target.

Spin Master 01628 535 000 | www.spinmastertoys.co.uk Spin Master has a wide selection of games and puzzles for everyone in the family to enjoy. Refreshed versions of popular family games Hedbanz and Beat the Parents are hitting stores this year with exciting upgrades for even better play, including Hedbanz Blastoff which features the added element of time pressure.

Spin Master has also recently partnered with several popular entertainment properties to produce a wide range of movie-inspired games, including Harry Potter Catch The Snitch, and a deluxe version of the classic Jumanji game with a new electronic video centrepiece and immersive jungle sounds.

For younger games fans, Spin Master has a comprehensive range of Paw Patrol themed games such as Paw Patrol Movie Adventure City Game and the Paw Patrol Pop Up Game that each feature characters from the Paw Patrol television series and the new feature length film.

Also on offer is a selection of great puzzles including the Perplexus Beast and the Perplexus Rebel. These puzzles are perfect for challenging dexterity and patience as children and adults alike put their skills to the test while manoeuvring tricky obstacles like the laughing man, tight rope and super spiral without falling off the track.

Tel: 01903 885669

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www.smart.be

Games & Puzzles

Cartamundi 01268 511 522 | www.cartamundi.com Cartamundi has new releases this autumn/winter including the Disney 2-in-1 Board Game Advent Calendar. Behind each window lies a puzzle piece which, when put together, builds a board game at the end of Advent, complete with 16 3D figures, dice and additional games.

Following the acquisition of USPC in 2019, Cartamundi has launched the Bicycle range of playing cards. Bicycle Playing Cards have been a best-selling playing card brand in the world for more than 130 years. The cards are made with an Air Cushion Finish embossing technique which allows the cards to glide smoothly over each other.

Cartamundi’s Shuffle brand also continues to grow as the portfolio expands with the new Shuffle Junior range.

Leading the range in the card games is the Into The Wild range that brings together the world of animals and learning for pre-schoolers.

As the popularity of the kidult market shows no signs of abating, the company also has high hopes for a number of UK Inventor games that target the 16+ market. FAQ is a party game that gives answers and players have to come up with the funniest, most awkward or insulting questions imaginable to win. Unpopular Opinions is a party game where players dare to say what they really think and second guess what the general public will say. Not’chyo Nacho is a frenzied trading and matching card game where players trade nacho chips with others to match the toppings on their nachos, while Grab a Pizza That is a fast-paced game where players hatch plans, match cards and snatch pizza.

The company also has distribution rights for the games Twisted History, which takes players on a journey through seven twisted eras of history, answering multiple choice questions about forgotten events, and Live TV quiz show board game Outsmarted, which features up-to-the-minute content and was a Kickstarter smash, selling over 40k games in December. With remote play capabilities and smart game AI, players can play friends and family wherever they are and tailor questions to a player’s age.

Hasbro 0208 569 1234 | www.hasbro.co.uk Hasbro Gaming continues to bring innovation to its classic games this Q4 with the launch of Monopoly Crooked Cash and Trivial Pursuit Decades 2010 to 2020.

In the Monopoly Crooked Cash game, things aren't always as they seem. Someone has added fake cash and fake Chance cards but, with Mr. Monopoly’s decoder, players can find the fakes and still make a fortune. It's an exciting game of hidden reveals, where players get to challenge their opponents for using fakes with accusation coins, which need to be used wisely as they each get only a few coins to play. The game includes Monopoly tokens that play up the deceptive theme, and the player with the most money at the end - real or fake - wins.

Aimed at adults and teens with a love of trivia, the new Trivial Pursuits Decade 2010-2020 gives players a chance to put all their streaming, scrolling and sharing to the test with questions about bingeworthy shows, chart-topping hits, major headlines, hilarious memes and more from 2010 to 2020. The Trivial Pursuit Decades 2010 to 2020 board game features pop culture trivia questions from six categories, including Playlist, Bingeworthy, Culture, News Alert, Break the Internet and Game On. Friends and families can play individually or in teams and get ready to show their knowledge of pop culture from the 2010s with 1800 trivia questions on 300 cards.

In addition, Hasbro continues to support its much-loved original classic board games including Monopoly, Cluedo, Guess Who and Twister, offering the perfect mix of games to keep families and kids entertained during the winter.

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Games & Puzzles

Character Options 0161 633 9800 | www.character-online.com sales@charactergroup.plc.uk New for autumn/winter 21 is Stop The Robots, a game set in a world where crazy robots are threatening the city and players must find and deactivate them before it’s too late. Players use voice recognition walkie-talkies to talk to their virtual partner and work together to identify the robot, solve the puzzles and cut the correct wires. There are more than 100 puzzles to solve to progress through the game’s 36 missions and nine levels, and players can either play alone or as part of a team.

Projex is a projecting game arcade, which tests players’ speed and skill as they blast moving targets projected onto any light-coloured wall, all from the comfort of their own home, and without the need for TV screens or sensors. The game features three interchangeable image slides that let players project ducks, targets or UFOs, each with different sound effects. Players can choose from five built-in games and three skill levels, with target pointers on both blasters to help with their aim. They can either play solo, head-to-head or in co-op mode, teaming up to get the highest combined score.

In Electronic Spin the Bottle, players must dare to perform songs and dances, or answer truths to reveal what they really think. The game features hundreds of questions, truths and dares to create the ultimate family challenge game.

Ravensburger 01869 363 830 | www.ravensburger.com Games make up around one third of Ravensburger’s total UK business, and it has heavyweight marketing plans in place from September through to the end of this year on a number of its new releases and classic lines.

One of the new launches is the Upside Down Challenge Game, where players put on goggles and complete tasks with everything upside down. The game is suitable for all the family and is being supported by a dedicated PR campaign plus social media, TV/YouTube advertising and influencer video content.

A refreshed anniversary version of the classic Labyrinth family game will also be launched to celebrate 35 years of global success. With over 20m games sold, its popularity continues to grow, and the new edition will be supported with digital and TV media spend.

In Ravensburger’s new children’s game, Cat and Mouse, players compete to collect five pieces of cheese without being caught out by Max the cat and his sneaky paw. This will also be supported with marketing spend at peak family viewing times.

Another of its children’s games, Funny Bunny, celebrates 20 years and has been given a packaging refresh. A great game for young minds that enjoy board games, players try to reach the top of the hill while dodging moles, sinking holes and pop-up bridges.

Ravensburger’s immersive games continue to grow in popularity and new launch Alien: Fate of the Nostromo brings the sci-fi movie to life in a challenging board game with two phases.

The puzzles business also continues to grow and there are new additions to the adult range with new piece counts, as well as designs with larger pieces.

Ravensburger has also launched Puzzle Moments, created for those looking a quick puzzle fix, and all Ravensburger puzzles are marketed year-round with both PR and digital campaigns.

Ravensburger’s Christmas special is a sell-out every year and has been produced as a limited edition for 25 consecutive years. This year’s design is a stunning Christmas House, designed by one of the company’s regularly commissioned British artists.

The company’s children’s licensed range has continued to grow, with the business now holding almost all the top licences. Over the past 18 months it has performed incredibly with the newly launched Bluey and CoComelon lines exceeding all sales expectations.

