Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
BC 2010 100 pages catalogs now published online: http://www.bcmini.com/id283.
New Iwako stickers: http://www.bcmini.com/id269.
New tin boxes and eraser bags: http://www.bcmini.com/id277.
New toy charms-straps: http://www.bcmini.com/id234.
New products by month: http://www.bcmini.com/id278.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Secrets of the Sea gets the nod from Parents Choice
Secrets of the Sea
Spring 2009 Games
Ages: 5 & Up
Manufacturer: Playroom Entertainment
Price: $20.00
Review:
Secrets of the Sea is a game of treasure hunting at sea. Players use a UV decoder light (batteries included) to reveal hidden objects on the game board as they work to earn points collecting treasures, fighting sea monsters, and gaining rewards. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. A little strategy, some memory and matching skills, and a little luck combine to make this game fun for 5-8 year old deep sea divers.
Jeff Fogg ©2009 Parents' Choice
Look for this product at:
Major, Specialty & Online Retailers
Playroom Entertainment
http://www.playrooment.com
Spring 2009 Games
Ages: 5 & Up
Manufacturer: Playroom Entertainment
Price: $20.00
Review:
Secrets of the Sea is a game of treasure hunting at sea. Players use a UV decoder light (batteries included) to reveal hidden objects on the game board as they work to earn points collecting treasures, fighting sea monsters, and gaining rewards. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. A little strategy, some memory and matching skills, and a little luck combine to make this game fun for 5-8 year old deep sea divers.
Jeff Fogg ©2009 Parents' Choice
Look for this product at:
Major, Specialty & Online Retailers
Playroom Entertainment
http://www.playrooment.com
Fish Stix from Peaceable Kingdom Press wins Parents Choice Gold Award!
Fish Stix
Fall 2009 Games
Ages: 6 - 12 yrs.
Manufacturer: Peaceable Kingdom Press
Price: $14.99
Review:
In this visual strategy game, in which play progresses as in dominoes, players take turns matching fish by color and direction in which they swim.
As players draw a card with pictures of four fish, the goal is to match the fish cards and place them on the play grid. The images must match by color and by direction in which they swim. Cards must be played so the exact image matches touch. The first player to get to 10 points wins.
Young testers learned how to look for ways to build on a matching series another player had started, (an clever way to get 6 or 7 fish in a series at once) or to figure out how to get double the points by finding a card that lines up with two kinds of fish.
Kathy Walsh ©2009 Parents' Choice
Look for this product at:
Peaceable Kingdom Press
http://www.pkpress.com
Fall 2009 Games
Ages: 6 - 12 yrs.
Manufacturer: Peaceable Kingdom Press
Price: $14.99
Review:
In this visual strategy game, in which play progresses as in dominoes, players take turns matching fish by color and direction in which they swim.
As players draw a card with pictures of four fish, the goal is to match the fish cards and place them on the play grid. The images must match by color and by direction in which they swim. Cards must be played so the exact image matches touch. The first player to get to 10 points wins.
Young testers learned how to look for ways to build on a matching series another player had started, (an clever way to get 6 or 7 fish in a series at once) or to figure out how to get double the points by finding a card that lines up with two kinds of fish.
Kathy Walsh ©2009 Parents' Choice
Look for this product at:
Peaceable Kingdom Press
http://www.pkpress.com
Friday, November 13, 2009
QUELF BOARD GAME WINS 2009 GOLD NATIONAL PARENTING PUBLICATIONS AWARD (NAPPA)
FLAPDOODLE Board Game Wins NAPPA Honors
LOS ANGELES (September 1, 2009) – Imagination® announced today that its Quelf board game (Ages 12+, Players: 3-8) was chosen as the 2009 NAPPA Gold Award winner, adding this impressive honor to its growing list of recognitions, including the recent 2009 Creative Child Magazine “Preferred Choice Award.”
Quelf is a hilarious unpredictable party game that gives random a new name. It’s as simple as rolling the dice, moving your chosen character piece and following the random instructions on the cards to do things like, “Talk like a pirate until someone sneezes” or “Go to the bathroom and don’t come back until someone comes to get you.” “The fun quotient with Quelf is off the charts,” says Imagination CEO Shane Yeend. “You never can tell what will happen. I’ve played the game with three generations of family members and everyone really had fun. That’s so rare to find in a board game.”
