I may have been a little quick on the posting last week…

DreamWorks Animation signed Mattel as the master toy licensee for Dinotrux, a series coming to Netflix and featuring creatures that are half-dinosaur and half-construction vehicles.

For the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, DreamWorks Animation renewed its license with Spin Master, extending it to include the next movie in the series, How To Train Your Dragon 3 (scheduled for 2018).

Spin Master also signed on with Universal and Illumination Entertainment for The Secret Life of Pets, an animated comedy feature-film scheduled for summer 2016.

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Spin Master today announced that it has entered in to an agreement to purchase game and puzzle maker, Cardinal Industries. The acquisition is expected to be completed in October.

Cardinal, which is currently privately-held and based out of Long Island City, New York, will continue to operate as an independent entity with Joel Berger at the helm of the company started by his father in 1948.

Anton Rabie, Chairman and Co-CEO of Spin Master, said, “This acquisition strengthens our award-winning games portfolio and we are excited to help Cardinal extend its brand to new markets and new consumers.”

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With the Licensing Expo under way in Las Vegas, a spate of agreements have been announced.

JAKKS Pacific renewed its license for DC Comics and signed a new license, with Warner Bros., for the upcoming Batman v Superman movie. The licenses cover large-scale action figures and vehicles, accessories, games, wagons, and other products.

Hasbro is licensing Fyodor Golan to make My Little Pony luxury womenswear, the China National Petroleum Corporation to brand gas cards with Transformers, and Sephora to produce Gem and the Holograms cosmetics.

Spin Master got the contract to distribute toys for the relaunching Teletubbies TV show; the master toy license for Noddy, Toyland Detective; and the U.S. and Canada license for Masha and the Bear.

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What the Face? is a new adult party game from Spin Master. Each round, two players nominate face cards from their hands to match a personality label card. Then the rest of the players vote on the better fit.

For now a Target exclusive, What the Face? retails for $15 and includes 260 face cards and 88 label cards.

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At Toy Fair, I had an opportunity to get a closer look at upcoming products in Spin Master’s lines of Ionix shapeshifting construction bricks. [Click on the thumbnails to see full images.]

For the second series of Tenkai Knights on TV, Spin Master is set to release a 2-in-1 set ($25) that converts from Flame Phoenix in to Fire Raptor jet and a 2-in-1 Tenkai Dragon set ($50) with disc-firing action bricks. An Elemental form of Bravenwolf will also make an appearance as a mini figure ($5) and titan ($12).

The Pokemon figures are just rough prototypes at this point, yet they give you an idea of what to expect in the fall.

Sets for DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon are scheduled to hit retail just before the second movie in June.

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At the Toy of the Year Awards opening Toy Fair, Spin Master’s Boom Boom Balloon won Game of the Year. A company representative also told me that HedBanz topped sales charts this past holiday season.

But in terms of new products, Spin Master was showcasing two. One was Shark Mania ($20, available fall), a real-time game about pirates running from an attacking shark. The core of the game is roll-and-move—players roll a die to move their pirate figures down the dock. However meanwhile, a moving shark piece destroys the dock, knocking the pirates in to the water, as it follows them from one end to the other.

The second was Moustache Smash ($16, available fall), again, at the core a typical grabbing game, but with the addition of a cute mustache gimmick. Each player is given a wand, at the end of which is a mustache with a unique combination of shape and color. Also at the end of the wand is a suction cup. Cards picturing mustaches are flipped over while the players hold their mustache wands up to their faces. The goal is to be the first to smash and grab a card with the suction cup when the mustache on the card matches in either color or shape.

Spin Master also plans to release in 2014 The Best of TV & Movies ($25, available fall), which is based on the gameplay of Logo and features 400 question cards of TV and movie trivia, and Win the Gold ($20, available fall), which pits parents against kids in four challenge categories: sights, smarts, action, and luck.

Spin Master’s licenses will yield in 2014 a Paw Patrol Adventure Game ($10), Paw Patrol Lookalikes (a matching game for $6), Disney Fibber ($18, available spring), and Disney Beat the Parents ($18, available spring).

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Spin Master has announced the expansion of its Ionix system of construction bricks with Pokemon and How to Train Your Dragon licenses. Ionix, still a relatively new line for the company, originally launched with the anime tie-in, Tenkai Knights.

Of course, Ionix bricks are Lego compatible. But more than simply compatible, the Ionix system’s specialty is bricks that unfold, or “shapeshift”, into different characters. With Spin Master’s experience in the engineering and development of Bakugan, it seems to me there is strong potential in Ionix licenses.

