Voting for 18th Annual Toy & Game Innovation Excellence (TAGIE) Awards Opens Today through October 24

CHICAGO, IL | September 24, 2025 – People of Play™, a division of The Toy Association™, has announced the finalists for the 18th annual Toy & Game Innovation Excellence (TAGIE) Awards, which recognize the inventors, designers, suppliers, retailers, marketers, and PR teams whose imaginations and ingenuity fuel the toy and game industry. Winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony on November 8 at Joe’s Live Concert Venue in Rosemont, IL.

Public voting to determine the award winners in 13 categories opens today, September 24, and runs through October 24. Industry professionals and consumers are encouraged to cast their votes online.

“Every year, we are inspired by the talent of the TAGIE finalists,” said Mary Couzin, senior vice president and founder/leader of People of Play at The Toy Association. “These innovators are risk-takers and dreamers who have turned ideas into toys and games that bring joy to millions, and we can’t wait to celebrate them together in November.”

The 2025 TAGIE finalists are listed by category below:

PRESCHOOL TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Design Edge and Sterling Life for Redi Rampz
• KID Team's Brian Clemens and Dan Klitsner for Chuckle & Roar Pop It! Book with Buffalo Games
• Reisa Schwartzman for BobBee - The Ultimate Water Toy with Griddly Kids
• Sankyo Toys for Rail Cube Magnetic Monorail
• Indy Toy Lab's Jordan Goddard for Room Patrol Chase with Spin Master
• Goliath Team for Jelly Blox
• Red Racer Studio's Tony Morley for Konvertibles with Mindware

PRESCHOOL GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Brian Clemens, Dan Klitsner, and Buffalo Games for Pop It Color Mix with Buffalo Games
• Jen Hickey for Patch's Pockets with Mindware
• Moose Games for Bluey Hide & Seek Game
• Product Development Team at Educational Insights for Campfire Chatmallows, Storytelling and Dressing Skills Bean Bags
• Jumbo Group for Stratego Junior
• Richard Levy and Peter Pook for Dizzy Duckies with Mindware
• Die 7 Bazis for Cloudship with Amigo Games

KIDULT TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Toot Sweet Toys and Design Edge for Pillow People
• POP MART for Lababu
• Valentina Pereyra for Pixo - Build Your Own Game Console Kit
• Hunt Rettig for Lumadrop
• Build-A-Bear Workshop for Emo Axolotl
• Moose Toys for FANDROP Star Wars
• Fisher-Price R&D Collector Team for Little People

ADULT/FAMILY GAMES INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Eric Olsen for Flip 7 with The Op
• David Yakos with Fat Brain Toy Co. for Why? Because! and for Ringer with Mindware
• FUSE London for Crash Cats with ThinkFun
• Brady Peterson, Bob Kamp, Anchor Creative, Jessica Butler, Joe Barron, and Sophia Ricciardi for Rhymes With Duck with Gray Matters Games
• Nick Hayes and Mattel Games Team for Uno Show 'Em No Mercy
• Identity Games Team for The Hangover and The Traitors Board Games (JM and Team) and Blue Matter's Nick Cravotta and Rebecca Blu for Medical Mysteries NYC Emergency Card Game
• McMiLLER for Fish Fight
• Elan Lee and Design Edge for Exploding Kittens: The Board Game

TECH TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Hasbro's Fashion Team, IDEO and Ryan Kratz for Nano-mals
• Fuse London for Pets Alive Polly The Magic Surprise Bird with Zuru
• KID Group for Monster Jam Smash & Bash Grave Digger RC with Spin Master and Chuckle & Roar ABC & Spelling Pop Keyboard with Buffalo Games
• Indy Toy Lab's Jordan Goddard for Room Patrol Chase
• SG Labs and Bang Zoom Design for FurReal Handfuls line with Just Play
• DreamWorks Dragons How to Train Your Dragon, Tame & Train Interactive Toothless with Spin Master
• Abacus Brands for ESPN Virtual Reality

TECH GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Abacus Brands for Pixicade! Instant Game Maker
• Bay Area Innovation Center (formerly Shoot the Moon) and IDEO for Rubik's Pulse Cube with Spin Master
• Educational Insights for Wheel of Fortune Electronic Game
• Michael Lichodziejewski and Spin Master Games Team for Rubik's Timer 3x3 Cube and Beat the Parents
• 7 Pips Studio’s Scott Dean, Rich Heayes, and Amanda Birkinshaw for Brainwright Color Sudoku with Gamewright
• KID Group for No Brainer and Soccer Dash with Golden Bear
• Valentina Pereyra for Pixo – Build Your Own Game Console Kit

