Following are some of the board and card games expected to be featured by Hasbro at the 2004 American International Toy Fair. The descriptive text is slightly edited from press releases.
Beyblade
Hasbro's Beyblade was one of hottest toy lines in 2003 with more than 15 million Beyblade tops in kids' hands in the U.S. alone. The big news for this year's line is Engine Gear tops. Each top has a new turbo winder and clutch mechanism that allows the player to unleash ultimate strategy by releasing the top into hyper mode at the height of its power.
Hasbro will work the Engine Gear feature into other Beyblade gear, including the R/C Top with Launcher and Deluxe Launchers. Later this fall, Beyblade fans will be introduced to the Hard Metal System of tops. Offering superior performance in the Beystadium, each of four new Hard Metal System tops features die cast metal parts. These powerful tops will come with a new compact carrying case, a unique launcher with the Hard Metal System locking key to assemble your Hard Metal System top, and a ripcord.
Xevoz
Action figures take an evolutionary step forward with Xevoz -- the convergence of action figures and gaming. Xevoz are the first action figures kids can construct, customize and competitively battle in a fun strategy game.
First, build your poseable figure with the kit. Then, battle an opponent's figure using the special die, the Battle Helix. With each roll, a player dismantles the opposing figure piece by piece. Finally, xevolve your action figure by adding the new parts to create a more powerful warrior. The web site http://www.xevoz.com/ allows players to build and battle virtual Xevoz, as well as showcase their own unique character creations and learn more about the world of Xevoz.
Cover to Cover
'Tween girls are sure to flip when they get ahold of the Cover to Cover game. With three categories, 200 cards, four magazines and an electronic game unit to direct game play, players compete to find the person, place or thing in the magazines the fastest as indicated on the card drawn.
The first player to complete the task receives a letter C, O, V, E or R. When a player collects all the letters and the star token, she wins the game.
Star Sisterz Collectible Charm Game
Girls love to spend time with friends and keep up with the latest fashions and Star Sisterz is what they'll be talking about this year. Star Sisterz is a collectible charm game that poses fun dares and crazy challenges - sing in public for 30 seconds or go to the mall with all your clothes inside-out! - and then rewards girls with custom-made shiny, silver, collectible charms they can keep on their very own Star Sisterz charm bracelet.
This fashion-forward game features nearly 100 charms to collect and trade. Star Sisterz will be initially offered at Limited Too stores. The first collection is called Sunburst.
Trivial Pursuit 1990s Edition
The Trivial Pursuit 1990s Edition, packaged in a capsule tin, takes players on a journey through the 1990s with 2,400 questions from the past decade sorted in six new categories reflective of the time: Oops, Wired, Viewing, Trends, Important and Hangin.
Game play is the same as traditional Trivial Pursuit, where players compete to collect all six scoring pieces and answer the final question to win the game.
Duel Masters Trading Card Game
After topping the charts in Japan, the hot property Duel Masters is headed to the U.S. Already Duel Masters comic books have sold through their first printing in the U.S. and a Duel Masters TV show will premier prior to the trading card game's release in the U.S. in March. Hasbro also plans Duel Masters action figures and board games this year.
Duel Masters is about battling monsters - or "Kaijudo!" as players in the know exclaim. With the Duel Masters Trading Card Game, kids assume the role of a great duelist (named Shobu) and battle their opponent with beautifully illustrated, collectible cards showing robot-like creatures.
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set
The original role-playing game turns 30 this year. Wizards of the Coast will mark the 30th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons with a new D&D Basic Set, designed to introduce a whole new generation to the popular, enduring role-playing game. A game board-map is provided to guide new players.
The set also includes basic rulebooks, sheets to help players create characters, a set of dice and miniatures that can be used as game markers.
