Toy Fair 2010 (Part One): Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen
by Eddie Moore
on February 25, 2010
New York Toy Fair is the largest international toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere. Think of the congested street fair you’ve ever been to. Vendors are hawking products every 10 feet. Chocolate kisses, eco-friendly tote bags and Purell lure you into the booths. Costumed critters like a giant Elf on the Shelf roam the fringes. And the nicest mom-and-pop storeowners are vying for time against mass-merchant buyers, pushy press, and a smattering of celebs. Now move that image indoors where there’s feverish pitch of sound and not enough bars on your iPhone. Welcome to Toy Fair. I’ve just spent 5 days skating up and down the aisles of Javits Center looking at and playing with thousands of new toys. My next couple of blogs will break them down into specific categories, but I like to remember each Toy Fair by what I consider the standout products. I have a tried and true method of measurement: Each day I see an average of about 500 toys. I take copious notes in each showroom. If I like something, I put an asterisk (*) next to it in my notebook. Two asterisks means I really like it. I probably have about 50 picks when I leave Javits each night. On my train ride home, I re-read my notes and highlight any asterisked toys that I still like at the end of the day. Now I’m down to 20. Then I have dinner with my family. Over takeout (no cooking during Toy Fair), I describe the toys I saw and loved. If a toy still stands out in my mind after 10 hours on my feet, 9 hours of smiling, asking intelligent questions, making upbeat conversation, and 3 hours of commuting from one end of NYC to the outer suburbs, then that toy is probably going to be a winner. Not only does it get two asterisks and a highlight, I now bold it and put it on my “test this” list. Best case scenario: 3 to 6 greats a day. Enough to dream about while I steel myself for the next day of hard play.
So here are my 12 best and brightest "**'s" from Toy Fair 2010. (Unfortunately, some of the products won’t be on shelves until the fall, but it’s always fun to know what’s coming.)
Perplexus by PlaSmart. A colorful, imaginatively engineered maze housed in a clear plastic ball. Think labyrinth 3.0. I couldn’t put it down.
Washable Dry-Erase Crayons by Crayola. Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? Bright colors, no odor, no caps to lose and they don’t dry out. Bring on the whiteboards!
Air Hogs Vectron Wave by Spinmaster. Keep this small but mighty UFO in the air by using your hands as the guide. A state-of-the-art level sensor senses objects beneath it and rises to the occasion. Seems like magic.
Spy Video Trackr by Wild Planet. This app-enabled r/c vehicle taps into an inner Einstein. Program it to roam from room to room, record, take pictures, even detect motion. Are kids are getting smarter or are toys getting smarter?
Create a Marionette by ALEX. Just when I thought I’d seen every kind of craft kit imaginable, this small surprise jumped out of the box. Three sets let you create and color either a dino, a giraffe, or a princess. Great play…and then more play.
Scrabble Flash by Hasbro. How many words can you create in 60 seconds using just 5 letters? This fast-paced game uses high tech tiles to keep your time and score. A modern take on classic Scrabble.
iXL by Fisher Price. This is what the future looks like. The IPad/e-reader-look-alike has a tough, kid-sturdy cover and six functions that let kids read, play, draw, listen to music or stories, write and keep photos. PC and Mac compatible, too.
Rory’s Story Cubes by Gamewright. Take nine dice, each with pictures on every side, toss them, and then tell a story using the images. A win-win imagination builder.
Lights, Barbie®, Action! by Mattel. See and shoot the world from Barbie’s point-of-view with a real video camera inside Barbie’s bod and a lens peeking out from her necklace. Edit with music and special effects using downloadable software.
Why Do I Need A Jacket? by Patch. Part of the Sid the Science Kid line, this simple kit makes science accessible with experiments about weather and temperature that answer questions kids really want to know.
Monopoly Revolution by Hasbro. This 75-year old, best-selling board game has gotten the ultimate makeover. Round is the new square; credit is the new cash. And $200 doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Rubik’s Slide by TechnoSource makes the challenge of Rubik’s Cube doable…sometimes. Working puzzles from easy to harder (10,000 in all!), it uses lights, a timer, and a slip-slide movement to change the game for the better.
Minotaurus and Ramses by LEGO. These if-you-build-it-they-will-play games let kids use LEGO pieces to create a game board and dice. Both versions have great gaming concepts. The first games are due in stores March 1st and more in the series are coming! -- Wendy Smolen
Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®. She has been professionally evaluating toys for over 15 years. Her three children have literally gone from crib to college proving ---or dis-proving--- her theories on play.
So here are my 12 best and brightest "**'s" from Toy Fair 2010. (Unfortunately, some of the products won’t be on shelves until the fall, but it’s always fun to know what’s coming.)
Perplexus by PlaSmart. A colorful, imaginatively engineered maze housed in a clear plastic ball. Think labyrinth 3.0. I couldn’t put it down.
Air Hogs Vectron Wave by Spinmaster. Keep this small but mighty UFO in the air by using your hands as the guide. A state-of-the-art level sensor senses objects beneath it and rises to the occasion. Seems like magic.
Spy Video Trackr by Wild Planet. This app-enabled r/c vehicle taps into an inner Einstein. Program it to roam from room to room, record, take pictures, even detect motion. Are kids are getting smarter or are toys getting smarter?
Create a Marionette by ALEX. Just when I thought I’d seen every kind of craft kit imaginable, this small surprise jumped out of the box. Three sets let you create and color either a dino, a giraffe, or a princess. Great play…and then more play.
Scrabble Flash by Hasbro. How many words can you create in 60 seconds using just 5 letters? This fast-paced game uses high tech tiles to keep your time and score. A modern take on classic Scrabble.
iXL by Fisher Price. This is what the future looks like. The IPad/e-reader-look-alike has a tough, kid-sturdy cover and six functions that let kids read, play, draw, listen to music or stories, write and keep photos. PC and Mac compatible, too.
Rory’s Story Cubes by Gamewright. Take nine dice, each with pictures on every side, toss them, and then tell a story using the images. A win-win imagination builder.
Lights, Barbie®, Action! by Mattel. See and shoot the world from Barbie’s point-of-view with a real video camera inside Barbie’s bod and a lens peeking out from her necklace. Edit with music and special effects using downloadable software.
Why Do I Need A Jacket? by Patch. Part of the Sid the Science Kid line, this simple kit makes science accessible with experiments about weather and temperature that answer questions kids really want to know.
Monopoly Revolution by Hasbro. This 75-year old, best-selling board game has gotten the ultimate makeover. Round is the new square; credit is the new cash. And $200 doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Rubik’s Slide by TechnoSource makes the challenge of Rubik’s Cube doable…sometimes. Working puzzles from easy to harder (10,000 in all!), it uses lights, a timer, and a slip-slide movement to change the game for the better.
Minotaurus and Ramses by LEGO. These if-you-build-it-they-will-play games let kids use LEGO pieces to create a game board and dice. Both versions have great gaming concepts. The first games are due in stores March 1st and more in the series are coming! -- Wendy Smolen
Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®. She has been professionally evaluating toys for over 15 years. Her three children have literally gone from crib to college proving ---or dis-proving--- her theories on play.
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