Two things stood out to me this year at ToyFair. The first was how busy it was. ToyFair is always a bit of a madhouse, but usually it's a madhouse with lulls. This year, all the booths I visited were busy all the time. It was crazy. The second thing I noticed was that everyone was talking education. There was a time when conventional wisdom argued against calling anything educational. I'm happy to report that trend has completely reversed itself.

So... what can you look forward to seeing on shelves in the coming year? Tons of stuff that's both fun and educational. Here's what I found, broken down by category.

The Companies You Already Know

Perplexus Twist. I got hooked on Perplexus after seeing it at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. If you're hooked too, the Twist looks like just the thing to feed your addiction. It's a clear ball with a plastic track inside it, just like the other editions of Perplexus, but it also has a knob on either side. Turning the knobs turns a portion of the plastic track inside the ball. If you're wondering about the educational benefits of Perplexus, just hand it to a 7-year old. It's puzzle that's stretches you both logically and physically, one that helps with everything from bilateral coordination to spatial awareness.

Roll & Play, by ThinkFun. ThinkFun always has great thinking games, but this one is for parents to play with their little ones. To play, roll the big plush die. The side that ends up face up indicates what color activity card you draw. You draw the card and let your little one do the activity. Activities are broken up into category, and include things like clap 8 times, or squeak like a mouse, or make a happy face. It's simple and fun, and a great way to spend time with your little one.

ThinkFun also was showing Yackity Smack, a game where players get to record their own sounds, which are incorporated into the game play. Super cool idea.

[I should also mention Distraction, but since I'm the designer of that one, it wouldn't really be proper.]

BriarPatch had a couple games that grabbed my attention. Mayhem, in particular, really rocks. There's a grid of letters on the table. You flip a card with categories on it, and then everyone starts shouting out words that fit the category. Each time you shout a word you grab the letter it starts with. Totally a blast! Another one is Crustacean Migration, by Kim Vandenbroucke, a cool game that has you moving across the country collecting crabs. Yes, it will help teach the states, but it's also a lot of fun.

Since I just mentioned Kim's game, now would be a good time to mention another of our writers, Reisa Schwartzman. Her company has launched travel versions of Wise Alec, which are really cleverly put together, as well as a new abstract strategy game called Oversight that hits the abstract game sweet spot of being both easy to learn and deep enough to engage the brain.

The Patch booth is always great to wander around. This year one of the games they were featuring was Blunders, a game that will help you teach (and in my case, learn) etiquette. It sounds kind of unbelievable that anyone could make etiquette fun, but Blunders does just that. Another game that caught my eye was the Tales to Play Where the Wild Things Are Game. There's a whole line of these board games based on children's books, and what a wonderful way to draw kids more deeply into reading!

Speaking of storytelling, I found some great storytelling accessories in the GuideCraft booth. They're called Storytime in a Box, and they're not games or toys, but rather boxes of accessories (puppets, figures, and other knicknacks) that can help you tell a story to a bunch of kids. They price is high ($50), but if you're looking for a classy gift for an elementary school teacher, this is one that would get a lot of use.

Over at the Mindware booth, I found something called Keva Contraptions, which is a construction set composed entirely of wooden planks. The secret is the precision with which the planks are made, allowing kids and adults to build complicated structures without having to worry about compensating for blocks that are a bit too thick or long or whatever. Their guidebook is also something to behold, challenging you with structures that are downright fascinating.

Surprises

Junior Learning is a new company that absolutely blew me away. Most new companies at ToyFair are launching with one or two products. They're launching with an entire catalog. At first, I was doubtful, but after speaking with Duncan and Anna, and looking at their products, I didn't have any choice but to get excited. They don't just speak the language of educators, they live it, and their products are rich in both education and fun. Spelligator, Wheel of Phonics, Monstermatics, and the Ten Frame Tower would all be amazing additions to any classroom or home. Whether you're an elementary school teacher, or a homeschooler with yonug kids, check out their website.

Ukloo is a neat little activity that you can do with your pre-reader kids. It's a set of clue cards that you use to set up a scavenger hunt. How can your pre-reader kids read the clue cards, you ask? There's a poster that lists each word with a picture next to it. The kids look at the words on the card, then find them on the chart. Educationally speaking, it's pretty obvious: they're learning to sight read. Fun-wise, it's like a scavenger-hunt inside a scavenger hunt. First they find a card, then they find the words on the poster to find out what the clue is. Neat, huh?

If you like word games, WordWinder, from HL Games, may well change your life. It's a grid of letter tiles (with some ridiculous number of combinations) and you play by spelling words across the tiles to form a path. In one game I played, I was trying to spell my way across the board. In addition to building words, I was blocking my opponents, and planning and strategizing and doing all the kind of thinking that I normally do for a strategy game. Great stuff! In another, we were racing each other along the tiles. Definitely check this one out when it comes out!

Albert's Insomnia is a math card game that really got me thinking. You start by drawing four cards. Each card has a number on it. The first player builds an equation with two or more of those cards that results in a 1. The next player does the same thing, trying to get to 2, and so on until you can't get any farther. It sounds like math, and it is, but it's also a lot of fun. Get a copy of this one and give it a try. It's a wonderful brain-exerciser.

R&R Games certainly falls into the category of companies you already know, but Pluckin' Pairs was such a surprise, that I'm putting it in this category. To play, you flip over picture cards. When I played, some of the pictures were things like flag, hydrant, flowers, and the earth. Now, everyone writes down how they pair the pictures. There's no rule to how you build the pairs. It's completely up to you. Each of your pairs scores one point for each other player that matched it up also, but if everyone matched it up, no one gets a point for it. What makes this game pop is how freewheeling and social it is. It's a blast discovering who else made the same pairs as you, and why, and it makes for some interesting social connections. In a classroom, this would be particularly effective in the beginning of the year, working both as an ice breaker, and as a way to get kids thinking outside the box.

No Educational Value Whatsoever

Keith Gardner with Talicor showed me a game called Fifth Gear that was a cool abstract strategy game. Then he showed me Jerk, which was a ton of fun. Players each have a string with their ends sitting on a target under a cone. One player rolls the dice. If the dice come up with a 7, 11, or doubles, the player with the dice will be slamming the cone down. You don't want your cord trapped under the cone, but you also don't want to jerk your cord when the cone isn't coming down. The result is a mess of shouting, bluffing, and twitching. Educational? Probably not. It's still fun, though.

Here's one for everyone out there that ever built a marble track. It's Wall Coaster, a series of tracks and stunts that you stick on your wall to build a roller coaster for marbles. I only got to play with this while I was at the show, so I don't know how reusable the sticky stuff is, but it sure was fun!

If you've ever nearly broken your neck on a RipStick, you'll love the new Rip Skates. What are they? Imagine a Rip Stick with no stick connecting your feet. I watched the guy demo the skates for like five minutes. They look incredibly cool and fun. I also watched five separate people try to ride them without success. Will I try them? Of course I will.

That's a wrap!

I hope you enjoyed my ToyFair wrap-up. Many, if not most, of these products won't be shipping until the summer. That's why there are some missing links up above. As you find them, though, post a comment to let us know about them. It's going to be a great year for playing!

In addition to being the editor and web guy for Games for Educators, Patrick Matthews writes stories, designs games, and builds web sites. Stop by DaddyTales for a quick laugh, or check out Live Oak Games to see some of his award-winning games.