They’re often considered to be the “Oscars” of the toy industry, and on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, the next Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards will be distributed at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City as Toy Fair New York gets underway. After carefully examining hundreds of nominees, a panel of industry experts determined this year’s finalists in 16 categories. One winner in each category, along with the consumer-chosen People’s Choice award and the overall Toy of the Year Award will be presented in February. Now it’s your chance to vote for your favorites.
– Here are the nominees for Game of the Year! –
Honoring kids and family games including board, card, electronic or other physical game formats and puzzles, exclusive of video or app games.
Disney Villainous: Evil Comes Prepared (Ravensburger)
Playing as favorite evil-doers like Scar, Yzma, and Ratigan, players will take on the role of the Disney Villain and plan their schemes methodically in the way of their Disney Villain to reach their objective before everyone else. In the game, they’ll set traps, wield curses, and leverage allies to win.
Ages: 10+, $24.99
Buy now on Amazon
Funkoverse Strategy Game (Funko)
These themed games combine strategy with Pop! Vinyl figures. Players go head to head as their favorite characters in exciting scenarios at memorable locations from DC, Harry Potter, Rick and Morty, and more.
Ages: 10+, $39.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner
Heist (Megableu USA)
Players must work cooperatively to crack a safe full of gold in five minutes or less and steal $50 million. Each player has a different role in this fast-paced game with five challenging levels.
Ages: 7+, $27.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner
Ms. Monopoly (Hasbro Games)
The latest update to Monopoly flips the script to become “the first game where women make more than men.” Hasbro‘s Ms. Monopoly is a celebration of female entrepreneurs and inventors that swaps property trading with inventions that wouldn’t exist without women — and at the start of the game, women get a higher payout and more money when passing Go.
Ages: 8+, $19.99
Buy now on Walmart
Orangutwang (PlayMonster)
We’ve all heard of an orangutan, but how about an OranguTwang? In this game, two or more players ages 4 and up compete to add weight to a hanging Orangutan — but not too much, or else they’ll send him flying.
Ages: 4+, $22.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner
Pictionary Air (Mattel)
In this game, players draw in the air with a light-up pen that pairs with the Pictionary Air mobile app. Point the in-app camera at the pen, and the drawing will appear on your device’s screen.
Ages: 8+, $19.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner
Throw Throw Buritto (Exploding Kittens)
Throw Throw Burrito is what you get when you cross a card game with dodgeball. Players attempt to collect matching sets of cards faster than their opponents while simultaneously ducking, dodging, and throwing squishy airborne burritos.
Ages: 7+, $24.99
Buy now on Amazon
UNO Braille (Mattel)
The first official UNO card deck featuring braille, the new game makes gameplay widely accessible for the more than 7 million blind and low-vision Americans in the U.S. Designed in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, UNO Braille features braille on the corner of each playing card to indicate the card’s color and number or action.
Ages: 7+, $9.99
Buy now on Amazon
– VOTE NOW! –
Public voting for the 2020 TOTY Awards is open to consumers, retailers, media, and members of The Toy Association through Jan. 5. For full details, rules, and additional information, please visit toyawards.org. Proceeds from the annual event benefit The Toy Foundation in its efforts to bring joy and comfort to children in need through the experience of toys and play.
