CHECK OUT WHAT HAPPENS AT BRICKLIVE!SIGN UP TODAY FOR OUR NEWSLETTER OUR SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS Forgot Your Login Info? TIA is the not-for-profit trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and bringing toys and youth entertainment products to kids of all ages. Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards 2015 TOTY Winners -TIA Toy of the Year | People's Choice Award | TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy of the year. WINNER: Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Checkup Center by Just Play WINNER: Uptown Espresso Kitchen by KidKraft LLC ACTIVITY TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy that inspires creative play through various forms of activity. Chocolate Pen by Skyrocket Toys Roominate™ Amusement Park by Roominate Shrinky Dinks Bake & Shape 3D Jewelry by Alex Brands Strand Bands Designer Set by The Bridge Direct Upcycling: Garbage to Glam by Fashion Angels Yummy Nummies by Blip Toys BOY TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy developed specifically for boys of any age, not including r/c, ride-on and other vehicles.
WINNER: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Millenium Falcon by The LEGO Group Air Hogs Millennium Falcon Quad by Spin Master Hot Wheels® Ultimate Garage by Mattel, Inc. Nerf N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 Blaster by Hasbro, Inc. Sky Viper Video Streaming Drone V950STR by Skyrocket Toys STAR WARS® Bladebuilders Jedi Master Lightsaberby Hasbro, Inc. XPV HULK SMASH™ RC by JAKKS Pacific, Inc. E-Connected TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy that through play help children develop special skills and/or knowledge. WINNER: Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition by Disney Hello Barbie™ by Mattel Kidizoom® Action Cam by VTech® Skylanders SuperChargers by Activision Publishing, Inc. Stikbot Studio by Zing View-Master® Virtual Reality Viewer by Mattel Wonder Workshop Dash Robot by Wonder Workshop EDUCATIONAL TOY OF THE YEAR WINNER: VEX Robotics Robotic Arm by HEXBUG Foundation Chemistry Kit by Yellow ScopeGears!® Build & Bloom Building Setby Learning Resources
Kids First Physics Lab by Thames and Kosmos Magnets in Motion 61Pc Set by Magformers Mighty Makers Fun on the Ferris Wheel by K'NEX Brands Number Lovin' Oven by LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. GAME OF THE YEAR Including children's board, card, CD-ROM or electronic game formats. (For CD-ROM or electronic games, formats must have ESRB's "Early Childhood" rating: content may be suitable for persons ages 3 and older. Contains no materials that parents would find inappropriate.) WINNER: PIE FACE GAME by Hasbro, Inc. Choice Words by MindWare Chrono Bomb® by Patch Products, LLC LEGO Dimensions by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Rush Hour Shift™ by ThinkFun, Inc. Three Little Piggies by Smart Toys and Games, Inc.by Fat Brain Toy Co. GIRL TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy developed specifically for girls of any age. WINNER: Shopkins Scoops Ice Cream Truck by Moose Toys Disney's Frozen Sing-A-Long Elsa by JAKKS Pacific, Inc
FURREAL FRIENDS STARLILY, MY MAGICAL UNICORN by Hasbro, Inc. Girl Scouts Cookie Oven by Wicked Cool Toys Nancy B's Science Club Black Light Illuminator & Nature's Mysteries Journal by Educational Insights NERF REBELLE ARROW REVOLUTION Bow by Hasbro, Inc. Zoomer Kitty by Spin Master Corp. INFANT/TODDLER TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy developed for infant and/or preschool children. WINNER: Bright Beats Dance & Move BeatBo by Fisher-Price Bright Beats Smart Touch Play Space by Fisher-Price Fold 'N Go Elephant Toy by Playskool Lil' Ocean Explorers 3-in-1 Adventure Course by Little Tikes Play All Day Elmo by Playskool Rolligo by Fat Brain Toy Co. Storytime Theater™ by Tech 4 Kids INNOVATIVE TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy that combines the most unique blend of innovative technology and play value for children today. WINNER: Meccanoid G15 by Spin Master Corp. Flipsies™ Sandy’s House & Ocean Cruiser by VTech
i-loom by Wooky Entertainment Laser Maze™ Jr. by ThinkFun, Inc. Makey Makey Classic by JoyLabz Star Wars Science - Jedi Force Levitator by Uncle Milton Industries OUTDOOR TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy designed for outdoor play. WINNER: Razor GFD Fury by Razor GFD Fury by Razor USA LLC Firetek Rocket by Zing Maisto TECH Rock Crawler 3XL by Maisto - Bburago Micro Mini2Go by Micro Kickboard NERF REBELLE SUPER SOAKER TRI THREAT Crossbow by Hasbro, Inc. NERF SUPER SOAKER FLOODFIRE Water Blaster by Hasbro, Inc. R2-D2™ Bubble Machine by Imperial Toy LLC PRESCHOOL TOY OF THE YEAR For toys created for children of any age that have a considerable electronic component involved. This includes "plug 'n play" and interactive videos. Design & Drill Brightworks by Educational Insights Guidecraft™ IO Blocks® 114 Piece Set by Guidecraft Miles from Tomorrowland Stellosphere by TOMY International
