Because trouble comes in all sizes.
You can almost hear the internal primal scream emitted from millions of parents across the United States. That’s right, the holiday season has commenced ushering in Toy buying stress for Moms and Dads. But fear not you wonderful readers of CuteMonster.com, help has arrived just in the nick of time. Especially if you’re buying for kids ages 18 months to 5 years old.
At its core, Laser Maze, a logic based game by ThinkFun challenges one’s mind. In my experience, when someone mentions the word logic, I always think of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. He epitomizes the idea of being cool under fire. A state of being most parents can only dream of achieving as they navigate the daily challenges of raising kids. It would be nice to have a readily available mental retreat. An absence of distraction in order to re-focus and reset our ability to think clearly. Enter Laser Maze by ThinkFun. A single player beam-bending logic game that challenges you to focus on solving the immediate problem at hand.
Thinkfun has a well deserved reputation for developing addictively fun games that build reasoning and creative thinking skills. I’ve had the opportunity to review several of their games over the years including Zingo: Sight Words, Roll & Play, Snack Attack! and Chocolate Fix. This year at the 2013 New York Toy Fair, I was introduced to ThinkFun’s latest game for toddlers called Hello Sunshine!
We spent countless hours this year at the 2013 New York Toy Fair walking from aisle to aisle scrutinizing hundreds of the latest and greatest toys. From the toy manufacturing giants such as Mattel to the tiniest independent toy makers, we focused in on the best combinations of innovation and fun. The following list represents what we feel to be the best of show at the 2013 New York Toy Fair.
The holiday season is back in full effect which means Toy buying stress for Moms and Dads is on the rise. Yet lucky for you, help has arrived just in the nick of time. Especially if you’re buying for kids ages 12 months to 4 years old.
There was a time in my childhood when board games were a fixture. Electronic gizmos didn’t come into the forefront for years to come and quite frankly, it didn’t matter. Whether playing a board game with my family or my friends, it was always an engaging social experience. The emotions expressed during gameplay ran the gamut ranging from focused intensity to side splitting belly laughs. Flash forward to the present, my life has come full circle as a parent. Despite the pervasiveness of the digital era, it’s still board games that bring families together. The latest example, ThinkFun’s Zingo! Sight Words.
Trying to introduce toddlers to multiplayer gameplay can be an exercise in futility. More times than not, a toddler will not fully grasp the concept of the game and instead decide to create their own fun to the frustration of other players. ThinkFun, an educational game maker, has decided to take on this challenge by debuting a game called Roll & Play designed specifically for toddlers. Since my children fell into the range of the game’s target demographics, I decided to test out Roll & Play in a real world environment, sibling rivalry and all.
I was recently sent a redeemable code from ThinkFun to try out their game app Chocolate Fix for the iPhone and iPad. It turns out that deductive reasoning much like life is also like a box of chocolates. Except in the case of ThinkFun’s game app Chocolate Fix, it’s your job to figure out what you might get.
The 2012 New York Toy Fair provided a preview of the upcoming products from a vast array of companies both big and small. Without question there were many items that seemed to be no more than knockoffs of last year’s hottest toys or simple tweaks to traditional top selling favorites. Yet as a whole, my colleagues and I who covered the show were pleasantly surprised to discover that innovation is indeed alive and well in the toy industry. The following list represents CuteMonster.com’s choices for Best of Show at the 2012 NY Toy Fair.