Flapdoodle (Ages 6+, Players 3-6), the junior version of Quelf, took home the 2009 NAPPA Honors Award. Other recent awards include the 2009 Creative Child Magazine “Seal of Excellence Award” and the 2009 National Parenting Center
With more Americans choosing at-home socializing and entertainment, playing board games has made a comeback as an economical and fun way for friends and family of all ages to gather. Along with the popular Battle
About Imagination International
Imagination creates, produces and distributes the most compelling interactive entertainment to the world. Committed to innovation, Imagination has interests in traditional games and puzzles, DVD games, interactive television and radio.
© IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION™ NAME AND LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF IMAGINATION. ALL OTHER TRADEMARKS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
FAMILY PASTIMES NEWS November 2009
QUESTIONS ASKED.
1. Is there still time to get stock for the gift giving season?
Yes, yes, yes. We are still open for business.
We are a small and very flexible company. Plenty of time.
We keep shipping even in December.
I have a New Yorker cartoon over my desk that shows Santa entering a room where the elves are working away making basketballs. He has a purchase order in his hands and says to the assembled workers, “Stop making basketballs and start making soccer balls.”
In a nutshell that is what happens with my worker elves in the backrooms. For example, we just got an order for 60 Sleeping Grumps and 60 Secret Doors. We had enough Secret
Doors, but were short of Sleeping Grumps.
I entered the workroom with the purchase order in hand and announced, “Stop making Harvest Times and start making Sleeping Grumps.”
This is the advantage of being small and flexible.
2. What are your games made of?
We have been using the same materials for almost 40 years now and, though sometimes this means paying more for them, we are very loyal to those suppliers who give us safe raw materials, non-toxic glues, inks and paints, and wherever possible 100% recycled materials. We get our wooden pieces made in British Columbia, for example, when we could go to Asia and realize savings. We get our plastic pieces, pawns and dice, made in the USA, even though we could go to Asia and bring in cheaper product. It is important to me to make our contribution to local economies and maintain jobs for the local people who have helped make Family Pastimes the stable business it is.
When you see that CE logo on the games, this is your assurance that we have had to pass the very stringent lab tests for safety in Europe if we want to continue doing business in Europe. And that extends to anywhere in the world.
3. What have you got against competitive games?
I am not a fan of the many games that romanticize war and other forms of violence. I have heard all the arguments that come down to whether it is the chicken or the egg that came first. In other words, are these games just reflecting the violence already in society or are they helping to promote it as an acceptable form of culture?
I only am certain of what I see around me…children are very imitative of what they see in the media and in the behavior of older humans around them. They imitate us.
I do feel, though, that we have more than a sufficient supply of competitive experiences.. What we need now is many more play experiences that involve sharing, making friends not enemies, solving problems with dialogue not aggression….remember someone saying something about making the world a kinder, gentler place? I do. He didn’t get very far and probably really didn’t try. Apparently, it is hard to lose the taste for blood.
If you don't have a current price list...just hit reply and type in Price List in the Subject.
If you want to know What’s New, click on my info site, www.familypastimes.com and view the Newsbits. ..
Keep those precious orders coming. We appreciate your continued support.
Keep those precious orders coming. We appreciate your continued support.
Cheers,
Jim Deacove
Family Pastimes
"We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
HOHNER November Specials. Great deals on Guitars and Ukuleles
HOHNER November Specials:
· $500 – FFA & Net 30 for approved accounts· $750 – FFA & Net 60 for approved accounts
· Guitar - buy 7 HAG 250 and get the 8th free at case pack pricing ($157.36 total cost for 7 pieces - $50.00 retail value free)
· Ukulele – buy 11 HU212 and get the 12th free ($219.45 total cost for 11 pieces - $40 retail value free)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Orb Factory Deal for November
This deal is NOT available for Assortments, they are sold out.
