Author: DEPlabs Admin

Contact                      
Lisa Wuennemann
PlayMonster LLC
(800) 524-4263, ext. 275
lisaw@playmonster.com

 

 

PlayMonster Meets the “Snack-Sized” Toy Demand by Taking Perplexus to a Whole New Level

 

BELOIT, Wis.— PlayMonster, exclusive specialty distributor of the Perplexus® line of 3D maze games, is excited to announce an all new, smaller line of Perplexus brain teasers called Perplexus® Micro!

Perplexus Micro fits the trend of “snack-sized” toys—toys and games that are travel-friendly and lower-priced, making them easy to pick up for trips or as rewards for good behavior. They’re also a great alternative to candy in Easter baskets, stockings and more! 

Each Perplexus Micro in this new collectible line features a different shape and theme, and both have a unique inner maze and marble. 

• Q-bot™ is a 3.5″ by 4″ cube with an inner, funky robot that makes up the shifting, tricky maze. Those that love all things tech, are sure to add this to their game-play and possibly even their desk at work!
• Drakko™’s 4.5″ by 4″ egg shape contains a mystic, slithery dragon as its maze. This theme is perfect for fans of all things medieval and its unique shape is an immediate eye catcher!

Perplexus Micro was designed to attract the attention of Perplexus fans, as well as draw in new players with its smaller size and lower price. Buy them as a starting point of a maze game collection, or as an extension of the craze. Either way they’re easy to pick up, and hard to put down! For ages 8 and up.

Perplexus Micro joins the line of spherical 3D mazes: Original®, Rookie®, Twist®, and the 2013 TOTY Game-of-the-Year winner Epic™, along with the newer oddly-shaped Warp™!

 

About PlayMonster

PlayMonster is a toy and game company that believes in the power of play to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Delivering great play value by designing, manufacturing and marketing quality products like the award-winning The Game of THINGS…®, 5 Second Rule®, Mirari®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat™, Farkle, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Lauri®, Stratego®, Roominate™ and Wooly Willy® is how PlayMonster helps keep play alive for all ages.

Patch Products’ BIG Announcement with Corporate Name Change to PlayMonster!

See the new logo and changes for the first time at Toy Fair 2016 in New York

BELOIT, Wis. – February 10, 2016 – Patch Products, a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer in the toy and game industry, announced today that it is changing its corporate name to PlayMonster^TM.  The name change better reflects the company’s continued commitment to provide play for all ages.  From infants to adults, PlayMonster champions play with their expertise in providing fun, engaging and successful games and toys enjoyed by all. The company will be introducing its new name for the first time ever at this year’s Toy Fair taking place at the Javits Center on February 13-16 in New York City.

“The new name, PlayMonster, allows us to emphasize our belief in the power of play and how it makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Bob Wann, CEO (Chief PlayMonster), PlayMonster.

PlayMonster was founded as Patch Products in 1985 by brothers Fran and Bryce Patch. The company started by creating a line of children’s puzzles which would set the foundation for the company that has since grown into a leading manufacturer and marketer of award-winning games and toys that enrich the lives of the young and the young at heart. In the past several years, PlayMonster achieved many firsts, including the expansion of successful toy lines, such as Mirari® for infants and toddlers, Perplexus® and Stratego®. PlayMonster has also grown through two acquisitions of award-winning companies in just two years. In 2014, the company acquired Onaroo, known for the OK to Wake!® children’s alarm clocks and night-lights that teach kids to stay in bed until the light turns green, which helps families get more sleep. By the end of 2015, the next acquisition was made with Roominate^TM, a line that has expanded the company’s offerings into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) category. PlayMonster will be adding new and exciting products throughout 2016, including more one-of-a-kind products such as My Fairy Garden^TM. 

Last year, PlayMonster ran its first TV campaign to promote Chrono Bomb®, which is a finalist for a 2016 TOTY Award for Game of the Year. This gives the company an impressive eight TOTY finalists in the last six years, a reflection of its success in bringing high-quality play to all ages. PlayMonster will continue with additional TV campaigns later this year for several more popular and new products.

