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Toy Fair is truly a geek paradise. Yes, there were plenty of robots. Pixar geeks got to see Cars 2 merchandise everywhere, including the creepy and expensive talking Lightning McQueen. Transformer geeks walked past Optimus Prime parked on 41st Street to see the new buildable Transformers at Hasbro. (They're not Lego, they're Kre-O. Got it?) No matter what your style of geekery, Toy Fair has something for you.
One of the things I'm most excited about coming out of Toy Fair is Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure from Activision. The combination of toys and video games is nothing new, but Activision advances the genre with toys that can store game data. Not only are the figurines cool, but you slap them down on your game portal and the character blasts into the game and you can start playing in Spyro's world. Different characters have different abilities, changing up the play experience depending on the character you're playing. After you've powered up your character, take your toy over to a friend's portal and start playing against her characters - the toy carries with it the character's experience.
As I walked past the Beamz booth, smooth jazz was emanating from what looked like the love child of a music stand and a theremin. It hooks up to your computer and is loaded with instrument sets that you play by passing through the "beamz" with your hands. There are a bunch of different genres to play, and when asked if there was any kids' music, he busted out the classic "Mahna Mahna".
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxNbAl352C0[/youtube]
Die-hard Star Wars fans who want to introduce Star Wars to their toddlers will enjoy Playskool's cute and chunky Galactic Heroes line of toys. The Millenium Falcon Adventure Set
For the budding scientists, Be Amazing Toys had some great stuff, including a Mentos/Coke Geyser Rocket Car. Last year's Be Amazing booth, with geysers and fake snow, inspired my daughter's science experiment birthday party. I also loved U-Fizz from Hog Wild, which lets you carbonate anything. I particularly liked the suggestion of fizzy gravy.
Backyard Safari Outfitters has more good toys for little scientists. We enjoy their Bug Vacuum, and this year they've added a Wireless Parabolic Listener and Storm Chaser Mobile Weather Pod to their line of backyard fun.
MythBusters fans rejoice! There are Mythbusters board and card games. I'm keen on the one that launches Buster from a catapult: MythBusters Hit the Target Trivia Game
Every year at toy fair I have an cynical internal monologue running through my head against the over-licensing of toys and games, and this year was no different. "Ugh! Brand, brand, license, license... I mean why can't people leave classic games along and just ma... ZOMG IS THAT HARRY POTTER CLUE
Don't worry, Makers, there's lots of stuff for you, too. How about a 6 in 1 Educational Solar Kit or a Salt Water Fuel Cell Car from OWI Robotics?
Or there are cool customizable DIY MP3 players from Mugo. As someone who's having loads of trouble with my iTunes lately (we've tried to share a household library and now synching devices is an all-afternoon affair), there's something nice about an MP3 player that just recognizes that it's got MP3 files on it and plays them. And it doubles as a USB drive.
What I wanted most of all, among lots of Toy Fair favorites, were the dollhouses from Bianca Dada, perfect for design geeks like me. They are modern masterpieces, and nowhere is the design more thought out than with the Dylan House. It's a beautifully designed house that folds in on itself to store flat. Designer Tim Boyle was inspired by George Jetson's car that folded into briefcase. It's perfect for those of us living in apartments too small for all the toys we want.
That ought to be enough to keep me and the family busy until Toy Fair 2012.
