Mary I don't remember having an Easy Bake Oven but remember baking in my friend's oven. I always had a sense that they were dangerous and wondered if cooking by a light bulb was okay. My now 11 year old daughter two years ago really wanted one for Christmas. My mom discouraged it and so I bought her real cake mixes and baking gear instead. She loves to cook and bake still and makes awesome cookies and pancakes. But now I wonder if I should have gotten her the Easy Bake Oven instead! hmmmmm...

Mary, you are such an advocate for all things good in our industry! ThinkFun too now puts their inventors names on our packaging. You're absolutely right that game inventors are the unsung heroes in this business and it's great that this seems to be changing! Directors, authors, artists get recognition, why not the inventors? Without the inventors, companies like ours wouldn't exist! Time has come!

Here, here Kim! What you've written is so true! At ThinkFun we agonize over our packaging because it does make all the difference! What is your game package going to look like on a large game wall full of games? Will it stand out? You have about 10 sec to entice a consumer to pick it up. What's going to do this? And then there's, once they pick it up, turn it over, then what needs to be said! It's a real "game" to figure this out and companies like ours put a lot of time and energy into it! BTW, I think the 3D effect of the Balderdash box is great too!

Mary You are the ultimate in networking. And the best part is that you are genuine and do it for the love of the industry! You are an inspiration. You make me wish I lived closer to Chicago! I do the same thing in Toronto for fellow mechanical puzzlers (like Rubik's Cube). We meet four times a year and bring and play puzzles together. It was inspired by a conference called IPP (International Puzzle Party) where we meet annually all over the world. I would LOVE to start something like this for people in the toy industry here. Maybe you could help me connect with fellow Canadians to begin our own toy gatherings in Toronto? I would love to do it! Then maybe you could come back to Canada and be a guest of honor (and come visit me too). Cheers Tanya

This is exciting! I will look forward to the awards! I remember fondly playing Shark Attack with my kids. They would get so excited when that shark came a chomping!

Richard I am Inventor Relations at ThinkFun, Inc. I was in NY this past weekend and I stayed at the Jane Hotel. I too had read this article and was looking for an affordable place to stay. The Jane Hotel was excellent! The room was very well designed considered it was more the size of a closet than a room. There is no closet but hooks around the room just like a train cabin. They have designed that tiny space very wisely. Also, there is a shared bathroom. It reminded me of college. But it was clean and there was no waiting in the morning for the showers. (and one of the best showerheads I've ever used in a hotel) The staff were very friendly and the atmosphere was very quaint. It felt like a train experience with porters at the elevator in their pill box hats. There was also a very excellent french cafe that was popular with the locals at night. Foozeball anyone? So if you can handle the very small living quarters and shared bathroom, this is an excellent place to stay. And for only $89 per night in NYC, you can't beat that! Cheers!

Mary Thanks so much for this article! As I am the new Inventor Relations person for ThinkFun, it is very intersting for me to read Mike's article. I wish I'd have seen his presentation! I can tell you that things are similar at ThinkFun. All of our new game ideas come from outside inventors. We value the inventor community as without them, we wouldn't have new products to develop! Cheers! Tanya