Christmas Trivia Game Among Best-Selling Games of All-Time

Downers Grove, IL (PRWEB) October 13, 2005

?Tis the Season Christmas Trivia has joined the ranks of Monopoly, Life, Risk, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit becoming one of the most top-selling games ever. In sixteen short years, ?Tis the Season has become a perennial blockbuster.

?During the holiday season, few games outsell ?Tis the Season,? according to marketing director Mark Andrews. Retailers stock up heavily in October and November. Leading toy stores, game stores, gift stores, card shops, party stores, drug stores, grocery stores, and book stores appreciate the blistering sales and attention the trivia game brings.

?Tis the Season and other Anton Publication Christmas games have broken retail barriers all across the country and have taken many retail categories by surprise with their strong sales and popularity.

"Non-traditional retailers are some of our best retail outlets,? says Andrews. ?Whether you are shopping at a craft store, linens store, home decor, home center, or a hardware store, you have seen our games and most likely bought one. They have been a big part of our success and these retailers sell several million dollars worth of our games-year after year every Christmas. These are sales they count on."

Selling next to greeting cards, books, holiday home accessories, decorative giftware, partyware, holiday decorations, ribbons, and bows, the games repeatedly sell year after year. They have become a family tradition all on their own.

"We get thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from people and families who play our Christmas games." says Andrews. "You would not believe how many uses and variations of play people have come up with using our games." The games are packed away with the decorations and brought out every year.

Anton Publications also produces top-sellers like Holiday Charades, Christmas Bingo which is new, and Happy Holidays Carols & Songs. The games have universal appeal for families and friends who love playing them during holiday parties and holiday entertaining. The company also produces Christmas puzzles and books as well as games for other holidays like Halloween and Easter.

CONTACT: Mark Andrews or Deb Nelson 630-971-1048.

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Zillio Math Toy & Educational Math Games Receive Coveted Dr. Toy's "Best Play and Learn Vacation Award " for Summer 2009

Menlo Park, California (PRWEB) July 9, 2009

Zillio, Inc. TM, creator of innovative math toys and educational math games for the whole family announced today that it has received the coveted Dr Toy's Best Play and Learn Vacation Award for Summer 2009.

"I am honored to receive this prestigious award from one of the industry's leading authorities on children's play and toys", said Kay Emerson, Inventor and President of Zillio, Inc. "It is wonderful to have the Zillio Mini Mountain recognized as a fun toy as well as a valuable learning tool for developing math skills."

Dr. Toy's Best Play and Learn Vacation Products Awards were developed by noted child development authority, Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Toy), as a service to consumers who desire to purchase safe, affordable, educationally-oriented, and stimulating toys and play products for children for vacation time at home or on the road.

"Children learn best through play," says Dr. Auerbach, "and these Best Products encourage children to maximize their potential and make the most of Smart Play. By making a renewed focus on summertime as a special time for choosing new products for children, parents improve their children's development."

Dr. Toy's Best Products for Summer 2009 are carefully chosen, using extensive criteria she has developed over many years, from among hundreds she has reviewed at toy fairs, in catalogs, and through many other sources. Among the criteria used are: safety, age-appropriateness, design, durability, lasting play value, cultural and ethnic diversity, good transition from home to school, educational value, learning skills, creativity, improvement in the understanding of the community and the world, good value for price, and, naturally, fun.

Zillio Mini Mountain is a large colorful rotating model of math based on two critical math concepts: times tables and number lines. The twelve colorful staircases each represent a number and its multiples. All equivalent numbers are at the same height so children can see and feel important math concepts while they play and learn math.

Think of Zillio as a whole new 3-dimensional approach to board games. The Mountain serves as a platform upon which to play more than 20 math based games for ages 4 to 94. Players compete and collaborate in a series of imaginative games designed for different skill levels, using 10 essential math skills to claim territory, advance, conquer, etc.

"Many adults struggled with math when they were young, so it can be a little bit hard for many of them to believe that a toy focused on math is fun and popular with children, but children love Zillio. The math is front and center in the games and children are thrilled to be challenged and to understand math at a deeper level. Grown-ups are, too."

Richard Gill, the Co-Developer of Pictionary, noted his surprise at children's reaction to a product that advertises math: "I watched children play with Zillio at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. It was amazing to see that the games kept children from ages 4 to 15 engaged and playing math all day long. This is a truly fantastic educational family game."

About Zillio, Inc.

Zillio, Inc. is an innovative designer, developer and marketer of math toys, math games and math educational products to provide fun, engaging, math-rich play and learning experiences for children in Pre-K to 9th Grade, wherever math is used or taught: in homes, classrooms, after-school programs, enrichment programs, intervention programs, and tutoring. Zillio helps youngsters develop the thinking upon which more advanced instruction and problem solving is built.

The Zillio Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) foundation. The main focus of the Foundation, working in conjunction with other non-profit, community and research organizations is to develop scalable after school programs and professional development programs for pre-service and in-service elementary and middle school teachers to deepen mathematical conceptual understanding.

The Zillio Foundation is managed by Zillio, Inc. and supports our mission and core initiatives.

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