BREAKOUT INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

• Flip 7's Eric Olsen for Flip 7 with The Op
• Mattel’s Hot Wheels Design, Development, Marketing, and Packaging Team for Hot Wheels Speed Snap Track System
• South Beach Bubbles for World's Only Color Bubbles Hydra Water and Color Blaster
• Sabrina Gareau for Cool Maker Stack’d Heishi Studio Bracelet with Spin Master
• Kate Meyerhoeffer for KEVA Planks Architecture Modules
• Mattel Building Sets Design Team’s Martin Boudreault, Charlotte Laflamme, Pierre Dion, and Thierry Beaurgard for Mattel Brick Shop
• Jordan Goddard with Indy Toy Lab

INNOVATIVE ART AND DESIGN VISUALS OF THE YEAR

• Nate Schimelpfenig for Vertigo with Mindware
• Mattel's Jurassic World Packaging and Product Design Team
• Moose Games’ George Guy and Prospero Hall for Menagerie
• Moose Toys for Gui Gui
• Jazwares’ Design Team and KID Group
• ST8MNT Brand Agency and Hootenanny Games
• Sky Castle and JMP Creative for Sticki Rolls

​INNOVATIVE ​PR AND MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Sky Castle for Sticki Rolls
• Brian Greenwald and The Op Games Marketing Team
• MAGNA-TILES and Playwise Partners for World’s Tallest Magnetic Tile Tower PR Campaign
• Hasbro's Peppa Pig Marketing and PR Team for Peppa Pig's New Baby Announcement
• Ren Beanie PR & Moose Games Marketing Team for Bluey Hide & Seek Game PR Campaign
• Disney's Amanda Rubinos Luna, John “Cody” Hampton, and Tatum Yusz for The Key to Disneyland Interactive Experience
• Adam Krell and Mattel's PR and Marketing Teams for Hot Wheels & Ferrari

INNOVATIVE LICENSE OF THE YEAR

• Play-Doh x Barbie
• Tim Walsh, The Playmakers for A Daily Cloud The Game
• Disney and Sky Castle for Stitch Sticki Rolls
• Octopus Creations’ Robert Marino for Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Tiger Shark Climber RC Vehicle
• Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Besties Bakeoff
• Carlyle Nuera for Barbie You Create
• Adam Krell and Mattel's Hot Wheels Licensing Team for Hot Wheels & Formula 1

Innovative Retailer of the Year

• FAO Schwarz
• Steven Zhang for TikTok Shop
• Rick Derr for Learning Express Lake Zurich
• POP MART
• Piccolo Mondo Toys
• 5 Little Monkeys
• Mattel Creations Team: Jess Kirkman, Jeremy Bernstein, Ted Silverman, Stephanie Smith, Francesca Forrester, Luke Lamson, and Kayla Bugucki
• Amazon

INNOVATIVE VENDOR & PARTNER OF THE YEAR

• Matt Nuccio and Design Edge Team for Flip Pros with Thin Air Brands
• Jake Laser and Christian Eveleigh for JLaser Video / Bounce Disc
• Eastar Board Game Company
• Longshore
• Indy Toy Lab
• Creative Fold
• SG Labs

YOUNG INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR (UNDER 18 YEARS)

• Palash Bhasin for Ultramons
• Keegan Franck for Endless
• Persy Arcement for Drizzle

Founded in 2008, the TAGIEs celebrate the outstanding achievements of toy and game industry leaders from around the world. The awards ceremony takes place annually in the fall in conjunction with the Global Inventor Pitch & Innovation Conference, Chicago Toy & Game Fair, and the Young Inventor Challenge.

Click here to purchase tickets for the 2025 TAGIE Awards.

About People of Play™   peopleofplay.com 

People of Play (POP), a division of The Toy Association™, leads the global toy and game industry in promoting innovation, creativity, and connectivity. A one-stop source of community for industry professionals, aspiring inventors, and people of all ages who love to play, People of Play hosts a play platform packed with resources and connection points as well as a wide range of events including the Chicago Toy & Game (CHITAG) Fair, the Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIEs) Awards, the Young Inventor Challenge, the Toy & Game Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conference, Thought Leaders Summit, Toy Takedown and more.

About The Toy Association™   toyassociation.org / toyfoundation.org / peopleofplay.com / thegeniusofplay.org / playsafe.org
Founded in 1916, The Toy Association^™, Inc. is the business trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $155.7 billion, and its roughly 900 members drive the annual $42 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry's voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play's positive impact on childhood development. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, governments, consumers, and the industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.     

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair^™ in New York City; hosts marketplace activities at The Toy Building in Los Angeles; engages in state, federal, and international advocacy on behalf of its members; supports the inventor and design community through People of Play™ and its numerous assets and events, including the consumer-facing Chicago Toy & Game Fair; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America's widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard. The Toy Association's philanthropic arm is The Toy Foundation^™, a 501 (c)(3) children's charity that acts as the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry. To date, The Toy Foundation has delivered the joy of play to 33 million children in need worldwide.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact:  Amy Friedland
 People of Play
973-470-0400
amy@carvecomms.com