Playroom to Publish Magic Labyrinth, More

Game publisher Playroom Entertainment will release an English-language edition of The Magic Labyrinth (2 to 4 players, ages 6 and up), which won the 2009 Kinderspiel des Jahres, Germany's award for Children's Game of the Year. In The Magic Labyrinth, players slide their magicians across the board while connected via magnet to a metal ball beneath the board. Unfortunately, there is also a hidden maze below the board, and if you try to cross one of the unseen walls your ball is knocked off and you must start over.

Other games being shown by Playroom Entertainment at the 2010 American International Toy Fair include:

• Loco Motive, a wild party game in which players compete in teams of two to organize passengers on a train. The trick is that you can't speak English -- only the language assigned to your team at the state of the game, along with a few standard hand motions.
• Claim to Fame, a party game for two teams which incorporates charades, drawing and other skills. One player on a team is given a card with a celebrity's name (e.g., Johnny Depp), which everyone can see. The clue-giver must then get his team to say the five items about Johnny Depp which only he can see (e.g., Edward Scissorhands, Jack Sparrow, and 21 Jump Street) before time runs out.
• Killer Bunnies and the Ultimate Odyessy, a new non-collectible constructible card game set in the Killer Bunnies universe. Six starter decks of 60 cards each will be available this summer, featuring themes such as animals, technology, and elementals. Players build their own decks and then compete to rebuild the earth after a nuclear disaster, populating it with bunnies. This game -- designed over the past four years -- is described as significantly more strategic than previous Killer Bunnies cards, with some elements reminiscent of Magic: the Gathering and Dominion.
• Three games from designer Reiner Knizia, including two new Scary Tales games (Big Bad Wolf vs. Cinderella, Prince Charming vs. Hansel) and the card/dice game Wild Horses.
• Two clever-looking children's games, The Dog's Meow (be prepared to turn your brain onto permanent opposite mode) and Saddle Up! (sort of a reverse matching game).
• Ligretto Dice, a fast-paced game for 2 to 4 players based on the very popular Ligretto card game.
• The party game Rock the Beat, in which each player is assigned a unique hand symbol and players start the "boom-boom-clap" beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You." When someone makes your hand symbol instead of the clap, you must respond by making your own hand symbol and then that of another player. Things can get very confusing very quickly.

^{Image courtesy of Playroom Entertainment}