Category Award News

Due to a number of requests from the toy industry, the Rainbow Toy Awards deadline and announcement dates will change.

The new dates are:

The awards will be announced for 2014, on the 31st October 2014

The closing date for entries is September 30th 2014

This change has occurred because of an overall cry from the industry, as this year in particular most companies have struggled to gain samples and stock in time.  We’re always here to help the industry and so have moved to the new dates.

If you would like to enter the awards then please enter here.

All our toy testers will be sporting the badge on their blog.

To find out how to be a toy tester please look at our Facebook page here – Rainbow Awards

Please do not email from here, check the Facebook page to see what the criteria is first and exactly how to apply, incomplete applications will be rejected without notice.

The team will be heading to London soon for Toy Fair 2014, if you see us there give us a wave!

If you are logging in to view this years entry details they can be found here with further submission guideline on the entry form itself

Plus the downloadable entry form can be found here

The 2013 Rainbow Toy Awards were announced today at 10am, the winners and highly commended have all been voted for by children, so deserved badges one and all!  There was stiff competition this year and so the toys below are all TOP toys, read on to see where to buy them…

Rainbow Toy Awards 2013

The 2013 Overall Champion
is
Silly Moo by John Adams Leisure

Best Preschool Toy
Winner – Discover Sounds Activity Garden by Little Tikes

Highly Commended – Peppa Pig Secret Gift Box – Jumbo Games

Best Arts & Crafts Toy
Winner – Magic Choc – Chocolate Picture maker by The In Thing

Highly Commended – Sweet Art by Diamant Toys (from Sambro)

Best Wheeled Toy
Winner – Elektra Tri-Line Skates by HGL

Highly Commended – Smart Trike Dream by Smart Trike

Best for Imaginative Play
Winner – Cookin’ Creations Premium Wood Kitchen – by Little Tikes

Highly Commended – Wow Packs by Wow! Stuff

Best Games & Puzzles – The Young Ones
Winner – Silly Moo by John Adams Leisure

Highly Commended – Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Who Shook Hook by Esdevium Games

Best Games & Puzzles – 8 Years and above
Winner – LOGO Billionaire by Drumond Park

Highly Commended – Boom Boom Balloon by Spinmaster

Best Electronic Toy
Winner – KidiGo by VTech

Highly Commended – Combat Creatures by Wow! Stuff

Best Construction Toy
Winner – Barbie Build ‘n’ Play Super Star Stage by Mega Bloks

Highly Commended – Makies by Makie Lab

Best Educational Toy
Winner – Innotab 3s by VTech

Highly Commended – LeapReader by Leapfrog

Best Plush Toy
Winner – Read with me Scout/Violet – Leapfrog

Highly Commended – My Scare Pal, Huggable Sulley by Spinmaster

Best Outdoor Toy
(for the first time only we had a tie in the scores and so presented two highly commended awards)
Winner – Air Storm z-Curve bow by Re:Creation

Highly Commended – Jumbo Zip-It by Bananagrams

Highly Commended – Extreme Ambush Kit – The Battle Box company

Read the posts below, for loads more information on each toy and also to access a ‘buy it now’ button for each winner and highly commended!  Just right for those early Christmas purchases!

The Rainbow Toy Awards ceremony for 2013 is almost over and all that remains is to announce our overall champion for 2013.

It’s a toy that scored as near to perfectly as possible, a toy that scored more than every other toy in all of the categories, the testers said about this toy;

“My daughter was delighted”

“This toy is durable, sturdy and easy to set up”

“I will recommend to my friends and family”

“It’s worth its money as it will last a long time and be played with loads!”

OVERALL CHAMPION 2013

Silly Moo

By: John Adams Leisure

For the first time in a hugely full category, when the scores were totalled up, we had a tie, and so let’s see who has made it in the Outdoor toys category…

WINNER

Air Storm Z-Curve Bow

By: Re:Creation

Age: 8 years+

RRP £19.99

If you’re fed up with the splatter gun approach to combat play, it’s time for the Air Storm Z-Curve Bow.  This long range foam archery toy encourages children to develop their concentration skills and accuracy, while its superior firing distance can blast targets up to 40 metres away!

More information from www.airstorm.co.uk

Available from Smyths, Tesco, Toymaster Stores

Buy online here

The testers said “Wow I really love this!” and “My son has taken it to his friends and he’s not been home all afternoon!”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Extreme Ambush Kit – Ultimate

By: The Great BattleBox Company

Age: 6-13 years

RRP £90.00

Who doesn’t love a good ambush?  A huge amount of fun can be had from this kit, from tracking parents to ambushing friends.  All over the country children are heading outdoors to have fun with the Extreme Ambush Kit. …Complete with catapults and marshmallows to bombard the ‘enemy’!

More information at www.battleboxcompany.co.uk

Available from Not On the High Street and BattleBox

Buy online here

The testers said “I enjoyed the camouflage suit and had fun ambushing my friends when they least expected it” and “All the items in the box are really cool”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Jumbo Zip-It

By: Bananagrams

Age: 7 years+

RRP £54.99

Jumbo Zip-It is an exhilarating high speed crossword race featuring 24 beautiful wooden lettered 2″ square cubes and coloured scoring zips that come built into the pouch.  It’s perfect for innovative play in the garden or playground.

More information from www.bananagrams.com

Available from Amazon, Winning moves

Buy online here

The testers said “She immediately grasped the concept and loved to play” and “Such a simple game but with so many possibilities for play – excellent!”