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2015 Toy Trends to Watch

Every year, hundreds of toy manufacturers flock to New York, in the middle of February, to showcase their latest and greatest. Thousands of buyer s and media folks are close behind, anxious to uncover hidden toy gems for their customers and readers. This year was no exception (except for the fact that it was 20 degrees colder than usual), and your parents@play team was right there on the front lines. Here are some of trends that we think will be hot in 2015.

backpacksBackpacks. Backpacks are no longer simple bags with shoulder straps designed to carry stuff. This year, they’ll be a major fashion statement, too. They’ll be colorful, fanciful, often-customizable, and some will combine form and function, allowing the wearer to dress up as a favorite character.

 

 

owlselephantsOwls and Elephants Are the New Teddy Bears. Of course, we won’t be saying goodbye to teddy bears forever, but there’ll be a lot more hooting and trumpeting in the toy aisles this year. Owls and teddy bears plush toys will also showing up as book illustrations, mini figurines, and, of course, in apps (more on that below).

 

 

talking backTalk amongst Yourselves. Toys that “talk” are nothing new, but as technology evolves, manufacturers are using it in very clever ways. Minions, for example, are pretty chatty and musical. But sometimes, if you put a few of them together, they’ll sing in harmony. Some doctor toys will change what they say depending on which patient is in the exam room. Others will speak differently when their wardrobe or location changes. Dogs and cats may chase each after other, otherwise-peaceful dinosaurs may fight each other in groups, hot dogs will sizzle when you put them on the grill, and so on.

 

 

 

blind packBlind Packs. Many collectible toys, from My Little Pony to The Walking Dead, will be available in small bags that don’t say who or what is inside them (some may give you a hint, though).

 

 

appThere’s an App for That. Technology is a wonderful thing, except when it isn’t. A huge number of physical toys now come with a virtual component. Many times, these apps augment your child’s playtime experience by adding new app/tablet-based dimensions and features. But sometimes, the apps add absolutely nothing—and may even detract.

grossThat’s Disgusting. Last year, we saw molds for making your own “poop” (complete with pieces of “corn” to heighten the effect), fart keyboards, and rainbow-pooping unicorns. Those will still be popular. Plus, we’ll see toys that eat, poop, vomit, and then combine all of those actions in a variety of disgusting ways. And we’ll add a new sense to the mix with fart sprays—some make a noise and produce pleasant odors, while others have a more “natural scent.”

frozenFrozen. We thought the movie was wonderful. But Disney has done such a good job licensing its characters that they’ll be popping up on toys, games, dolls, karaoke, cell-phone cases, apps, and everything else, that we’re predicting that within a few months, you’ll have completely OD’d on building snowmen, and the cold will bother you. A lot.

dino/movieMovie and TV Tie-ins. Speaking of movies, you’ll be seeing a huge number of entertainment-related toys, games, figures, and apps. Of course there are the superheroes from DC and Marvel—including some relatively rare ones like Ant Man—but there are also Minions, dinosaurs, and a variety of new characters who’ll be making the jump from the screen to your playroom.

role playRole Play. Now kids (mostly girls) can do more than just play with their dolls—they can dress up as them with brand-licensed skirts, tops, and footwear.

Learning with Your Kids? There’s an App for That

As fun—and educational—as iPads can be, when it comes to parents playing learning games with their children (as opposed to kids playing by themselves and turning into zombies), there really isn’t an app for that. Until now. TigerFace Games has developed a number of learning apps that allow parents and children to either compete or collaborate. The TigerFace Games apps are just a few of the dozens of games that are part of the Fingerprint Network. We spoke with Nancy MacIntyre, Fingerprint’s CEO and co-founder. Having worked at Broderbund, LeapFrog,and  Hasbro, Nancy knows a thing or two about games. “We’re trying to create experiences that parents and kids can do together,” she says.

We test-drove three Fingerprint apps, including two that are being released this week. We also previewed two more that are due out by the end of September. All are fun, engaging, entertaining, and challenging, and the graphics and animation are excellent.

Cosmic Reactor
Two players compete head-to-head in seven math-based games. One is a memory-match game, where players turn over “plates” that have equations, trying to find matching pairs (for example, 5×2 and 20-10). In another, a randomly-generated problem comes up (“pick the equation that gives 41”), and players have to find the right one from among a bunch of equation-sporting viruses that are floating around the screen. Customization is easy, so kindergarteners can do simple addition and subtraction, while older kids can multiply and divide larger numbers. (Ages 5-11; $2.99).

Quick Tap Spanish
In this two-person game, players race to match foreign-language words with their English equivalents. Quick Tap (which also comes in French, German, Portuguese, Mandarin, and others. Includes more than 100 word pairs in a variety of categories, such as animals, colors, food, and numbers. A fun way to brush up on the basics. (Ages: 5-11; $1.99)

The Flying Alphabetinis
If you like Scramble With Friends (by Zynga) or Boggle, you’ll love this game, where tiny acrobats with letters on their bellies pile on top of each other and create a jumble. Players find words forwards, backwards, up, down, and even zig-zagy. Flashcards with hints (like a picture of a boat) help early readers.  (Ages 5-11; Free – $2.99).

Sushi Scramble (coming soon)
A friendly sushi chef puts letters on floating boats while hungry customers grab them as fast as they can. In the 2-person collaborative mode, players work together to complete assignments such as, “Make two words that start with T”. In competitive mode, up to four players make words using letters from the boats or snatched from another player’s tray..(Ages 7-11; $2.99)

Equator (coming soon)The earth is out of whack and the only way to set things right is to come up with two equations that produce equal results. Both players work together using game-generated numbers and floating arithmetic operators (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). As the game progresses, problems gradually become more challenging. (Ages 5-11; Free – $2.99)

When parents download any of the 40+ Fingerprint apps, they become part of the Network, which offers some nice features. Of course, basic parental controls keep kids from downloading more apps without permission. But there’s also the ability to set up individual profiles for everyone in the family and track each child’s progress. That way dad and mom will know whether there are specific areas the child needs to work on.

Right now, Fingerprint apps are available only on Apple devices. But Android versions will be out soon.  As Nancy MacIntyre says, “We’ll do anything we can to keep kids and families playing together.” For more info, visit http://www.fingerprintplay.com