“Bonding through play is a great way to strengthen relationships. It inspires people of all ages to think creatively, foster communication and brings them together in a fun and engaging way,” said Wann. “Our games and toys stand the test of time and offer a way to encourage authentic and meaningful off-line connections.”

The new name is effective immediately and will begin being implemented across the company’s products and services in the calendar year 2016 and forward.

About PlayMonster

PlayMonster is a toy and game company that believes in the power of play to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Delivering great play value by designing, manufacturing and marketing quality products like the award-winning The Game of THINGS…®, 5 Second Rule®, Mirari®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat^TM, Farkle, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Lauri®, Stratego®, Roominate^TM and Wooly Willy® is how PlayMonster helps keep play alive for all ages.

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TFE Industry News

February 2016

• Patch Products Becomes PlayMonster as Company Evolves
• Link: Article

Contact                      

Sally May Baker

Patch Products, LLC

(800) 524-4263, ext. 241

sallyb@patchproducts.com

Patch Acquires Award-Winning STEM Product with Roominate

 

BELOIT, Wis.— Patch expands from puzzles, toys and games into a new category of STEM with the acquisition of Roominate™. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) has become a prominent topic within the toy industry, as it builds important education through play with the children of today who could be the scientists and engineers of tomorrow.

 

Roominate is an award-winning line of complete building sets that are designed for girls in order to bridge the gender gap in STEM. The line was started with one simple mission: open up possibilities for girls by showing them that creativity and engineering are fun. The success through the implementation of this mission has led Roominate to win many awards, including Forbes “Top 10 Toys to Watch in 2015,” TIME “Toy of the Year,” 2015 TOTY Finalist and many more.

 

Roominate currently consists of 12 sets, some for 6 years and up, and others for 8 years and up. Children can build interactive sets like a school bus, amusement park and many more that come to life through the use of things like motors and lights. The interactive app also allows “Roominaters” to remotely control motors and lights, and get design ideas from fellow “Roominaters.” In short, Roominate lets girls build the world they want to play in.

 

Alice Brooks, co-founder of Roominate, is very pleased to join Patch: “Patch’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative culture is exactly what we were looking for to help grow Roominate. We’re happy about this significant development and look forward to working with the Patch team to continue to inspire the next generation of innovators.”

 

Girls need more encouragement when it comes to excelling in the sciences. Boys are three times more likely to be interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and six times more likely to obtain a job in engineering. Roominate aims to change that, and the acquisition by Patch will help take the line to the next level. Because Patch values their expertise, the Roominate founders will remain involved and play a vital role in the future of the brand.

 

“We are excited and honored to take on a concept that gets girls excited about engineering through play,” said Bob Wann, CEO of Patch Products. “It’s also an important move for Patch because Roominate continues the diversification of our line of products: from the best-selling Mirari® infant toys, to the educational Lauri® brand, to award-winning Patch adult games, and now innovative Roominate girls’ toys.”

 

-more-

 

Stephen Lebowitz, Managing Partner at Topspin Partners, owners of Patch Products, commented, “The acquisition of Roominate is part of the strategy to build on Patch’s foundation, continuing its momentum of becoming a major toy company with quality brands in diverse categories for consumers of all ages.”

 

Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, infant/toddler toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat™, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.

 

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Contact                      

Sally May Baker                                                                                            

Patch Products, LLC                                                                        

(800) 524-4263, ext. 241

sallyb@patchproducts.com

 

 

Patch Products has 20 “Golden Tickets” for Holiday Shoppers

#LuckyPerplexus

 

BELOIT, Wis.— Patch Products wants holiday shoppers to keep their eyes peeled while looking to purchase a Perplexus Original® game. Perplexus inventor, Michael McGinnis, personally signed 20 Perplexus Original games before they were assembled and shipped throughout the United States in order to surprise consumers with their very rare edition of the popular game.

What’s more, Patch decided to honor this fun gesture with giving back to those in need with their new incentive dubbed, #LuckyPerplexus. In short, if a consumer finds one of these autographed games and posts it on social media using the hashtag #LuckyPerplexus, Patch will then donate an additional 10 Perplexus games to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Please help spread the word for all those holiday shopping this year, with the benefit of not only winning this ”golden ticket,“ but also giving back to an organization that does so much for children in need of advanced cures and treatment

For more information on Patch, visit patchproducts.com or call 1-800-524-4263.