This is only for the individual SKUs
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
KANE MILLER / EDC (Usborne) is pleased to announce …more starred reviews.....
in KIRKUS REVIEWS for…
| BY Sebastian Meschenmoser  $15.99 | “…Meschenmoser’s minimalist text provides just enough support for his laugh-out-loud illustrations, rendered in swift, penciled lines on creamy white space. Squirrel’s red coat provides a spot of color against the autumnal grays and sepias used to sketch out the trees and the other animals. He packs a wealth of expression into each animal’s face without venturing into heavy anthropomorphism. Readers will howl at the animals’ mistaken notions of snow, and they’ll sigh with satisfaction at the just-cozy-enough end. A perfect marriage of words and pictures.” – Kirkus Reviews (Starred, October 15, 2009) |
and in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY for…
BY CASSANDRA GOLDS
 $16.99 | “Gothic and wonderfully creepy, Golds’s (Clair-de-Lune) atmospheric story delights, offering meditations on the nature and power of love. Lonely Heloise wants only to be loved, but lives as if jailed in the house of her stern and sometimes cruel godmother. One day Heloise uncovers a beautiful doll, Maria, hidden under the floorboards of her room, and it is love at first sight. Heloise hides Maria from her godmother, whose personal Ten Commandments include forbidding play, “pretty clothes” and the possession of a doll, not to mention never uttering the word love (“We are all of us evil. And to love something evil is wicked,” she professes). Once Maria is discovered, Heloise finds out the horrible truth about the museum that adjoins her godmother’s cottage and is thrust down a strange and magical path that reveals how sheltered she has been (“Most people, she now knew, had heard music. Most people had seen pictures”). Readers will wonder throughout: who is Heloise really—or better, what is she? Aside from an occasional tendency toward sentimental prose, Golds’s novel is pure fun, filled with mystery and nearly impossible to put down.” – Publishers Weekly (Starred, September 28, 2009) |
School library journal praise for…
BY KATE O’HEARN
 $16.99 | “Kira is almost 13 and, by law and at her parents’ insistence, must be married by her birthday or be sent to prison. She is devastated as she secretly dreams of working with dragons, though she knows its illegal. She goes for a walk , followed by her younger sister, Elspeth, who tends to shadow Kira’s every move. While they are gone, their family is captured by Lord Dorcon, who believes that Kira’s father wronged him. Her father and brother are sent to the dragon army, a sister is imprisoned, and their mother is made a servant. Kira and Elspeth flee to a mountain where a rogue dragon lives, and Elspeth’s powers with animals allow them to tame one of his offspring. The girls are befriended by a wizard who tells them of a prophecy that a girl with a dragon will bring down the king. The sisters and their brother Dane separately begin to bring about what the king fears most: the loss of his kingdom and power. The story alternates between Kira and Dane, which serves to heighten the suspense as things race toward a confrontation. At times the events seem a bit too convenient, but on the whole the adventure is exciting and fast paced. The chargers are well rounded and believable. Shadow will be popular with fans of Anne McCaffrey’s “Harper Hall” trilogy.” – School Library Journal (October 2009) |
BY JEAN LITTLE
 $15.99 | “This well-written story handles the topic of foster and abandoned children with compassion and truth. Min, 11, has lived through a series of foster homes where she was cared for but not deeply loved. When her current foster mother decides to return her to the system shortly before Christmas, Min feels sorry for herself, but knows that she will not miss Bangs family. From this point forward, her life improves. She is taken in by Jess Hart, a doctor who recently lost her husband and who understands the child’s deep psychological pain because she, too, was once a foster child. While some elements of Min’s story may seem to be too “pie in the sky,” they are told with such warmth and detail that readers believe that Jess could be just right for Min. The child is finally given the chance to leave behind her fierce independence and for the first time in her life trust caring adult who will not let her down.” - School Library Journal (October 2009) |
Read the Publishers Weekly article, 10/19/09.
