Welcome to the Play Creators Awards 2022

The Play Creators Awards celebrates those in the toy and game design community that have excelled over the last 12 months. Whether it’s an R&D team responsible for a smash-hit line, a rising star that’s soared or a inventor or design studio responsible for a smash-hit, the PCAs are all about shining a spotlight on the industry’s top architects of play.

Among the big winners in 2021 were TOMY, Fuse, Erik Quam and Kenn Morton, while Rob Ames and Luc Hudson (Triclops Studio) scooped the Design Icon accolade.

This year’s Play Creators Awards will take place on Tuesday, September 6th at the Union Ale House within London’s Twickenham Stadium.

As nominated by their peers, the finalists are:

2022 Awards Finalists

Toy Designer of the Year

Bang Zoom, SG Labs & Fisher-Price Infant Brand Development Team – DJ Bouncin’ Beats (Fisher-Price)

Big Monster Toys – Koosh Flix Stix (PlayMonster)

Emma Costa Lascelles, Matt Jordan & Tom Yamazaki (TOMY) – Toomies Bubble & Bake Bathtime Kitchen (TOMY)

Fuse & Polly Pocket Brand Design Team – Polly Pocket Pollyville Pet Adventure Treehouse Playset (Mattel)

IDEO, Sound Machine & Christina Ericson (Mattel) – Barbie Hatch & Gather Egg Farm (Mattel)

Making Things Studio & GUND Design Team – Baby GUND Lil’ Luvs Tuck-Away Lovey (Spin Master)

Mari Luz Riu (ToyZone) – Jiggly Pets Tan Tan the Orangutan (Eolo Toys)

Melissa & Doug Design Team – Let’s Explore: Campfire S’mores Play Set (Melissa & Doug)

Moose Toys Design Team – Magic Mixies (Moose Toys)

Game Designer of the Year (Kids Games)

Bernhard Weber & Jens-Peter Schliemann – Magic Mountain (AMIGO)

Big Ideas & Tricky – Whoopee Duck (Fuel for Fun)

Big Monster Toys & Spin Master Games – Sink N Sand (Spin Master)

David Yakos (Streamline Design) & Michael Sheridan (Educational Insights) – Kanoodle Fusion (Educational Insights)

Fun-Damental Invention – Giddy Up (John Adams)

IDEO – MixMatchies (Hasbro)

JM Duparc & Identity Games Team – Head of Security (Identity Games)

Seven Towns – Tippy the Dragon (John Adams)

Thierry Denoual – Tongues Out (Blue Orange Games)

Game Designer of the Year (Party Games)

Barry McLaughlin & Jason Lautenschleger – Scribble Hips (Big Potato)

Big Ideas & Tricky – Deface Race (TOMY)

Big Potato R&D Team (Massimo Zeppetelli, Rebecca McKinlay, Ben Drummond, Tristan Hyatt-Williams) Dominic Yard & Beks Barnett – Chicken Vs Hotdog (Big Potato)

Carl Brière (Synapses Games) – Match 5 (Synapses Games)

Courtney Wood, Marty Pardoe, Matt Ludlow & Roberto Rotaru (Bubblegum Stuff) – Death by Coconuts (Bubblegum Stuff)`

David McGranaghan & Julian Miller (McMiller) – Uproar (McMiller)

Hazel Reynolds (Gamely Games) – Six Second Scribbles (Gamely Games)

JM Duparc & Identity Games Team – Beeblio (Identity Games)

Matt Edmondson (Format Games) – Noggin (Format Games)

R&D Team of the Year

In-house creative team at a toy titan, or leading design at a thriving SME, this award celebrates teams working in Research & Development that have achieved extraordinary things over the last year.

Big Potato Games

BlueJ (Jazwares)

Character Options

Hasbro SPARK R&D

Make It Real

Moose Toys

Prospero Hall (Funko Games)

Spin Master

TOMY

Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year

The secret weapon for many toy firms, design agencies and invention studios are the unsung heroes of our industry. This category celebrates a firm that deserves recognition for exceptional work over the last 12 months.

Bang Zoom

Big Monster Toys

Fun-Damental Invention

Fuse

Making Things

So Sound

Triclops Studio

Tricky

Open 2 Design

Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed Product)

The first of two awards recognising excellence in licensed product, Toy Designer of the Year (Licensed Product) celebrates creators that have brought much loved characters and IP to life through great toys.

Abbie Ellis & Sarah Hurst (hand2mind) – Numberblocks MathLink Cubes Activity Sets (hand2mind)

Carine Rosalia – CoCoMelon Boo Boo JJ (Jazwares)

Fuse, BOTI & Eolo Toys – NHL Battle Cubes (BOTI/Eolo Toys)

Fuse & Spin Master Action Team – Batman Bat-Tech Transforming Batcave (Spin Master)

Mattel Plush Team – Star Wars Galactic Pals (Mattel)

Melissa & Doug Design Team – PAW Patrol Rescue Mission Wooden Dashboard (Melissa & Doug)

Sweet Spot Studio, Versadyne & Fisher-Price Thomas Brand Development Team – Thomas & Friends Launch & Loop Maintenance Yard (Fisher-Price)

Wow! Stuff R&D Team & Bang Zoom – RealFX Baby Blue (Wow! Stuff)

Game Designer of the Year (Licensed Product)

This award is for a designer that has brought an IP to the tabletop in impressive style via an impressive licensed game this year.