PlayTape by InRoad Toys Razor Jr. Lil'Crazy by Razor USA LLC Uptown Espresso Kitchen by KidKraft LLC PROPERTY OF THE YEAR The licensor that had the greatest success spreading its brand or property throughout the industry while generating interest and excitement. WINNER: Star Wars (Disney/Lucasfilm Licensing) Jurassic World (Universal Partnerships & Licensing) Minions (Universal Partnerships & Licensing) Paw Patrol™ (Spin Master Corp) Shopkins (Moose Toys Pty Ltd) SPECIALTY TOY OF THE YEAR The best toy primarily distributed through specialty retailers. WINNER: Tumble Trax™ Magnetic Marble Run by Learning Resources Boogie Board Play n' Trace Doodle Pad by Kent Displays, Inc. Nursery Time Elmo by Gund Sleepy Seas Sound & Lights Whale by Gund SpinAgain by Fat Brain Toy Co. SuperMax the Turtle by Cloud b Worry Eaters by The Haywire GroupCan it just be my birthday already? I really want to get my hands on some of the amazingly cool toys, gadgets and new games for kids that I spotted at London’s Toy Fair 2014…
Toy Fair, which took place from 21-23 January at the Kensington Olympia in London, was an overwhelming experience – more than 280 exhibitors showcasing thousands of new toys and games. While I doubt anyone could see and sample all of them in three short days, I did my best to do a whistle-stop tour of the exhibition centre so I can show you my picks of the most exciting new releases. One of the things I loved about this year’s Toy Fair was the huge selection of fun science- and biology-themed games! The kits above are by Portuguese company Science4you, and the kits are developed in collaboration with Oxford University. How’s that for credibility? They have science games that combine fun and learning for ages 3-14 years, and to find your nearest stockist they suggest you get your dad or mum to tweet them or ask them on Facebook. These science games are by toy company Clementoni. Their products are aimed at kids from 6-10 years, and cover everything from food and kitchen experiments, to gardening, dinosaurs and archaeology, chemistry, sustainable energy, electricity, climate and weather, and underwater and underground life.
Find out more here. If you’re into entomology (that is, BUGS), you’ll love these! Learn more about the insects in your world by keeping them close by for observation. Nick Baker’s Bug Safari and Worm World are available from Interplay, and the Butterfly Garden is by Insect Lore. We had a flurry of queries about GoldieBlox engineering toys for girls when we first posted about them on Twitter. Good news, they now have a UK distributor! You can find them on the Interplay website. They didn’t have an open box at the stand, but you can see inside two GoldieBlox games on the site. They look like great fun, and are aimed at age 4 and up. I also loved the idea of the Marbureka marble run sets. Each set comes with a combination of pieces you can fit together to build your own marble run. They are available online in several sizes and from a number of distributors – just search “Marbureka marble run” in Google. The scary spider in the bottom picture was built from KAPLA blocks.
They are a similar idea to the wooden block game of Jenga, in that you build by just placing them on top of each other – no glue, nails or clips required. You can buy them in different colours, but I quite like the neutral ones as you could then paint or colour them yourself! The main image at the top is of Lego’s prize-winning police station set – one of Toy Fair’s Best New Toys for 2014. So those were all my favourite finds before my phone died from over-enthusiastic picture taking! I was really entertained by The Ugglys electronic Pug Pet. Just like a real dog, this pup snores, farts and makes other horrible noises to gross out you and your friends! Fans of the Minecraft game (which you can read more about here) will want to get their hands on some of the many Minecraft toys and figurines I spotted. I like the idea of taking the fun and creativity away from the screen and into real life too. Lego and Minecraft teamed up to create classic Minecraft environments you can build from Lego blocks – take a look here.