Well here I am in Nurnberg (or Nuremberg), Germany in the middle of winter for the World’s largest Toy Fair…having recently escaped the worst of the floods in Brisbane and the even more recent Cyclones in North Queensland, not to mention the flooding in Victoria (note: all of these natural disasters have been well reported here in Europe and have been a major discussion point at every meeting) to land here at a cool -4 degrees and snowing.
For first timers the Nurnberg International Toy Fair (Spielwarenmesse) really is a sight to behold with 16 large halls and more than 10 times larger than our own Toy Fair in Melbourne this coming March, it does take some time to get all the way around.
For John who has been coming for over 12 years and for me a 4th timer, the 2011 Nurnberg Fair has been more about catching-up for a “bier” (when in Germany…) with our existing suppliers to deepen our relationships and to view, and play, all of their new offerings for 2011. With so many great brands and with so many great new offerings just from our existing suppliers, our decision to focus solely on our existing suppliers was made easy, as we have had no need to source any new brands.

This year is looking exciting with Abalone’s belated return late in 2010 and now in the stable hands of French publishers Asmodee who have decided to revamp the packaging and to expand the range to include the new and exciting game “Offboard” from the inventors of Abalone. “Offboard” is a fun, fast and challenging game for all ages and is guaranteed to surpass Abalone’s 4 million games sold.



BrainBox publishers Green Board Game have built on the incredible success of the current stable of titles including BrainBox All Around the World, Nature, Mathematics, My First Pictures and the latest best-seller Australia, with the release of 3 great new titles (World History, Olympics, My First ABC) in addition to 2 completely new ranges including the value-packed BrainBites tins in 4 great kids titles and Brain Links card games in 8 great titles including Brain Links Environment, Solar System, Chemical Reactions and more.


If you want something that will absolutely blow you away, then look no further than the latest developments from those ingenious Swedes at Photo Pearls. Come and see me at the Fair and I promise I will blow you away with their latest gems…and a lot of nice surprises for our retailers and retail customers.

Never to be outdone, the “other Swedes” at Mindtwister have a new suite of challenging and fun mind-twisters for everyone in the family…as well as a nice new compact design for the incredibly successful and much awarded Pentago, making it an even better value offering.

And as usual Gigamic, our great friends from France, continue to surprise us with not only their continued dedication to producing quality games, but also their ability to reinvent their offer with some brilliant new games in Cubulus and Kabaleo, their new “Cube” range of games and the all new Katamino Pocket which is a nicely packaged travel version of one of the best educational games on the market.
So make sure you keep an eye on our website www.funatical.com.au and on our future blogs and email campaigns…and for our retailers, if you are considering visiting the Melbourne Toy & Hobby Fair in March, be sure to contact Nic at sales@funatical.com.au to setup a meeting time and get ready for more fun with Funatical.
Next week I am off to the city that never sleeps for the New York International Toy Fair for an update on the latest developments in the US, so from me its…
Auf Wiedersehen!! from sunny Germany
November Monthly Newsletter – Just Released!!
We have just sent out our November Monthly Newsletter with some great Christmas gift idea’s. Be sure to Check it out in your web browser as we know that you will enjoy what we have to offer!!