The Ravensburger 3D puzzles range continue to grow, and this year’s showcase launch is the 3D Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle which, when puzzled together, is a showpiece in its own right. The 3D globes for both adults and children also continue to be popular, along with the vehicles.

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Card games / Educational games/ Puzzle games.

Tel: 07913187783

Email: pjc777portrait@gmail.com

www.games-toysportrait.co.uk

Games & Puzzles

Mookie Toys 01525 722 769 | www.mookie.co.uk This year, Mookie Toys has a selection of new launches that the whole family can play together.

Happy Hamsters is an entirely modular marble track system that allows players to build unique and crazy designs giving hours of entertainment, day after day. Happy Hamsters has been designed to get children’s thinking caps on and inspire imaginative play. The easy to build tracks may require a little help from an adult, but children can provide all of the creative direction. The range will be supported with a strong, TV-led marketing campaign alongside paid activity on YouTube. Happy Hamsters is also featured across social media with a fun and extensive influencer campaign featuring both paid and gifted activity.

Another new release from Mookie is Axetreme, a fun, interactive game throwing lightweight axes at an electronic target, which can be played among friends or alone. Again, there will be marketing across TV and social media channels.

Noise Pollution launched this spring and is a card focused game with a loud twist. Players aim to win the game by seeing who gets the most laughs from their opponent, waiting to see what sound the speaker plays and using their most fitting cards to match to the funny sound. Noise Pollution will be supported by social and influencer campaigns with a focus on TikTok. Buzzer Beater is a five second naming game, inspired by the popular TikTok Challenge. Players have to get their thinking caps on and try to talk as fast as they can to beat the buzzer. To play the game, players look at the category on their card, the spinner decides the category letter and how many they have to name, then the pressure begins when the five second buzzer starts ticking.

Vivid Goliath 01483 449944 | www.vividtoysandgames.co.uk Goliath Games is launching 11 new games for A/W 2021 to join its ever-increasing portfolio. Categories such as kids and family games are going from strength to strength, along with an expansion across the board into party and strategy games.

Since its launch, The Floor is Lava has been a sell-out success with consumers and it has received top plaudits from celebrity influencers, including Billie Faiers and LadBaby Mum, which has laid the foundations for a strong A/W period. It was also featured in a dedicated video posted on the Ryan’s World YouTube channel.

Making a welcome return to the Goliath Games range this Christmas are Pop the Pig (formerly Pig Goes Pop) featuring its largest-ever pig; Doggie Doo, in a new Corgi edition; the wonderfully gruesome Gooey Louie and the classic game of Triominos Deluxe.

One of Goliath Games’ perennial success stories is Sequence and this year there are a host of new formats available to make the game perfect for any occasion, including Travel, Premium and Jumbo editions. There is also the first-ever licensed version of the game with Sequence Harry Potter edition.

The company has bolstered its adult party range with titles such as Unsolved Case Files, the game that puts players in the shoes of a cold case detective, tasked with solving the decades-old murder of either Harmony Ashcroft or Jamie Banks.

Players need to work through police documents, including crime scene photographs, suspect statements and witness testimony to work out who is responsible for the crimes.

Family games include Skid Markz, which is equally funny and gross. Players drag the sitting dog across the page, using his behind to draw the subject on their card while everyone tries to guess what it is.

Another exciting addition is Double Ditto, a party game which has already launched in the US where the more players agree in their answers to open ended questions, the more they score. For the ultimate generational trivia game, Battle of the Ages pits old school versus new school and tests who knows more about each other’s generation - boomers or millennials.

There are also innovative new additions to Goliath Games’ TV advertised pre-school games for 2021, including Beware of the Bear and Gobble Monster which adds to the strong existing range of standout sellers such as Shark Bite, Banana Blast and Don’t Wake Dad. All games titles will benefit from dedicated TV campaigns, alongside a range of strong digital activity throughout the A/W season.

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Games & Puzzles

Hacche Retail 01242 241765 | www.gingerfox.co.uk Ginger Fox continues to see growth and great success with its range of family and party games, featuring well known licensed TV shows such as Taskmaster and Richard Osman’s House of Games, as well as its home-grown card games like Don’t be a Dik Dik. Fans of Top Gear can put their foot to the floor in the Top Gear Board Game, racing classic Top Gear vehicles around the track, completing Top Gear or fun themed challenges, pranking their fellow racers, while trying to avoid hazards and making the best upgrades to their vehicle, racing against the Stig and each other.

Players can access bonus digital functionality via a smart device to control the Stig and more.

In the classic Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Board Game, players put themselves in the hotseat and take on the iconic money ladder using only their wits and digital lifelines. The game includes 700 plus questions and access to lifelines via a smart device.

Following on from its popular PopMaster Card Game, Ginger Fox is introducing a PopMaster Board Game, based on the official PopMaster Quiz, a cornerstone of Ken Bruce’s BBC Radio 2 show for over two decades. As in the show, players answer questions based on popular music from the 1950s through to the present day and can scan the QR codes for a final ‘3 in 10’ head-to-head round, read by Ken himself.

In Ginger Fox’s new party game, Joggles, players put on vision-altering Joggles and race to complete a series of tasks with their teammate. These include throwing the ball to each other, high-fiving someone and writing their name, but none of it is easy in Joggles.

Bajillions is a party game that's all about choosing the bigger number, then going with the crowd or going against it. For example, which is bigger - the total number of Lego bricks produced in human history, or the number of stones in the first pyramid of Giza?

Memory Mayhem is a quick-thinking game of naming and remembering in which players have to memorise objects, make a mental note of the colours and numbers, but first have to answer questions, all against the clock; while in trivia card game Play Your Number, players answer trivia questions correctly to win points but can only answer using the digits from their phone number.

Bertoy (32) 03 777 0533 or 0774 815 0906 | www.bertoy.com philip@bertoy.co.uk Bertoy is launching a number of new products from its most popular brands this autumn.

From Crocodile Creek, the 52 piece Let’s Learn ABC Jumbo Floor Puzzle helps children recognise the letters and learn the alphabet.

The puzzle includes familiar objects from the world around us and provides a great introduction to literacy. Suitable for ages three years and up, each piece is printed on both sides for more ways to learn. The chunky pieces are appealing, and the puzzle is an impressive jumbo size when completed - 33"W x 22"H. Mudpuppy game I Spy With My Little Eye is based on a ‘search & find’ format, with the 12-piece Can You Spot? puzzles perfect for smaller children, who will enjoy searching to discover the five hidden pictures. These puzzles are suitable for ages two years and up.

Children can also tickle their senses with the new 60-piece Scratch & Sniff puzzles. Each puzzle contains six special pieces with three different smells (two pieces per smell) so children from age four years and up can work out whether it’s banana, sweet cotton candy or cinnamon they can sniff.

Bertoy is also introducing two new puzzle brands: firstly, the Hummingbird Australia range which consists of 1000-piece puzzles that are quirky and edgy in design, for puzzlers who like a challenge. The other is The Good Puzzle Company by Galison which, like Hummingbird, is a range of 500 and 1000-piece puzzles aimed more towards adults. The range is also good for the planet, since all puzzles are entirely made out of recycled FSC paper.

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Games & Puzzles

Funko 020 3376 3223 | www.funko.com Funko’s Marvel Battleworld: Treachery At Twilight follows the success of Marvel Battleworld: Mystery of The Thanostones, bringing even more epic play to kids and families this summer, with brand new products and new game expansions.

Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight is based on the Marvel Universe, and combines micro collectible characters, cards and gaming, allowing kids to battle with valiant heroes and brand new collectible figurines, exclusive to the game. Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight will unveil a range of must-have collectible characters from the Marvel Universe including Agent Venom, Hobgoblin and Spider-Man 2099, as well as a range of limited edition collectibles including Captain Marvel and Wanda Maximoff.

The Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight range will include a series 2 Battle Ball containing a Starting Hero, a Hero Card, Attack Die, 4 Battle Cards, Danger Tokens, a Danger Coin, 1 Thanostone and 1 Surprise Hero and Hero Card. The Mega Pack will include 3 Starting Heroes with Hero Cards, Attack Die, 13 Battle Cards, Danger Tokens, 1 Danger Coin, 2 Thanostones, and 2 Surprise Heroes and Hero Cards-as well as an exclusive Captain Marvel (2099 Disguise) and Foil Hero Card-for the ultimate showdown.

A Deluxe Upgrade Pack includes three reusable Thanostones, 14 plastic Danger Tokens, 1 collectible holo-foil Danger Coin, 1 exclusive figure and card and a Baby Groot in Spider Island Disguise which is exclusive to the Deluxe Upgrade pack.

Players can prepare for battle and re-enter the world of Marvel Battleworld with the all-new game expansion Talon Fighter: a collectible Vehicle Battle in Battleworld including an exclusive character, as well as Twilight Tower, the first ever collectible Landmark Battle in Battleworld - inviting players to join Loki’s hunt for the Twilight Sword. Marvel super-fans can also purchase the Marvel Battleworld: Treachery at Twilight Carry Case which stores up to 36 Heroes and their Hero Cards, along with dice, tokens and Battle Cards, as well as an exclusive Pork Grind figure and foil Hero Card.

IG Design Group 01908 618 811 | www.igdesigngroup.uk | info@igdesigngroup.uk.com Rainy days, school holidays, family evenings, friends over for some fun whatever the occasion there are plenty of games for all ages from IG Design Group.

Designed to bring friends and family together, there are classic games such as the ever-popular Snakes and Ladders, Draughts, Chess and Ludo and traditional games such as Who’s Left, Pop n’ Hop, Four in a Row and many more.

In Dodge the Lava, players try to move from square to square without touching the floor – if they do they are out – and the last player standing wins the game.

To play the game, each player must choose a tile to ‘stand’ on and move to the coloured square indicated by the spinner, without touching the floor. If the spinner lands on the question mark, players pick a card and read the challenge.

Once all players have moved, one tile is removed of the last colour spun until there is a winner.

In Let’s go Fishing, all players attempt to catch as many fish as possible while the game base spins, by dangling the rod into the open mouth of the fish and hoping they bite. After all the fish have been captured, each player counts how many they have caught and the player with the most fish wins.

Dino Dissection is a game of skill and nerves as players try to extract items from the dinosaur’s body with surgical tweezers without touching the edges. If they do, it will set off the buzzer, making the dino rattle and roll.

The winner is the player who extracts the most items.

Snack Hat will test both balancing skills, and appetite, through three fun-filled challenges. The object of the game is to eat as many items dangling from the Snack Hat before time runs out, through three different game play options – All You Can Eat, Blind and Like It Or Not. In All You Can Eat, the player has 30 seconds to eat as many food items dangling from the Snack Hat as they can before time runs out, while In Blind, they do the same in 60 seconds while blindfolded. In Like It Or Not mode, ‘crazy’ food items are placed on the Snack Hat with each player having 30 seconds to eat as many as they can; food items can be anything providing they are edible, such as onions, hot peppers, broccoli, or even stinky cheese. The winner is the player who has eaten the most items.

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new from exploding kittens!

THE ULTIMATE EXPLODING KITTENS GAME COLLECTION IN ONE BOX

A DODGEBALL CARD GAME

Play wild, remixed versions of the classic Exploding Kittens. Choose your game experience pick the Recipe Booklet that matches your game night or cook up your own unique Recipe.

Go head to head with your opponents collecting cards while throwing and avoiding squishy, adorable Avocados.

Play Throw Throw Avocado as a standalone sequel, or use the included bonus cards to combine it with Throw Throw Burrito to unlock a new combo game.

Games & Puzzles

Orchard Toys 01953 423 422 | www.orchardtoys.com Orchard Toys is bringing out a range of new releases, including two perfect seasonal Christmas gifts.

Orchard Toys games, jigsaws and colouring books champion ‘Learning Made Fun’ for children from the age of 18 months, perfecting the balance between educational play and fun.

2020 saw a soft launch of Orchard Toys’ very own Christmas Eve Box, which was met with exponential demand reflecting the huge customer appetite for seasonal products. Now back for a full product launch supported by a PR and Marketing campaign, the Christmas Eve Box is a great advent or Christmas Day gift for children aged 3-6 years and provides excellent value for money, featuring not only a Christmas themed shopping list style game but also a 20- piece jigsaw puzzle.

The Magical theme is a brand-new addition to the 2-piece range of jigsaws suitable for 18months + and is an enchanting collection of six puzzles which feature bold, colourful illustrations of a dragon, elf, fairy, llama, mermaid and unicorn.

Pigs in Blankets is a new addition to Orchard Toys’ mini game range. Players collect piggy pairs in the Christmas themed matching game, which is an ideal stocking filler for ages 3-7 years.

Steamforged Games 07960 653 922 | www.steamforged.com | jo@steamforged.com Sega’s famed character Sonic the Hedgehog has been brought to the tabletop by Steamforged Games in Sonic: The Card Game. Fast paced and simple to pick up and play, the new game features colourful graphics and a racing theme for families and Sonic fans aged six years and up.

Steamforged Games is passionate about delivering premium tabletop experiences and accessories, inspired by modern gaming philosophy and technology, and has been responsible for licensed games such as Dark Souls: The Card Game, Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace and Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game, Pac-Man: The Card Game and original IPs such as Godtear, Epic Encounters and Bardsung.

Sonic: The Card Game sees 2-6 players race through a new level every time they play. To win, they must collect rings, grab bonus cards and dodge enemies, and the person with the most ring tokens and lives remaining wins.

Players select their favourite character: Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, Blaze, or Shadow, and shuffle the deck. As the dealer places down cards, they build a randomly generated level for players to race through.

Each time a new card is placed, players must decide whether to keep racing to try and grab a bigger pot of rings, or to retire and collect their share of the rings and bonus cards on the table. If players keep racing, they risk running into enemies and losing lives, but must balance this risk against the chance to win more rings and bonus cards.

Sonic: The Card Game is available now.

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Games & Puzzles

Rex London 020 8746 1700 | rexlondontrade.com | info@ rexlondon.com Shortlisted for a Junior Design Award 2021, the bestselling Wild Wonders Balance Game from Rex London contains 14 wooden pieces - jungle flora and fauna - and the aim of the game is to balance them on top of each other. It’s a great way for kids to improve their hand-eye coordination and learn animal names at the same time.

The cute jungle design is bold and bright, and the game is just one of 50 products, so far, in the Wild Wonders range. It reflects a level of whimsy and fun with a retro design and glossy painted finish of the game’s wooden pieces.

