Play Creators Awards 2024 winners revealed

A celebration of the industry’s design and inventor talent, among the winners this year are Fun-Damental Invention, Angus Walker and Kid Group’s Dan Klitsner.

As nominated by their peers, the winners are:

Toy Designer of the Year

• Charlie Bason (Buzz Ideas) & Fuse  |  Revibe Beadworks Studio (PlayMonster)
• CONNETIX Design Team  |  CONNETIX 50 Piece Pastel Transport Pack (CONNETIX)
• WINNER: Eilat Tzin, Gigi Shachal, Katia Li-Ran & Make It Real Advanced Design Team  |  LinXo (Make It Real)
• Emma Costa Lascelles (TOMY) & Rad Stuff  |  Stakimos (TOMY)
• Fun-Damental Invention & ToyZone  |  Biggies (Eolo Toys)
• Lucas Tyler (Fuse)  |  Monster Jam Launch N Go Hauler (Spin Master)
• Making Things Studio & Phase Two  |  Playtab (Fat Brain Toys)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Magic Mixies Pixlings (Moose Toys)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Cookeez Makery Freezy Cakez (Moose Toys)

Sponsored by

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Game Designer of the Year (Kids/Family Games)

• Bang Zoom  |  Pickleball Blast (Moose Toys)
• WINNER: Dan Klitsner & Brian Clemens (KID Group)  |  Sling It
• David Yakos (Streamline Design)  |  Fainting Goats (Ambassador Games)
• Eric Lang & Ken Gruhl  |  Life in Reterra (Hasbro)
• The Fantastic Factory & TOMY Games Team  |  5 Up (TOMY)
• Sara Farber & Bryan Wilson (Galactic Sneeze)  |  Floats McGoats (Hootenanny Games)
• Raf Peeters (SMART Toys and Games)  |  Cats and Boxes (SMART Toys and Games)
• KidKenn  |  VolleyShot (Fat Brain Toys)
• Seven Towns  |  Fart Yoga (Golden Bear)

Sponsored by

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Game Designer of the Year (Party Games)

• Austyn Romero (Ridley’s Games)  |  Pickles (Ridley’s Games)
• WINNER: David Yakos (Streamline Design)  |  Battleship Royale (Hasbro)
• Emily Brinkley, Marty Pardoe & Rob Piesse (Lucky Egg)  |  Grab the Mic (Lucky Egg)
• Fun-Damental Invention  |  Tilt N’ Shout (Big Potato)
• Sara Farber & Bryan Wilson (Galactic Sneeze)  |  Fork Milk Kidnap (Hasbro)
• Hunch Studios  |  Decodables (Spin Master)
• Matt Edmondson (Format Games)  |  13 Beavers (Format Games)
• Tantrum Innovation & BRIK  |  Pictionary Vs. AI (Mattel)
• Vincent Burger  |  CDSK (Randolph)

Sponsored by

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Debut of the Year

• WINNER: Brad Owen & Fat Brain Toys R&D Team  |  Air Toobz (Fat Brain Toys)
• Cara Weiss  |  Meet MahJong (ThinkFun)
• Chris Priscott  |  Moving Wild (Oink Games)
• Christopher Endozo Chafee (ThinkFun)  |  Math Path Monster (ThinkFun)
• Fumiko Shimizu  |  Dying Message (Oink Games)
• Jason Hibbert  |  Sosig (Joking Hazard)
• Marcus Carleson  |  Hitster (Jumbo)
• Paula Pitiot (ToyZone)  |  Jiggly Bugs (Eolo Toys)
• Romain Froger & Didier Lenain-Bragard  |  Qawale (Gigamic)

Sponsored by

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R&D Team of the Year

• WINNER: Fat Brain Toys
• Golden Bear
• Hasbro’s Furby R&D Team
• Identity Games
• Lucky Egg
• Make It Real
• Moose Toys
• TOMY
• tms Product & Engineering Development Teams
• Wow! Stuff Innovation Team

Sponsored by

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Inventor Relations Exec of the Year

• WINNER: Angus Walker  |  Hasbro
• Audrey Watanabe  |  Mattel
• Chris Lutchen & James Wing  |  TOMY
• David Laskowski  |  Hasbro
• Dominique Roy  |  Make It Real
• Floor Doggenaar  |  Jumbo
• Heath Saber  |  Moose Toys
• John Bell  |  Buffalo Games
• Shannon Swindle  |  Moose Toys
• Tony Serebriany  |  The Op