However, you don’t have to take my word for it. Though the How to Train Your Dragon products won’t be in retail until May or Pokemon until October, we have the first images (plus a sneak peek of some Tenkai Knights) for you below.

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Another sign post on the road to home 3D printing of game components was installed by Spin Master recently. The company released to the public CAD files for plastic armor that attaches to the company’s Air Hogs Heli Cage remote-controlled helicopters. In addition to printing as-is at home or through an online service, the CAD files can be manipulated for custom projects.

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Recall that story about the operators of YouRather.com deciding to fight back against Spin Master over the phrase, “Would you rather…?“? Well, after publishing it, I was contacted by the operator of a similar website that also had a run-in with Spin Master. Rrrather.com, however, decided to avoid the confrontation simply by varying the wording of its questions and avoiding the use of “…?” at the end of each.

But that doesn’t mean that Spin Master hasn’t actually sued anyone. In fact, the company filed suit Thursday against its own former attorneys, Howard & Howard. Spin Master’s claim of malpractice asserts that Howard & Howard failed to renew the trademark for Would You Rather…?, allowing it to lapse weeks before the trial against Zobmondo Entertainment. Spin Master further claims that while the firm did eventually register a new trademark, Spin Master’s case against Zobmondo required such restructuring, and its future position has been so weakened, that Howard & Howard should compensate Spin Master at least $3 million.

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Thinking about new career options for 2014? Here are some current job opportunities in the game industry…

At Fantasy Flight Games in Roseville, Minnesota:

• Associate Interactive Artist [PDF] responsible for asset creation and technical troubleshooting, while maintaining good interdepartmental communication.
• Associate Graphic Designer [PDF] with experience using Adobe Creative Suite 6, an appreciation for hobby games, and the ability to adhere to workflow procedures.
• Associate Web Application Developer [PDF] with proficiency in Django Framework, Javascript, and Python.
• Hobby Market Sales Associate [PDF] to be responsible for domestic and international retail and distributor accounts.

With The Strong and National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York:

• Public Relations and Marketing Associate to assist with media relations and social media marketing.
• Object Videographer/Photographer to document artifacts on a contract basis through August.

At Paizo in Redmond, Washington:

• Software Developer with at least 4 years of Javascript, HTML, CSS, and and e-commerce experience.
• Customer Service Representative familiar with Paizo and its product lines.
• Digital Products Assistant to assist with website content management and conversion of print products to digital.
• Graphic Designer for both book layout and non-book graphic design.

With Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast subsidiary in Renton, Washington:

• Sr. Product Manager for Magic: The Gathering digital products, leading strategic product development.
• Content Manager responsible for updating magicthegathering.com and other MtG-related websites.
• Technical Producer, MTGO Live leading cross-functional teams through product development or Live Operations support.
• Associate Brand Manager, Magic responsible for product plans and marketing campaigns.
• Sr. Marketing Art Director, Dungeons & Dragons for marketing campaign materials and brand style guides.
• Sr. Business Manager, Magic Online leading expansion, managing sales, and responsible for P&L globally.
• and 9 art direction, customer service, and other jobs.

At Hasbro in Pawtucket, Rhode Island:

• Associate Manager, Global Brand Marketing & Development – Girls Gaming develop brand strategies and contribute to marketing plans for girl-focused brands.
• Senior Brand Design Manager, Boys to focus on brand packaging and other branding assets.
• Sr. Project Engineer responsible for the engineering development of Rovio-licensed products.
• Photo Studio Manager to manage both daily operations of in-house studio and oversee Producers on lifestyle shoots.
• Senior Product Designer, Pre-School Games developing products while working with marketing, research, and engineering teams.
• Three entry-level Associate Project Manager, Boys shepherding development teams and business partners through product development schedules.
• Director, Design and Development – Star Wars strategic leadership with extensive experience in the toy industry.
• Manager, Consumer Promotions to develop and implement promotions and marketing partnerships.
• Sr. Manager, Digital Marketing – International to drive online marketing in international markets.
• and 57 others!

With Spin Master:

• Project & Research Coordinator in Toronto to track Advanced Concept Team projects and research new product and business opportunities.
• Licensing Manager in Los Angeles responsible for the acquisition of new IP opportunities.

At Cryptozoic in Lake Forest, California:

• Project Coordinator assisting with production and distribution of trading cards and collectibles.
• Marketing Manager responsible for web content, social media, web promotions, and advertising.
• Graphic Designer to design art and layout visual media for print and digital.

With Panda Game Manufacturing:

• Project Manager [PDF] in either Vancouver, Canada or Indianapolis to work with clients and overseas suppliers on the production of board games.

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