The Chicago Toy and Game Group, host of the annual Young Inventor Challenge (YIC), announced the retail launch of a YIC winning game, Betcha Can’t!. The game was invented by friends Lily Brown (13 years old) and Tait Hansen (12 years old) and is now available at Target and Target.com. In this game of bets and one-upping, players bet on how many things they think they know.
The new game, manufactured by Pressman Toys, is a result of the Young Inventor Challenge, a global search for the most innovative toys and games designed by kids, for kids. It’s an annual challenge that offers an at-home STEM-based learning activity to engage kids’ creativity.
“Parents everywhere are facing new challenges and looking for ways to keep their kids engaged with at-home learning,” said Mary Couzin, Founder and President of The Chicago Toy and Game Group. “With the YIC, we’ve provided free online resources including a Design Guide to help inspire creative and critical thinking. Kids can even collaborate remotely as a team, just like Lily and Tait did when they invented Betcha Can’t!”
CHITAG’S YIC provides a forum for children ages 6 to 18 to design and present original toy and game inventions to industry professionals, the media, and consumers. The goal of the challenge is to inspire creativity and innovation and to provide mentorship to students in the process. All entrants will receive scores and written feedback from product development, acquisition, innovation, and marketing professionals following the event in November.
Prizes include scholarships and the possibility of having a submitted idea developed and distributed in partnership with leading toy and game manufacturers. Previous winners and finalists entered distribution deals with Goliath/Pressman, PlayMonster, and Target. To enter, young inventors are required to provide a toy or game project description, prototype, photos, and a pitch video.
To learn more about the Young Inventor Challenge visit www.chitag.com/yic.