The folks at WS Game Company were busy with buyers from store chains large and small at Toy Fair this year and it’s no wonder. The company makes high-end versions of classic boardgames. These are games that put presentation above all else, whether it’s something as inexpensive as their $25-$30 Nostalgia Tin line or their top-of-the-line Franklin Mint Collector’s Editions of Scrabble and Monopoly (both available now, $500).

Yesterday, we showcased the Monopoly Miami Edition with art from Romero Britto. Next to that game was a Scrabble set, featuring the artwork of Charles Fazzino. This set, the Scrabble 3D World Edition (available now, $500), features layered elements creating a 3D piece of artwork below the playing surface. The glass letter tiles are larger than your standard Scrabble set. Like the Monopoly set, this art edition of Scrabble is limited to 2000 copies.

Perhaps you want a simple “luxury” edition of Scrabble, Monopoly, or Clue? On April 15th, they will be available for $250 apiece. Both Monopoly and Scrabble come with gold foil-stamped play elements (the outer path, houses and hotels, and tokens in Monopoly, the raised grid, sand timer, and tile holders in Scrabble). Monopoly has the central area sunken for dice rolling on a faux-leather surface while Scrabble has faux-ivory letter tiles. Of this line, the one that really caught my eye was the Clue edition with sunken, three-dimensional mansion rooms beneath the glass surface. The murder weapons and the bases of the suspects are gold foil-stamped as well.

But then there’s the glass versions of Monopoly and Scrabble that will be available in August at a price point yet to be determined. The game art on these is printed on tempered glass. The Scrabble set’s board rotates and the tiles have non-slip coatings to keep them in place. The Monopoly board has more glass elements: not only is the board glass, but the houses and hotels are as well. These are sharp-looking games, even though they come with rounded corners.

The Monopoly Transformers Edition appears to be a piece of artwork featuring Generation 1 Transformers, but the frames swing open to reveal the themed outer track. Instead of properties, you’re purchasing transforming robots that… you place houses and hotels on to collect rent? Okay. Unlike most licensed Monopoly games, there is no Go! space — here, it’s ROLL OUT! (and collect $200). To be released in August, the price hasn’t been determined yet, but you can mortgage Megatron for $160 to help save up.

WS Game Company’s line of vintage bookshelf games did amazingly well for them last year. At a $40 price point for Monopoly, Scrabble, and Clue, these games in book-like boxes is inspired by vintage graphics. Coming out later this year (August, again) at a price point that’s unknown (but probably $40 like the currently-available batch) are Yathzee’s 1956 edition, The Game of Life’s 1960 edition, Trivial Pursuit’s 1981 Genius edition, and Scattergories’ 1988 edition.

Twister joins the Collectible Tin line, alongside Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Scrabble, Monopoly, Clue, Sorry!, and Mystery Date. Twister, available in August as well, will retail for $30, like the majority of the line. Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders are the only outliers at the $25 level.

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One of the brands Hasbro is making a big push with in 2016 is Yo-kai Watch. It’s based on a Japanese anime series that’s centered on the story of a young boy, his magical watch, and the yokai (mythological ghosts and spirits) that he summons with it to solve mysteries and do good deeds. Of course, with Hasbro part of that push had to be Yo-kai Watch games.

In the fall, Hasbro will launch a Yo-kai Watch Trading Card Game. A starter pack ($13) will include 40 cards, a play mat, and one exclusive Yo-kai Watch medal (collectible discs that fit in the replica watches also for sale). Blind booster packs will include 10 randomized cards for $4. And a collection box exclusive to Walmart will retail for $20 and come with four booster packs and one exclusive medal.

Before the TCG, though, this spring will see release of a Yo-kai Watch The Game of Life ($20), and already hitting retail is a Yo-kai Watch Monopoly Junior ($15). Player tokens in the Monopoly game represent the yokai Komojiro, Whisper, Jibanyan, and Komasan.

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The kids have spoken, and it turns out Video Game Designer was the overall most popular dream job chosen by kids surveyed around the world.  85% of kids surveyed around the world said they want a different job than their parents.

This, of course, comes from a survey Hasbro did while looking to kid-source career choices for the new update to the Game of Life.