Aaron Weil (Mattel) – UNO Ultimate Marvel (Mattel)

Amanda Birkinshaw (Angelpie) & Richard Heayes (Heayes Design) – Rubik’s Capture (Spin Master)

The Fantastic Factory – LADBible’s First Impressions (VR Distribution)

Frederica Scott Vollrath – The Great British Baking Show Game (Ravensburger)

Lauren Wallace (Ridley’s Games) – Root for Groot (Ridley’s Games)

Prospero Hall – Rear Window (Funko Games)

Sam Roberts (So Sound) – Harry Potter Skiving Snackbox Scavenge (Cartamundi)

Steve Moore (Tantrum Innovation) – Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots: Jurassic World – Blue Vs Atrociraptor (Mattel)

Play Innovator of the Year

Whether it’s via AI, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality or voice tech, the Play Innovation of the Year award celebrates designers driving innovation in the toy and game space through the integration of the latest and greatest tech.

Austyn Romero (Ridley’s Games) – Jigsaw Duel (Ridley’s Games)

Brian McMahon, Daniel Kim & Jared Ganrude (hand2mind) – Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles (hand2mind)

Doo-Bee Toys, Nextoy LLC & Rufus Butler Seder – Spirograph Animator (PlayMonster)

Friedemann Findeisen – Cantaloop (Lookout Spiele)

Kelley Lindberg (Mattel) – Barbie Cutie Reveal (Mattel)

Moose Toys Design Team – Magic Mixies (Moose Toys)

Octopus Creations Inc, The Machine Lab Inc & Gerry Cody (Mattel) – Hot Wheels RC Aaron Wheelz Wheelie Chair (Mattel)

Sega Toys & Spin Master’s Doll & Interactive Team – Purse Pets (Spin Master)

ToyZone – SuperMasked Stretchy Figures (Eolo Toys)

Rising Star Award

Who are the design legends of the future? Perhaps someone leading design at one of the industry’s many exciting start-ups, or a young star within your R&D team? If so, nominate them in the Rising Star category.

Carine Rosalia – Lunch Squares

Colm Burns – So Sound

Dominic Besagni – Ridley’s Games

Emma Costa Lascelles – TOMY

Luke Evans – Games to Get

Michalis Rodosthenous – Seven Towns

Olivia DeLuca – TOMY

Ross Monks – Moose Toys

Sarah Everett – So Sound

Inventor Relations Exec of the Year

This Award celebrates figures working in Inventor Relations that have excelled over the past 12 months. Whether it’s due to commendable conduct with the inventor community or for being instrumental in finding and championing successful inventor items, this is a category to highlight the phenomenal work being done by individuals working in IR.

Brent Geppert – Educational Insights

David Winter – Jazwares

Dominique Roy – Make It Real

Heath Saber – Moose Toys

Nicholas Tragnark – Hasbro

Nikki Bauman – Fisher-Price

Sarah Franco – Mattel

Tanya Thompson – Hasbro

Icon Award

This award celebrates iconic figures that have helped shape the industry, truly leaving their footprint in the world of toy and game design.

The winner of this award will be announced on the night.

2019 Awards Winners Pictures

(2020 was a virtual event due to the Covid-19 Pandemic)

TOY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Si Digital

Toy Designer of the Year, Play Creators Awards, Moose Toys UK

WINNER: Moose Toys UK – Scruff-a-Luvs (Moose Toys UK)
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GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (KIDS GAMES) Sponsored by Cartamundi

WINNER: Don Ullman, Bob Driscoll & Rob Daviau, Bank Attack (Megableu)
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GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (TABLETOP)

WINNER: Elizabeth Hargrave – Wingspan (Stonemaier Games)
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R&D TEAM OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Wynne-Jones IP

WINNER: Spin Master
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DESIGN AGENCY/INVENTION STUDIO OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Hasbro

WINNER: So Sound
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TOY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (LICENSED) Sponsored by The Toy Association

WINNER: Mike Wyatt & Matthew Wright – RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Play Set (Playpress Toys/RNLI)
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GAME DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (LICENSED PRODUCT) Sponsored by Sambro

WINNER: Open 2 Design – Rubik’s Cage (University Games/Rubik’s)
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PLAY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR Sponsored by The Toy Association

WINNER: Fuse London Ltd & Briology – Cool Maker KumiKreator (Spin Master)
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RISING STAR AWARD Sponsored by Alpha Group

WINNER: Ben Williams – Open 2 Design

DESIGN ICON AWARD Sponsored by Batman

WINNER: Alpesh Patel – VP of Global Toy Design, TOMY

2022 Event Partners

Check out who makes this event possible!

Award Partner