With additional reporting by Chris Lundy, Claudia Newcorn, Marie Raven and Brenda Ruggiero
You know about the frenzy over Bananagrams and Set Enterprises' trio of popular games, but what about the games just behind thetop-10 best sellers? To help ensure your store has the best possible selection, we've outlined the top-20 games customers want most, according to a TDmonthly Magazine survey of 38 specialty retailers. Put your cards together for Gamewright, prepare for tea with Eeboo, and don't forget to play it up with Legendary Games' custom Farkel. See the remainder of our top-20 list below.
View the top-10 most-wanted games.No manufacturer paid to be included in this article. All products listed were designated by editorial staff without regard to the company's relationship with TOYDIRECTORY.com/TDmonthly Magazine.
Little girls shake the tube and then try to find the objects listed on the tube's top. The Glitz and Glamour game contains objects such as a diary and tiara to make the search appeal to tween girls. Launch date: 2009.
Requiring no reading from its players, Qwirkle is a simple-to-learn but stimulating game based around matching the attributes of the game play tiles. Players build rows and columns by placing tiles adjacent to tiles they share an attribute with (shape or color), and score bonus points if they can think ahead and put a tile down touching multiple other tiles. While the game is easy to understand, a good eye and quick thinking make Qwirkle challenging enough for a wide range of ages to play together. Awards: 2011 Speiele des Jahres (German game of the year). ― “We sell a lot of Qwirkle,” Sue Banducci said of popular games in her Danville, Calif., store, Games Unlimited. “Qwirkle was best-selling over Christmas,” said Shirley Reilly, owner of Let's Play in Hillsboro, Ore., in January 2009. ― When asked about his top-selling games in early 2009, Tye Steinbach of Thinker Toys in Portland, Ore. told TDmonthly, “It was probably Qwirkle. We're not huge gamers in our family, but it's really fun.” — Four of 44 specialty retailers named Qwirkle as a best seller in late fall 2009. Ages & Stages Toy Box in Golden, Colo., sells about 10 Qwirkle games per month, Manager Holly Anvers told TDmonthly. — As of 12/17/2012 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 483 reviews on Amazon.com and was No. 6 on the top 100 bestselling toys and games. Pros: Exciting; intellectually stimulating, easy to learn. Cons: Some said it took too long to play; only had 3 reviews less than 3 stars, however.
Time for Tea! Kids spin for a plate and napkin first. Then some tea to quench their thirst. Mind your manners if you please … but lose a turn if you see bees! This wonderful tea party game comes with a floral tablecloth for players to gather around. The first player to collect one item from each category, by spinning the tea pot–shaped spinner starting with a plate and building up their tea-time favorites, wins. The Tea Party Game was launched in February 2006. — Devo Ihonde of eeBoo Corp. told TDmonthly that “children can enjoy choosing different tea cups, saucers and treats.”
Players get rid of the high cards (rats) and go for the low cards (cats) in this poker-style game with cat- and rat-decorated cards. As children play Rat-a-Tat Cat, they develop a sense of timing and an understanding of basic, but essential, mathematical concepts. They also begin to develop an intuitive sense of probability. It’s won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Products, Mensa Select and a Canadian Toy Testing Council “Children’s Choice” Award. — Mark Truax, store manager at Try & Buy Toy Stores in Katonah, N.Y., said this game is “up there in the top” of its best-selling card games. — “Gamewright is a strong seller for us,” Colleen Nelson, owner of Goodie Gumdrops in Burien Wash., told TDmonthly in summer 2008. — Five percent of 64 retailers named Rat-a-Tat Cat as one of their top-selling card games in August 2008, and three of 38 echoed the same in late summer 2009. “It’s been our best seller for seven years,” Jennifer Schneeweis, owner of Izilla Toys in Seattle, told TDmonthly in August 2009, citing sales of 24 units monthly.
Kids flip and stack this clever loaf of cards to build slamwiches and double deckers. Tomato, lettuce, tomato ... slap! The player who gets there first will win the pile. But he’ll have to catch the thief and stop the muncher from stealing a stack of cards. When he’s out of cards, he’s out of the game. The first player to collect all the cards wins. Slamwich teaches reading readiness skills, such as visual discrimination and sequencing. While kids are flipping and stacking cards, they're actually learning how to recognize a series, make combinations, and anticipate what might happen. "Slamwich includes bread-shaped, die-cut cards. It's a fast-playing card game. It's also Gamewright's first card game," said Jason Schneider, product development and marketing manager for Gamewright. — Rosie Morris, manager of Whiz Kid Toys in San Luis Obispo, Calif., told TDmonthly to watch out for Gamewright, naming Slamwich as one of their hottest 2006 sales items. — "We have a lot of card games from Gamewright. One of the better ones is Slamwich," Shirley Reilly, owner of Let's Play in Hillsboro, Ore., told TDmonthly. In an August 2008 survey of 64 retailers, storeowners reported average sales of about a dozen per month. Six named Slamwich as a best-selling card game. — In August 2010, five of 43 retailers surveyed cited Slamwich as a best-selling card game.
This addictive, fast-paced dice game is now available in a blue tin box. This edition includes three specially marked LCR® cubes. The game itself retains its original simplicity where the roll of the dice determines which players to the left, right or center get the chips; the winner being the player with the chips at the end. Simple, fun and even educational for growing minds. L-C-R also comes with 24 playing chips and game instructions. The game is designed for three or more players.
The Honey Bee Tree is a best-seller from the iPlay Game line and is a recipient of the Family Fun Magazine’s Toy of the Year Award for 2002. Players remove the leaves from the trees and hope not to “awaken” the bees inside, providing experiences in cause-and-effect as well as logical thinking. It is ideal for two to four players and fun for the whole family. It is a recipient of the Dr. Toy Smart Play/Smart Toys Product Awards Program for 2006.
CLASSIC FARKEL™ has all components to play the game of Farkel including standard-size dice, instructions and a 20-sheet score pad, all packaged in an attention-grabbing peg package over 8-inches high.
In this challenging game, players roll two dice, add the dots and find the best combination of numbers to shut two rows of nine tiles. Players cannot touch tiles in the second row unless the tile in front of it has already been shut. The goal of the game is to shut all the tiles and close the super box. Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy 2009. Launch date: February 2008.
Writer's Bio: Julie L. Jones has written articles for both newspapers and magazines. Before joining the staff of TDmonthly Magazine, she worked as a communications writer and provided editorial support for a market research company. Read more articles by this author
Writer's Bio: Julie L. Jones has written articles for both newspapers and magazines. Before joining the staff of TDmonthly Magazine, she worked as a communications writer and provided editorial support for a market research company. Read more articles by this author
