Pressman Toy Offers Fun Way to Foster Skill Development with Help from a Classic Game

November 15, 2012 By

As part of a larger 2012 Mastermind education initiative, Pressman Toy has announced that teachers and homeschoolers may sign up on their website to receive one of 10,000 free Mastermind board games for their classroom or home. In less than one week’s time, more than 10,000 educators registered for a Mastermind game.

Mastermind is a two-player game that puts the Codemaker against the Codebreaker. The Codemaker secretly places any four Code Pegs in the shielded code area. The Codebreaker puts down a line of color pegs and tries to uncover the secret code. This thought-provoking game fosters development of important skills, including logic, reasoning, deduction, patience, and visual perception.

Along with the Mastermind giveaway, Pressman Toy is also hosting the first Mastermind Braintwister Challenge. From now until December 31, kids ages 7 through 12 can enter their own braintwisters in categories such as puzzles, word problems, riddles, and games with solutions. Two first-place winners will each receive a $1,000 scholarship and a trip to attend the celebration event.  Each of the two first-place winners will also have the opportunity to nominate their most inspirational instructor to receive a $250 award each.  Three other students will have the opportunity to win $100 each. For more information, visit www.MASTERMIND-education.com.

Pressman Toy games, including Mastermind, are available for purchase at Toys “R” Us, Barnes & Noble, and Marbles stores nationwide, as well as online at Amazon.com, Target.com, and PressmanToy.com.

Filed Under: 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, Awards, News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

VTech Announces Hot Holiday Daily Deals Available Online

November 14, 2012 By

VTech Electronics North America, LLC  will discount a new product every day throughout November, exclusively at vtechkids.com.

VTech’s Daily Deals will be released every morning at 10 a.m. and will be available for 10 hours each day.  A limited quantity will be made available for each deal.

Filed Under: 0-2, 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, News Tagged With: ,

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle With New Fall Designs From Box Play for Kids

November 13, 2012 By

Box Play for Kids makes eco-friendly stickers that repurpose old cardboard boxes, cartons, and tubes commonly found in the recycling bin into new, simple toys that stimulate children’s imagination, enthusiasm, and learning.

The new fall sticker designs include Giraffe, Buildings, Pink House, School Bus, Football, and Paint Palette in Spanish and French.

For more information, visit http://boxplayforkids.com/.

Filed Under: 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, New Products Tagged With: , ,

Blockbuster Mega-Attraction “Transformers: The Ride – 3-D” Coming To Universal Orlando Resort Next Summer

November 5, 2012 By

Universal Orlando Resort announced that its next blockbuster attraction will be Transformers: The Ride – 3-D. The ride, created under license from Hasbro, Inc., and based on its Transformers brand, will bring the intergalactic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons to Universal Studios Florida next summer.

Universal worked closely with Michael Bay, the director of the Transformers film series and the ride’s creative consultant, to create an authentic experience that brings the non-stop action of the films to life. The attraction combines the larger-than-life Transformers characters and an exciting storyline with life-like HD CGI media, state-of-the-art 3-D technology, and special effects to place riders right in the middle of an epic battle between good and evil.

For more information about Transformers: The Ride – 3-D, visit www.prepareforbattle.com. Check out the video below for a message from Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots.

Filed Under: 9 and up, News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Creatures of Delight Fuse Fangs and Fun

November 2, 2012 By

There is a softer side to all kinds of fictitious creatures: from Yetis, aliens, and trolls, to dragons, human-devouring plants, and purple dinosaurs.

Tom Kopian, artist and creator behind Creatures of Delight, a line of specialty, handcrafted monster toys, works with a small team and his 11-year partner, Stewart Buffaloe, to make one-of-a-kind creatures using a variety of molds and his patented latex-fiber blend material.

Large Feed Me Creature

The creatures are a combination of creepy and cute and appeal to a broad demographic. Though the line is composed mostly of traditionally scary, fictional monsters, their vibrant color palettes and bright-white smiles make them appeal to girls as much as boys. “I think essentially the toys are gender neutral. They are rough and tough monsters, so it can be a boy thing, but girls like some of the cuter pieces like Snarl, Floyd, and the Grudges. It is not definitively a boy or girl thing,” Kopian explains. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 8 and up, 9 and up, Articles Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

LeapFrog Partners With Mattel, Walt Disney Records to Provide New Content

November 2, 2012 By

LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. has partnered with Walt Disney Records and Mattel, Inc., to bring a variety of new content to its educational entertainment platforms, accessible through the LeapFrog App Center.

Beginning in November, Barbie videos will be available for purchase in the “Just for Fun” section of the LeapFrog App Center. Even more Barbie brand releases on the LeapFrog platform will be available in December and early next year.

Videos including Barbie in A Mermaid Tale, Barbie The Princess and the Pauper, Barbie in The Nutcracker, Barbie in A Christmas Carol, and Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses will be available. These videos empower girls through popular and classic children’s storylines.

