www.ToyQueen.com interviews Rory Story Cubes game inventor at Toy Fair 2011

Video Transcription:

Keri: Hi, this is Keri Wilmot from ToyQueen.com. We’re here at the
Gamewright booth for Toy Fair 2011, and last year we were here and we took
some video of Rory’s Story Cubes and its original debut. But now, this year
we’re bringing you something new because we have the inventor of Rory’s
Story Cubes with us. So, hi, Rory.

Rory: Hi.

Keri: Nice to meet you.

Rory: You too.

Keri: So, why don’t you tell us a little bit about your story behind your
story and about Rory’s Story Cubes.

Rory: Okay. Well, Rory’s Story Cubes is a very simple story telling game.
It’s got 9 cubes with 54 images. Every time you roll it, you get
one of over 10 million possible combinations, and the goal is as
simple and as hard as you have to tell a story that starts with
“Once upon a time,” and you somehow link together all nine face-
up images on the cubes. So there’s no wrong answer. It’s played
by children, grandparents. They spend quality time together.
They bring it when they’re traveling.

Keri: Right.

Rory: The reason why we created the game is that, for us, it’s very
important to promote creativity and creative thinking, and
that’s all about being able to make connections. So the story
cubes, the way it works is that we can’t help but, when we look
at one of these images, find some meaning in it. So when you
say, “There’s a story in there,” our brain wants to solve it and
figure out what that story is. So it’s a very simple game. It’s
nonthreatening, and again you can play it in 60 seconds on your
own, or we hear of families spending 2 hours together. They put
away their electronic devices, and they share stories together.
They learn about each other, because the story you tell will be
different from the story that I tell.

Keri: Absolutely

Rory: So the children will talk about what they’re interested in or what’s
going on in their life, and the grandparents will tell, you
know, they might reminisce or tell topics that are of interest
to them.

Keri: I’ve had a lot of great success using the game over the last year,
because I work with children on their handwriting. So I’ve been
able to use your concept, and we’ve been recording the stories.
It’s been so exciting for me to see the kids kind of create the
story, and they write it down, and then they actually have
something to keep with them to remember.

Rory: Yes.

Keri: And we’ve drawn pictures to go along with it. It’s really been a
wonderful tool for children’s development.

Rory: You might like to hear then how we got to that point, because
originally Rory’s Story Cubes was developed as a creative
thinking and a creative problem solving tool for the likes of
organizational trainers, coaches, and that’s our background is ,
in creative thinking and problem solving.

Keri: Yeah.

Rory: One day my colleague’s daughter came home and said, “I use these in
school. I have to practice my handwriting, but it’s so boring
having to write that out.” So she used the story cubes to come
up with a story. She brought it in and showed it to her teacher.
Her teacher said, “Oh my god, this is brilliant!” She came back
and told us, and we thought, “There’s something going on here
that we haven’t really been paying attention to.”

Keri: Right.

Rory: And the more we showed it to teachers and the more feedback we were
getting from them, we realized that this was a tool that they
were crying out for, because on one side it’s like a [inaudible
2:53] in a pocket. She can always create a lesson with it.
Others were saying it frees them up to use their creativity, as
well, in the classroom. And again, it helps the children,
because I don’t know if you’ve ever had a blank page syndrome.

Keri: Absolutely.

Rory: Yeah. So, with this, these act as like stepping stones to create
stones.

Keri: Exactly, and I think that’s what a lot of children need. You have
that moment of, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know what I’m going to
say.” But the pictures help them to kind of organize their
thoughts.

Rory: Yes. Our view and our experience is that we are inherently creative.
As human beings we solve problems all the time, and we need
creativity to do that. And sometimes we forget, or you might say
we get a bit flabby. We don’t practice it. And so, just like you
wouldn’t get up and run a race if you hadn’t been exercising,
it’s the same with this. We are creative, but we might have not
been exercising our mind in that area. So the way story cubes
work is that they allow you to exercise your mind, and, we say,
within two or three goes, that spark will have kicked in again
and you have that confidence. If you tell a story, so you roll
the cubes and you make up a story starting with, “Once upon a
time,” and that links them together, we do it with children and
adults where they tell one story, then roll them again and tell
another story. We’d say, “Do you reckon if I rolled it again,
you’d come up with a story?” And they say yes, and you go, “Oh,
that’s interesting, because there’s over 10 million combinations
in here. So does that mean you’ve got 10 million stories inside
you?” You just see this kind of penny drop. They go, “Oh, right,
yeah.” So for us it’s about realizing that it’s not about
getting the one thing right or perfect, but it’s about being
willing to take a risk, and try and experiment and pick out the
best bits. That’s what great writers do.