 978-1-935279-49-5 $10.99 - aGES 10-15 Pub date 01/01/2010 | Don’t blink. Don’t forget to breathe . . . On New Year’s Eve Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning . . . They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Hurled into a life on the run the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone. Hunted by the law and ruthless criminals, Cal must somehow uncover the truth about his father’s mysterious death and a history-changing secret. Who can he turn to, who can he trust, when the whole world seems to want him dead? The clock is ticking. Any second could be his last. 12 Books, 12 Months – don’t miss this electrifying new series! |
 978-1-935279-25-9 $15.99 - AGES 9-13 PUB DATE 03/01/2010 | Kudos for forthcoming Spring Kane Miller title! Best Book for Language Development: Upper Primary 8-12 years It’s Andy’s first trip on an airplane when he and his dad travel to Vietnam to meet all his relatives. Talk about culture shock! Everyone calls him by his Vietnamese name instead of Andy, and he is stunned to discover the family restaurant is nothing like what he expected. Somehow though, Andy helps his Vietnamese family and his dad come to see things in a whole new way. |
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
BEST OF BEST TOP 50
| | |||||
| RANKED BY Dollar amounts sold. | RANKED BY quantities sold. | ||||
| ITEM | DESCRIPTION | ITEM | DESCRIPTION | ||
| 1 | 32009 | LCR | 89000 | TRAVEL BINGO CARDS | |
| 2 | 03105 | GROW A FROG | 32009 | LCR | |
| 3 | 89000 | TRAVEL BINGO CARDS | 15184 | POP POP POPPERS | |
| 4 | 16185 | SET | 07119 | ORIGINAL DUNCAN YO-YO | |
| 5 | 16188 | QUIDDLER | 74000 | ORIGINAL SLINKY | |
| 6 | 94001 | RUBIKS CUBE | 76000 | ORIGINAL SILLY PUTTY | |
| 7 | 74000 | ORIGINAL SLINKY | 74003 | POP TUBES | |
| 8 | 07119 | ORIGINAL DUNCAN YO-YO | 19011 | 8 SHOT RING CAPS | |
| 9 | 16187 | FIVE CROWNS | 19012 | 1000 ROLL CAPS | |
| 10 | 73000 | MIGHTY MIND | 03105 | GROW A FROG | |
| 11 | 48000 | OCEAN ZOO SEA MONKEY | 16185 | SET | |
| 12 | 47003 | PRIMARY WIKKI STIX (48 PCS) | 47001 | RAINBOW WIKKI STIK (24 PCS) | |
| 13 | 11150 | TANGOES | 16188 | QUIDDLER | |
| 14 | 59003 | MICRO-FLY R/C HELICOPTER | 19001 | AMAZING CAPSULE CREATURES | |
| 15 | 47002 | NEON WIKKI STIX (48 PCS) | 88000 | THE PENCIL GRIP | |
| 16 | 32010 | LCR DISPLAY (48@$4.00) | 47003 | PRIMARY WIKKI STIX (48 PCS) | |
| 17 | 68025 | MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD | 57013 | HAND BLASTER | |
| 18 | 02252 | MOON IN MY ROOM | 94001 | RUBIKS CUBE | |
| 19 | 61018 | DURANGO CAP PISTOLS WITH DOUBLE HOLSTER | 48000 | OCEAN ZOO SEA MONKEY | |
| 20 | 73001 | SUPERMIND | 47002 | NEON WIKKI STIX (48 PCS) | |
| 21 | 56001 | ORIGINAL POCKET FARKEL | 19010 | 8 SHOT CAP GUN | |
| 22 | 44004 | UNO | 18192 | MAGNIFYING GLASS (2.5'') | |
| 23 | 94002 | PASS THE PIG | 56001 | ORIGINAL POCKET FARKEL | |
| 24 | 68032 | BARREL OF MONKEYS | 16187 | FIVE CROWNS | |
| 25 | 47001 | RAINBOW WIKKI STIK (24 PCS) | 13100 | TORNADO TUBE | |
| 26 | 47006 | WIKKI STIX FUN ACTIVITY SET (84 PCS) | 68032 | BARREL OF MONKEYS | |
| 27 | 96133 | DRESS-UP FASHION GAME | 68027 | ORIGINAL KOSMIC KOOSH BALL | |
| 28 | 61016 | KANSAS RIFLE | 01100 | FOOTBAGS ASST COLORS | |
| 29 | 41037 | SEQUENCE | 68026 | PLAY-DOH CLASSIC 4 PACK | |
| 30 | 87017 | SNO-CRAYON ASST | 33103 | STEVE SPANGLER'S GEYSER TUBE | |
| 31 | 81005 | SNOWBALL MAKER | 19007 | MINI CAP BOMB | |
| 32 | 88002 | BAND BUDDIE BALL | 88002 | BAND BUDDIE BALL | |
| 33 | 61021 | BLACK CANYON BUCKEYE SET | 62000 | CLASSIC DOUBLE JACKS | |
