Play Creators Awards finalists revealed

Mojo Nation has unveiled the finalists for the inaugural Play Creators Awards.

Taking place at London’s Under the Bridge on Monday, September 2nd, the Play Creators Awards celebrate the achievements of the toy and game designer community, including R&D teams, freelance inventors and design agencies.

As nominated by their peers in the toy and game design world, the finalists are:

TOY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR – SPONSORED BY SI DIGITAL
· Bang Zoom – Yellies! (Hasbro)
· Dominic Yard – Tech Deck Sk8 Container Pro (Spin Master)
· Louise McGettrick – Fugglers (Spin Master)
· SoSound & Tricky – Tweet Beats (Identity Games)
· Triclops Studio – Pups In Cups (Golden Bear)
· Worlds Apart/Moose – Scruff-a-Luvs (Worlds Apart/Moose)

GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (KIDS/FAMILY GAMES)
· Adam Borton – Oops Scoops (Yulu)
· Brett J. Gilbert & Matthew Dunstan – Fairy Tile (Iello)
· Chris Naylor & Rich Walton – Avocado Smash (Ridley’s Games)
· Don Ullman, Bob Driscoll & Rob Daviau – Bank Attack (Megableu)
· Jono & Nick Green – The Sock Game (Spin Master)
· IDEO – Plumber Pants (Hasbro)

GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (TABLETOP)
·  Elizabeth Hargrave – Wingspan (Stonemaier Games)
·  Hal Duncan & Ruth Veevers – Cryptid (Osprey Games)
·  Marc Paquien – Treasure Island (Matagot)
·  Michael Fox & Rory O’Connor – Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr (HUB Games)
·  The Fantastic Factory – Stupid Deaths (University Games)
·  Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson – War Chest (AEG)

R&D TEAM OF THE YEAR – SPONSORED BY WYNNE-JONES IP
·  Alpha Group
·  Big Potato
·  Hasbro
·  Ravensburger
·  Spin Master
·  TOMY
·  Worlds Apart/Moose
·  Zuru

DESIGN AGENCY/INVENTION STUDIO OF THE YEAR – SPONSORED BY HASBRO
·  Bang Zoom
·  Fuse London Ltd
·  IDEO
·  Making Things Studio
·  Seven Towns
·  SoSound
·  This Is YARD
·  Triclops Studio

TOY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (LICENSED PRODUCT)
·  Carlos Mendoza – SpongeBob SquarePants Masterpiece Meme Collection (Alpha Group/Nickelodeon)
·  Dominic Yard & Gil Zalayet – Thomas & Friends Track Master Dragon Escape Set (Fisher-Price)
·  Fuse London Ltd & Spring Loaded Concepts – Paw Patrol Ride N Rescue Range (Spin Master/Nickelodeon)
·  Jo Gough – Count With Peppa (Trends UK/eOne)
·  Justin Ramsden – LEGO Stranger Things: The Upside Down set (LEGO/Netflix)
·  Mike Wyatt & Matthew Wright – RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Play Set (Playpress Toys/RNLI)

GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (LICENSED PRODUCT)
·  Andrew Wolf & USAopoly – Thanos Rising (USAopoly/Disney)
·  Big Potato – Blockbuster: The Game (Big Potato/Blockbuster)
·  James M. Hewitt & Sophie Williams – Hellboy: The Board Game (Mantic Games/Dark Horse Comics)
·  Kristian Osterby, Nick Fallon, James Sheahan & Rob Harris – Kung Fu Panda: The Board Game (Modiphius Games/Universal)
·  Open 2 Design – Rubik’s Cage (University Games/Rubik’s)
·  The Fantastic Factory, Kwasmo Enterprises, Playful Planet and Designed by Charles Darrow – Monopoly Cash Grab (Hasbro)

PLAY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
·  Bang Zoom – Mr Potato Head Movin’ Lips (Hasbro)
·  Fuse London Ltd & Briology – Cool Maker KumiKreator (Spin Master)
·  Reach Robotics – Reach EDU (Reach Robotics)
·  Meir Biton – Storyball (Storyball)
·  Sadhbh Doherty – Sew & Glow Kit (Tech Will Save Us)
·  Wow! Stuff – Wizarding World Invisibility Cloak Illusion Costume (Wow! Stuff/Warner Bros)

RISING STAR AWARD – SPONSORED BY ALPHA GROUP
·  Ben Williams – Open 2 Design
·  Chris Naylor – Wild & Wolf
·  Joe Hearnden – Mookie Toys
·  Josh Wilde – Fuse London Ltd
·  Liz Ganrude – Learning Resources
·  Rob Earl-Ocran – SoSound
·  TJ Morrison – SoSound
·  Vina Arriaga – Fuse London Ltd

The Design Icon award does not have a shortlist and the winner will instead be unveiled on the night.

Panels of expert judges, comprised of R&D execs, freelance inventors and figures from design agencies and invention studios, will assess each category in roundtable sessions, before deciding on the winners.

“We’re over the moon with the enthusiasm our inaugural Play Creators Awards has been met with, and our finalist line-up highlights the wealth of design talent working in the industry today,” said Billy Langsworthy, co-founder of Mojo Nation.

“Congratulations to all the finalists, and we look forward to seeing you at the Awards in September for what promises to be a brilliant night.”

Winners will be revealed at the Play Creators Awards, taking place on Monday, September 2nd at London’s Under the Bridge.

To book your ticket, head to: www.playcreatorsawards.com

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