Sponsored by

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Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year

• Design Edge
• Designbytouch
• WINNER: Fun-Damental Invention
• Fuse
• Incredible Us
• Seven Towns
• So Sound
• Streamline Design
• Tantrum Innovation
• ToyZone
• Triclops Studio

Sponsored by

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Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed/IP-Driven Product)

• Dominic Yard (This is YARD)  |  WWE Wrekkin’ Boneyard Slamcycle (Mattel)
• Fuse & Moose Toys Design Team  |  Bluey 3-in-1 Transforming Airplane Playset (Moose Toys)
• Greg Fisher & Sam Smith (Hasbro)  |  Spidey & His Amazing Friends Web Spinners Webquarters (Hasbro)
• Gurdeep Bains (YuMe Toys)  |  Netflix Countdown Giftbox (YuMe Toys)
• Jo Gough  |  Numberblocks Clip & Learn Number Fun (Trends UK)
• Josh Wilde & Tim Rowe (Fuse)  |  Jurassic World Mission Mayhem Truck Set (Mattel)
• Matt Jordan (TOMY)  |  Jixels Remix: Sonic the Hedgehog (TOMY)
• WINNER: Moose Toys Design Team  |  Minions Ultimate Fart Blaster (Moose Toys)
• Wow! Stuff R&D Team  |  Real FX Stitch (Wow! Stuff)

Sponsored by

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Game Designer of the Year (Licensed/IP-Driven Product)

• Becky Shank & Craig Hendrickson (University Games)  |  Dog Man: 20,000 Fleas Under the Sea (University Games)
• Bluematter Games & David Yakos (Streamline Design)  |  AdventureX: Jurassic World (PlayMonster)
• Brady Lang (Moose Toys)  |  Bluey Keepy Uppy (Moose Toys)
• Daniel Schaefer, Jeremy Zwirn, Jim Cartwright & Tyler Parrott (Fantasy Flight Games)  |  Star Wars: Unlimited (Fantasy Flight Games)
• JM Duparc & Identity Games Team  |  The Traitors (Identity Games)
• Lauren Wallace (Ridley’s Games)  |  Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Dance-Off (Ridley’s Games)
• Mirko Marchesi  |  Quoridor PAC-MAN (Gigamic)
• Rowena Isotta-Day (Orchard Toys)  |  Peter Rabbit Fish and Count (Orchard Toys)
• WINNER: Ryan Miller & Steve Warner (Ravensburger)  |  Disney Lorcana (Ravensburger)

Sponsored by:

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Play Innovator of the Year

• WINNER: Bluematter Games  |  Medical Mysteries (Identity Games)
• Dan Klitsner (KID Group)  |  Bop It Button
• Furby Development Team  |  Furby (Hasbro)
• IDEO & Allie Jennings (Hasbro)  |  Twister Air (Hasbro)
• Make It Real Design Team  |  Stamp to Reveal (Make It Real)
• Moose Toys Design Team  |  Beast Lab (Moose Toys)
• Peter Wachtel  |  Batter Batter Fetch (Jazwares)
• So Sound & Wilder Toys  |  Snake Attack (Wilder Toys)
• Spin Master Bitzee Team  |  Bitzee (Spin Master)

Sponsored by:

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Unsung Hero

• Chloe McCourt  |  GW Development
• Emily Brinkley  |  Lucky Egg
• Harriet Steeds  |  Ridley’s Games
• Jim Wyatt  |  Wow! Stuff
• Jodie Broaders  |  Fuse London
• WINNER: Josh Addyman  |  Seven Towns
• Oliver Chang  |  YuMe Toys
• Rich Walton  |  Format Games
• Richard Herman  |  The Happy Puzzle Company
• Sam Costidell  |  tms

Sponsored by

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Rising Star

• Abbi Udell  |  Moose Toys
• Brooke Cherry  |  Fuse
• Chijioge “Chi” Nwogu  |  GameFlo
• WINNER: Danielle Reynolds  |  Wacky Wizard Games
• Eilat Tzin, Gigi Shachal & Katia Li-Ran
• Katie Holt  |  Camden Games
• Laura Estrada  |  ToyZone
• Olivia DeLuca  |  TOMY
• Ross Monks  |  Moose Toys
• Samuel Price  |  tms

Sponsord by

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Icon Award
WINNER: Dan klitsner (KID Group)

Sponsord by