November is a couple months away, but it’s the right time to start planning your trip to TAGIE and ChiTAG! And guess what?  I’ve worked out a discount for all readers of The Game Aisle! Write “The Game Aisle” on your registration form (or download the one below) and get $75 off the full registration cost!*
What are TAGIE and ChiTAG?
TAGIE is the Toy and Game Inventor’s Expo and it is the best place for new and experienced toy and game inventors to meet industry experts and expand their knowledge of …

A month or so ago it was announced that Eddy Goldfarb (left) will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at the Toy and Game Inventor Awards in Chicago next November.  Most of you know that I’m from Chicago and I got my start at the now defunct invention firm Meyer/Glass Design.  While I was there I worked alongside Randy Klimpert who is now at Hasbro doing product design for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit.  Through blur of good and bad idea meetings, Simpson jokes and office pranks, I recalled Randy once …

After a long flight with a little hangover and a medical emergency on board that caused the paramedics to meet my plane at the gate, I’m back from 107th American International Toy Fair and it was a great time!  Toy Fair has really changed over the past 10 years with the Toy Building closing and the development of Dallas Fall Toy Preview but it’s still an important event on any game inventor’s calendar!
In its current state Toy Fair is a mix of large companies with small (if any) booths, medium …

Well it’s over!  The Toy & Game Inventor’s Expo (TAGIE), the TAGIE Awards and ChiTag have come and gone.  It’s been a long couple of days, but it’s really one of my favorite times of the year.    Lots of old inventors, new inventors, industry experts and inventor relations folks discussing their experiences within the industry and catching up on life since Toy Fair.
Some of the highlights:
Thursday:

Inventor Bruce Lund’s TAGIE conference keynote speech highlighting his life from a jobless industrial design student to getting a position at Marvin Glass …

The National Toy Hall of Fame announced this morning it’s 2009 inductees! They are:
The Ball, Big Wheel and the Nintendo Game Boy!

The announcement took place at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY and the items were chosen from twelve nominees which also included: Cabbage Patch Kids, Game of Life, Hot Wheels, Paper Airplane, Playing Cards, Rubik’s Cube, Sidewalk Chalk, Toy Tea Set, and Transformers. The Toy Hall of Fame accepts toy and game nominations all year and on November 5th they announced this year’s nominees biased on …