On Tuesday, September 2nd at Soho’s Century Club, Board Game Club’s menu will be curated in collaboration with Mojo Nation, packed full of titles from the list of award winners and nominees at this year’s Play Creators Awards.

The Play Creators Awards, part of the Play Creators Festival, shines a light on the inventors and design teams behind great toys and games.

“We’re delighted to be working with Mojo Nation,” said Lesley Singleton, Founder of Playtime PR and Co-Founder of Board Game Club.

“Bringing fresh, innovative titles to the table is at the core of what Board Game Club is all about, so having the Mojo team on board to create menu that’s inspired the Play Creators Awards feels like a very natural fit. The menu is literally bursting at the seams with a fantastic array of clever, funny and brilliant games; so our guests are in for a real treat this month!”

Billy Langsworthy, Co-Founder of Mojo Nation, added: “We’re over the moon to be working with Playtime PR and Board Game Club on a special night celebrating the finalists and winners of our Play Creators Awards this year.

“It’s always a fabulous event and we’re looking forward to playing lots of brilliant games!”

The event is free to attend and open to everyone aged 18 and above who appreciates good games and great company.

Anyone wishing to attend can get their free tickets via this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/board-game-club-at-century-club-tickets-1558957025429?aff=oddtdtcreator

The post Board Game Club teams with Mojo Nation for event celebrating Play Creators Awards winners and finalists appeared first on Brands Untapped.

The magazine boasts design deep dives, in-depth interviews, opinion pieces and features, as well as a look at the creative process and origin stories behind the latest launches of Toy Fair season.

Inside are insightful chats with:
• Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks on inventors and innovation
• ThinkFun’s Josh West and Fuse’s Pete Cartlidge talk Crash Cats
• Designer Stefan Feld and Susanne Feld talk us through a new child-friendly take on Castles of Burgundy
• MAGNA-TILES’ Rick Keuter discusses new launches and inventor connections
• Spin Master’s Mike Bisogno on how his in-house design experience shapes inventor outreach
• Mattel’s Aislinn Kaltenbrun talks us through the new Barbie Deluxe Style range
• Character’s Mark Hunt and Triclops Studio’s Rob Ames and Luc Hudson on the origins – and future – of TerrorFried
• Designer Ellie Dix on the perception of the ‘fragile inventor’
• Moose Toys’ Rowen Wagner talks XOX Kweenies
• A deep dive into the ‘Kidult’ trend – and what lies ahead for it…
• Industry figures reveal their picks for the biggest challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in 2025…
• And many, many more…

You can download the magazine or purchase a physical here.

Or pick up a copy of the Mojo Nation Magazine from the Mojo Nation stand (B38) at London Toy Fair or from the Digital Media Point in NCC Ost at Spielwarenmesse.

The post Read the first-ever Mojo Nation Magazine online now appeared first on Brands Untapped.

Some people refer to it as “Scrabble in a bag” – is that about right?
Good Lord, no! The tiles look similar to those you find in Scrabble, and the game comes in a banana-shaped pouch… So I can see why people say that. But Bananagrams is pretty much the exact opposite of Scrabble…

In what way?
Scrabble is slow. Bananagrams is fast. Scrabble needs a pencil, paper and a board. Bananagrams – no pencil, no paper, no board. Scrabble has a communal word grid… Bananagrams has individual word grids. In Scrabble, the grid stays fixed. In Bananagrams, you change your grids as much as you like. They’re completely different games.

And were you a Bananagrams fan before they raised the subject of you writing a book for them?
Absolutely. I’d been given it as a Christmas present and thought it was terrific. I played it enough to come up with a few ways to gain an advantage… For example it wasn’t at all unusual for me to be physically building a word grid while everyone else was still turning their tiles.

Sounds irritating! And is that why you got on the radar at Bananagrams?
Ha! Well… First, that IS irritating! I won’t argue with you. Second, no – I got on the radar because I’d built a chain-reaction machine that used Bananagrams tiles at the end. That’s quite a long story! Suffice to say, they knew me as a creative consultant, writer and Bananagrams fan in that order.

Right…
Anyway, after we met, I wrote a script for a promotional video they needed. Then I think I rewrote their sales tag and maybe their instructions… A few bits here and there. But then it turned out they were supposed to be delivering a branded book of hints and tips on how to play.

It was in the pipeline already?
Right – they’d started it ages before. In fact, they’d already got a manuscript from another writer at that point… Unfortunately, it didn’t have quite enough information on how to play the game better. It also had a lot of word puzzles and exercises, for want of a better word. Just as importantly, the tone of that content didn’t quite match the brand.