Although the main aim of the game is to balance the blocks on top of each other, children can channel the spirit of Kruger National Park by using the pieces as figures in an African bush scene, or they can even be placed on a shelf to decorate a kid’s room.

While the print itself has been designed specifically for children, it has been purposefully developed to be ungendered, with the exotic animals igniting imaginations and the bright colours and beautiful finish of the balance game appealing to both boys and girls.

With UK holidaying more popular than ever, kids can be kept entertained on long car journeys, train rides or on days out with the Travel Bingo set. The game is a great way to develop children’s curiosities and observational skills, all while busting boredom. The game comes with four coloured pencils and two bingo pads - one for things to spot in the countryside, and one for things to spot around town.

Smart Toys & Games 01903 885669 | smarttoysandgames.co.uk | uk@smart.be Smart Toys and Games is unveiling two new multi-player games this autumn, Grabbit and Dragon Inferno, two exciting and highly engaging games, with innovative mechanics to entertain minds, young and old.

Launching this September, Grabbit is a game for 2-4 players, and ideal for the younger members of the family. Not only is it great fun, but the game supports the development of cognitive skills including memory, concentration, flexible thinking and problem solving - a colourful board game suitable from age 4+.

In this memory game, hungry rabbits jump around the vegetable garden, looking under leaves to uncover the hidden vegetables. Players must remember which vegetable is planted where before the underground animals take them. The winner is the first to collect all four different vegetables.

The game can grow with the family thanks to an extended expert level designed for players aged 6+, where gameplay is more challenging. In this version, the animals underground join the action; rats may steal players’ vegetables and moles allow them to take one back from their opponents.

Brand-new Dragon Inferno, suitable for players age 7+, challenges participants to strategically build the biggest kingdom in the Dragon valley. Bursting with fire-breathing dragons, the game, which is suitable for two players, stimulates key cognitive skills including spatial insight, problem solving, flexible thinking and planning. Players must battle their opponent to create the biggest kingdom and ultimately win the game by placing kingdom tiles on the game board, gathering dragon eggs, summoning dragons, and burning their opponent’s kingdom using the dragon tiles. It is an epic, exciting battle that will have players on the edge of their seat planning their next move.

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Fast family fun you’ll race through again and again

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Find out more at STEAMFORGED.com For all trade enquiries contact Toby Davies (toby@steamforged.com) Copyright © Steamforged Games Ltd. No part of this product may be reproduced without specific permission. Steamforged Games is a trademark of Steamforged Games Ltd.

®

Games & Puzzles

Toffee Hammer 01273 256232 | www.somethinglygame.com toffeehammergames.com Somethingly is the new, silly party game from Toffee Hammer, where players perform Do This! actions in a ‘Somethingly’ way for other players to guess, such as dance like you’re at a disco… suspiciously; mime drinking tea…angrily; or shake hands with someone…mysteriously. Anyone who likes charades, will enjoy Somethingly.

Included in the box are suggestions for three different types of gameplay: ‘Inclusively’ for families and mixed ability groups, ‘Rapidly’ for fastpaced team play and ‘Competitively’ for individual players.

With 250 ‘Somethingly’ cards and 150 ‘Do This!’

Cards there are over 35,000 different possible combinations, making the game one that will last a lifetime. Cards are colour coded for difficulty, making the game easy to adapt for different groups.

Games publishing is a new venture for Toffee Hammer, an established media and design agency based in East Sussex. Somethingly was created in anticipation of a demand for games to bring families together after lockdown and is the first of several games in development by the creative team.

Marketing activity for Somethingly will be focused on the run up to Christmas 2021, targeting social media, building on Toffee Hammer’s considerable strength in video production and developing viral content. It will also benefit from a PR and influencer push. Somethingly, which is available to order now, appeals to everyone who enjoys fun, performance-based games, is easy to play and can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages.

David Westnedge 020 8789 2081 | www.davidwestnedge.com | office@davidwestnedge.com Since its conception in 1979, David Westnedge has built up a successful range of playing cards, family and classic games, and jigsaw puzzles. Since taking over the Piatnik distribution nine years ago, the company has been successful in bringing this range to the attention of the public. More customers than ever before are drawn to the quality of these jigsaws as well as their unique designs, and sales are going from strength to strength.

This year, David Westnedge launched three new images with a British theme: William Morris’ Strawberry Thief, The Churchill Pub in Kensington and Banksy’s The Maid. With over 65 designs to choose from in the range there is something for everyone, including subjects featuring important artists such as Breughel, Arcimboldo, Chagall, Edward Hopper, Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Dali, Degas, Frieda Kahlo and Klimt.

Launching just in time for the festive season are a number of Christmas-themed jigsaws alongside new additions to the hugely popular beverage lines - A Taste of Gin, Story of Wine, The Brewery, Wine Auction and Beer Mats - which the British public is sure to relish. There is also a selection of humourous images by F. Ruyer.

The Piatnik collection also encapsulates designs showcasing flowers, birds, sea shells, watches and playing cards. During the past few months, David Westnedge has been able to strengthen stocks of many of the most popular titles in anticipation of what the company expects to be a bumper Christmas. Numerous consumers report that sitting down to tackle a jigsaw during the pandemic helped with mental health problems and caused the long hours of lockdown to pass more quickly, major draws that tempted new puzzlers in from far and wide.

As a result, demand for puzzles is at an all time high.

Piatnik’s SFC certification guarantees its wood-based products use materials from socially and environmentally sustainable forests. Founded in 1824, Piatnik products are available in 72 countries.

Aside from jigsaws, David Westnedge is known for its quality playing cards, which are suitable for Bridge, Cribbage, Rummy, Patience, Canasta, Brag and many more games. The company also offers a range of all-plastic cards for Poker, Blackjack and Baccarat. The handwashable cards are much longer lasting then traditional cardboard decks.

In recent years the company has added a number of family and children’s brands ideal for players aged 4-100+, including Continuo, Mr. Jack, Naga Raja, Quadrio, Kero and Rumble Pie. David Westnedge has always worked hard to bring its customers some top performing titles and has its sights firmly set on continuing this tradition, noting the support its retail partners have offered over the past 18 months. The countdown for Christmas is now on, and retailers are advised to order now while stocks are available. All orders placed before 10.00am are scheduled to be delivered to the UK mainland by DPD the next day. Certain conditions apply.

Readers wishing to be added to the company’s mailing list are advised to contact the email at the top.

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Games & Puzzles

H. Grossman 01603 397 105 | www.tobar.co.uk | sales@tobar.co.uk.

H. Grossman’s Tobar brand includes traditional games such as draughts, Snakes and Ladders and Ludo, and hilarious family games such as Poop Shoot, Poo head and Hoop Head. Exclusive to Tobar, Unicorn Race and Dinosaur Race are joined by Penguin Race this year. The animals chase each other up the escalator and scoot down the slide to win.

The best-selling Time Shock continues to be popular. The game tasks players with sorting shapes against the clock, providing frantic family fun. Snappy Shark, meanwhile, has a chomping shark at its centre. Players fill the shark's mouth with the colourful fish and then take turns to draw cards. Touching the shark comes with the risk that it might slam its jaws shut and charge at the player. Shark Attack is a similar game, which sees players touching the shark’s teeth while trying to avoid a bite.

