| Place | Awarded to | Product | |
| Category - Preschool Toy | |||
| Best Value for Money Toy | Thinkfun - Distributed by Think Tank Distributors | Zingo | |
| Second | Thinkfun - Distributed by Think Tank Distributors | Zingo | |
| Winner | Lego South Africa | Lego 5634 | |
1st Lego Mindstorms (fantastic cutting edge robotic Lego)
2nd Lego Crane (gorgeous)
3rd Smart Games Colour Code (highly educational game stimulating spatial perception and figure-ground perception, thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills).
ThinkFun, Inc. a leading creator of mind challenging games is pleased to announce that 4 of our exciting new products have been awarded as 2008 Parent’s Choice award winners. Chocolate Fix and Serpentiles were two of only three recipients to win a Gold Award in the games category! See below for more details.
We are winners!
The Parents' Choice Awards Committee, has awarded the following products as 2008 Parents' Choice award winners.
Chocolate Fix 2008 Parents' Choice Gold
Serpentiles 2008 Parents' Choice Gold
Ducks in a Row 2008 Parents' Choice Silver
Top This! 2008 Parents' Choice Silver
Parents' Choice Foundation
The Nation's Oldest Nonprofit Guide to Quality Children's Media and Toys
Established in 1978, Parents’ Choice is the nation's oldest nonprofit guide to quality children's media and toys.
Who Founded Parents' Choice - And Why?
While teaching a graduate seminar in children's literature, author and educator Diana Huss Green pulled together a small discussion group of parents who felt their rigorous standards for their children's education were not being fulfilled.
The mandate of the discussion group was clear: create for parents a non-commercial clearinghouse of supplementary media experiences and learning products.
Diana Huss Green established Parents’ Choice Foundation on the following beliefs:
Reading is our children's key to the world's histories, literatures, arts and sciences.
Our Mission Continues:
The Foundation's mission is to provide parents with information to participate wisely in their children's learning outside the classroom.
We continue to adhere to the founding principles because:
And above all, because learning is fun - and we want kids to know it.
Our Purpose:
The Foundation’s purpose is to search out and recommend products that help kids grow – imaginatively, physically, morally and mentally—fairly priced products that are fun, safe and socially sound.
Parents’ Choice reviews books, toys, music, television, software, videogames, websites, and magazines for children and families of all achievements and backgrounds.
If you’re looking for a list of “Hot Toys,” you won’t find them here. Parents’ Choice recommends toys with staying power, books with honesty and integrity of characters, illustration of elegance and imagination, music that families can sing together, storytelling that teaches us lessons from lands and cultures close and far away, magazines that do not mask editorial content in advertising, television that teaches with civility and not chaos, and software and videogames that encourage sharpening skills not leveling landscapes.
What We Do:
Parents’ Choice Foundation strives to provide parents with reliable unbiased information about tools to help their children learn, to explore new challenges, to discuss ideas and to pursue dreams. It’s that simple. And it’s that complex.
Fortified with information, parents and caregivers of all achievements and backgrounds can make informed decisions about which new products are right for their children.
Parents’ Choice®, the Foundation’s online publication, provides parents with quick study guides including: What Makes a Good Toy?, How to Choose A Good Video/DVD, and What-Kids-Who-Don’t-Like-To-Read-Like-To-Read™. In a variety of themed articles, experts offer objectivity, respect, expertise and yes, a sense of humor. Our unofficial motto: Read More. Play More. Learn More. defines the website sections.
Parents' Choice is a Resource
Millions upon millions of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles have been using Parents’ Choice as a guide to children’s media since 1978. Many an educator, librarian and storekeeper won’t make decisions about buying or borrowing children’s media without recommendations from Parents’ Choice.
How We Do It:
Parents’ Choice approaches its mission with a deep passion and a remarkable clarity of purpose. Our experts and advisors, join us in the hard work and determination required to navigate the vast array of children’s media and toys available in today’s marketplace. With the generosity of time and spirit, parents, grandparents, librarians, educators, writers, artists, musicians, performing artists, and yes, children from across the country participate in the process.
Learn More About the Parents' Choice Awards Program >
Hot Spot™, Pete's Pike™ and Cover your Tracks™ Add to ThinkFun's Portfolio of Award Winning Mind Challenging Games
ThinkFun®, Inc., a leading creator of mind-challenging games, is proud to introduce Hot Spot™, Pete's Pike™ and Cover your Tracks™ to its award winning product line of pioneering mind-challenging games. These three new products each contain a unique theme that engages and entertains while helping children build essential thinking skills.
"ThinkFun games make learning fun. Our games engage kids and educate kids in a nurturing, family-focused environment" said Bill Ritchie, CEO and Co-Founder of ThinkFun. "The three new games we are introducing in the Spring of this year all have multiple challenge levels that will draw players into the game to stimulate energy, emotion and education."
