ChiTAG Announces 2016 Toy & Game Innovation Award Nominees

ChiTAGTagiesThe nominees for the Chicago Toy & Game Group’s (ChiTAG) ninth annual Toy & Game Innovation (TAGIE) Awards are now in. At this year’s awards ceremony, excellence will be recognized in the categories of Digital/Toy Game Design, Game Design, Toy Design, and Rising Star Inventor. The nominees for these categories have been selected by their industry colleagues, and now the public is invited to place their votes before the annual award show takes place this November as part of the 14th Annual Chicago Toy & Game Fair.

The 2016 Toy & Game Inventor of the Year (TAGIE) Award nominees are:

EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL TOY OR GAME DESIGN

  • Phoebe Hayman, Seedling for Maze
  • Don Stucke, Fisher-Price for Think & Learn Code-a-pillar
  • Don Inmon & Matt MacBeth, pi Lab for Edwin the Duck
  • Dan Klitsner, KID & Hasbro KIDS Gaming Team for Simon Air
  • Robin Rath & Josh Stevens, Pixel Press for Bloxels
  • Pramod Sharma, Tangible Play for Osmo

EXCELLENCE IN GAME DESIGN

  • Forrest-Pruzan Creative with Wonder Forge for Dr. Seuss Thing Two and Thing One Whirly Fun! and USAopoly for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
  • Nicholas Cravotta & Rebecca Bleau, BlueMatter Games with ThinkFun for Escape the Room Series
  • Jeremy Posner, Big Monster Toys with FatBrain Toys for Coggy
  • Rob Daviau, Ironwall Games, co-designer of Pandemic: Legacy with Matt Leacock for Z-Man Games and for SeaFall with Plaid Hat Games
  • Mike Bisogno, designer at Cardinal Industries for Finding Dory and more
  • Graham Thornton & Hasbro Family Gaming Team for Pie Face Showdown

EXCELLENCE IN TOY DESIGN

  • Troy Fisher & Hasbro Yokai Watch Team, for Yo-Motion Yokai Watch
  • Michael Bernstein, Jakks Pacific for Gift’ems
  • Ali Kermani, Razor for RipSurf
  • David McDonald, Spin Master for Hatchimals
  • Peter Greenley & Nick Grisolia, G2Invention with Spin Master for Zoomer Chimp
  • Jim McCafferty, JMP Creative with Maya Group for PomPomWow Decoration Station
  • David Yakos, Steamline Design with Lionel Trains for Mega Tracks

RISING STAR INVENTOR OF THE YEAR

  • · Brady Peterson, Pleyful with Marbles for Otrio
  • · Julien Sharp, FunnyBone Toys for Anaxi
  • · Andrena Baxter, InterPlay UK with PlayMonster for My Fairy Garden
  • · Mikkel Bertelsen, with Marektoy for Klask
  • · Alice Brooks, Roominate with PlayMonster for Cotton Candy Carnival
  • · Ciaran Larkin, ourstanding designer in the Hasbro Fellowship Program
  • · Ken Gruhl & Quentin Weir, with North Star Games for Happy Salmon

In addition to the public votes, honorees from five closed categories, including Excellence in Character Design, Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award, In Memoriam, and Lifetime Achievement will also be awarded.

Voting for the 2016 TAGIE Awards is open until Nov. 1. Members of the media and public are invited to cast their votes for the best toy and game inventors here. Winners will be announced on Friday, Nov. 18 at the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier.

About the author

Maddie Michalik

Maddie Michalik

Maddie Michalik was the Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book from 2020-2022. She was also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider.

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