In the Zone with Gems, Lasers and Rock and Roll

TDmonthly Selects Top-10 New and Innovative Games

Wondering what will play in 2007? These selections from the Game Zone in Hall 1A of the Javits Center let players capture a creature called the Gag, work through a board game with more than 100 dice, and recall the greatest moments in the history of Rock and Roll. Take a look below for other exciting new games:

Capture The Gag™ by RUBBING HANDS

In this game, two to eight children split into two teams, put on their colored wristbands, and unfurl their flags. Each team hides a Gag — a multifaceted creature that is magnetic and can also stick, grab and hook in hiding places — for the other team to find. The company’s Get-Out-Of-Their-Way Play “products allow kids to reinvent their play places and use their imagination,” Rubbing Hands Founder Chris Friden told TDmonthly. “There is no technology required and they are based on simple play that kids instinctively do on their own: hiding, finding, following and inventing, to name a few. These are fantastic gifts and party activities.” This product is a 2008 iParenting Media Award winner. ( Watch Video) 2/2/2007 (MSRP: $29.95; Age: 4 and Up)

DICEcapades! by HAYWIRE GROUP

Same great game as the original version but now with more cards! Think you can stack dice on your face? Will you dominate in arm wrestling? How about obscure facts? Got a handle on those? With a mixture of dice games, physical challenges, artistic creations, and trivia questions that will exercise both sides of your brain, you'll see why DICEcapades isn’t just the luck of the dice - it’s the smarts of the roller! This tabletop game will provide hours of fun with your friends and family. Customize the length of the game to fit your time frame - whether you want to play a marathon session or a quick game, the rules are adaptable to fit what YOU want! For 2-6 players.
— Michelle Deutschmann, owner of Kaleidoscope Toys in Falmouth, Mass., told TDmonthly in a February 2013 survey that DICEcapades! was one of their best selling games. 2/19/2007 (MSRP: $19.99; Age: 12 and Up)

Eye Know™ - Trivia for the Eyes by WIGGLES 3D

Trivia for they Eyes. All new Edition for 2014! Explore the world through images. The updated version of Eye Know now features even more content and an alternate game play system for younger players. Select an image from the game board to identify and then answer one of three trivia questions about the topic. Choose from an amazing array people, places, animals, manmade objects, famous places, flags, logos and much more. SRP $24.99-$29.99, 2 or more players.
Awards: Mensa Select Award Winner.

2/19/2007 (MSRP: $29.99; Age: 12 and Up)

Salad Bowl: The Game by SALAD BOWL LLC

Inside this fresh box are three salad bowls — Say Anything, Triple Threat and Charades — that hold the names of famous people players have written down. Teams alternate play and rotate players as they try to guess each name through clues and charades, promoting guessed names to the next bowl. 2/28/2007 (MSRP: $25.00; Age: 12 and Up)

XIG - The Sorcerers Sword by GT² FUN & GAMES INC.

XIG - The Sorcerers Sword by GT² FUN & GAMES INC. The award-winning XIG series features unique stand-alone games involving puzzle tiles that connect during play. If desired, the completed puzzles of each game ingeniously combine into an amazing overall XIGsaw puzzle and story in a fascinating world of mysterious creatures. In XIG-The Sorcerers Sword, players challenge each other to complete an amazing sword puzzle while trying to control Sorcerers and rings of the four elements. Control of the rings allows players to protect their own Sorcerers. Spells and curses help players advance or hinder their progress. Launch date: October 2006.
— When creating XIG puzzles, the company’s two primary objectives were to “create a game that hit a chord for the tween market playing with the parents — cool enough, but interesting and engaging enough for adults to be involved” and to develop something innovative and creative — “not just the rehashing of an old idea,” President Greg Scott of GT² Fun & Games told TDmonthly. 2/19/2007 (MSRP: $29.95; Age: 8 and Up)

Khet 3D: Tower of Kadesh by INNOVENTION TOYS

Khet 3D: Tower of Kadesh by INNOVENTION TOYS This popular new laser game now has a 6"- by 6"-square add-on that creates a second level of play atop the original 10"- by 8"-square board. Players alternate turns moving mirrored pieces around the playing field and firing laser diodes to illuminate, and eliminate, their opponent’s pieces. Moves can now include a directional move or rotation of the expansion tower, or movement from the upper to lower level and vice versa.
— Khet 3D: Tower of Kadesh adds more excitement to the popular laser-beam game, employing additional board space so that lasers can not only bounce off mirrored pieces on the main playing field, but also enter a whole new dimension by finding their way up a tower to the second level. The strategy, creativity and materials involved in this game earned it a TDmonthly Innovations 2007 award. ( Watch Video) 2/27/2007

Ubongo by Z-MAN GAMES, INC.

Ubongo by Z-MAN GAMES, INC. This game is all about solving puzzles and collecting gems before the timer runs out. It features a colorful board and coordinating gems in various hues, and the goal is to collect as many gems of one color as possible. ( Watch Video) 2/28/2007 (MSRP: $39.99; Age: 8 and Up)

You're It by SPY ALLEY PARTNERS LLC

This fast-paced card game prompts players to grab one of seven cubes that keep them from being “It,” based on commands on each card. Players aim to take the cube that is opposite of the card before their opponents do. The wooden cubes are numbered in Spanish, German, French and English, and with die symbols and numerical digits. 2/28/2007 (MSRP: $10.95; Age: 7 and Up)