Keri: Right. Well thank you so much for being with us here today, and it
was great to meet you. This is Keri Wilmot from ToyQueen.com
showing you practical ways to play every day.

Hasbro Scrabble Alphabet Scoop for ages 6 and up. 2-4 players.

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story toy soliders decsend from the ceiling at the Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter holds a lego replica of himself

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter poses next to lego replica of himself

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Ratzenberger poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Lasseter poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City gets shown some of the new toys for 2010 by one of the Disney executives

Tisha from International Playthings demonstrates toys from the Ecotronic Brand. Kids love toys with electronic features, but batteries contribute a ton of toxic waste into the environment so Ecotronic brand includes the lights and sounds without batteries! It uses the power of kids play to power the toys. The monkey flashlight is activated by squeezing the handle and this powers the rechargeable battery inside. The monkey’s nose will then light up and it’s an LED flashlight. Perfect to put in a handbag, works on hand strengthening and is great for Halloween, camping and to place in a child’s bedroom.

The Rocketship is activated by cranking the handle. To power it up you hit the button and it’s a NASA recording of a space shuttle lifting off. It has long lasting LED lights.

The EcoRadio is easy to charge up. It’s an FM radio but it also comes with adaptors for cell phone charging! It’s entertaining at sports games, the beach or picnics! It’s good for safety and great for on the road when you need to charge your phone!

@toyqueen, @realtweeter, @gamehouse, & @brett from @mashable

A few months ago we partnered with Mashable.com to assist in planning their Holiday Party at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City. The event was held on December 17, and was sponsored by Ceiva, Gamehouse, Hautelook and Real Player. Over 150 people attended and a great time was had by all!

As Mashable promotes social media for social good, in the spirit of holiday giving, a portion of the proceeds were donated to the Association to Benefit Children (www.a-b-c.org) in New York City.

ABC is an organization that is “dedicated to bringing joy and warmth to disadvantaged children and their families through compassionate, sustainable, comprehensive and integrated services, designed to permanently break the cycles of abuse, neglect, sickness and homelessness.”

I personally want to send out a big thank you to Hasbro (@familygamenight) and Mega Bloks (@megabrands) large toy corporations who donated items for the raffle, as well as a significant amount of toys and games that were donated directly to the Association to Benefit Children for use in their therapeutic programs. First and foremost, as an occupational therapist who works in a similar environment, I can vouch that those toys and games will have such a significant impact for several years both developmentally and socially on many children.

If you are considering an organization to donate to this holiday season, consider ABC (www.a-b-c.org) or even find a local early intervention program or shelter in your community that may benefit from a small toy donation.

This year, we are donating a portion of our proceeds to the Association to Benefit Children (ABC). So come enjoy a great collection of wine (thanks to Wine 2.0), Singha Beer, Red Eye Bloody Marys and some appetizers from the Roger Smith Hotel.

A big thanks to our sponsors: RealPlayer SP, Gamehouse, HauteLook and CEIVA.

Date: Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
Location: Roger Smith Hotel’s Penthouse Floor
501 Lexington Avenue between East 47th and East 48th Streets, NYC
Food: Appetizers will be served
Tickets: Only 120 Tickets at $50 through Eventbrite or below:

A Portion of the Proceeds Support

“Association to Benefit Children (ABC) is dedicated to bringing joy and warmth to disadvantaged children and their families through compassionate, sustainable, comprehensive and integrated services, designed to permanently break the cycles of abuse, neglect, sickness and homelessness. ABC’s humane and innovative programs today include early childhood education for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, educational advocacy, housing assistance, mental health services, family support and preservation, crisis intervention, therapeutic out-of-school and summer day camp programs, youth leadership development and mentoring.”

Thanks to our Sponsors

“With the new RealPlayer SP, you can share online videos with social web sites like Twitter and Facebook and easily transfer downloaded videos directly to your favorite phone, portable media player or iTunes Library. With the new RealPlayer converter feature, you have more control over your video to change its format, size or quality, making it easy to get video and audio content onto your devices. No need to wrestle with or remember file format and device settings options. For more information, go to www.realplayer.com.”

