I traveled to New York City yesterday for the 2012 American International Toy Fair, and although I'm no longer there I will be posting updates throughout the coming days. For now, you can check out the many photos I posted to Twitter for some of the most interesting games I saw on display, including:

• Army vs. Aliens from Wiggles 3D
• Coin Blaster Arcade from Klutz
• Don't Rock the Boat from Patch Products
• Pass-Ack Words from R&R Games
• Star Wars Scene It? from Screenlife

I'll be at the 2012 American International Toy Fair today, walking the aisles of the massive Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan to see the latest offerings from game publishers of all sizes. Follow me on Twitter for on-scene reporting, and check back here in the coming days for even more.

Game publisher and toy manufacturer Hasbro and social game developer Zynga have announced a deal giving Hasbro the rights to develop games and toys based on Zynga's brands, including FarmVille, CityVille, Words With Friends, The Pioneer Trail, Mafia Wars, and more. Zynga, the world's largest social game developer, claims more than 227 million monthly active users. According to a press release from the companies, the deal "creates an array of opportunities for co-branded merchandise featuring a combination of both Hasbro and Zynga brands."

Brian Goldner, Hasbro's president and CEO, said in the release, "Zynga is bringing more games to mainstream culture and is redefining how people play. ... This strategic alliance plays off of both Hasbro's and Zynga's proven strengths and is emblematic of the new innovations and new platforms we are creating across our entire gaming portfolio."

The two companies expect the first products to be available beginning in the fall of this year.

Image courtesy of Zynga.

Yesterday, my wife and I hosted TSBSBSGD8. (What? The acronym? Ah... The Saturday Before Super Bowl Sunday Game Day 8.) The highlight -- as it is every year -- was an annual BattleBall tournament. A record 17 people took part in the tournament this year, with Mike Holmquist taking home the top honors by defeating his daughter Heather Spangenberg in the finals. (He defeated his other daughter in the second round. And, yes, the seedings are completely random.)

Sadly, I was once again eliminated in the first round -- this year, by the eventual champion. Something about an ill-advised long pass attempt to a wide receiver when my heavy tackle had the ball and could probably have marched in for the game-winning touchdown. (I won the tournament once, back in 2007, but I've fallen on hard times ever since.)

Of course, that early elimination gave me plenty of time to play other games, including Fauna, 7 Wonders, The Resistance (3x), Witch's Brew, Black Friday, Kung Fu Fighting, and Ice Flow. Fauna (designed by Friedemann Friese, published by FoxMind) was a standout. It's for 2 to 6 players, ages 8 and up, and it's a trivia game (sort of) about animals. In each round, an animal is randomly revealed and players bet (sort of) on where the animal lives, how much it weighs, and how long or tall it is.

I'll post a complete review of Fauna soon. For now, I'll just say that it's a remarkably fun game that I highly recommend for anyone fascinated by wildlife around the world.

Image courtesy of Hasbro