Atmosfear is not just a board game, but an amplified experience in home entertainment enhanced by an interactive app that works across mobiles, tablets, and home entertainment systems. This revamped classic is a game of skill, strategy and suspense wrapped up in a race against time. Random selection ensures a different game every time Atmosfear is played, while spine-chilling atmospheric digital surround sound and pictures help set the scene.

Tobar also has traditional games covered. Pool, darts, table tennis and tabletop football feature alongside casino games and marbles.

A.B.Gee

01773 570 444 | www.abgee.co.uk With over 40 years’ experience in the industry, A.B. Gee has expanded its portfolio year on year to provide a comprehensive range of toys, games and puzzles to suit all ages. The company partners with many big names such as Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master, Character, Winning Moves, Tomy and many more.

A.B.Gee can also offer its own brand game cupboard must-haves, such as Chess, Ludo, Draughts and Snakes & Ladders, old fashioned classics designed in colourful and modern packaging, which are competitively priced.

A.B.Gee also offers puzzles in its exclusive ranges from Tooky Toy and Jar Melo, a large collection designed for pre-school children. Made from high quality wood and finished in bright colours, these easy grasp pieces keep young children’s vision stimulated and enhance their ability to recognise animals, numbers, fruits and vegetables. A.B.Gee is also an official distributor for Trefl, with almost 1,000 puzzles available for infants, pre-schoolers, teens and adults across all genres.

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NEW FOR 2021

AVAILABLE

OCTOBER!

01242 241765

sales@gingerfox.co.uk

www.hacche.co.uk

@gingerfox_uk

GingerFoxUK

Games & Puzzles

Amaroni 01205 260 384 www.amaroni.com Who is behind the sabotage at the Lucky Lama Land amusement park? This is what mystery fans must figure out in The Key – Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land, the third compelling case from Haba’s The Key series.

Multiple attractions at the theme park have been tampered with, and players must investigate and gather clues about the days of the crimes, perpetrators, tools and crime scenes. Who can generate the right number code and use the key to put the saboteurs behind bars?

It’s not necessarily the fastest investigator who wins the game, but the most efficient one. Great fun for the whole family, the game can be played as a group or by a single player alone. The game is varied and can unfold in multiple ways, which means aspiring crime solvers of all ages can play it again and again.

The game, which is suitable for ages eight years and up and for 1-4 players, comprises four briefcase screens, four dry-erase markers with erasers, four investigation files, nine wooden keys, one solution board and 140 cards: 86 witness statements and 54 lab cards (18 shoe print cards, 18 show ticket cards, 18 snapshot cards) and one mirror card.

Beginner level mysteries from The Key series are the perfect introduction for super sleuths everywhere. Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land and Theft in Cliffrock Villa both encourage young crime solvers to develop and work on their powers of deduction. For those looking to solve more complex mysteries, Murder at the Oakdale Club provides the ideal challenge for players to put their crime busting capabilities to the test.

Haba’s Sabotage at Lucky Llama Land has also gained recognition as one of five games to feature on the Spiel des Jahres jury’s recommended list for 2021.

Amaroni is the official distributor for Haba toys and games in the UK.

Gibsons 020 8661 8866 | www.gibsonsgames.co.uk sales@gibsonsgames.co.uk This September, Gibsons is launching four beautiful Christmas themed puzzles, as well as its special jigsaw puzzle advent calendar and a brand-new game, Out of Order.

Gibsons Christmas Around the World Jigsaw Puzzle Advent Calendar won in the Festive category for The Gift of The Year Awards 2021, and the 24-door calendar also sold out after it featured on daytime TV. Following on from its success, Gibsons is launching a Merry Mischief design this September. The theme this year is animals, and behind 22 doors is a festive jigsaw puzzle to complete in the countdown to Christmas. Behind the two remaining doors is puzzle glue and ribbon, so puzzles can be turned into beautiful hanging decorations.

Among the four Christmas puzzles is a gorgeous 500pc design, Festive Boulevard, by artist Eduard, which depicts the sun setting and a group of excited young boys looking at all the toys inside a department store. Eduard has also designed a 1000pc puzzle, Christmas Emporium, which is filled with stockings and stars, red hats and rocking horses and of course, lots of snowmen.

Festive Fireside has been lovingly created by artist David Maclean, with the scene showing that there is only one thing to do when the weather outside is frightful; cosy up next to a warm fire and have a Christmas snooze. Finally, Kevin Walsh has illustrated a seasonal snowy village scene in his 1000pc Winter Cottages.

In Gibson’s games category, latest introduction Out of Order is a trivia game with a twist. The fast-paced party game sees players whiz through just five questions a card, which are not hard to answer, but the catch is that the player must always give the answer from the question before, with hilarious results. Out of Order is suitable for 2-6 players aged 14 and over.

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BiG

PoTaTo gAmEs

CAN YOU SPOT THE SNAKE… BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE? £25 Trussst me, the answer is definitely A.

The super-simple, super-slippery party game from the creators of The Chameleon. Available now.

To get Snakesss on your shelves, contact your local account manager / reptile expert.

The North: laura@bigpotato.co.uk The South: hannah@bigpotato.co.uk

Perfect for sneaky stocking-fillers!

Games & Puzzles

Coiledspring Games 020 3301 1160 | www.coiledspring.co.uk Jigsaw puzzles continue to be a popular staple in the market and Schmidt is bringing out a range of brand-new releases with something for every keen puzzler.

Schmidt Spiele has broadened its manufacturing locations, allowing for its range to continue to expand with a new specification.

All puzzles will continue to have individually shaped pieces and the special matte finish which banishes glare and minimises reflections. The Thomas Kinkade licence expands in the UK, from quaint cafes in Munich to rolling country hills, and there are additions to the Disney collection with Mickey and Minnie in the Alps and everyone’s favourite elephant, Dumbo.

Wrebbit 3D captures brilliant buildings of the world and brings them to living rooms. The new, iconic Central Perk Café from the 90s hit TV show Friends is 440 pieces of pure nostalgia. In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the Mini Knight Bus (130 pieces) joins the mini collection alongside Mini Hogwarts Express and Flying Ford Anglia. With a lower piece count ideal for entry level puzzlers, like the rest of the Wrebbit 3D collection, the puzzles are sturdy and feature the highest quality of design and illustration.

The Coiledspring Hero range sees further investment for Q4.

The Hero range is a selection of lead titles that are popular, recognisable and provide endless enjoyment for customers. Representing a cross section of the Coiledspring range, the heroes feature familiar faces such as Anomia, Gamewright’s Forbidden Island, Helvetiq’s Bandido, Kingdomino from Blue Orange and more.

The commitment to the Hero range includes a brand-new video and CDU for The Mind, plus new photo assets available to retailers for all games. Kingdomino has seen an artwork update and rules refresh, to make this title fully accessible.

New releases heading for shelves in autumn include Iello’s Khora, where players can become the ruler of their very own Ancient Greek city, making political choices to shape every facet of the development. The Blue Orange Kingdomino family welcomes Origins, where players recruit cavemen to grow their hunting territory, while Word on the Street, which boasts a great redesign, is a fun-fuelled race to claim eight letter tiles before an opponent. The Unmatched series from Iello also continues with the illusive Cobble and Fog, featuring four brand new heroes locked in an epic battle.