In what way?
As a brand, Bananagrams has a very playful tone. So when they envisioned a book on how to play the game, they imagined it being smart, but playful – and a bit knowing, maybe. So the promise of the book was to make you a smarter, faster, better player… But the tone of the writing needed to be far more irreverent; as if being better at the game was almost incidental. Because it’s good to say, “This word helps you get rid of such and such letters…”, but it’s better to say it with a fact about Shakespeare, or a pun about goats or yaks or what have you.

So extending the brand tone into a book had already proven difficult… Generally speaking, how might a writer go about addressing that?
Hmmm. For an established brand, I think the only way to do it is to take a good, long look at the language and tone that a brand already has. Because – all things being equal – a brand’s language should represent something of its values and attitudes, as well as its personality. With Bananagrams, as I recall, their website used words like family, passion, wit, wordplay, silliness… That’s actually quite a lot of clues!

I think I also looked at two briefs. One was from the publisher, Harper Collins, who were licensing the Bananagrams name. That was more about pragmatic stuff: the word count, font size, that sort of thing. The other was from one of the co-inventors, Rena Nathanson. That focused on some ‘must-have’ content… Alternative ways to play, a short history of the game; a little about the game’s other co-inventor – Abe Nathanson – who’d passed away.

And with all that in mind, how did you actually start writing? What was the first thing you wrote down?
Well, there was an obvious starting point: I wrote down all the things that I thought would keep the book’s promise: to make the reader a better player… For instance, I had that irritating way of quickly turning over my tiles at the start of the game. I came up with two or three other ways of doing that. Inevitably, there were some tips on playing a Q without a U… As I say, ways to be a better Bananagrams player.

“It started with delivering on the brand’s promise to the reader…”

To answer your second question, I think the first thing I wrote down was about how it helps to use six, seven or eight tiles in your very first word. So I made a note about the letters I, S, N, E, A, T… IS NEAT. If you combine those with any other letter from the alphabet, you can immediately spell a seven-letter word. I say that… There are two exceptions; it doesn’t work with a Q and it doesn’t work with a Y.

I, S, N, E, A and T – plus almost any other letter – anagrams into a seven-letter word?
Yes!

Z?
ZANIEST.

C?
CINEAST. Like you, Bill; someone who is a huge fan of the cinema!

J?
JANTIES. It’s the plural of JANTY; a master of arms. I also have the feeling, you know, that it’s now a slang word for panties made of denim… Jeans plus panties – janties… I don’t think that definition’s made it to a dictionary yet, though!

Well, that’s worth knowing! About the letters, I mean, not the denim panties. Either way, it started with promise-keeping stuff…
Right. But all the way through that research and developing the material, I was thinking about how the brand voice would communicate it. So I’d be jotting down one liners, puns, cute anagrams, weird etymologies, fun wordplay… Anything like that. Later, I’d look to dress the useful stuff up with the brand-tone content.

Was there anything that you wanted to include but couldn’t dress up?
Oh, yes… Quite a bit. Some of it got discarded entirely… Some of it I cut right down. So, for instance, I’d asked a mathematician to calculate the statistical odds of picking up the letters I just mentioned – I, S, N, E, A, T – at the start of the game…

The working out he came back with was mind-boggling. To me, it looks like a work of art! Beautiful… But – and to my earlier point – it’s far too ‘heavy’ for the Bananagrams tone of voice. So the statistical odds of those letters coming up are passingly mentioned in the book – it’s around one in four – but the equation itself didn’t make it. It just doesn’t serve the brand tone.

And what about the other way? Something that you thought purely served the brand tone that wasn’t necessarily delivering on the promise?
That’s a very good question, Bill… You could do this professionally! One comes to mind… In the second edition of the book, which had a slightly wider brief, I wanted to say something about steganography. That’s the practice of disguising a message so that it can’t easily be seen. So for fun, I hid – throughout the book – 12 references loosely relating to monkeys. In other words, the book has 12 monkey-related words sliced up and hidden in plain sight… The word GORILLA, for example, is in a sentence referring to “a despairing or ill-at-ease feeling”… The G is at the end of ‘despairing’, then ‘or’ gives you the O, and the R…

None of that helps the promise of the book, and doing the work was absolutely painful. It took hours and hours and hours… And to finish my point, I would add that inviting people to FIND those 12 monkey references hidden in the text doesn’t, I don’t think, particularly typify the brand tone… The bit that typifies the brand tone is that we made the effort to HIDE those 12 monkeys in the text. There’s a big difference. Finding them is mildly fun. But hiding them is so silly, smart and playful… It’s a very Bananagrams thing to do.

