2018 TOY AND GAME INNOVATION AWARD (TAGIE) WINNERS ANNOUNCED
2018 TOY AND GAME INNOVATION AWARD (TAGIE) WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT 16th ANNUAL CHICAGO TOY AND GAME WEEK
CHICAGO, Ill. (November 20, 2018) – The winners of the 11th annual TAGIE Awards honoring innovation and excellence in the toy and game industry were announced at a gala on Navy Pier in Chicago on Friday night. Attended by industry luminaries and sponsored by heavyweights like Hasbro, Oxford Games, Mattel, The Michael Kohner Corporation and ASTRA. The evening’s events included a keynote address by Nancy Zwiers, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Spin Master, and culminated with Lifetime Achievement Awards being given to industry legends, David Small and Paul Rago of Shoot the Moon.
Following is the official listing of 2018 Toy & Game Innovation Award (TAGIE) winners, nominees and honorees:
GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Don Ullman and Bob Driscoll for Don't Step In It by Hasbro
Bang Zoom for Chow Crown from Hasbro
Jeff Foxworthy for Relative Insanity from PlayMonster
Rob Daviau and Justin D. Jacobson for Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar by Restoration Games
Seven Towns for Greedy Granny by Goliath Games
TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
David Fuhrer, Richard Kimbrough, DiscoNifty for Twisty Petz by Spin Master
Bang Zoom for Lil’ Gleemerz by Mattel
Latham Gaines - Power Dough by Canal Toys
Shoot The Moon for NERF Laser Ops by Hasbro
Sydney Wiseman for Fingerlings by WowWee
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR
Nick Metzler of Spin Master for Hail Hydra
Adam Borton for Flushin' Frenzy by Mattel
Art, Joe & Jim Seymour for Circuit Blox, Power Blox and Story Blox by eblox
Daryl Andrews for The Oregon Trail by Pressman Toy/Goliath Games
Jeff Lai for Maki Stack by Blue Orange
Jillian Lakritz for Yoee Baby Original Line: Puppy, Kitty, Fox, Lion, Monkey, Bunny
Krissa Watry for playPORTAL by Dynepic
Marissa Louie for Animoodles: Iris Unicorn, Hazel Sloth, Randy Orangutan, Brady Lion, Miguel Frog, Sophie Elephant
INNOVATIVE ARTS & VISUALS OF THE YEAR
Elan Lee and Matt Inman of Exploding Kittens for Bears vs Babies
Geizi Guevara, Mike Freeth, Patrick Murray, Chris Wickman of Spin Master for The Cat Game
Jakks Pacific for Fan Heads
Prospero Hall for Disney Villainous by WonderForge
Sabrina Miramon (Illustration), Chris D’Angelo, Greg Stata, Kelly Miele (Graphic/Packaging Design) and Kathy Beyerle (Product Design) of ThinkFun for Shadows in the Forest
INNOVATIVE MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR
Sydney Wiseman for Fingerlings by WowWee
JMP Creative's Social Media Team for Orbeez Wow World Campaign with Maya Toys
PlayMonster 5 Second Rule Marketing Team for 5 Second Rule
Lee Parkhurst, Jennifer Jens, Sunny Choi, Nicole Younger of Educational Insights for Sculptapalooza's Online Campaign
Hasbro Marketing and Rhett and Link for their online Influencer video campaign
YOUNG INVENTOR OF THE YEAR (Sponsored by Mattel)
Harper Miller for The Dream Pillow by Architec® Brands
Ethan Klein for House Architecture Set by 3duxdesign
Michael Nixon for The Amazing Annoyatron by EduKits International
In addition to the winners determined through nominations and public voting, honors were given in the following closed categories:
Inventor Advocacy Honoree - Mike Meyers (Sponsored by Hasbro)
Lifetime Achievement Award - David Small and Paul Rago of Shoot the Moon (Sponsored by Mattel)
Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award - #MyShotAtEpilepsy Challenge (Sponsored by Hassenfeld Family Initiatives)
Start-Up of the Year - Jochem van Rijn and Thijmen de Schipper of Yulu Toys
Most Innovative Toy Store - Leslie & John Chiaverini of Adventure Toys & Teachers’ Supplies (Sponsored by ASTRA)
The 2018 TAGIE Awards and Gala were presented by Hasbro, Oxford Games Ltd., The Michael Kohner Corporation, Mattel, ASTRA, Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, The Playmakers, Peggy Brown Creative, Longshore Limited, McGill and Associates and Cartamundi.
The annual TAGIE Awards are the preeminent awards program honoring innovation and excellence in the toy and game industry. The awards program gala is held annually the Friday evening before Thanksgiving as the kickoff to the Chicago Toy and Game Week Fair, which hosted more than 30,000 consumers and industry players this past weekend on Navy Pier.
About the Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc.
The Chicago Toy & Game Group, Inc. oversees toy industry initiatives designed to encourage and promote the power of play and invention in social, educational, and professional environments. Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Group initiatives include the Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Fair, the PlayCHIC Fashion Show, the Toy & Game Innovation of the Year (TAGIE) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the New Inventor Conference, the Professional Inventors Conference, Play in Education Conference, DiscoverToyandGames.com and the Chicago Toy & Game (ChiTAG) Foundation. For more information, visit www.ChiTAG.com or email info@chitag.com.