Beginning in early December, select titles from Walt Disney Records, including Disney Princess: Fairy Tale Songs, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Baby Einstein Lullaby Classics, and They Might Be Giants’ Here Come the ABCs, will be available for purchase through the LeapFrog App Center.

The albums will join the library of hundreds of educational games, eBooks, videos, music, and more. The LeapFrog App Center can be accessed through the LeapFrog Connect Application for LeapPad1, LeapPad2, and LeapsterGS. For more information on LeapPad1, LeapPad2, Leapster Explorer, LeapsterGS , and other LeapFrog products, visit www.leapfrog.com.

Filed Under: 0-2, 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, New Products Tagged With: , , ,

MGA Entertainment Sees Accelerated Growth in 2012

November 1, 2012 By

MGA Entertainment, the largest privately held U.S. based toy company, posted 41 percent dollar growth in Q3 2012 versus a year-ago, according to The NPD Group.

Within the U.S., retailers continued to see explosive growth with Lalaloopsy, a global toy powerhouse driven by robust product, entertainment, and licensing programs.  Interest in the brand continues to develop as seen with the strong sales of Lalaloopsy Silly Hair Star: Harmony B Sharp, the first-ever talking, singing, and dancing Lalaloopsy doll.

This summer, MGA debuted Bratzillaz and Novi Stars.  Bratzillaz takes girls’ imagination on a supernatural flight of imagination to reveal their own special powers. Novi Stars combines cosmic adventure with cutting edge toy features never before seen in doll play.

Outside of girls’ toys, broader support for Little Tikes helped drive sales.  Little Tikes hottest retail sellers include Little Tikes Pillow Racers and iTikes, a new line of pre-school toys that can be enhanced through the technology of Apple iDevices.

Filed Under: 0-2, 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, Data, News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mystixx Change The Face of Girls Play

October 26, 2012 By

Just in time for Halloween, toymaker Playhut will release Mystixx Vampires dolls, four transformational fashion dolls that are popular girls at school by day and powerful vampires by night. Mystixx Vampires are 11-inch fashion doll divas named Talin, Silva, Azra, and Kalani whose personalities “turn” to fit their moods with a simple twist of their heads.

All four Mystixx Vampire dolls have different personalities that focus on characteristics like confidence, compassion, competiveness, and intelligence. These four girls come from different backgrounds and recently started at a new school together. The backstories provide a backdrop for girls’ creative play.

Each doll has two distinct faces, two complete outfits, two interchangeable wigs, two pairs of shoes, and accessories. Mystixx are sold exclusively at Toys “R” Us and at toysrus.com, and are designed for children ages 6 and up.

For more information, visit Mystixx on Facebook or check out the website.

Filed Under: 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, Holiday Season, New Products Tagged With: , ,

Hess to Sell Toy Truck Online

October 23, 2012 By

Hess Corporation has announced that the Hess Toy Truck, a holiday tradition for 48 years on the East Coast, will be available for purchase online this year for the first time.

Details of the 2012 Hess Toy Truck will be announced November 1 and will go on sale November 9 at participating Hess and Hess Express retail stores and at http://www.hesstoytruck.com.

Hess will implement an integrated marketing plan that combines online media buys and traditional ad buys with expanded social media efforts, as well as ties to the free Hess Express mobile app, to reach Hess Toy Truck fans across the United States.

Toy Truck fans can work together to reveal the truck early.  Beginning October 22, fans, through a variety of linked social actions on the Hess Express Facebook page, will be able to slowly reveal—via hints and image pieces—the new Toy Truck model before the official launch.

A new virtual Hess Toy Truck Collection website feature will enable fans to indicate which Hess Toy Trucks they own from past years, reminisce about holidays when they received the truck, and earn digital toy truck collector badges to share with their friends on Facebook.

Filed Under: 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, Holiday Season, New Products Tagged With: ,

Wanderful Introduces Multilingual “Harry and the Haunted House” Interactive App

October 23, 2012 By

Wanderful Interactive Storybooks, a leader in the development of interactive storybook apps designed for today’s generation of digital kids, has introduced the slightly spooky, highly fun Harry and the Haunted House app just in time for Halloween. Originally written by Mark Schlichting for the Living Books series, Harry and the Haunted House has been updated with new features designed by Schlichting himself for the new Wanderful app launch.

Telling the tale of how kids with overactive imaginations can make things can seem a little scarier than they really are, Harry and the Haunted House comes to life on every page as it allows readers to interact with all of the characters and words for hours of slightly spooky interactive play. Inviting kids to read and play along with Harry and his friends as they retrieve their baseball lost in the “haunted” house across the field, this reading experience is full of animated content and surprises on each page.

Harry and the Haunted House has a read-to-me mode, allowing children to enjoy the story experience by itself. The book comes in English and Spanish for one price, and features an easy upgrade to unlock the story in French as well.

The app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch from iTunes.

Filed Under: 0-2, 3-5, 5-8, 6-8, 8 and up, 9 and up, New Products Tagged With: , , ,
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