Get Smart at Armageddon

Auckland, April 10, 2002 -- New Zealand's leading distributor of cool, classic mind games, JAYZ International Ltd, will be displaying the best and brightest from around the world at Armageddon Auckland 2002, at the Aotea Centre this weekend.

Among the featured games is KINATO, winner of the Best Toy Award, Hong Kong Toy Design Competition. KINATO helps develop IQ and EQ (emotional quotient) with a clever chain of 16 triangles that can be formed into hundreds of different patterns and designs.  KINATO is a combination of a conventional puzzle and a tangram. 

Jay Esser of JAYZ International will also demonstrate a range of award winning card and parlour games. These include Set Game, Quiddler, Five Crowns and Canasta.

Set Game is a game of perception and logic, invented by mathematician and computer programmer, Marsha J. Falco. The object of the game is to identify sets of three cards, in which they either share varying attributes or are completely different. There are around 1000 possible sets in the 81-card deck and more than a 90 percent probability that there will be a set among any 12 cards. You can play Set Game and Quiddler daily at www.setgame.com.

2002 is also the 50^th anniversary of Canasta and the 40^th anniversary of the classic French card game, Mille Bornes.

Mille Bornes, pron: MEEL BORN definition: Thousand Milestones (also known as "Thousand Miles", "Thousand Stones", or "Mile Stones") is an addictive card game in which you compete in a road race against your opponents. You can make your opponent stop to refuel, blow out a tire, or even get into an accident. Whoever gets 5000 points first wins.

Jay Esser has just returned from this year's biggest international toy and book fairs and with some classic and new innovative games to showcase at Armageddon including:

Astrojax - the new yoyo for the 21^st century, created by physicist Larry Shaw to demonstrate that physics can be fun. His version of the '50s yo-yo, AstroJax is a two-foot-long string with two foam-rubber balls anchored at the ends and a third in the middle. Jerking causes the centre ball to bounce and starts one anchor spinning.  www.Astrojax.com features a range of tricks for aficionados to try as they develop their skill at this exciting and challenging interactive brain game.

Bilibo - An award-winning* Swiss-designed chair to challenge the mind of young children, ages 2 to 7.  The chair is designed for interaction. It doesn't impose any particular play pattern.  This incredible, yet simple design is perfect for the home, sandbox, beach or even snow. Children can sit or rock on it, crawl around and play under it. The chair is available in three bright colours and has been well received in Switzerland.  www.bilibo.com

*Awards include the Eidgenössischer Preis für Gestaltung 2001, Blickfang Jury Award 2000 and Recognition from the Swiss Design Association.

Bungee Ball - First introduced into New Zealand by JAYZ in April 2000. The Bungee Ball is used by coaches and trainers to improve balance coordination and speed. The Bungee Ball offers endless fun and functionality. It is best described as a ball on a string, retractable like a yo-yo.