The New York Toy Fair is a slightly mad affair. There's 12 plus floors in two adjacent buildings of toys on display during this week-long binge. A special weekend show at the Sheraton Hotel plays host to hundreds of international toy companies. Buyers for chains and distributors from every part of the country scurry around looking for the next big thing ... the next Trivial Pursuit ... the next He-Man. it may be February, but everyone thoughts are on the coming Christmas sales quarter.
Games are not the biggest feature of the show, despite the fact that game sales account for more than 50% of the toy industry's annual income. Ther6 plenty to be seen, of course, but the talk is of 'plush' (stuffed animals) and especially about "hot" licenses. You also get a preview of the new media blitzes about to be unleashed on unsuspecting children. Parents can expect to be begged for Thundercats (action figures), Wuzzles (a hush-hush Disney license), She- ra (a female He-Man), and Barbie in the world of work.
Still there's a lot of games to be seen as you walk the halls of the Toy Center, the building that houses the New York offices of many toy sales rep companies and the fair itself Last year Milton Bradley created quite a stir with their preview copies of the three Gamemaster Games-Axis & Allies, Broadsides and Boarding Parties, and Conquest of the Empire. While this year's show had nothing as dramatic as MM Gamemaster line, there's a lot to look forward to. Here are some of the highlights.
Milton Bradley, recently acquired by Hasbro, showed No Respect, a game inspired by Rodney Dangerfield, and Scotland Yard, the successful game from Ravensburger (France) that MB will be rereleasing. Disappointingly, there was no sign of any new Gamemaster series releases.
Parker Brothers appeared all set to take advantage of Monopoly's 50th birthday. There will be special editions of the venerable game including a duplicate of the original 1935 edition, packed in a square tin can and complete with wooden houses and hotels. A new game, Advance to Boardwalk, makes use of the familiar Monopoly trademarks in a new game of condo wheeling and dealing.
Parker Brothers is also releasing VCR Clue, a mystery game that uses video tape to show the murder. The acting in the tape was so-so, but the game looks like fun. This should be out by April.
Selchow & Righter, the happy purveyors of Trivial Pursuit, have picked up another game they hope will enrich their coffers, Mhing. An adult card game, Mhing is available as an independent release now, but will be re-formatted for S&R. Waiting in the wings is Life, a picture trivia game with access to the extensive photo files of Time- Life, Whodunit, a mystery boardgame, and Affred's Other Game, from the designer of Master Mind.
Murder was a topic, not an activity, heavily promoted at the fair. In addition to MB's Scotland Yard, Parker's VCR Clue, and Selchow's Whodunit, Ideal has a Murder To Go game ready for May release. Party guests play different roles in a murder mystery While not a new idea, Ideak game comes with such handy items as a body outline to show just where the corpse was found. ideal also has a "nasty" game called Shove Off, where you can actually push your opponent's pieces off the board.
Not all the adventure game companies came to the fair, though I would think that this would be the place to sell their products. Still, there were some major releases shown.
The Avalon Hill Game Company has two major releases planned: Monster Coliseum for Runequest and Omegakron for Lords of Creaton. Interestingly, TAHGC is also releasing two modules for its Dune boardgame, Spice Harvest and The Duet. These may have been planned in anticipation of the recent film becoming a blockbuster. Two adventure games were also announced, Yellowstone-a wildlife survival game, and Stellar Conquest-a game of intergalactic conquest. The lone wargame release shown was Firepower, a modern-day game of man-to-man combat.
West End Games' booth was not being manned when I visited it so some weary buyers were plopped in chairs blocking the way to West End's display. The new releases were being used to support ash trays and I had to lift one off to get a look at Star Trek-The Adventure Game.
The game was well worth the effort. With its sleek design and inviting paragraph- event booklet, it had me itching to play. Best of all, is designed to be a terrific solitaire game. West End also has junta and Arabian Nights scheduled for release, as well as modules for their hit Paranoia role-playing game.
TSR Inc. displayed some interesting changes in marketing. While the Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games are still very much the company's backbone, family games will be a major thrust in 1985. There will be a word game Crosscheck, a mystery-party game Spy Ring, a simple strategy game Sirocco, and a soap opera boardgame All My Children.
Serious fantasy role-players will be glad to see TSR's Battlesystem, complete with a cardgame village for fantasy miniatures battles. Other adventure games scheduled: Proton-Fire, a robot role-playing game, a Conan role-playing game, and a pair of SPI brand wargames, Cobra and Napoleon's Last Battles. There are many new TSR solitaire adventure gamebook releases planned.
Many other companies participated in the Toy Fair including FASA Corp., Grenadier Models Inc., Victory Games Inc., Sleuth Publications, and Koplow Games. These companies exhibited new games which are described in detail in the HIA Show report published in GAME NEWS' April issue. In addition, smaller companies also displayed their products, including the Ungame Co~ The Ungame, Shipps Lt& Shogun game, the Make-Out Game Co~ Make-Out Game and Helene Fox Co~ Snob.
Actimagination was showing a Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Board Game featuring 44 Marvel figures including a 4" figure of Galactus. This game is designed to also be challenging for solo play. international Playthings has Quest, a fantasy game featuring a beautiful board. Leisure Dynamics has Sabotage ready to strike. Aretta King Company has a nutty game called UFO in which you try to manipulate a little globe through hoops as it floats on a cushion of air. Sleuth Publications announced Gumshoe, a 1940's mystery board game. Super Star showed Super Star Pro Wrestlina.
And if all this leaves you bedazzled and unable to decide what to buy, or even to look at, never fear. Pen-G is here! Pen-G, from Comeau Karas Ltd., is a sleek goldplated pendulum that hovers over a mystical board. Ask Pen-G a question and it will oscillate in the direction of the answer. A new competitor in the OuiJa-class of games, Pen-G is just the thing for those indecisive moments.
As to what will be the big games of 1985, my guess is as good as Pen-G. But what is crystal clear is the sophisticated direction of new game releases previewed at this year~ Toy Fair. Every major "toy" game manufacturer is releasing aduft clesignsgames not meant for children, even under the guise of "good for the whole family." Unless, of course, your youngster enjoys murder mysteries or is familiar with complex abstract concepts, adult humor, or the past 50 years of world history
The toy industry has finally discovered that adults play games without the aid of their children. What took them so long?
Back to Table of Contents -- Game News #4
To Game News List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 2000 by Dana Lombardy.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com