“GameHouse is the trusted online resource for fun casual games, specializing in the delivery of high value entertainment to players around the world. With a growing focus on social gaming, GameHouse leverages an extensive library of original game titles like COLLAPSE! and Text Twist, along with powerful licenses like SCRABBLE® and UNO®, to reach and connect new players across the globe via popular social platforms like Facebook and iPhone.”

“HauteLook is an online retailer that brings the thrill back to shopping through exclusive, limited time sale events. Through an edited selection of trusted, high quality brands, HauteLook members enjoy amazing access to premium fashion brands, boutique home labels, beauty and skincare products, and kids’ apparel and accessories at discounts of 50 to 75 percent off every day. In the last two years, over 600 high profile brands have chosen HauteLook to host more than 1,200 private sale events. Some of the most popular fashion brands offered on the site include BCBG, Elizabeth & James, Herve Leger, Joe’s Jeans and M Missoni.”

“CEIVA Digital Photo Frames are the world’s only connected digital frames, renowned for their ease of use and unique patented technology. CEIVA® offers endless options to see, share and store photos in a revolutionary new way. Designed for photo enthusiasts who want more ways to access their entire collection, the CEIVA Pro 80 offers built-in Media Server connectivity to let you stream photos instantly over your home wireless network. You can also connect over Wi-Fi or phone line (broadband adapter also available) for new photos sent directly from friends and family located anywhere in the world.”

Thanks to our Partners

“As a pediatric occupational therapist for the last 10 years, Keri Wilmot has utilized a variety of toys and concepts to stimulate the development and educational growth of young children.ToyQueen.com was created to provide all parents, caregivers and educators with a comprehensive video and text resource to help identify toys and products that may enhance their child’s development. Alterative ways to play with a toy or product are also highlighted to allow parents to enhance their child’s developmental milestones in ways that are motivating, natural and playful.”

“SMAC – the Social Media Advertising Consortium fosters collaboration throughout the entire social media ecosystem, diving deep into critical issues and staying ahead of this constantly evolving industry. By bringing together buy side, sell side, and research professionals to develop relevant standards, comprehensive research and definitive measurement tools, our goal is to grow revenues and increase engagement. SMAC members are groundbreakers. Entrepreneurs. Thought leaders. Together, we form a community that feeds off each other’s creativity, creating an environment for learning and discovery.”

At Time To Play Magazine Holiday Toy Preview in New York City, ToyQueen Keri Wilmot interviews Larry Balaban from Baby Genius about the developmental aspects of their toys and the Circle of Education curriculum. Larry Balaban of Baby Genius has helped to develop preschool and role play toys that empower parents to be successful in enhancing their child’s development. Toys highlighted in the interview include the Krinkle Set, which are tactile blocks that can be put together, that allow children to use their creativity and imagination to build “on the go” items such as a helicopter and a racecar. The toy, Old McVinko’s Farm, where the characters are based on the successful DVD series, is a farm playset for children to listen to the music while they explore all areas of the farm. The Circle of Education was created in conjunction with San Diego State University to assist parents with assisting their children with readiness for the Kindergarten curriculum. There are 20 songs that can be downloaded from the website for free that teach classroom routines through music. The music will also be translated into different languages for use all over the world.

For preschool and elementary school aged children, Hasbro has created a 60th anniversary edition of Candyland, called the Candyland Sweet Celebration game. How exciting is it that your child now has the power to create a unique Candyland adventure every time, as the pieces snap together like a puzzle to create the gameboard! What a great addition to such a classic game!

For young toddler boys who love their dumptrucks, Mattel/Matchbox has created Rocky the Robot Dump Truck. Not only does Rocky function as a regular dump truck, but he has been developed with a personality! We had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Michael Shore, who discussed all the behind the scenes work that Mattel does for research to bring products to children that are developmentally sound, especially with regard to Rocky. It’s no wonder their toys are always among my personal favorites!

Lastly, Wild Planet has paired up with Crayola to create Crayola Town. There are different sets to purchase such as a zoo, ranch, house, and airport. The child first colors in the mat and puts together 3D aspects of the play mat. There are a few play mats included in each set, though there is an opportunity to download more online for free. Each set comes with different pieces as well, to turn your child’s crayons into animals, cars, etc. so that after they are finished coloring, they can make their pictures come to life with a pretend play experience!

I know my mind has not yet focused specifically on the holiday season, but hopefully these three suggestions may make the stress of creating your gift buying list a little easier!