New product highlights:
Hot Spot™
In this energetic game of robot motion, the goal is to help the red robot jump to the hot spot on the game board. Working with a team of blue and green robots, the red robot must leap to success, creating the right sequence of moves to reach the hot spot. Hot SpotT™ includes 40 challenges ranging from Beginner to Expert and includes bright, colorful game pieces and fun robot characters. With a self-contained storage compartment for easy travel, kids can't wait to leap to the hot spot again and again. Ages 8+, Single Player.
Pete's Pike™
There's no room for error on the edge of an icy mountain top. Pete's Pike™ challenges players to help Pete the Mountain Climber reach the top of the peak as five native mountain goats lead the way. An innovative strategy game that takes kids on a journey through the wilderness, Pete's Pike™ helps kids develop problem solving and teamwork skills. As players hike through 40 Beginner to Expert challenges, they must depend on keen survival skills to keep Pete from being left out in the cold. Complete with a self-contained storage compartment for easy travel, kids can take the fun of Pete's Pike™ along for the ride. Ages 8+, Single Player.
Cover your Tracks™
In this high stakes spatial development game, kids must cover their tracks on a journey through mud, sand, snow and cement. First, players select one of 20 challenge cards. Then they must place all four pieces on the game tray to cover their tracks. As the game play gets more challenging, kids will put their thinking skills to the test on a journey across different terrains. Complete with colorful game pieces and a Game-Go bag for easy storage, players will learn to cover their tracks no matter where they travel. Ages 8+, Single Player.
ThinkFun is constantly developing ground-breaking games that keep kids playing and learning. Hot Spot™, Pete's Pike™ and Cover your Tracks™ are no exception, adding new energy to ThinkFun's complete line of innovative games. ThinkFun will showcase their new 2007 Spring products along with all of their renowned mind-challenging games during The International Toy Fair held on February 11-14, 2007 at the Javits Center in New York City, Booth #1819.
About ThinkFun Inc.
ThinkFun Inc., located in Alexandria, VA, is the leading creator of mind-challenging games. Since 1985, the company has produced award winning games such as Rush Hour®, TIPOVER®, and Zingo!®. ThinkFun games channel the natural joy and energy that children find in play into an innovative, family-focused way of building essential thinking skills. ThinkFun is committed to creating fun, mind-challenging games that kids will want to play again and again. To learn more, please visit www.ThinkFun.com.
ThinkFun® Inc., the leading creator of mind-challenging games, is pleased to announce that Zingo!® has been nominated for a Toy of the Year (T.O.T.Y.) Award by the Toy Industry Association (TIA). One of the most prestigious honors in the industry, Zingo!® is up for the coveted award in the “Specialty Toy of the Year” category.
The T.O.T.Y. Awards are designed to honor the best toys developed by the international toy industry for consumers in North America. Members of the industry nominate their choices for the best and most innovative products of the year. Once the final ballot has been determined, it is distributed and voted upon by TIA member companies.
“We are thrilled to receive this T.O.T.Y. nomination, and it is an honor to be recognized among such high caliber products,” said ThinkFun Co-Founder Andrea Barthello.
“Consumer response to Zingo!® has been outstanding because it has such a unique play experience. Kids love being in charge of the Zinger and shouting out Zingo!® when they win, and parents appreciate the fact that their kids are developing essential thinking skills as they play. It is also a great game because kids can play Zingo!® with other kids or play with their parents or teachers,” added CEO and Co-Founder Bill Ritchie.
Zingo!®
Zingo!® is an innovative game that utilizes the familiar bingo concept, but adds a mind-challenging Zing. Kids slide the Zingo!® Zinger forward to reveal two mystery playing tiles. As the tiles are revealed, kids call out matching images to fill their playing cards. The first person to completely fill a playing card wins by yelling Zingo!® Fun for the entire family, Zingo!® helps kids develop vocabulary, memory and matching, and social interaction skills. Perfect for keeping young minds engaged and entertained for hours, Zingo!® has quickly become a family favorite. For ages 4 – 8, and 2 – 8 players.
ThinkFun will be highlighting Zingo!®, along with their complete line of mind-challenging games, at the TIA’s annual Toy Fair convention, February 11-14, 2007 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. ThinkFun will be exhibiting in Booth #1819.
About ThinkFun, Inc.
ThinkFun, Inc., located in Alexandria, VA, is the leading creator of mind-challenging games. Since 1985, the company has produced award winning games such as Rush Hour®, TIPOVER®, and Zingo!®. ThinkFun games channel the natural joy and energy that children find in play into an innovative, familyfocused way of building essential thinking skills. ThinkFun is committed to creating fun, mindchallenging games that kids will want to play again and again. To learn more, please visit www.ThinkFun.com.
