tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6404046680226635672018-05-01T17:04:15.379-04:00I'm Tim Walsh and this is my playlog. I plog on toys and the essential skill of squeezing more fun from life. I've written two books on the history of toys, Timeless Toys and the WHAM-O Super-Book. Games that I've designed or developed include TriBond, Blurt! and Mad Gab. Coming later this year is TOYLAND, a documentary film about toy designers on which I am a creative consultant. It's a big year. Join the fun, seize the play!Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-84940602230243000432015-08-15T22:54:00.000-04:002016-03-07T15:32:13.341-05:00

What a ride. Fellow game inventor Peggy Brown and I launched a Crowdrise campaign for John in October, not really knowing what to expect. He needed an operation he couldn’t afford and we were in a position to help. So we set a goal of raising $25,000 for him and believed that we’d get there. Yet afterwards, we were all left feeling grateful, exhausted and reeling with the thought, “Did that

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-79710312377427510922014-09-27T10:25:00.002-04:002014-10-26T07:25:30.933-04:00

I first met John Spinello in 2004 when I was researching my book, Timeless Toys. Listed at the bottom of the 1965 Operation game I owned was "US PATENT No. 3,333,846" I had crossed paths with the name Marvin Glass many times in my research on toys, so too the name Gunnars Licitis, but who was this John O. Spinello? I looked up all the John Spinellos I could find in the Chicago area. "I'm

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-2883786436599035442014-07-13T20:46:00.002-04:002014-07-13T20:49:20.775-04:00

There's a man in a tree in Black Mountain, North Carolina. We didn't notice him right away. It was the white cup that first got our attention. We were walking along the other side of the street when this thing on a string caught the sun and then our eye. "Is that a bird feeder?" I asked my wife. "It's hanging kind of low, isn't it?" she responded. We walked closer and heard the music at

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-37668837059248996422014-07-10T11:42:00.002-04:002014-07-10T11:47:47.326-04:00

I'm not sure where the years went, but TriBond, a game about making the connection among 3 clues, turns 25 next year. We are gearing up for one heck of a party (and a new edition), but in the meantime, you can play along with the TriBond of the Day, at www.tribond.com. We believe people long for connection with their friends and family through shared experiences that involve play. That's

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-23481768569010250942013-07-10T16:29:00.000-04:002013-07-10T16:29:25.788-04:00

On July 1, 2013, one of the men who helped tie us up in knots, passed away. Chuck Foley, along with Neil Rabens and Reyn Guyer, developed the first game where the people playing are the play pieces. Twister debuted in 1965, didn't take off until a year later, and went on to become one of Milton Bradley's most successful games. Chuck was very passionate about inventing and it was my great

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-9642016610673880312013-06-04T08:02:00.002-04:002013-06-05T20:18:44.462-04:00

Hey Kids! It's the WHAM-O Super Ball! Watch this vintage TV commercial, and If you're like me, the memories of summers past will come bouncing back. Last week, on the first day of summer vacation, I got an email from a Fortune Magazine writer who is doing an upcoming piece on WHAM-O and their iconic line of toys — Frisbee, Hula Hoop, Slip 'n' Slide, Hacky Sack and Super Ball, among others.  As

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-3699676588438475662013-04-05T10:36:00.000-04:002014-07-13T21:23:20.470-04:00

The Sarasota Chalk Festival is one of my favorite local events. Mix in a LEGO theme and I'm hooked. Thanks for sharing, Joey Panek. Seize the Play!

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-62989715106385656622013-03-27T21:24:00.000-04:002014-07-13T21:32:01.350-04:00

"For children, play is the most healing therapy."  — Tim Jahnigen Founder, One World Futbol Project  To help: http://www.oneworldfutbol.com/ Seize the Play!

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-39581804278261518312013-03-05T12:43:00.000-05:002014-07-13T21:26:41.012-04:00

We just got word from down under that our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Catapult Pizza Game won Game of the Year at the 2013 Australian Toy Fair in Melbourne! In the game, turtles kids use their ninja skills to knock down villains (Shredder, Kraang Droid, and Foot Clan soldiers) by hitting them with pizzas launched from their pizza catapults! With four catapults launching pizzas at the same

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-59550965193162908372012-08-28T21:36:00.001-04:002012-08-28T21:54:01.280-04:00

About a month ago, we entered the video posted below in the American Airlines Flights Camera Action Contest. The premise was simple: "In a minute or less, tell us how travel connections have helped you grow your business." We've flown all over the world in the development of Crazy Chins, an APPcessory toy that allows kids to quickly and easily make upside-down chinface videos that are hilarious.

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-71505915677614803002012-07-09T06:28:00.024-04:002012-07-10T10:52:05.929-04:00

I have a new "Appcessory Toy" (a physical toy that's designed to be played with an App on a digital device) called Crazy Chins. Over the weekend we launched a Kickstarter project that gets iPhone and iPod Touch users in on the fun before anyone else, and helps to fund the next iteration of the toy, the Android version(s) of the App. Check out the full details of the project at: Kickstarter. But

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-36564844723741355572012-04-22T18:58:00.017-04:002012-04-23T07:51:20.223-04:00

I love finding odd toys, and tonight, while shopping at my local Publix supermarket I found the incredibly weird Ten Plagues Finger Puppets! I was shocked that they were on clearance. What kid wouldn't want to play with lice, boils, blood, etc. This very serious bible story from the Book of Exodus is where God inflicted Egypt with plagues to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-72087777628022739672012-03-22T20:18:00.010-04:002012-03-22T20:27:22.159-04:00

My career hit a new high today, as I was asked by The Fiscal Times to comment on the current GOP race, er... as it pertains to the, ah... fiscal, um... Oh shoot, they wanted to know about the Etch-A-Sketch.Seize the Play!

