Local toymaking college student a hit with ChiTAG
‘Chicago is the city that works — and plays,” said Mary Couzin, CEO and founder of Chicago Toy and Game Group. “It’s the largest toy hub in the country.”
In fact, under Mayor Daley, Couzin said, “there was talk of billing Chicago as the ‘toy capital of the country’.”
Chicagoans are invited to come out and play during the Chicago Toy and Game Fair (ChiTAG) this weekend at Navy Pier, where big-name toy companies along with one- brand shops will display their products. (Some will be available for purchase.)
ChiTAG’s list of this year’s “hot picks” include: Kickboard USA Maxi Microscooters; Razor Crazy Cart (available exclusively at Toys R Us) — allows movement in any direction; Furby Boom — Hasbro’s lovable alien-looking plush with its own language is upgraded with an iOS app that takes interactive play to a new level; Jumbo Bananagrams — oversized tiles/floor version of the Bananagrams word game; Settlers of Catan board game — a history buff’s dream; LeapFrog Ultra Tablet — graphics and camera similar to real tablets in an uber-tough frame; Ionix Tenkai Knights — shapeshifting construction bricks that morph into new designs on its own; Planet Sock Monkey — a limited edition of the sock puppet updated with personality-plus; HolograFX Show Game — create a dazzling magic show with smartphones and iPod Touch; and Flutterbye Flying Fairy — guide the flight of the mystical flying doll with your hand.
ChiTAG is also fertile ground for new inventors. One of the more popular attractions is the Young Inventor Challenge, for ages 6-18, where kids can demo their inventions. Orland Park teen Nick Metzler, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Southern California who invented his first game at age 4 — a puppet video game based on the Super Mario series — won the YIC challenge in 2010 and 2011.
Metzler returns to ChiTAG this year as a nominee for the organization’s TAGIE Award for Young Inventor of the Year taking place 6 p.m. Nov. 22 in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier (tickets for the event are $250). Metzler’s 2011 YIC winning entry is “Squashed,” the world’s first cube-shaped board game featuring elements of chess (pieces are kings and pawns), and has players literally squashing opponent’s pieces as they use logic navigating spaces around the cube to win. The game was picked up by PlaSmart (www.plasmarttoys.com/squashed) for retail sale.
Metzler, who formed his own company, Messy Desk, Inc., has bigger platforms in mind for the future, including television, which isn’t as big a quantum leap as it sounds. Metzler spent last summer working as part of the “Dream Team,” setting up, painting and testing challenges for “Survivor: Philippines.” Metzler met Mark Burnett, the show’s producer, after a seminar where Burnett was guest speaker.
“I told [Burnett] my dream job would be working on the ‘Survivor’ set,” Metzler said.
Metzler submitted his application and was selected. After his stint on the set, Metzler submitted challenge designs, which is all he could reveal because of a “no-talk” clause in his contract with the television reality series. (“Survivor: Philippines” airs next spring.)
“The best job is one having fun doing something you love,” Metzler said.