The winners for the ninth annual Toy & Game Innovation (TAGIE) Awards have been announced. The TAGIE Awards paid tribute to toy and game inventors from around the world, and excellence was recognized in the Toy Innovator, Game Innovator, Rising Star Innovator, and Digital Toy or Game Innovator categories. Industry colleaues and the public selected the winners.
The full list of winners are:
TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: David Yakos, Steamline Design with Lionel Trains for Mega Tracks
Presenter: Jeffrey Breslow, Toy Designer for 41 years
GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: Jeremy Posner, Big Monster Toys with FatBrain Toys for Coggy
Presenter: Jeff Pinsker, President of Pressman Toy
RISING STAR INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: Alice Brooks, Roominate with PlayMonster for Cotton Candy Carnival
Presenter: PJ Palijo, Vice President of Product Design & Development for NBC Universal Consumer Products
DIGITAL TOY OR GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: Phoebe Hayman, Seedling for Maze
Presenter: Robin Raskin, Founder of Living in Digital Times (LIDT)
Excellence was also recognized in the categories of The Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award, Lifetime Achievement, and Inventor Advocacy. The honorees for these categories were selected by a closed jury of industry-based judges:
- The Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award went to Special Olympics Chicago.
- This year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree was Reyn Guyer, who developed and licensed Twister game to Milton Bradley/Hasbro and developed and licensed Nerf ball to Parker Brothers/Hasbro.
- The Inventor Advocacy Honoree was awarded to the UK Inventor Dinner Committee.