Hasbro recently conducted an online survey in partnership with Wakefield Research of 400 kids (administered via parents) to shed light on several exciting and interesting professional goals of today’s generation. Kids were asked about the “modern” and “traditional” jobs that they would like to have and their top job picks are featured as Career Cards in the newest version of The Game of Life game on shelves now. The statistics derived from the kids’ survey include: Top dream job, least popular dream job, subject children would like to use most in their future job, what kind of workplace atmosphere they would prefer, future salary, etc.

“The survey generated a lot of great insights about what kids think about their futures and we’re excited to introduce a new THE GAME OF LIFE experience that reflects what kids’ career aspirations are today.”

There’s a lot of interesting info gathered from the survey, but for now let’s get the meat of it. The careers in the new version of The Game of Life are now: Singer, Secret Agent, Veterinarian, Teacher, Doctor, Professional Athlete, Scientist, Fashion Designer, Lawyer, Inventor, Chef, Race Car Driver, Dancer, Police Officer, Firefighter and the top pick, Video Game Designer.

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Besides the Marvel, Jurassic World, and Magic: The Gathering games we’ve covered in separate articles, Hasbro’s Toy Fair reveals included news of Monopoly, Scrabble, The Game of Life, Minions, Star Wars, Disney Princess, My Little Pony, and preschool games.

For Monopoly’s birthday, Hasbro has already released a Monopoly 80th Anniversary Edition with wood houses, as well as licensed Coach to produce a high-end, New York-themed edition in leather. Through March 4th in partnership with BuzzFeed, the company is collecting votes to select cities for the next Monopoly Here & Now U.S. and World editions.

Scrabble will see two new versions in 2015, Scrabble Junior (spring, $15) and Scrabble Twist (fall, $20). The former has a two-sided board. On one side, children ages 2-4 match letter tiles to words that are already filled in. The latter is a handheld electronic game where the goal is to quickly find the word among five mixed-up letters, and then press the buttons in the right order.

A new version of The Game of Life just out replaces some of the careers with video game designer, singer, and secret agent, among others. The Game of Life Junior (spring, $15) is about collecting stars while having adventures, like at the beach or zoo.

In May, ahead of the upcoming Despicable Me Minions movie, Hasbro is launching the Minions Challenge Card Game. It’ll be sold in $3 blind bags containing one Minion figure and five battle cards.

Deploy your battle cards against your opponent and keep playing until your Minion reaches the top of this score card to win!

Sounds vaguely War-like.

For Star Wars there was only one game, Loopin’ Chewie (fall, $25), but it’s one that’s generating a fair amount of excitement. Though we already wrote about it, at Toy Fair we got some pictures.

A Disney Princess Candyland isn’t new but an update this year (fall, $15) adds Princess Frog.

In the fall, Hasbro will release My Little Pony Poppin’ Pinkie Pie ($20), an inverse hot-potato type game. Players attach balloons to a birthday cake and when Pinkie Pie pops out, that player is the winner.

For the preschool crowd, Mashin’ Max (March, $10) has kids moving pawns around the board to collect berries. Max in the middle, though, spins around and smashes his fist down to capture the players’ pawns.

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Game revenues were down 4 percent for Hasbro in 2014. According to its latest report, the company earned $1.26 billion from games in 2014, compared to $1.31 billion in 2013.

Growth by Magic: The Gathering, Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Simon was offset by a decline in sales for Duel Masters, Twister, and Angry Birds.

Overall, though, 2014 was a good year for Hasbro, with total net revenue up 5 percent to $4.28 billion and adjusted net earnings up 10%. The strongest performer for Hasbro was the boys category, up 20 percent mostly on the strength of Transformers, Nerf, and Marvel.

Benefiting from growth in lifestyle licensing, the entertainment and licensing segment was also up 15 percent.

Answering questions after the presentation, Hasbro’s president, Brian Goldner, revealed that sales of Magic: The Gathering are divided roughly 55/45 percent between large retailers and other outlets (specialty, hobby, etc.). The Friday Night Magic program has grown to 7,000 gaming sessions each week. And by next year, sales of Beyblade are expected to have pretty much evaporated.

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Clue, a television miniseries based on the board game, debuts Monday night on The Hub. Kids in a big house witness a terrible crime and proceed to investigate. There’s also something about candlesticks.

The Hub, a joint venture of Hasbro and Discovery Communications, also broadcasts several other board game inspired shows, all of which, though are game-shows (in the sense that contestants compete for prizes): Scrabble Showdown, The Game of Life, Pictureka, and Family Game Night.

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