The reader doesn’t have to find them to appreciate they’re there… Out of interest, what are some of the other monkey words?
Oh, gosh; I don’t remember so well… CHIMP would’ve been in there. BABOON, PRIMATE… This is all in the second edition, I think.

“There’s an easily made mistake that I think applies to all brand-extension books…”

There’s also one easily made mistake that I think applies to all brand-extension books… The question of who does the foreword. Often, that ends up being someone who’s known in a relevant field, or legitimately famous. Weirdly, though, they often aren’t at all representative of the brand! At times, that means the tone of the foreword is somewhat at odds with the content. I don’t like that incongruence. I think brands should aim to have their foreword writer, their author and their message all line up in service to the book’s content.

Who did the foreword for The Little Book of Bananagrams?
Well there, you see, we got the best of both worlds. Through a very happy twist of fate, and a lot of persistence on the part of Lesley Singleton – who did the PR for Bananagrams – our foreword was by Dame Judi Dench. So – you know – hugely famous, but totally authentic. She’s a very vocal fan of the game. And to my earlier point: absolutely congruent with the values of the brand. She endlessly shows qualities pertaining to family, passion, wit, wordplay, silliness… All those things.

Fantastic. One thing I meant to ask about earlier was the chain reaction machine… How did that lead you to being involved with the brand?
Ah! Yes, I always warn people off this story because it’s quite long! But I was working as a creative consultant on a Christmas project for a video production company. They wanted me to design and build a chain-reaction machine – a Rube Goldberg machine – out of classic toys and games…

A Rube Goldberg machine being an over-the-top contraption? Like the game Mouse Trap?
Exactly. And in fact, that particular video started off with Mouse Trap, then things just got bigger and more complex… In any case, right at the end of this ridiculous machine were some Bananagrams tiles. When we put the video online, we reached out to anyone whose product was in it. In response, the Bananagrams PR person, Lesley, asked to meet me at London Toy Fair about making a how-to-play piece for the game itself. Which we then did: I wrote the script and DMI Productions made the promo.

Got it. So you weren’t on their radar as a writer before that?
No, but when Lesley asked about my background, I mentioned a book I’d written a few years earlier, Magic by Phone. As it’s name might suggest, that was a technical book on how to perform magic tricks over the phone…

Is there a lot of demand for magic tricks over the phone, then?!
I can tell you – quite unequivocally – that there is absolutely no demand for that. The publisher must’ve sold no more than five copies worldwide… Two of them to me. But, as I say, it came up in conversation. And I suspect already having done one book told the team that – aside from being able to write – I must be able to organise things, plan, take directions, hit deadlines, meet a brief… All of that. So when the time came to extend their brand with a book of hints and tips, I’m sure they were more or less thinking, “Who do we know that could do a book? Someone who plays the game? Someone that seems to get the brand tone?”

Great stuff, thank you. Finally then, Deej… As someone who does a lot of the interviews at Brands Untapped, you often sign off by asking: “What’s the one question I could’ve asked you today but didn’t? And what’s the answer?” How would you answer that?
Yes, that’s like a get out of jail free card… No matter how incompetently I’ve done the interview, people still get to say something they want to say! I guess you could’ve asked, “What’s the best thing about having worked on the book?” To which my answer would be: “It led me to work in this industry!” Like the chain reaction machine that brought me to its door, one thing’s led to another in toys and games… I’ve worked on some fantastically interesting projects, interviewed fascinating people, discovered amazing brands, written a couple more books, got a few games on the market – and made some remarkable friends. It’s been terrific, really.”

Fantastic. Deej, thanks for sitting in the other chair!

The post Extending brand tone into books: Little Book of Bananagrams author, Deej Johnson, on getting it right appeared first on Brands Untapped.

This year’s Play Creators Awards will take place on Tuesday, September 6th at the Union Ale House within London’s Twickenham Stadium.

The event – forming part of this year’s Play Creators Festival – will celebrate figures and teams in the toy and game design and inventor community that have excelled over the last 12 months.

The full line-up of categories available to nominate are:

Toy Designer of the Year
Whether bringing innovation to an iconic toy brand, or responsible for the industry’s latest big hit, this award celebrates a figure that has done outstanding work in toy design over the last 12 months.

Game Designer of the Year (Kids’ Game)
This award is for designers behind the best and brightest in the world of kids’ games. Fun, silly, educational, or all of the above, we’re looking to celebrate the brains behind the games.