John Adams 01480 414 361 | www.johnadams.co.uk Following the success of Windy Knickers and Pencil Nose, John Adams’ range of Ideal games continues to grow with lots of new additions in the family and action games category.

They include Gassy Gus, in which players take turns to feed Gus all sorts of food and watch his belly bulge, but if Gus passes gas on a player’s turn, they have to take extra food cards. The winner is the first person to feed Gus all their food cards.

Also joining the children’s action games range is Sneezy Panda. Sam the panda loves to collect flowers and leaves from his garden, but there’s a problem… they make him sneeze, and each time he sneezes everything he has collected flies out of his basket. Players have to race to collect all their colour flowers and return them to Sam’s basket before he stops sneezing.

Flip Frog is another fun action game, where players carefully place flies on the frog’s tongue as too many flies will make him tip, while in horse riding reaction game Giddy Up, players simply have to follow Giddy Up’s five commands – pat, trot, jump, stop and feed – with three fun modes including Cross Country, Challenge and Training.

Classic and retro games are in high demand and John Adams is bringing back two favourites from the ‘80s. In Go for Broke, the aim is to be the first person to spend a million, while in Ghost Castle, players explore a haunted castle, try to avoid traps and get out as fast as they can.

Family favourite TV gameshows Beat The Chasers, Lingo and The Cube have been transformed into board games experiences for families to play at home, and a refreshed version of Tipping Point and a brand new Tipping Point Card game will also join the range.

Scribblish! sees players pick a Scribblish ‘This’ card, then a Scribblish ‘That’ card, create a caption and write it down, then against the timer draw that caption. The most accurate or funniest drawings/captions wins the points.

Family favourite Rummikub, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, has some new additions, including a vintage style wooden version, a special anniversary edition, a zipped Mini Pouch for on-the-go play and a premium Black version with black tiles in a giftable tin.

Classic Scrabble editions have also been added to John Adams’ games range including Scrabble Classic: a recreation of the first Scrabble set sold in the UK in the 1950s which comes complete with 100 real wood tiles, wooden racks and high quality board. Scrabble Cards offers three ways to play: Classic, Forfeit and Rummy, while Super Scrabble features twice as many tiles and a giant size Scrabble board.

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

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Games & Puzzles

Jumbo 0161 428 9111 | www.galttoys.com/jumbo Jumbo is releasing a host of exciting puzzles ahead of the festive season.

Falcon Contemporary is a brand-new puzzle collection for 2021 which celebrates the finest in modern artwork and designs. The range uses only 100% recycled cardboard and has been developed with smaller, more compact boxes free from plastic shrink wrap to create a more sustainable way to puzzle. In Christmas Wishes, artist Eleanor Bowmer has brought this magical time of year to life with bold illustrations bursting with colour. Other recent titles in the unique selection include Shop Local from Jacqui Lee, The Marina from Ben the Illustrator and Life's a Beach from Ruby Taylor.

Jumbo is releasing the exquisitely illustrated 1000-piece Letters For Santa from Falcon de luxe to continue the festive theme. This puzzle is part of the charming Christmas collection and includes a free 1000-piece puzzle. Christmas is also coming to other collections in the Falcon de luxe range; The Ice Rink is a delightful addition to the Falcon Scenery theme, transporting puzzlers to a bustling town centre where families and friends enjoy the festive ice rink as they glide around a beautifully decorated tree.

The National Health Service is a beautiful 1000-piece Falcon de luxe jigsaw puzzle commemorating the founding of the NHS in Britain. On the 5th of July 1948, history was made when healthcare became accessible to all and this scene celebrates Park Hospital in Greater Manchester, the first NHS hospital and features the Minister of Health and founder of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan.

Wasgij is the original brainteasing jigsaw, and latest release, Wasgij Mystery 20 Trouble Brewing!, is a hilarious 1000-piece puzzle which depicts a brewery tour that's well underway as the guide struggles to keep the rowdy bunch focused, especially a hen party that has had too many free samples.

Stratego Assassin's Creed is the eagerly awaited special edition of the legendary strategy game where stealth and secrecy are key. Players are transported back to 12th century Jerusalem to battle the most legendary Assassins and their nemesis, the Templars.

Galt Toys 01614 289 111 | www.galttoys.com Galt Toys is rounding off the year with new releases across its games and puzzles ranges.

Puzzles are an essential tool for learning through play which is vital during early development, and the colourful Giant Floor Puzzles are no exception. These nine extra -large floor puzzles feature cute characters and bold illustrations across Farm, Jungle, Town, Theme Park, Construction and Dinosaur themes. New for 2021 in the giant puzzle range are Nursery Rhymes, Alphabet Animals and Counting Creatures – with Alphabet Animals and Counting Creatures also including a frieze to use as a look and find guide to put on the wall.

The Discovery Puzzle is a 3-in-1 puzzle with 25 chunky pieces that is also brand new for 2021. First, little ones complete the puzzle and then, they can discover hidden images using the turtle and fish lenses.

Children aged three years and up can learn all about life cycles with the new How Things Grow Puzzles. This set of six colourful four-piece puzzles shows the life cycle of a range of living things, encouraging little ones to correctly identify the order of growth development. Each puzzle provides plenty of opportunity for discussion as well as helping to develop matching and sorting skills.

The 3 Little Pigs Game brings a beloved fairy tale to life while also offering a perfect introduction to board games. Featuring durable pieces, a colourful game board and a 3D house, the 3 Little Pigs Game encourages storytelling, gameplay and teamwork for players aged two years and up.

The Antarctica Game encourages children to remember where the three baby seals are placed and return them safely home for a memory challenge. This delightfully colourful game with chunky, durable pieces is a great starting point for playing board games for children aged two years and up.

Other new additions for 2021 are the Happy Chickens and Memory Friends games. Happy Chickens is a cute colour matching game for 2-4 players, where players remove wooden sticks from the hen house to find the cheeky chicks hiding within.

Memory Friends is a game for 1-2 players and improves children’s memories through tactile learning as they study the position of the animals on the 20 cards and recreate the scenes from memory.

Both are crafted from durable, quality wood and thick board to ensure the fun continues long after the box is first opened.

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Games & Puzzles

Halilit 01254 872 454 | www.halilit.co.uk | sales@halilit.co.uk Having only launched the Dodo brand to the UK market earlier this year, Halilit is thrilled with the uptake and demand seen already for this fun and varied range of puzzles for toddlers and children up to the age of eight.

The Dodo collection is beautifully illustrated and collectible and offers a stepped programme of development, taking children on a journey from their very first two-piece matching puzzle through to being able to master 100-piece puzzles with confidence.

From 18 months, the Puzzle Duos and 2-3-4 Puzzles offer delightful images in handy gift boxes and are designed to encourage little ones on their first foray into the world of puzzles. The Duo sets offer engaging educational themes such as What Animals Eat or Where Animals Live whilst the 2-3-4 Puzzles help children develop confidence as they move along the difficulty levels.

For children aged three years and up, the Dodo collection offers price points that are ideal for impulse purchases. There are eight different animal themes to collect in the 16-piece puzzles, whilst the 2-in-1 puzzles offer a colour-in outline on the reverse. The range also offers some gorgeous 4-in1 gift boxes, which allow children to develop their skills building a 12, 16, 20 and 24 piece puzzle across popular themes such as seasons and transport.

