There are times that you just know fate has a hand in things.  Like I swear fate pushed the toy/game industry on me.  There’s no way I would have pursued it on my own, and yet due to some events beyond my control here I am writing game reviews while taking a break from game inventing!
From the sound of it, the game In A Pickle ended up being invented as a result from a little push by fate too.  As told by one of the inventors, Colleen McCarthy-Evans, this is …

I know it’s my first review since Toy Fair and you’re all dying to hear about something new and exciting, but I have to have some time to play the games!  So instead I’m doing a “throwback” review of my favorite old game – backgammon!   So why a review a game that predates modern civilization? Because I’m guessing far more than half of my readers have never played it (and it’s got some cool history!)
Like I said, backgammon is old.  Some estimate that it’s has been around close to 5000 …

There is just something about the look of Blue Orange games that I love.  Previously I reviewed Gobblet Gobblers (see here) and I got quite a bit of good feedback on that one.  It’s cute, fun to play and easy to learn – three things that they were able to successfully replicate in their game ChickyBoom!  Though unlike Gobblet Gobblers, ChickyBoom is a game is really a kid’s game – not an all-ages game in kid’s clothing.  But for the children in your life this one is going to be …

On the very edge of the Chicago suburbs, right at the last exit that divides the bustling commuters from the nothingness that spans to westward to the Rockford oasis there is a Cabela’s store.  It outfits hikers, hunters and other people looking to venture away from the city.  This weekend I made the trek from Chicago proper to this oversized log cabin to return an ill-fitting Christmas gift.  As I wandered through the maze of camo and fishing gear, I spotted a game I knew, Find It.  It’s a charmingly …

I can’t believe I’m writing an article about holiday themed games, but I am.  Here’s why: I was shopping yesterday and I saw all sorts of people buying ugly holiday pins and overly sparkly Christmas sweaters.  So if people insist on buying Christmas-themed products, I want to show them what the game industry has to offer!  And unlike holiday sweaters these could be used year round without tons of strange looks.  So here I’ve picked some of my favorites:

Holiday Yahtzee, A Christmas Story Yahtzee, Charlie Brown Christmas Yahtzee
Personally I think …

When you have a hallway full of games there are often ones that you know you like but they just never get pulled out and played.  I really have no idea why this happens but I think it’s like certain movies.  You love them but you need to be in the right mood to watch them.  And then when you finally are in that mood you’re like I LOVE THIS MOVIE!  Well, that recently happened with TriBond.  We played a little bit at the bar during the Toy and Game …

I like word games, but only specific word games.  You will probably never see me review Scrabble on this site because I think it takes far too long to play and I find waiting for slower players to take their turn agonizing.  I also refuse to memorize the Scrabble dictionary, which I feel that you need to do to gain a solid win against the stronger players.  Boggle, however, I love.  It’s “the 3-minute word search game” that everybody plays at the same time.  And for those of you who …

Continuing the theme from my last article (travel games) this game may not be the easiest one to find, but if you do, it will make any road trip feel like a party.  ReFraze is a trivia game that takes movie, song and TV show titles and changes them (using synonyms) so you have to decipher what the names actually are.
Want to try one?  It’s a TV show:  “Carpet Mice”  Do you know what it is?  If not, there is one clue each card – for this it gives the …

I think that games should look fun to play.  It’s much easier to convince a newbie to play a game if looks fun – granted it should also be fun, but I think that almost goes without saying.
Today’s game review is on Gobblet Gobblers.  It’s the colorful, cute version of the abstract strategy game Gobblet which has been a success for Blue Orange games for a couple of years now.  Invented by Blue Orange’s founder Thierry Denoual, the game is easy to play and learn but takes a bit of …

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve got a degree in industrial design and ending up in the game industry was somewhat a fluke.  I needed a job, they were the only ones hiring after 9/11 so voilà -  “toy/game inventor Kim.”
Now if you don’t know what an industrial designer is, consider what a graphic designer does for 2D designs; industrial designers do that for 3D products like cars, electronics, household goods, furniture and the list goes on.  Essentially it means that I have a weakness for beautifully designed …