“This year’s nominees represent a broad cross section of the industry, including heavy hitters and upstarts alike,” said Mary Couzin, founder and CEO, Chicago Toy & Game Group.

Last week saw the launch of Mojo Nation’s inaugural Play Creators Festival, a three-day event encompassing the Toy and Game Design Conference, the Mojo Pitch and the Student Conference.

Each game has one Investigator and one Suspect. Armed only with two stamps and a topic of conversation, the Investigator must figure out whether the Suspect is a Human or a Robot.

“The collaboration with Evolve is just another example of how we partner with leaders in technology to inspire and develop new thinking,” said LEGO COO Carsten Rasmussen.

Annual publication listing figures in toy and game design world that have had an impressive year returns.

During the first half of the year, the top-performing themes were LEGO Technic, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Creator and LEGO Classic.

“Our hope is that by making mental health a normal part of day-to-day chat and removing it from that list of taboo subjects, it will appease the suffering that can go hand-in-hand with all disorders.”

Via the new site, designers can create games using different components, box sizes, boards and inserts, before uploading personalised artwork to complete their game.

We caught up with Culmone to learn more about her history in the design space, what steers the design direction of the Barbie brand and what makes the toy icon such a rich space for a designer to work in.

The aim, of course, is to be the last player standing.