Play Creators Awards 2025 finalists revealed

Mojo Nation has detailed the finalists for this year’s Play Creators Awards.

The Play Creators Awards celebrates designers and inventors in the toy and game community that have excelled over the last 12 months.

Winners will be selected over a series of panel sessions with industry experts and revealed at this year’s Play Creators Awards – taking place on Tuesday, June 24th at London’s Under the Bridge venue within Stamford Bridge Stadium.

To book your ticket to this year’s Play Creators Awards, click here

As nominated by their peers in the industry, the finalists are:

Toy Designer of the Year (Sponsored by Jazwares)
• Carlyle Nuera (Mattel) – Barbie You Create (Mattel)
• Designbytouch & Chris Lutchen, Matt Synowicz, Brennan Hunt and Beth Boudin (TOMY) – Doteki (TOMY)
• Emily Ruether (MindWare) – Run the Runway (MindWare)
• Gilad Podgor & Roy Kfir – Tattoomeez (Golden Bear)
• Josh Carlson, Nick Grisolia & Paul Von Mohr (Gee Tree & Mee) – Cheeky Chonks (Spin Master)
• KID Group – FigBands (Jazwares)
• Make It Real Advanced Design Team – Swift Click Heishi Bracelet Maker (Make It Real)
• Moose Toys Girls Team – Gui Gui (Moose Toys)
• Triclops Studio – Terror Fried (Character Options)

———-

Game Designer of the Year (Kids & Family Game) (Sponsored by ThinkFun)
• Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment – Feelin’ Cute (Hootenanny Games)
• David Yakos (Streamline Design) – Ringer (MindWare)
• Elodie Clément & Théo Rivière – Potion Express (Kiwizou)
• Emma Ribbens (Smart Toys and Games) – The Wolf & The 7 Goats (Smart Toys and Games)
• Fun-Damental Invention & Matt Jordan and Tom Yamazaki (TOMY) – Extreme Silence (TOMY)
• JM Duparc and Identity Games Team – Birdy Call (Identity Games)
• KID Group – Snack-O-Saurus Rex (Spin Master)
• Kim Vandenbroucke – ThinkFun Friends: Tree House (ThinkFun)
• Paul Martinsen (Fuse) – Crash Cats (ThinkFun)

———-

Game Designer of the Year (Party Game) (Sponsored by Playtime PR)
• Alena Istif, Chiara Bellavite, Isabeau Rosen, Josh West, Sébastien Eme, Shanon Lyon, Riccardo Fabiani & Valentin Köberlein (Ravensburger) – Oh My Pigeons (Ravensburger)
• Alice & Nick Payne – Bean Counters Inc. (Gibsons)
• Chrissy Fagerholt – Girls in Bar Bathrooms (Mattel)
• Danielle Reynolds & Scott Brady – Caution Signs (Wacky Wizard Games)
• Dyce Studios – First to Worst (Dyce)
• Eric Olsen – Flip 7 (The Op)
• Nextoy & Matt Jordan (TOMY) – Human Controller (TOMY)
• Rodrigo Rego – QuizWiz (Brain Games)
• Ted Getschman & Big Potato Games – Whirly Derby (Big Potato Games)

———-

R&D Team of the Year (Sponsored by the British Toy & Hobby Association)
• Bitzee Development Team (Spin Master)
• EXG Pro
• Hot Wheels Speed Snap Track System R&D Team (Mattel)
• Lucky Egg
• Make It Real Advanced Design Team
• Moose Toys
• SMART Toys & Games
• Strikesphere Team (Golden Bear)
• TOMY
• YuMe Toys

———-

Invention Studio of the Year (Sponsored by Hasbro)
• 7pips
• Bang Zoom
• Fun-Damental Invention
• Fuse
• Indy Toy Lab
• JMP Creative
• Open 2 Design
• Seven Towns
• So Sound
• Tantrum Innovation

———-

Inventor Relations Exec of the Year (Sponsored by 7Towns)
• Adam Carson, Chris Lutchen & James Wing – TOMY/Fat Brain Toys
• Alex & Whitney Kimerling – Hootenanny Games
• Audrey Watanabe – Mattel
• Brent Geppert – Educational Insights
• Heath Saber – Moose Toys
• Helen De La Cruz – Spin Master
• Mark Garcia – Hasbro
• Magdalena Eichhorn – Jazwares
• Sarah Franco – Mattel
• Tony Serebriany – The Op Games