 

Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, preschool toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat™, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.

 

 

 

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Contact
Sally May Baker
Patch Products, LLC
(800) 524-4263, ext. 241
sallyb@patchproducts.com

Patch Products Debuts Smart Start
A new line of educational games for preschoolers

BELOIT, Wis.- Patch Products’ new Smart Start® games are designed with fun in mind, so preschoolers will enjoy learning shapes, colors, numbers and spelling!

In its first year, Smart Start was honored with several awards for its innovation and design: TillyWig “Brain Child” Award, Parents’ Choice Recommended, Parents’ Choice Approved and FamilyFun’s top 20 “Toys of the Year.”

Smart Start contains three unique games featuring fun toy-like components that appeal to children:
• Sparky® features an electronic lightning bug that will say the names of shapes and light up different colors. Children use Sparky to play several fun, Bingo-like games with the included cards and shapes! For ages 2 and up. #Sparky
• Cheese Dip® is a fun-themed spelling game! Children use the mice’s tails to hook cheesy letters to spell the words on their cards! And, it has three levels of play (3-, 4- and 5-letter words). The die tells them who gets to go, or who has to give back a letter! For ages 3 and up. #CheeseDip
• Puppy Up^TM is an adorable counting and early math game with multiple levels of play. Younger children count puppies and find the coordinating number, using the fun scale to see if they’re right! Then, they can move on to the early math level of adding numbers! For ages 3 and up. #PuppyUp

Patch believes in the importance of balancing fun and education to ensure that children grow and thrive, and each and every Smart Start game is carefully created with that sentiment in mind. After all, teaching games are only helpful if children play them, and children will only play them if they’re fun! Children are happy playing our games over and over because they’re entertained and engaged, and moms are happy that children are learning! #SmartStart

For more information on Patch and these great new items, visit patchproducts.com or call 1-800-524-4263.

Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, preschool toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat^TM, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.

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Contact
Sally May Baker
Patch Products, LLC
(800) 524-4263, ext. 241
sallyb@patchproducts.com

 

“All In” Hits Shelves as Patch Products’ New Party Game

Game Nights will never be the same!

 

BELOIT, Wis.- Patch Products knows how to party…with games, that is! The new addition to their line of party games this year is already a big hit, providing hilarious times with friends and maybe family if it suits you! 

All In® will give you the most exciting true/false situations you’ll ever experience! And you have no choice but to be All In, so be smart about where you place your chips because The Truth Can Cost Ya!^TM Just sit back, get comfy, and listen to another player read a card statement, like “I have gone skinny-dipping,” “I have gotten into the wrong car by mistake,” or “I have stuck my finger up someone else’s nose.” Now, you can start sweating as you try to decide if it’s true or false! Choose wisely because the chips on the wrong answer will be lost! For three to six players, ages 17 to adult. So… are you #AllIn?

For more information on Patch and these great new items, visit patchproducts.com or call 1-800-524-4263.

Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, preschool toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat^TM, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.

 

 

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Contact
Sally May Baker
Patch Products, LLC
(800) 524-4263, ext. 241
sallyb@patchproducts.com

Patch Products & Pizza Hut Team Up for Delicious Fun with 5 Second Rule & Game of THINGS…

BELOIT, Wis.- Pizza Hut is offering fun game play to its diners! The tabletop versions of Patch Products’ 5 Second Rule® and The Game of THINGS…® games are currently available in nearly 1,800 participating dine-in Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide.

The game promotion is designed to enhance the family dining experience at Pizza Hut, while showcasing Patch’s family-oriented games.

“Patch is excited to team up with Pizza Hut once again this year,” said Lisa Wuennemann, Director of Marketing at Patch Products. “Both companies are committed to encouraging families to spend time together and have fun. In addition, playing Patch games at Pizza Hut is a great way for people to try a new game.”

5 Second Rule is a fun, fast-paced game for individuals to name three answers in just five seconds! In The Game of THINGS…, players give outrageous responses to topics, trying to guess who said what!

About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut Inc., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), is the world’s largest pizza restaurant company with more than 6,000 units in the United States and more than 14,000 units in over 120 other countries. The company is the recognized leader in the $30 billion pizza category. Those hungry for more information can go to the official Pizza Hut Web site at www.pizzahut.com.

