Bring the Heat to Your Shelves with Fireside Games

Fireside Games is an independent board game publisher based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2007 by Justin and Anne-Marie De Witt, the company made its debut with the cooperative hit Castle Panic in 2009. Since then, Fireside has continued to expand its library with a mix of imaginative titles and exciting expansions, bringing groups of players together through strategy, teamwork, and fun at the table.

The world of Castle Panic ($34.95 MSRP) started with the original cooperative tower defense game that’s been a best-seller for 16 years. This award-winning hit has 1 to 6 players ages 8 and up working together to defend a castle from attacking monsters. Players must trade cards, plan strategies, and cooperate to keep at least one of their castle towers standing at the end of the fierce, fun battle.

What do you do when you’re a simple villager and a fearsome Dragon threatens to burn your village? Bribe him not to of course! That’s the playful concept behind the newest board game from Fireside Games titled Please Don’t Burn My Village! ($24.95 MSRP)

Set in the world of Castle Panic, this easy-to-play game has players offering bribes of colorful treasure cards to the Dragon or buying cards from a black market. Players can change the value of treasures up and down. When the game ends, players score by adding up the current value of each card in their bribes. The player with the most points has their village spared!

Playing in a short 20 minutes, Please Don’t Burn My Village! features colorful artwork and high-quality components in an easy-to-learn, affordable package. It’s dragon-bribing fun for 2 to 5 players ages 10 and up and even includes a promo card for Castle Panic.

My First Castle Panic ($24.95 MSRP) streamlines the tower defense gameplay of the original and packs it into a colorful, cooperative experience for 1 to 4 preschool players age 4 and up. No reading is required in this award-winner, where players match shapes and colors to catch monsters and throw them in the dungeon. If the monsters knock down the castle, the players lose. But if the players capture all 16 monsters, they win.

Be a part of The Toy Association’s new “Toy Building” in El Segundo!

Toy industry organizations from around the globe are invited to create their ultimate, year-round showrooms at “The Toy Building” by The Toy Association™, perfectly set in the heart of El Segundo’s toy district. Designed BY toy people FOR toy people, “The Toy Building” delivers in every way plus brings the added benefit of the backing of The Toy Association to help deliver results.

Location
The new Toy Building is located at 101 Continental Boulevard, conveniently based steps away from the U.S. headquarters of several global toy manufacturers and other top company showrooms. This new location creates a significant opportunity through a year-round showroom solution in the center of the emerging El Segundo toy district.

Contact
For additional information or to schedule a tour, contact Andy Keimach, special advisor to the president & CEO of The Toy Association or Laura Mangiaracina, director of sales.

Kind + Jugend

Cologne, Germany | September 9-11, 2025

Kind + Jugend is one of the leading , international trade fairs for the high-quality baby and toddler products industry and the perfect platform for global trade and order business. No other event in the world shows so much of what will be in children's rooms tomorrow.

The trade fair provides valuable impulses for the upcoming trends of the entire juvenile industry each year attracting over 15,000 buyers from around the globe (100+ countries).

Leading manufacturers present high quality and innovative products across seven Theme Worlds: Moving & Travelling, Furniture & Facility, Home Textiles & Decoration, Toys & Education, Maternity & Kids Fashion, Mom & Kids Care, Safety & Monitoring. Visit www.kindundjugend.com for more information or contact the U.S. based team for participation options: Kasia Myzia, k.myzia@koelnmesse.us or 773-326-9926.

The Most Award-Winning Scooters for Kids

Loved by kids, trusted by parents for over two decades, Micro Kickboard has been combining the best quality materials with Swiss design to create an exceptionally smooth, stable ride that delights both kids and adults. Known for innovation, Micro has created awide range of styles, continuously updating and refining them with new colors and features. Micro Kickboard continues to ensure their scooters areas strong as possible, yet also light weight,making them easy to carry, durable enoughto pass on to the next child, comfortable enough to ride for miles and miles, and most importantly, FUN!

Scooters that Grow with Your Kids...You and your child will get miles and miles (and miles of smiles!) out of your Micro scooters because they grow with your child.The t-bars on Micro scooters are all easily height-adjustable, keeping those hand grips at the perfect riding height for years to come.Virtually every part of Micro scooters are replaceable. Once your child has out grown it, freshen it up to pass it to a sibling or a pal. Whether it’s a wheel that wears down or just a set of new hand grips, Micro Kickboard offers replacement parts and easy instructions. Just like the good ole days, these scooters are built to last!

The original kickboard-style ride...The three-wheel kickboard-style ride, featuring a steering style called “Lean-to-Steer,” is a winner both for stability and fun. The “Lean-to-Steer” helps kids develop critical gross motor skills such as balance and coordination. As beginners, kids start by initially going straight, then add gentle turns. As they advance, kids ramp up to curving back and forth, in an action we call “surfing the sidewalk”: still stable but also a LOT of fun.