People of Play, a division of The Toy Association, has announced the finalists for the 19th annual Toy & Game International Excellence (TAGIE) Awards. The winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony on Nov. 6 at Joe’s Live Concert Venue in Rosemont, Illinois.
This year’s TAGIE Awards kick off People of Play’s Star Wars 50th anniversary celebration with the theme The Force of Play, commemorating five decades since Star Wars: A New Hope opened in theaters in 1977. Ashley Eckstein, who founded Her Universe and voiced Ahsoka Tano across several Star Wars animated series, hosts the event.
“Every year, we are inspired by the talent of the TAGIE finalists,” shares Mary Couzin, Leader of People of Play at The Toy Association. “These innovators are risk-takers and dreamers who have turned ideas into toys and games that bring joy to millions.
Public voting opened today and runs through Oct. 22, with industry professionals and consumers invited to vote online across 10 categories. The Game Changer and Lifetime Achievement Awards are selected by the TAGIE Awards Committee and the Lifetime Achievement Committee.
The 2026 TAGIE finalists are…
TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR — AGES 0 – 13
- Hapiko’s Product Team for Stickerbox
- ZipString for ZipString Aracna
- Robert Schwartzman, Peter Williams, & Mike Lynders for Team Barbie Roll and Reveal
- Fat Brain Toy Co. Product Development Team (Adam Carson, Kevin Mathis, Kyle Gutzmann, Jess Norman, Yuli Xu, Tijil Arora) for Air Toobz Evo
- Alex Wilde, Cody Hampton, & Jessica Kaups for Disney: Batuu Adventure Buddies, Ewok
- Matt Nuccio & Steven Rausch for Turbomax Lot-a-Loops: 30 Looper
- Brandon Sopinsky, the Moose Toys CrunchLabs by Mark Rober Team, & the CrunchLabs Team for The Crunchinator
- Zack Bailey & the ZB Designs Team for Wigglitz
- Tree Town Toys: Brent Oeschger, Laura Morrison, & Michelle Delacourt. Nextoy: Robert Fuhrer &
- Rufus Seder (inventor) for SpinAnimator Studio
- South Beach Bubbles for Bubble Goalz
- Crazy Aaron’s Team for Crazy Aaron’s Better Butter Thinking Putty by Goliath
- JMP Creative Team & Sky Castle Toys for Sticki Rolls Stickimates
TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR — AGES 13+
- Inna Yankelovich from IDEO for Blooms by Play-Doh
- Crazy Aaron’s Design Team with David Yakos and Tim Walsh for Pinchies
- Mattel Building Sets Design Team for Mattel Brick Shop
- Mitch Silver for Pizza Flow
- Carl Kamph for National Geographic 4-Cylinder Engine Building Kit Working Model
- Clickeez Team for Clickeez Series 3: Bubble Pops
- The Play Initiative & Design Edge (Matt Nuccio) for U Build It!
GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR — AGES 0 – 13
- Joe Barron, Sophia Ricciardi, David Yakos, Brady Peterson, Danielle Standring, & Grant Lyon for Cross the Line
- Brady Lang, the Moose Games Team, and CrunchLabs for CrunchLabs Squirrel Dash Game
- Peggy Brown for Down the Waterspout
- Jordan Goddard & Vango for Gummy Grab
- Raul Rios & Dominic Yard for Drop n Roll
- Seven Towns (Inventor Studio) for Pooch On The Loose
- David Yakos of Streamline Design for Queen Swarm from Mindware
GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR — AGES 13+
- The Spin Master Games Team with Inventors Don Ullman & Bob Driscoll for Murder Phone
- Catapult Concepts LLC for Swing Shot Tower
- Thijmen de Schipper (Team Lead) for Hitster Music Bingo
- Bob Driscoll & Don Ullman for Murder Phone, Rubik’s Rush and Jumanji Ultimate Level Electronic Board Game
- Product Development and Design Team at Educational Insights for Kanoodle Party
- Jordan Goddard for Trash to Table (Hasbro), How Long Is (Relatable), Gummy Grab (Vango), & Smack & Cheese (Vango)
- Richard MacRae & Corey Myckan for Centrix, The 3D Tiered Pyramid Board Game with Rotatable Levels
LICENSED PRODUCT INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
