Blog Posts by Mike Smith

Nerf Heartbreaker (Credit: Hasbro)The days when toy guns were a product only associated with young boys could be numbered.

Among Hasbro’s offerings at the 2013 New York Toy Fair, taking place this week, is a range of Nerf guns aimed squarely at the hearts of girls.

Tiggly (Credit: Tiggly)Ask any parent: successful as iPhones and iPads are with adults, they’re even more of a hit with the kids.

You’ve only got to look at the bombastic success of the once-humble Angry Birds -- now the kind of transmedia powerhouse that makes licensing execs dance in the streets -- to see the effect of that appeal.

Still, it’s one thing to give your precious iPad to a kid of seven or eight. Would you pause for thought before putting it into the chocolate-smeared clutches of a two- or three-year-old?

A slew of innovative tech-toy specialists are betting you won’t, and the halls of this year’s New York Toy Fair were crammed with products aimed at making toddler tablet time a safe and educational experience.

Old-school Tamagotchi (Credit: Getty Images)First G.I. Joe. Then the Furby. Then the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Retro toys are big business, and another childhood favorite -- one you probably thought had curled up and died -- is about to make a comeback.

Headed for a Super Bowl party this weekend? Maybe a game of cornhole or two is on your agenda -- but we’re betting your board is a little smaller than this mammoth creation, certified by Guinness this week as the largest cornhole board in the world.

(Credit: Getty Images)Winter means snow, and snow means snowmen. And although everyone who’s ever stepped outside on a sunny day knows the basics of building one, there’s always room for improvement. Here’s how to go about crafting a snow sculpture that’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.

The Legoland Hotel (Credit: Legoland)When we heard Lego were building a hotel, our first thought was, “Well, that’ll go nicely next to the gas station, the police HQ, and that pretty little house with the flowers out front, right?”

But Lego’s latest construction project is on a rather larger scale than most of its other efforts. Opening April 5 at the Legoland theme park in Carlsbad, California, the Legoland Hotel is a full-size, real-life hotel that’s packed with enough Lego to spark a blocky, brick-shaped glint in any fan’s eye.

Home Sweet Homelessness (Credit: AP Photo/Traverse City Record-Eagle, Jan-Michael Stump)Ever wonder what it’s like to be homeless?

With temperatures plunging into single digits across much of the country this week, it’s an issue that’s on many people’s minds. But a board game co-designed by the residents at a Goodwill Industries shelter in Northern Michigan promises to give the rest of us insight into life on the street without the accompanying frostbite.

(Credit: Joe Raedley/Getty Images)If you play lots of video games, it’s a safe bet you’re pretty familiar with the delights of the used games market -- and if for some reason you’re not, you should be. It’s the perfect way to turn games you’re no longer playing into fresh, shiny new ones, and a handy method of getting some payback from your habit. What’s not to like?

Plenty, if you’re a game publisher or developer. They only make money from a game’s original purchaser, so as far as they’re concerned, used buyers are getting the game for free. And the amount of money on the table is considerable; used game products account for more than half of retail giant GameStop’s not-insignificant profits.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that publishers are fighting back -- and their tactics could spell the end of the used games market for good.