| 34 | 68027 | ORIGINAL KOSMIC KOOSH BALL | 57101 | EGG CHA CHA | |
| 35 | 63003 | BELLA NATIVE LIGHTS CARD DISPLAY (36 @ 1.70) | 06120 | DRINKING BIRD | |
| 36 | 33103 | STEVE SPANGLER'S GEYSER TUBE | 76104 | CHANGEABLE SILLY PUTTY | |
| 37 | 56010 | SIX-DICE FARKEL | 11150 | TANGOES | |
| 38 | 21100 | RUCKUS | 87017 | SNO-CRAYON ASST | |
| 39 | 73005 | MAGNETIC MIGHTY MIND | 54010 | COUNTER TOP TRIOPS | |
| 40 | 68026 | PLAY-DOH CLASSIC 4 PACK | 06115 | POTATO GUN 7'' | |
| 41 | 76000 | ORIGINAL SILLY PUTTY | 73000 | MIGHTY MIND | |
| 42 | 16193 | SET CUBED | 44004 | UNO | |
| 43 | 06120 | DRINKING BIRD | 68025 | MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD | |
| 44 | 08231 | CURIOUS GEORGE JACK IN THE BOX | 06148 | SPY GLASSES | |
| 45 | 02199 | ANT FARM | 76001 | SILLY PUTTY BRIGHT COLORS | |
| 46 | 44005 | MAGIC 8 BALL | 81005 | SNOWBALL MAKER | |
| 47 | 76105 | 3D SIDEWALK CHALK | 62003 | SELF INFLATING WHOOPEE CUSHION | |
| 48 | 19012 | 1000 ROLL CAPS | 57074 | METAL KAZOO | |
| 49 | 57135 | CRYSTAL GROW KITS | 61029 | BUBBLES (8 OZ) | |
| 50 | 99019 | SPYRO GYRO PEN | 74002 | SLINKY JR | |
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ugly Doll Inventory Up-Date.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Iwako and BC fighting the good fight against counterfeit erasers...read below
We don’t make erasers in China, 100% made in Japan.
I have again received words that another counterfeit Chinese eraser seller, Crazy Erasers, is sending out emails saying their erasers are made in same factory as our Iwako erasers, NOT TRUE. Their erasers are made in China by a Chinese company called Sunde, all counterfeit copies of our erasers, falsely advertised as “Japanese Erasers.” There are approx. over 30 Chinese factories making counterfeit erasers. The same counterfeit erasers are all over the places in China and in LA’s Mexican Cash and Carry market, wholesale prices are between $0.10 to $0.20 each eraser, or $0.22-$0.60 for a blister card. The price war for counterfeits has started, Tomiko(China) was $0.40, Crazy Eraser is $0.20, Cash and Carry market is $0.15.
There is always a market for counterfeit, fake Rolex or whatever, that is just the way it is, we don’t get all excited and bend out of shape over it, must be a big market for fake everything. But for your retailers, there are some vital points to consider before they jump.
1- Buy cheap, sell cheap. Store instantly loses 50% of sales and profit because price dropped. How many more erasers the store must sell to match top tier Japanese erasers? Double or triple quantity? More work, more cost for less money? Why?
2- Counterfeits cheapen the store. Image was built with hard work and money.
3- Kids are smarter than buyers, they know and they tell other kids.
4- Kids trade erasers, if this kid does not know, another kid will tell “That is a fake!”
5- Most eraser shoppers are collectors, collectors know more than you and me.
6- Our websites get 11 million hits, we use our websites to educate the collectors.
7- Pretty soon, they don’t come back to that store even to buy the real Japanese erasers.
Good news is they are having a mud fight price war, Tomiko fake is $0.40, Crazy Eraser fake is $0.20, Mexican ones are selling it for $0.15. I hate to be in their shoes, fighting over pennies on fakes. The motive to sell fakes is “profit”, once the profit is gone, it fizzles out. Same thing happened on Rubic’s cubes, LCD watch pen, laser pointer, etc…
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