As children become more skilled, Dodo puzzles offer a fantastic amount of choice with popular options including the 80-piece Observation Puzzles, where building the puzzle also creates a ‘find and seek’ border full of item images for children to then locate within the main puzzle. The 100-piece puzzles are also perfect for young school-aged children, helping them focus and develop a deeper intricacy of motor skills and coordination while also learning about topics such as the World Map. On top of this, Halilit has recently added a number of 30 and 60-piece puzzles to the Dodo offering, plus 35-piece Mini Puzzles which are ideal for travel or impulse purchases. The Dodo range also offers a fantastic collection of games and activities, such as scratch card sets, wall stickers and fun colouring posters.

VR Distribution 0330 088 0941 | www.vrdist.co.uk Launched initially in the US, Kids Against Maturity was a number one seller in the Toy and Games category on Amazon. com in the lead up to Christmas 2020, and the game is currently the third best-selling game overall on Amazon in the US. From this month, VR Distribution is launching it in the UK. With age-appropriate toilet humour for kids and innuendos for the adults, Kids Against Maturity can be enjoyed by all ages, and is best played by four or more people. The game comes with 500 question and answer cards and a handy box to store it all. It is a portable size game, so perfect for taking camping, on plane or road trips, sleepovers, game nights or family gatherings. Kids Against Maturity uses the tried and tested fill-in-the- blank game-play and is simple, yet very funny, to play.

Keeping the sporty spirit of the Olympics and Euros alive is Beat That! The Bonkers Battle of Wacky Challenges. By September the game will hit over one million pieces in sales, helped by Philip Schofield's show picking it as a key game last Christmas. The addictive, dexterity-based challenge game is quick to learn and provides hours of entertainment for kids and adults of all ages. Players win points by betting on their ability to successfully complete a series of funny, tricky and outrageous challenges using an assortment of random objects.

There is also a Household Edition Expansion Pack, creating challenges using objects such as books, toilet rolls, socks and tea bags. The pack contains 160 unique fun challenges, so it’s hard to stumble across the same challenge twice. The game is suitable for ages 9+, but challenges have been designed to level the playing field between young and old, making it perfect for families of all ages.

With the recent launches of Cards Against Humanity Family, What Do You Meme? Family and the soon to launch Incohearent Family, the Family Party game range VR offers covers all the biggest selling titles.

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A N E Y E F O R TOYS

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Games & Puzzles

Kidicraft 01282 505988 | www.kidicraft.com |sales@kidicraft.com Kidicraft has launched over 30 new products recently including extensions to its DC and Harry Potter ranges.

The DC Batman range welcomes a new addition in the 500pc Prime 3D collection with a collage puzzle image featuring Batman, Robin, The joker and more.

Superman also sees the addition of another popular 500pc Prime 3D Puzzle with a striking image of him flying between buildings. The puzzles are made with Kidicraft’s new Prime 3D lens to give even greater depth and movement of image.

The Harry Potter 3D Puzzles continues to be one of the most successful collections and three new puzzles round up the extension to this range. The new additions are from the 500pc, 61cm x 46cm collection and feature Voldemort, Harry Potter with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. There is also a Slytherin group puzzle featuring Professor Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange and Draco Malfoy. Now using the new Prime 3D lens, these puzzles have great, sharp 3D Imagery.

Kidicraft’s new Plush and 3D Puzzle range includes four characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Batman and Superman. The Plush & Puzzle products combine a stunning plush character which stands approximately 18cm tall with a 300pc puzzle that uses the new Prime 3D lenses to give great depth and motion to the images.

After the incredibly successful launch of the Kevin Walsh Nostalgia traditional 1000pc Jigsaw Puzzles, the range has been extended further. Seven new designs include Classic Car Club, Train Spotting, Busy In The Garden, Whitby, Entering Port, Rail & Canal and Summer In The Garden. These stunning 1000pc Jigsaw puzzles are 70cm x 50cm in size and take this ever-expanding Nostalgia range to 22 designs in total.

A Christmas themed range of 1000pc Jigsaw puzzles including Nearly Home, Christmas Post and Skating By The Church, from the Kevin Walsh Nostalgia range, are 70cm x 50cm in size. The charming designs are available now with limited quantities available.

The Ye Olde Toy Shoppe collection of new 1000pc jigsaw puzzles, from talented artist Steve Crisp, contains six impressive designs: Toy shop, Pet shop, Cake shop, Book shop, Greengrocers and a Hardware shop. The puzzles provide great complex images which are sure to prove popular.

Kidicraft has specially designed floor units which are perfect displays for the Kidicraft ranges. The 3D floor display can hold a selection of puzzles and notebooks, with various planograms available, is supplied with a 3D header for maximum retails impact and is free with a Super 3D puzzle order of over £300. Harry Potter and DC Comic 3D floor displays can also be provided, as well as a Kidicraft jigsaw puzzle floor display which come free with an order of 48 puzzles.

Ywow Brands +852 6793 9331 | www.ywowgames.com Ywow Brands is a relatively new player in the puzzles and games industry, but the company continues to build on its innovative portfolio.

It now has 15 licences for some the most well-known brands around the world and with these licences has created two main categories of branded puzzles: Mini Puzzles and SuperSized Puzzles. The first release of Mini Puzzles - Pringles and Kellogg’s - was such a success across Europe and Asia that the company is rolling out a second series for each of these lines. It will launch a new range of Mini and SuperSized Puzzles with Kraft Heinz brands including Ketchup, Baked Beanz and Spaghetti next year.

The puzzles are made with recyclable materials, and all are offered with an FSC Certified option. Taking this initiative further, Ywow Brands is developing a new and hotly anticipated line of 1000-piece puzzles called the Save the Planet collection. The collection of six puzzles of the most endangered species in the world aims to raise awareness, as well as familiarise consumers with 100% recycled materials, of which the puzzles’ packaging will be made.

Ywow also specialises in the creation of modern board games that children and teens of the digital age can embrace. The company’s first board game, Go Master - Youtubers Edition, focuses on the modern craze of becoming an influencer. For its next release, Ywow hopes to bring the Trivia category back to life and, in collaboration with the Kellogg Company, has developed a fast-paced trivia game called Pringles Pop Quiz where players can test their knowledge in various categories including food, entertainment, science and nature. The game comes in packaging which resembles the iconic Pringles can.

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Games & Puzzles

Winning Moves 01706 558539 | www.winningmoves.co.uk sales@winningmoves.co.uk With the release of the hotly-anticipated No Time To Die coming to cinema screens soon, Winning Moves is launching James Bond Cluedo, where players must work out who has killed the 00 agent. This exciting twist on the much-loved board game will go hand in hand with the movie release, and with its Cold War spy thriller theme, will be another great addition to the company’s range of Bond products.

James Bond also features in Winning Moves’ ever increasing puzzle range, which has grown four-fold from 10 SKUs to over 40. With titles ranging from nostalgia to on-trend, puzzlers can choose from options including Only Fools and Horses, Dr Who, Love Actually, Elf, Batman, The Joker and Lord of the Rings, with more exciting additions to come.

One of Winning Moves’ most hotly anticipated releases of the year is Elf Monopoly. Scheduled for release this autumn, it will land just in time for Q4, and features bespoke tokens taken from the beloved movie.

