Gamewright – 2010 – Toy Fair

Gamewright really did their walk-through correctly, we had a scheduled time with Jason at 12:30 and he gave us a demo of all the new games that Gamewright will be putting on the shelf in the spring (I believe that is the timeframe).  The key word of that last sentence is “demo” as Jason actually played a few rounds of each of the games with us to give a real taste of how each of the games work.  I think that is much better than just reading a press release or hearing about how a game is played from someone.  Jason had it all down pat and really made this walk-through a blast.

For me and the wife, Order’s Up! was probably our favorite game that will work well with both of the boys.  Plus it has an actual call bell that you have to ring!  My wife beat both Jason and myself in a few quick rounds of the game and had a blast doing it.  Ages 6 and up.

It’s rush hour at the Ring-a-Ding Diner and you must hurry to serve a table full of hungry customers! Roll the die to add dishes to your tray. Roll a Free Meal or snag the Special of the Day to help fill your order. And if you roll a bell, it’s a mad dash to grab your grub before another player beats you to the lunch! Be the first to complete all your orders and – DING! – you’re the winner!

For the younger player, they will be introducing Take the Cake which was colorful and perfect for kids that like to shake things.  Age Range 4 and up.

We don’t know who invented the cupcake, but whoever it was surely deserves a culinary gold medal. The idea of a personal-sized portion of scrumptious cake topped with rich frosting and colorful toppings is genius – pure and simple. Speaking of pure and simple, Take the Cake is a simple game that’s pure fun! As you shake the shaker, you’ll hone fine motor skills, as well as shape and color recognition. For a double treat, whip up a batch of real cupcakes and play this game while you’re waiting for them to bake!

Bingo Link was one of the games that I thought was pretty cool, and it prompted a very interesting conversation of how age ranges are determined for games, some of it based on the chance a specific age range has on winning the game.  Bingo Link, while looking like a simple game at first does have enough strategy to push up the range to Ages 6 and up.  It makes sense after I learned how to play.  I think me and my older son will have some great Bingo Link battles.  Ages 6 and up.

Can you see a trumpet? How about a rabbit that’s pink? Now mark a path between them in this clever game of links! Take turns calling out objects and marking off the spaces. Every board has the same pictures but found in different places. You don’t want to help another player win, so be careful what you name. Be the first to link two sides together and Bingo! – You’ve won the game!

Dweebies! is one of those games that I am glad I got to see played, because I might not have understood exactly how it worked.  The Dweebies are also unique to Gamewright and the characters are pretty cool looking and will definately be enjoyable for the children.  This is for the older children based on the gameplay, ages 8 and up.

Meet the Dweebies! These uniquely colorful characters are out to capture your heart, but you must capture them first! Round up Dweebies by matching cards on both ends of any row. Seems simple at first… but Dweebies can be tricky, and some will disappear before they’ve met their match! Collect the most cards and consider yourself the Dweebie-in-Chief!

I also got to see Sumo Ham Slam and Forbidden Island and while Sumo Ham Slam is not my families type of game for family game night, I can see two kids having fun with it.  Forbidden Island looked really awesome but is for Ages 10 and up and in my family we are just not there just yet.  Might be something interesting to play with the adults though and the artwork is outstanding. 

Again, a big thumbs up to Jason for giving us a fun display of the new games coming from Gamewright and Ceaco.