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-63141327844902213462012-03-14T15:38:00.012-04:002012-03-14T16:15:09.798-04:00

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Ralph Baer in 2004 for my book, Timeless Toys:Ralph Baer was chief engineer at an electronics development company, when in 1966 he conceived of playing games on a standard TV set. Over the next six years, he worked towards producing the first video game system, succeeding with Magnavox’s Odyssey in 1972.Odyssey was the predecessor to Pong. Ralph's other

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-27467477333413362062012-03-03T20:33:00.008-05:002012-03-03T20:44:08.498-05:00

I wrote about my love of Big Wheel in Timeless Toys thusly:It’s not hard to put your finger on the appeal of Big Wheel. It was visceral. When you rode one, every bump and imperfection in your path was instantly transferred through the shuddering plastic and to your various appendages. Whether skidding to a sliding halt or leaning into a 180° spin, the application of the brakes sent a

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-83958237067169806222012-01-18T05:43:00.029-05:002012-01-18T11:38:23.846-05:00

Nearly 2,000 exhibitors from around the globe exhibited at the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair last week and Tree Toys, my global manufacturing partner, was one of them. We met toy distributors from every corner of the toy world and showed them new game concepts, like Smell-o-rama, a line a scented card games I've developed. In Dr. Fizzy's Fabulous Floats, the cards smell like cola. In Nab Nana's Num

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-60618674261491518912011-12-16T13:18:00.007-05:002014-09-17T15:03:40.382-04:00

I LOVED your game growing up! Now my kids play it. Thank you for all the fun! Wade - Sarasota

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-80583314679067114802011-11-06T05:59:00.004-05:002011-12-20T20:59:20.161-05:00

Thanks to 2nd Cuz, Lindsay Hargis Post for the heads up!

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-12431414374210432722011-11-04T16:34:00.002-04:002011-11-04T16:53:31.969-04:00

Play is very personal. What is fun to you, may be stark terror to me. "Highliners" combine climbing, slack-lining, tightrope walking and base jumping. Ahhhhh... no thank you. Watching is fun enough for me. I guess that makes me a sideline highliner.I Believe I can Fly from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.Seize the Play!

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-49851526115230028902011-10-29T13:24:00.005-04:002011-10-29T13:40:52.120-04:00

For nearly 60 years, Burt Meyer has had fun pegged. He invented Lite Brite and co-invented other fantastic pieces of plastic like Mr. Machine, Mouse Trap, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Toss Across and more. Meyer will be honored with the Toy and Game Inventors of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award on November 18th in Chicago. I am thrilled to be the host of the TAGIE awards again this year and will

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-9222150538882140882011-10-09T06:59:00.024-04:002011-10-10T18:26:49.613-04:00

For a few hours a day, over a period of 10 days, a group of gamers got together to play an online puzzle game called Foldit. A group of 12 to 15 of them conquered the game. Happens all the time, right? Not like this.In a paper published last month in Natural Structure and Molecular Biology crowdsourcing was used to predict the structure of a protein. From the paper:Following the failure of a wide

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-12968778135680397462011-09-08T07:21:00.015-04:002011-10-07T06:38:13.401-04:00

In sports they call it being in The Zone. It's those extended moments of play when time seems to stand still and the task at hand is fluid and fun. The Zone is an easy place to be, but a hard place to find. Author Roy Palmer suggests that this state may influence a better integration of the conscious and subconscious reflex functions, which in turn, improves coordination. Many athletes reflect

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-52543199911413920712011-08-31T15:12:00.017-04:002011-09-05T12:23:27.607-04:00

My comment within a story on the Huffington-Post website a few days ago put me back in touch with a fellow writer of fun, Kirk Demarias. Kirk wrote a great book on prank and joke novelties called Life of the Party.I highly recommend it. Come to find out, Kirk is at it again with his latest work of nostalgia and awesomeness simply called, Mail-Order Mysteries. It's all about those wonderfully

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-51451018695187913932011-08-24T11:21:00.008-04:002011-08-24T11:28:49.765-04:00

Heard today that a food legend had left us. You can't get a cheese steak here in Florida like the ones Geno's and Pat's make.

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-640404668022663567.post-86815805213316577562011-07-08T14:33:00.010-04:002011-07-11T12:23:07.283-04:00

Look! It's Tim and Moby! A few weeks ago I attended the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in Philadelphia. I am here to laud its praises. I guess that makes me an ISTE LAUDER. *Ahem*ISTE was eye-opening. As a game creator, I think there's a real opportunity to use games to take learning to a new level. I took in the fun at the BrainPOP booth (where I met Moby).

Fearless Leader http://www.blogger.com/profile/18025955088626052366noreply@blogger.com1