Recognising the increasing affinity for all things Buddy the Elf, Winning Moves is also adding Top Trumps Match too.

Also bolstering theTop Trumps Match offering, where players must match 5-in-a-row or steal the win, are the likes of Batman, Minions, Miraculous, and Spirit. With plenty more in the pipeline for the rest of this year and into the next, Winning Moves expects Top Trumps Match to continue to go from strength to strength.

The company has also been busy working on brand new Star Wars and Lord of the Rings versions of Top Trumps Quiz, featuring new and improved content from two of the biggest franchises in the world. Fans of all ages can come together and battle it out to become the Jedi Master or Hero of Middle Earth.

Cheatwell 02392 524098 | www.cheatwell.com One of Cheatwell’s top-sellers from the past has been brought bang up to date. Making use of players’ preferred music streaming providers, Spot The Intro challenges players to name tip-of the-tongue tunes from just a snippet of a song from the Sixties to the 2010s. Those that get it spot on win a bonus question.

The all-new Family Quiz Night is a trivia challenge the whole family can play. The questions have been written so that kids can play on a level playing field with adults, so families can gather around the table and prepare to battle it out to discover who’s the brainiest.

Christmas Express is a festive family board game which involves a race to the North Pole, while players must cast their minds back to days gone by in the memory-jogging board game Nostalgia, with questions on the fads, fashions and fun of the Swinging Sixties through to the Naughty Nineties.

Played against the clock, Topix is a rapid race to name as many examples to a topic as possible.

Players need to think outside the box as only unique answers will count and will have their powers of recall and invention tested to the absolute limit.

Baffled is the award-winning family board game in which players need the memory of an elephant.

In just 60 seconds they must memorise the location of 12 symbol tiles but be prepared to be Baffled as the symbols swap and change positions throughout the game. Baffled is cleverly designed so children and adults have an equal chance of winning.

Cheatwell’s best-seller, Tension, in which players name 10 items in a fun category, was a huge hit in 2020 with over 100,000 units sold and there are also five stand-alone ‘extension’ editions, Music, Movies, Foodies, Sport and TV. For something a little different, Chimp! is a game of truth or bluff for all ages. Definitions to wacky words are read out one by one, but are they the truth, false or the Chimp…a dastardly deception by one of the players?

Cheatwell is also delighted to have secured the rights to MindTrap, which is packed with over 500 perplexing puzzles, brainteasers and trick questions, guaranteed to give brains a thorough mental work-out.

Cheatwell also offers a range of collectible jigsaw puzzles and, for Christmas, four new styles are being added to its World’s Smallest Jigsaw series: 1,000-piece puzzles that are just A3 in size, of which there are currently 20 designs. Also available are double-sided Double Trouble Puzzles and Selfie Jigsaw ranges, which both offer great value for money and a colourful puzzling experience.

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Games & Puzzles

Clementoni 020 3206 1397 | www.clementoni.com Clementoni has strengthened its offering in licensed puzzles and announced a partnership with NASA which will see incredible imagery and stunning scenes of space in a spectacular range of adult puzzles including a 1000 piece, a Panorama 1000 piece, 500 piece and 250 piece as well as two designs in a 500 piece round format.

With innovation at its core, Clementoni is also launching a range of Glowing puzzles for children across popular licences such as Avengers, Frozen II, Toy Story and Na! Na! Na! Surprise.

The company’s partnership with Harry Potter for puzzles across the UK and Europe continues to go from strength to strength, with the range of puzzles for adults and children including the 1000 piece Impossible, Panorama 1000 piece and a Special Edition 1000 piece, which comes in a Harry Potter style briefcase presentation box.

Disney has also been a key licence for Clementoni for some time and stunning 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 in terms of materials and precision crafting and the latest launches add to an impressive portfolio of generic products as well as licences from major TV and movie properties.

Epoch Making Toys 08435 574 062 | epochmakingtoys.com Following huge success in 2020 with the launch of Super Mario Games, Epoch Making Toys is expanding the range for autumn/winter 2021. Subsequent to 2020’s sold out Super Mario Shaky Tower game and ahead of the Super Mario film release in 2022, three SKUs will bolster the company’s offering in Q4.

Hover Shell Strike brings the iconic Koopa green shell to life. Launching in September, players can play a game of hockey on almost any surface as the shell is struck between the branded hockey pucks.

Also launching in September, the Fire Mario Stadium sees players have a one-on-one battle to reach their opponent’s tower before they reach theirs. Choosing to compete as Mario or Luigi, players shoot the other character’s target to attack, before defeating Bowser to win the game.

Fire Mario Stadium continues to feature the unique Link System which allows the included characters to be played across other Super Mario Games – including previous releases such as Piranha Plant Escape and Balancing Games.

Mario Kart Racing pits two players against each other, both battling it out on the track where dexterity is the difference between winning and losing. Players will be faced with six challenging obstacles to be crowned the winner; they need to push buttons and pull leavers to get their kart over a steep winding road, seesaw bridge, a tilting slope and more. No batteries are required, so the game can be played straight away. Mario Kart Racing DX will be the focal point of a TV and Digital campaign running in the lead up to Christmas.

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Games & Puzzles

Big Potato Games 020 3620 9495 | www.bigpotato.co.uk carrie@bigpotato.co.uk Big Potato is back with a wide selection of brand-new party games for the second half of 2021, along with the company’s first ever range of jigsaw puzzles.

Puzzles and games have been combined for A Night At The Movies and A Day At The Festival, as both 1000-piece puzzles, once completed, feature 101 riddles to try and solve.

Another first from Big Potato is the world's first actionadventure board game. What Next? is made up of three epic adventures where players need to work together to reach the end of the story in one piece. However, in the game, choosing the right path is only half the battle. To complete their mission, players must take on more than 60 different physical mini games, from blowing a card across the table to catching a piece before it hits the floor. Each adventure is packed with different events, challenges and rewards, compelling players to go back and explore again.

Introducing a new licence to the Big Potato portfolio, The Mean Girls party game is packed with more secrets than Gretchen Weiners’ hair and allows players to gather round, tear out a page of the Burn Book and pass it round as they take turns answering scandalous questions about each other. It’s a game for everyone, not just super-fans, as the gameplay is not about how well players know the movie, but about how well they know the people they are playing with.

Portrait Card Games 07913 187783 | www.games-toysportrait.co.uk | pjc777portrait@gmail.com Portrait Card Games are playing cards containing numbers, words, information and hand drawn pictures, which can be both educational and fun.

The amount of players varies with each game (from 1-15 players) and in all there are a total of 27 different games that can be played with the pack, such as rummy.

The first pack to be launched in the collectible card game range is World of Birds & Bats, which is available now in a limited-edition release of just 950 packs, and this will be followed by another version - World of Birds & Bats, with a different style set of cards, and World of Sports & Topics. All offer 27 games to play using the 121 playing cards.

Each card features two hand drawn pictures with information which can be used for study, brain training, creating words for spelling and number maths games, making the pack a great educational resource for all the family, from seven years up. Playing times range from 5-60 minutes, depending on the game.

Portrait Card Games also plans to bring out other themed playing cards including World of Fish & Whales and World of Dinosaurs & Fossils, and says it will continue to create more different topics for customers to collect. The company also hopes to develop an app.

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