Elan Lee – CEO at Exploding Kittens – discusses the origins of the now iconic card game, sheds light on where the idea for the company’s latest game – Poetry for Neanderthals – came from, and his top tips for fuelling creativity.

This ‘Failure is the Key to Success’ session delves into how certain toys – that seemed destined for greatness, but flopped – provided some key lessons that were instrumental to the future success of other toys and games.

If you could only take one toy, one game and one of your own inventions to a desert island, what would you take and why? That’s the question that Word Whizz Deej Johnson is posing to Rich Mazel, Senior Director of Global Product Acquisition at Hasbro, in this Desert Island Picks interview.

How do you pitch a game idea to Hasbro? Where does Funko Games start when turning iconic movies into great tabletop experiences? What can an indie like Gamely Games do to stand out in a crowded market? All this, and more, is covered in this Game On! panel session.

How has lockdown changed how toy and game inventors pitch their concepts? What are some of the pros and cons of showing off ideas virtually? And what impact has the pandemic situation had on how inventors fuel their creativity? All this and more is explored in our ‘Pitching in Uncertain Times’ panel.

“Now felt like the right time for me to return to my roots; focusing on game design and public advocacy for our amazing hobby,” said Lang.

“We are developing with our members a Toy Fair offering in the spring of 2021 and of course the always anticipated Toy Fair in the expanded Javits Center in February 2022,” said Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of The Toy Association.

Consisting of a series of storage boxes with LEGO studs and a special LEGO brick set, the new BYGGLEK collection aims to encourage play and infuse more fun into storage around the home.

Panellists include Pixar Animation Studios’ Jen Tan, Roald Dahl’s Stephanie Griggs and SRL Consulting’s Susie Lecker.

The session will be chaired by Erik Quam, Director of Product Development at Fat Brain Toys.