Parents struggle to find gender-neutral toys

Parents who hope to expose their children to different kinds of play, like science sets for girls and dolls for boys, for example, can find themselves stymied by a toy industry that can seem stuck in the past when it comes to gender roles.

New Monopoly Millionaire

Monopoly Millionaire - - Recommended for ages 8 and older and for 2 to 4 players, here's evidence that today's dollar doesn't stretch quite as far for buying hotels and the public water works. With this new adjusted for interest rates version of Monopoly, there are new options for buying lux…

New Products for Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012

Smokeless signals

The holidays' hottest toys

Not all the testers for Good Housekeeping's annual Best Toys list wear lab coats. Some are barely out of diapers.

Monopoly Millionaire

Monopoly Millionaire - - Recommended for ages 8 and older and for 2 to 4 players, here's evidence that today's dollar doesn't stretch quite as far for buying hotels and the public water works. With this new adjusted for interest rates version of Monopoly, there are new options for buying lux…

The Game of Life: zAPPed Edition

The Game of Life: zAPPed Edition - - Recommended for ages 8 and older and from two to four players, there's a new "virtual spin" on the board game classic that uses a plug-in feature to an iPad to run the game board. Everything from animations to clips to "America's Funniest Videos" are now …

Hungry Hungry Herd: Farmville

Hungry Hungry Herd: Farmville - - Recommended for ages 4 and older and two to four players, remember Hungry Hungry Hippos? Using the same popular idea of gobbling combined with farm grazing and adding the "Farmville" tag in homage to the phone app, this time it's a horse, pig, cow and sheep …

Scrabble Catch Phrase

Catch Phrase Electronic - - For ages 8 and older and perfect for four or more players, Catch Phrase gets a nod from the legendary Scrabble concept. It has an all-new self-contained pass-around unit featuring a screen showcasing 1,500 new words and phrases, with the threat of the dreaded time…

Deluxe Battleship Movie Edition

Deluxe Battleship Movie Edition - - For ages 8 and older and one or two players, the launch of the Universal Pictures major motion picture, inspired by the favorite "miss, hit and sink" concept of the game Battleship, has come full circle to lead to a "deluxe movie edition" of the game. It's…

Twister Dance

Twister Dance - - Recommended for ages 8 and older and for one to two players, Britney Spears and her music video for "Till the World Ends" inspired a relaunch of the traditional vinyl mat and color circles. Either use the music provided with the unit for the latest tunes like Willow Smith's…

Words with Friends Board Game

Words with Friends - - For ages 13 and older and for two to four players, what started as the popular phone app by Zynga is now available minus the screen using the "old school" design of a board with panels. Even the "bonus spaces" for "double word" or "triple letter" options are there to entice.

Candy Land Disney Princesses

Candy Land Disney Princesses - - Recommended for ages 3 and older and two to four players, the sweet adventure to the Candy Castle now includes all of the favorite Disney royalty, like Snow White, Tiana, Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Ariel as the fairy tale favorites all compete to reach the ca…

Better than Ever: Classic holiday toys from Hasbro updated for the ages

Dee Dee Felker of Valparaiso still remembers her favorite board games from the holidays of her youth.

Tot tablets, retro brands are Toys R Us 'hot toys'

It's still technically summer, but for some it's not too soon to think about what the kiddies will want for the holidays.

Lots of Questions

Trival Pursuit: Bet You Know It board game by Hasbro ($29.99)

Kid Picks with Philip Potempa

Our weekly round-up of new children's media.

Spud fun

SPUD FUN - - Mr. Potato Head, the classic Hasbro toy created in the 1950s, is voiced by comedian Don Rickles in the Walt Disney "Toy Story" films which launched in 1995.