About Patch Products
Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, preschool toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat^TM, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.
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Contact                      
Sally May Baker                                                                                            
Patch Products, LLC                                                                        
(800) 524-4263, ext. 241
sallyb@patchproducts.com

 

 

Play Chrono Bomb at ChiTAG 2015

 

BELOIT, Wis.— You won’t want to miss this! Patch Products is bringing their new and popular Chrono Bomb® game to ChiTAG 2015. The game will be set up for everyone to try live; a great opportunity for parents to try it before they buy it.

 

Chrono Bomb is a super-secret spy mission where kids use the included clamps and 27.5-ft. string to create a “laser” field to crawl through. At the end of the maze is the bomb, counting down…tick, tick, tick! If you bump the wire as you step and crawl through the course, the time bomb will tick down faster. So, you have to hurry, carefully, and make it to the end to defuse the bomb!

 

As seen with nationally known names such as:

·         Elektro Botz

·         Aidan Prince Xiong

·         Eh Bee Family

·         The Wendy Williams Show

Find them with Chrono Bomb on YouTube!

 

Chrono Bomb has won over ten awards so far this year including Mom’s Choice Awards – GOLD, NAPPA – GOLD, TillyWig, Awards – STERLING FUN, ASTRA – Best Toys for Kids FINALIST, USA Today – 1 of 6 Picks of the Coolest things from Toy Fair, TTPM – Most Wanted List – Games, BSCKids – Bestie Awards, Dr. Toy – Named one of 22 of the Best Toys for Children.

 

And don’t forget about the Chrono Bomb buzz found in media from USA Today and NY1 News, to Chicago FOX 32 and Newsday. The word is spreading and this is quickly becoming the go-to holiday gift purchase, so stop by Patch’s ChiTAG booth on November 21^st and 22^nd to play!

 

About Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG)

ChiTAG, founded in 2003, is the largest toy and game fair in the U.S. open to the public. It’s popular with families, inventors, media, educators, retailers, inventors and consumers, all of which can attend to play with and shop for the latest and greatest toys and game. For more information, visit www.chitagfair.com.

 

Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, preschool toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat™, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.

 

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Contact
Sally May Baker
Patch Products, LLC
(800) 524-4263, ext. 241
SallyB@PatchProducts.com

Patch Launches Two New Stratego Games: Waterloo and Conquest!

BELOIT, Wis. – Patch is excited to announce its popular board game Stratego® is now available in two different versions: Stratego® Waterloo and Stratego® Conquest!

 

Stratego is the classic game of battlefield strategy that has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. For over 50 years, Stratego has thrilled strategy game fans by inspiring them to challenge an opponent and attempt to capture the flag!

 

Stratego Waterloo – What’s different? This version of Stratego is a much more intricate version involving re-enactments of real historic battles. The age rage is also different at 12+ and up, instead of 8+.

 

Stratego Conquest – What’s exciting about this version of Stratego is that it can be played with up to 4 players, as opposed to 2 players. This has a new theme that feels more medieval and fantastical with castles and sorcerers! Stratego Conquest is in the style of “capture the flag” with a bit of a twist: If your flag is captured, you can still play and win your flag back if there are other flags that remain on the board.

 

 

About Royal Jumbo

The Royal Jumbo Group develops, manufactures and sells games, puzzles and toys. It also distributes several lines for other companies in its domestic markets. Approximately 130 people work for the Jumbo Group which has its headquarters in Zaandam, Netherlands with offices in Belgium, Germany and the UK – each selling to its own market. There is also an export department which handles sales to other parts of the world. To learn more about Jumbo, please visit http://www.jumbo.eu/

 

About Patch Products

Patch Products, LLC is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of games, children’s puzzles, preschool toys, creative activities and teaching tools, with focus on innovation and growth of brands and categories. Top-selling brands include 5 Second Rule®, Perplexus®, Don’t Rock the Boat™, Farkle, The Game of THINGS…®, Chrono Bomb®, OK to Wake!®, Mirari®, Buzzword®, Stratego®, Lauri® and Wooly Willy®.

 

 

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