- Sky Castle Product Development Team for Sticki Rolls Minecraft
- Agnes Lee for ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Collectible Trading Cards
- Stephen Zelin & Paramount Team for Magic: The Gathering x Paramount IP
- Chris Gollaher, Director of Product Design, Disney Consumer Products for LEGO Star Wars SMART Play Building Sets
- Jan-Maurits Duparc for The Floor Board Game
- Carl Kamph, Faya Higgs, & Chandra Brown for Barbie™ Chemistry Activity Lab
- Fraser Paterson, the Moose Toys Bluey Design Team, BBC Studios, & Ludo Studio for Bluey’s Light & Surprise Heeler Home
YOUNG INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
- Garrett Weaver for Baseball Card GM
- Bryce Mikolajczak for Cell Quest
MOST INNOVATIVE DESIGNER OF THE YEAR – ART & VISUALS
- Play-Doh Brand Creative Team (Nikki Luther & Vanessa Milo) for Blooms by Play-Doh
- Paulo Kang for Disney Animal Kingdom Tree of Life Playset
- Matthew Inman and the Exploding Kittens Team for Dead Therapist
- Wheels & Action Brand Design Team for Hatching Yoshi, Tech Deck: Free Riders, Monster Jam: Chomping Megalodon, HEX: Explodeapede, & How to Train Your Dragon: Trial of Flames line
- Zack Bailey & the ZB Designs Design Team for Wigglitz
- Mattel Action Figures Team (Tyler Russell, Brian Ostroff, Stacey Lloyd, Chloe Mun, Elizabeth Sweeney, Jam Jiang, Stephen Lo, Ray Chen, Joseph Zacate) for Jurassic World Hammond Collection 25th Anniversary Comic-Style Velociraptor
- Amanda Jensen for Seeker of Spells
- Amanda Norman for Mahjong Playing Cards Artwork
MOST INNOVATIVE PR & MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR
- Molly Hampton, Katie Buford, Christopher Nadeau, Nick Hayes, & Sarah Larkin for Uno Social Club
- The Op Games for The Op Games Marketing Team
- Sara Rosales & Michelle Wong for Squishmallows on Campus: Squish My School Campaign at Vanderbilt University
- Gamegenic Marketing Team for Magic: The Gathering x Marvel Super Heroes Accessories Marketing Campaign
- Amanda Rubinos Luna & Ali Way for Disney Lorcana: Curator’s Collection, Heroines Edition — A Disney Park & Disney Store Exclusive
- Hasbro Brand Publicity Team for Blooms by Play-Doh Launch
- Stephanie Haggerty, Mallory Van Laeken, Logan Stone, Claudia Vine, Marcus Taylor, Justin Escalante, Victoria Hagan, Jack Warnecke, & NVE Experience Agency for Gui Gui PR & Marketing Team — Gui Gui Glow Up Tour at VidCon
SALES INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
- Tyler Williams & the ZB Designs Sales Team for Wigglitz
- Amy Sullivan, Vice President, Retail Licensing and Entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, for Care Bears
- Collaborations with Universal, Warner Brothers, Zuru, MGA Entertainment, and Just Play (Happy Haul)
- Eric Brendel
- Claudia Bettson-Burdett & the Lucky Egg Sales Team
MOST INNOVATIVE PARTNER OF THE YEAR
- Jordan Goddard for Flat Earth (Exploding Kittens), Cat Condo Cornhole (Exploding Kittens), Sam and Colby Spirit Box, Just a Theory (Walmart only), & Veritasium The Game
- Salient Technologies Inc.
- Creativity, Inc. for Product Development
- Bang Zoom Design for Pikimo, Bitzee Interactive Aquarium, & PAW Patrol Megasaurus Dino Heviles
- Edoardo Kulp for Product Development
- Steve Rad & Abacus Brands Team
- Amanda F. Turner for Toy-mation Stop-motion Shorts
“We can’t wait to bring everyone together for an unforgettable night in November,” Couzin adds.
The TAGIE Awards were founded in 2008 and recognize achievements from toy and game industry professionals around the world. The awards take place annually alongside People of Play’s POP Week, which runs Nov. 5-8 in Rosemont and includes the Global Inventor Pitch & Innovation Conference, Young Inventor Challenge, and Chicago Toy & Game Fair.
Tickets for the Awards are available online at toyassociation.org.
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