Game Designer of the Year (Party Game)
Aimed at a more mature audience than our Kids’ Game category, this award celebrates the in-house designers or external inventors and studios behind the year’s top party games.

Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year
The secret weapon for many toy firms, design agencies and invention studios are the unsung heroes of our industry. This category celebrates a firm that deserves recognition for exceptional work over the last 12 months.

Inventor Relations Exec of the Year
This Award celebrates figures working in Inventor Relations that have excelled over the past 12 months. Whether it’s due to commendable conduct with the inventor community or for being instrumental in finding and championing successful inventor items, this is a category to highlight the phenomenal work being done by individuals working in IR.

R&D Team of the Year
In-house at a toy titan, or leading design at a thriving SME, this award celebrates teams working in Research & Development that have achieved extraordinary things over the last year.

Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed Product)
The first of two awards recognising excellence in licensed product, Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed Product) celebrates creators that have brought much loved characters and IP to life through great toys.

Game Designer of the Year (Licensed Product)
This award is for a designer that has given an IP the board game treatment in impressive style via a great licensed game this year.

Play Innovator of the Year
Whether through fresh thinking or tech twists, the Play Innovation of the Year award celebrates designers driving innovation in the toy and game space.

Rising Star Award
Who are the design legends of the future? Perhaps someone leading one of the industry’s many exciting start-ups, or a young star within your team? If so, nominate them in the Rising Star category.

Design Icon Award
This award celebrates an iconic figure that have helped shape the industry, truly leaving their footprint and a lasting legacy in the world of toy and game design.

The deadline to get nominations in is Monday, May 23rd 2022.

Finalists for each category will be announced in June, before a panel of experts select winners over a series of roundtable judging sessions.

To nominate, email the name of your nominated person or team – and the name of the product, if nominating for a product category – to billy@mojo-nation.com, along with some reasons as to why they should win the accolade.

For sponsorship opportunities, email sarah@mojo-nation.com.

The post Only a few weeks left to get your nominations in for Play Creators Awards 2022 appeared first on Brands Untapped.

Sarah will be working with partners on areas including event sponsorship, editorial partnerships and site advertising opportunities.

“We’re over the moon to welcome Sarah to the team as we continue to grow and offer fresh opportunities to partners at both toy and game companies and invention studios alike,” said Billy Langsworthy, Co-Founder at Mojo Nation.

“Immediately rocketing to the position of most likeable member of the Mojo team, we look forward to introducing Sarah to the industry properly in the coming months.”

Sarah added: “I’m looking forward to be entering the world of brand licensing; an incredibly exciting and creative industry.”

If you’d like to say a quick hello to Sarah, she can be reached at Sarah@mojo-nation.com

The post Sarah Goldhawk joins Brands Untapped as Business Development Manager appeared first on Brands Untapped.

Brands Untapped @ Toy Fair NY will highlight multiple creative collaborations between toy companies and high-profile partners spanning apparel, food & drink, hospitality, live events, video games, film & TV and publishing.

The experience-rich, curated area will feature multiple activations designed to showcase toy and game brand extensions, product ranges, and licensed interactions.

An accompanying Brands Untapped conference at the show will host talks and panels delving into the design stories behind the extensions of iconic toy brands into categories like footwear, video games, and even hotel suites.

“The excitement is mounting for Toy Fair New York ’22, as we continue to build out our slate of engaging activities at the show and unveil unique business and educational opportunities for the global play community!” said Marian Bossard, executive vice president of global market events at The Toy Association.

“Our partnership with Mojo Nation to bring Brands Untapped to the show floor is the culmination of months of discussions and planning as we aim to position Toy Fair New York for future expansion. We expect it to further elevate the contemporary energy of the marketplace and solidify Toy Fair New York’s position as the place to scout the hottest trends in toys, play, and licensing!”

Billy Langsworthy, co-founder of Mojo Nation, added: “We’re delighted to celebrate the toy industry’s brand licensing community, highlighting the ingenious ways that iconic play brands have successfully made the leap into diverse sectors.

“The experience-led Brands Untapped area is set to be a fun, engaging means of showing off the power of toy and game IP – and the creativity these brands fuel in partners from other industries.”

Brands Untapped @ Toy Fair NY marks the first in several upcoming collaborations between Mojo Nation and The Toy Association.

Companies interested in showcasing brand extensions at Brands Untapped @ Toy Fair NY can contact Billy Langsworthy at Billy@Mojo-Nation.com.

The post Brands Untapped @ Toy Fair NY to showcase how toy brands are thriving in sectors like fashion, food and film appeared first on Brands Untapped.