Chicago Toy & Game Week

07/31/2026

LAST DAY! Toy and Game Innovation Awards, the TAGIEs, Submissions close tonight! Don’t miss your chance to recognize the people and teams driving innovation in our industry.

Celebrate the innovators, designers, retailers, suppliers, PR professionals, marketers, and other industry leaders whose creativity shapes our industry.

🗓️ Nomination deadline: TODAY, July 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern

💲 No fee to nominate and no limit on nominations!

Winners will be honored on November 6 during People of Play (POP) Week.


https://tagies.secure-platform.com/nominate/solicitations/login/102006?returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ftagies.secure-platform.com%2Fnominate%2Fsolicitations%2F102006%2Fhome

07/24/2026

The Toy Association's Maddie Michalik joined FOX 5 DC, sharing toys and games to help families make the most of every beach getaway this summer, from sand & surf fun to family game nights after the sun goes down (or when the weather doesn't cooperate). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3rybt_RAkU

The Toy Association's Maddie Michalik joined FOX 5 DC on July 23, s...

06/16/2026

Congrats Ahren Hoffman and YIC winner Eleanor - terrific CBS TV segment surrounding the incredible Young Inventor Challenge! Registration opens in August.

Know a creative kid - summer is a great time to be brainstorming and playtesting with friends!

Thanks to Carve Communication for securing placement!

Takes a team!

Every year, People of Play, a division of The Toy Association, puts on an international competition that pushes children to utilize their creativity for innovation.

05/22/2026

Tim Walsh's latest in Boundless Play: On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. But it was what happened the day after the “day that will live in infamy” that led, in time, to a timeless toy.

On 8 December 1941, Japan captured Singapore for the Axis powers, the place where 90% of the world’s natural rubber was produced. As a result, the strategic war material needed to make gas masks, boots, tires, and surgical equipment was severed from the US and its Allies. If what Winnicott said was true, then our ability to create and recreate was never more needed than on that day in 1941. The fate of the world depended on it.

https://boundlessplay.substack.com/p/play-unplanned?r=7vo22&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true

05/06/2026

Introspective & Fun Interview! Thierry Bourret talks about running Konomocha, learning from Asobi, his blue scooter, Scrooge McDuck, zombies, Bangkok, a washing-up job in his parents' restaurant that he'd rather forget and much more! (Thank you, Thierry!)

https://peopleofplay.com/blog/thierry-bourret-talks-running-konomocha-learning-from-asobi-and-more

04/14/2026

Saturday was National Board Game Day. Big thanks to Peggy Brown for a fun Milwaukee TV segment featuring games from our Chicago Toy & Game Fair!

Some of the fun titles were: Smart Toys and Games's Candy Adventure, The Op Games's Qork, Crazy Aaron's "Pinchies", invented by Tim Walsh, Gray Matters Games's Cross the Line, a collab with David Yakos, Brady Peterson, Grant Lyon, and Danielle Standring and... Mindware, A Berkshire Hathaway Company's Q-Bitz and Count Your Chickens invented by Peggy Brown.!

MindWare Gray Matters Games

In celebration of National Toy and Game Day on April 11, local game inventor Peggy Brown shares her experience at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair last year. the world of games is better than ever before

04/09/2026

We had a blast on WGN TV Spotlight Chicago with Ji & Amy today featuring Young Inventor Challenge winner Tansey Hendrickson and her award-winning game "Ready Set GOAT!" 🐐

There's no better time to get inspired—this Saturday is National Board Game Day! Gather the family, pull out your favorite games...or better yet, start inventing your own. It might just be the next big hit! 💡

Registration for the Young Inventor Challenge opens this August, but you can sign up for alerts now so you don't miss a thing: chitag.com/yic

Who knows? You could be our next spotlight story!

A competition inspiring the next generation to use creativity, critical thinking and steam skills to create their own toy or game. Tansey Hendrickson is the 2025 winner in the “Best Pitch& #82…