———-

Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed Product) (Sponsored by The Wyld Bunch)
• Bang Zoom & Hasbro Preschool Team – Talk & Sing Peppa (Hasbro)
• BMT – Spidey & His Amazing Friends: Spidey Team Split Racer (Jazwares)
• Fuse – Pokémon Beach Battle Playset (Jazwares)
• Moose Licensed Team – Tile Town Bluey Heeler Family Home (Moose Toys)
• Sergio Anna (Craft Buddy) – Disney Crystal Art 2-in-1 Pin Badges (Craft Buddy)
• So Sound – Star Wars Darth Vader Ultimate Mech Force Suit (Hasbro)
• Ste Smith (WITH Creative) – National Geographic Motorized Models (Blue Marble)
• Tantrum Innovation & MBCreations Ltd – Minecraft Click and Switch Sword and Pickaxe (Mattel)
• Tantrum Innovation & MBCreations Ltd – Rubble & Crew Power Tool Pups (Spin Master)

———-

Game Designer of the Year (Licensed Product)
• April Mitchell & Serena Fadlun – RHS Swapple (Gibsons)
• Bryan Bornmueller – The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick Taking Game (Office Dog)
• Buffalo Games Team – Tetris Tumble (Buffalo Games)
• Daryl Andrews & Wolfgang Kramer – Donald Duck in Happy Camper (Maestro Media)
• David Gordon & TAM – LEGO Monkey Palace (Dotted Games)
• Dmitrijus Babičius, Justina Lapinskienė, Marijus Lapinskas & Tadas Kastanauskas – Flow (Brain Games)
• Erica Bouyouris (Spin Master) – Wicked: The Game (Spin Master)
• Brooke Foster, Gavin Waxkirsh & Jim Harrison – The Polaroid Game (Fuel for Fun)
• Tim Walsh (The Playmakers) – A Daily Cloud: The Game (MindWare)

———-

Play Innovator of the Year
• Austin Hillam & Stephen Fazio (ZipString) – ZipString Luma (ZipString)
• Fun-Damental Invention & Blue Marble – Tie-Dye Dots (Blue Marble)
• JMP Creative & Sky Castle Toys – Sticki Rolls (Sky Castle Toys)
• Ken Scheel – FOROS (KEVA Planks)
• Make It Real Advanced Design Team – Polish & Shine Bead Tumbler (Make It Real)
• Mark Grote (Spin Master)– Tech Deck SK8 Crew 2-in-1 Transforming Ultra SK8 Bus (Spin Master)
• Moose Boys Team – MrBeast Lab Mutators (Moose Toys)
• Nextoy & Yair Shilo – Power Saber (Goliath)
• Raf Peeters (Smart Toys and Games) – IQ Deluxe Series (Smart Toys and Games)

———-

Rising Star
• Austin Hillam & Stephen Fazio (ZipString)
• Brooke Cherry (Big Potato Games)
• Grace Newman-Lapinski (Educational Insights)
• Harry Newman (EXG Pro)
• James Sheeler (Mattel)
• Jeremy Shank (TOMY)
• Lauren Heywood-Law (Gibsons)
• Rinat Alima & Tom Dor (Designers)
• Serena Fadlun (Game Designer)
• Shauna McKeon (Big Potato Games)

———-

Unsung Hero
• Adex Costa (EXG Pro)
• Alex Murty (Joking Hazard)
• Christopher Aja (Schylling)
• Gareth Lloyd (Golden Bear)
• Geizi Guevara (Jazwares)
• Jeff Arnold (Sponge Creative)
• Judi Stonecipher (Mattel)
• Lauren Stallard (Gibsons)
• Ryo Yoshihara (YuMe)
• Shaylyn Berntson (IDEO)

———-

Debut of the Year
• Alfie Dix – That’s Crypto, Bro (Bubblegum Stuff)
• Ammon Anderson – Gnome Hollow (The Op)
• Anna Wielach & James Clayson – How to Train Your Dragon 12” Toothless Feature Plush (Spin Master)
• Jamie Smart – Jamie Smart’s Hero Slam (Laurence King Publishing)
• Leonie Grundler – Biome (Lioness Games)
• Michael Bergmann – MAGNA-TILES Rail Racers (MAGNA-TILES)
• Sabrina Gareau (Cheeky Donkey) – Cool Maker Stack’d Heishi Bracelet Studio (Spin Master)
• Stephen Wilson – Bish Bash Bosh (Ginger Fox)
• Rinat Alima & Tom Dor – Roll ‘N’ Hatch (Hape)

To book your ticket to this year’s Play Creators Awards, click here

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