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  Member of the Chicago Toy & Game Group  |
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Member of the Chicago Toy & Game Group |
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Our mission - We are the resource for toy and game inventors to learn about the industry and show their products to board game retailers, manufacturers & licensors and game players at fairs and expos around the world, e-newsletters, co-op mailings and website listings. Retailers need new products. In between inventors & retailers are game suppliers, reps and agents. We bring everyone together and promote toy, card and board game inventors as the celebrities they are. See Chicago Tribune article announcing our debut 10 years ago!
BOARD GAME INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS: Our Toy and Game Inventor Conference was a success! Over 40 speakers/representatives from (manufactures) Hasbro, Disney, Spin Master, Educational Insights, Jakks Pacific, Razor, Out of the Box, Buffalo Games, Fundex, Discovery Bay Games, Top Trumps, Design Edge, Interfuel Interactive, Sybarit, Identity Games, (retailers) Barnes and Noble, Borders, (top inventors) Daryl Hannah and Hilary Shepard (actresses and inventors), Bruce Lund, Peggy Brown, Leslie Scott, Kim Vandenbroucke, Colleen McCarthy Evans, (consultants, reps) Richard Gill, Tim Walsh, Richard Gottlieb, Tracy Dudkiewicz, Dana Campagna Lanham (play promoters) Playthings, Toy Industry Association, Strong National Museum of Play and more.
The seventh annual Chicago International Toy and Game Fair was a success for both attendees and exhibitors! The Chicago Toy and Game Fair showcases product from around the world to the public and media just before the holidays. Events and activities for all ages. Visit www.chitag.com for details and join us in 2010!
Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards honoring toy and game inventors generously sponsored by Hasbro (Presenting Sponsor), Spin Master, Playthings Magazine, Toy Industry Association, Strong National Museum of Play, and Chicago Toy and Game Group. Presenters this year include Daryl Hannah and Hilary Shepard (actresses and inventors of Liebrary and other games), John Ratzenberger (actor and Founder of Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs), Leslie Scott – inventor of Jenga, Phil Jackson – Group Executive and George Burtch - V.P. Global Integration at Hasbro Games and more. Tim Walsh, inventor, author and filmmaker is Master of Ceremonies. Read about it in Richard Gottlieb's blog. http://www.playthings.com/blog/390000439/post/1800050780.html
There are four interesting blogs for game inventors, check them out
and post your thoughts:
Game Critics/Inventors as Celebrities,
The Soul of the Industry,
Why Board Games are Important and
Chicago Toy and Game Fair: One Big Focus Group.
Read about the Founder of DiscoverGames
and The Chicago Toy and Game Fair, Mary Couzin, in The
Tribes of Toy Nation: The Enthusiasts
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Wal-Mart - a new book hitting the shelves that is an adaptation of articles written by toy/game industry expert and commentator Richard Gottlieb. The book encourages readers to imagine new ways to out compete the competition. Also check out Richard's new blog "Out of the Toy Box" on www.playthings.com filled with great ideas, as well as unique and sometimes humorous look at the industry. A recent topic is Adults Who Play with Toys: An Untapped Market.
For the best and most interesting resource anywhere on the history of toys and
games, go to
http://www.theplaymakers.com and order a copy of Timeless Toys (formerly The
Playmakers). Tim Walsh, inventor of Blurt! and co-inventor of TriBond does a
superb job of documenting the history of our industry.
Board Games Sales up 10% First Half of 2009 - Playthings Magazine Reports Increasing the Happiness Factor - Al Waller, CEO of Out of the Box Publishing and Guest Columnist for GamesforEducators.com Games and Human Development - Nate Scheidler, Columnist for GamesforEducators.com Playing with games puzzles and toys makes for better executives; who knew? - Richard Gottlieb, Playthings Blog Even with the Internet, Board Games are Still in Vogue - Ruth Solomon, SunTimes Media Group How the board game Monopoly helped free POW's in World War II - Brian McMahon of Mental Floss 2006 Board Game sales $802.2 million - Boston Globe November 29, 2007 Ellen Degeneres Loves to Play Games - Denise Hughes, USA Today Kinesthetic Marketing/Hands On Marketing - column by Richard Gottlieb, author and consultant, in Playthings June 2007 Board Game Sales Up 13% - Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press Writer Ball State Daily News - Samantha Zilai writes about college kids playing games. (pdf version)
BoardGameNews.com
- Scott Tepper interviews Mary Couzin, founder of Discover Games and Chicago
International Toy and Game Fair Boardgames.about.com - Erik Arneson interviews Mary Couzin about Chi-Tag and posts a slide show from Chi-Tag! Outside the Box - Bruce Whitehill, Knucklebones Magazine
How to Sell Your Idea for a Video Game
- by Tom
Sloper,
works for board game inventors as well. Archived Stories about Board Game Sales
WHY SHOULD YOU PLAY BOARD GAMES? For the most comprehensive collection of articles anywhere about why playing board games is good for you, visit www.GamesForEducators.com. Games Played in Olden Days, Too - Board games were as important to their social life and culture as they are to ours - Cinnamom Bair, Polk Chronicles The four challenges that games provide - Yehuda Beringer How (any why) to play with your child in six steps - Yehuda Beringer Play
and a Child's Development
- Marianne M. Szymanski, Toy Tips, Inc.
Tony Ellis - Chronicles of a Toy Inventor
Arne
Lauwers -
Inventor of
Kevin McNulty - From shining shoes to Trivial Pursuit to Endless Games.
INVENTION CORNER - KIDS
Kids Invent the
Darndest Things
-
INDUSTRY LEADERS SPEAK OUT
Rules Guidelines
- as suggested by Michael Gray
HMMM...
GERMAN GAMES OR DESIGNER GAMES? WHAT ARE THEY?"
BOARD GAME DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN Inventing an Out of the Box Game, Max Winter Osterhaus of Out of the Box Publishing Designers Perspective, Logo Design - Matt Nuccio of Design Edge The Designer’s Perspective, The Whole Package - by Matt Nuccio of Design Edge Planning for Success – Identifying and evaluating your options - by Kim Becker of Gamebuilders Eleven Principles of Game Design - Andrew Looney of Looney Labs Game Design Considerations - Greg Aleknevicus, Editor of The Games Journal
PRICING STRATEGIES Art or Science? A deeper look at pricing strategies- Richard Gottlieb
PRINTING,
PACKAGING, WAREHOUSING AND FULFILLMENT INFORMATION Self-production vs Licensing - Mary Couzin
THE RETAIL REPORT Nielsen Reveals Hispanic Consumer Shopping Behavior Insights He's Got Game - Gordon B Lugauer, 'the' Board Game Barrister talks about his business in Enterpreneur.com Game Store Proprietor Speaks Out
- Katherine Newkirk of The Game Perserve dispenses sage advice. THE
LEGAL BRIEFCASE From Concept to Contract: Making a Successful Product Pitch
- Although aimed at computer designers, card and board game inventors
will find similarities - David Mullich YOU SHOULD KNOW Choking
Hazard Regulations by US Consumer Product Safety Commission - regulations
regarding game parts provided by Morris Kyrollos Marketing Your Game Online - Scott Perowitz
Let Children Win at Board Games - Theresa Foy DiGeronimo
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