Toy & Game International Excellence Awards - the TAGIEs
TAGIEs - Celebrating the Makers of Play!
GALA
Toy & Game Innovation Awards
Through the Years...
The TAGIEs are an elegant and playful evening gala that brings together industry leaders from inventors to manufacturers to retailers as well as the public for a celebratory evening of innovators and inventors from around the world.
The Toy & Game Innovation Awards are voted on by industry experts, retailers and consumers to recognize recipients for excellence in various categories. The TAGIEs also recognize the teams the inventors worked with at the companies that brought their ideas to life. This collaboration and inventiveness has resulted in the most fun and entertaining play products on the market today. We also honor to those inventor greats who stand out in the toy industry for their exceptionally innovative spirit of fun, philanthropy, and humanitarianism.
2016 TAGIEs Stage
Invented the Millenium Falcon
Invented Exploding Kittens
Invented Malia’s Beach House
Invented Two Bros Bows
Dan and his partners have created products such as Bop It, HyperGames, PC Playsets, Perplexus and so much more!
Award presented by Bruce Lund, a former Humanitarian recipient himself, to Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentoring organization focused on high quality, long term outcomes for children
Presented by Bob Moog, President of University Games, and accepted by Chuck Knerr. Richard and Spud Invented the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop, the Super Ball, Silly String, Slip-N-Slide, Hacky Sack and the Boogie Board
Present by Leif Askeland, SVP and Head of Development at Hasbro. Richard has been an indie inventor, with Matchbox, Tiger Electronics & now Hasbro where he helped bring Furby to market and Fur Real Friends to life. Known for propelling robotics in toys, but always focusing on character and emotion in his creations.
TAGIEs Winner and Honoree History
1st Annual TAGIE Awards (2008)
Keynote
Duncan Billing, Hasbro
2008 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
Jeff Rehkemper and Steve Rehkemper, Rehkemper Invention and Design
2008 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Michael Steer and Garry Donner, Random Games & Toys
2008 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Colleen McCarthy Evans and Joyce Johnson, Toying with Games
2008 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
Jeffrey Breslow, Big Monster Toys
2nd Annual TAGIE Awards (2009)
Keynote
Phil Jackson, Hasbro
2009 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
Russell Hornsby, CEPIA
2009 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Peggy Brown, Peggy Brown Creative
2009 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Jack Degnan, Jack Degnan Games
2009 Recipient for Young Inventor
Seth Calvin, Razor
2009 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
Reuben Klamer, Toylab
2009 Honoree for Humanitarian Award
Bruce Lund, Lund and Company Invention
Betty James (1918 - 2008), Slinky
3rd Annual TAGIE Awards (2010)
Keynote
Mike Hirtle, Hasbro
2010 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
Robert Croak, Silly Bandz
2010 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Mary Jo Reutter, You Betcha! Interactive
2010 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Dominic Crapuchettes, North Star Games
2010 Recipient for Young Inventor
Kate Daniels, Around the Table Games
2010 Recipient for Character Creation
Lisa Henson
The Jim Henson Company
2010 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
Eddie Goldfarb, Eddy & Martin Goldfarb & Assocoates
2010 Honoree for Humanitarian Award
Ellen Hassenfeld Block
Alan Hassenfeld, Hassenfeld Family Initiatives
George Lerner, Lernell
4th Annual TAGIE Awards (2011)
Keynote
Richard Levy
2011 Recipient for Toy Design
Marty Abrams and Joel Rosenzweig, I-Star Entertainment
2011 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Susan McKinley Ross, Idea Duck
2011 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Blake English, Air Swimmers
2011 Recipient for Electronic Adaptation
Tom Liddell, Top Trumps UK
2011 Recipient for Character Creation
Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr. Seuss
2011 Recipient for Young Inventor
Greyson MacLean, BrickStix
2011 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
Burt Meyer, Meyer Glass Design
2011 Honoree for Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award
Sponsored by Hassenfeld Family Initiatives
Torquil Norman, Genie Toys
James R. Becker (1921 - 2011), Anjar Company
2011 Honoree for In Memoriam
Elliott Handler (1916 - 2011), Mattel
5th Annual TAGIE Awards (2012)
Keynote
Bruce Lund
2012 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
Tony Morley, Red Racer Studio
2012 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Leslie Scott, Oxford Games
2012 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Martin Nedergaard Andersen, Camp Games
2012 Recipient for Electronic Adaptation
Mattel Apptivity Design Team
2012 Recipient for Character Creation
Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon
Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, Eric Weiner
2012 Recipient for Young Inventor
Seth and Alexia Kempe, HoodiePet
2012 Honoree for Inventor Advocacy
Mel Taft, Mel Taft Associates
2012 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
Theo and Ora Coster Family, Theora Design Team
2012 Honoree for Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award
Sponsored by Hassenfeld Family Initiatives
Peter and Andrew Brown
Stan Clutton
6th Annual TAGIE Awards (2013)
Keynote
Jim McCafferty
2013 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
Cheong Choon Ng
Rainbow Loom, Choon's Design
2013 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Tom Quinn
Quinn & Sherry
2013 Recipient for Rising Star Inventor
Debra Sterling
GoldieBlox
2013 Recipient for Electronic Adaptation
Leapfrog Design Team
2013 Recipient for Young Inventor
Nick Metzler
Squashed
2013 Honorees for Inventor Advocacy
Wayne Luther and Michael Gray
Hasbro
2013 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
Big Monster Toys
Andre Cassagnes (1926 - 2013)
Etch-A-Sketch
7th Annual TAGIE Awards (2014)
Keynote
Brendan Boyle
2014 Recipient for Excellence in Game Design
Oliver Morris, Fuse
2014 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Alice Taylor, MakieLab
2014 Recipient for Toy Design
Adam Wilson and Ian Bernstein, Sphero
2014 Recipient for Character Creation
Transformers, Hasbro
2014 Recipient for Young Inventor
Lyla Black, Lyla Tov Monsters
2014 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
2014 Honoree for Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award
Sponsored by Hassenfeld Family Initiatives
Diane and Quintin Primo, Primo Center for Women and Children
Bill Goodman
8th Annual TAGIE Awards (2015)
Keynote
2015 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
Mark Boudreaux, Hasbro
2015 Recipient, Excellence in Game Design
Elan Lee, Matthew Inman & Shane Small, Exploding Kittens
2015 Recipient for Digital Toy or Game Innovation
Adam Wilson and Ian Bernstein, Sphero
2015 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Laurie Peterson, Build & Imagine
2015 Recipient for Young Inventor
Duncan and Hayden, Two Bros Bows
2015 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
2015 Honoree for Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award
Sponsored by Hassenfeld Family Initiatives
Big Brothers Big Sisters Metropolitan Chicago
9th Annual TAGIE Awards (2016)
Keynote
Steven Fink
2016 Recipient for Excellence in Toy Design
David Yakos, Steamline Design with Lionel Trains for Mega Tracks
Presenter: Jeffrey Breslow, Toy Designer for 41 years
2016 Recipient, Excellence in Game Design
Jeremy Posner, Big Monster Toys with FatBrain Toys for Coggy
Presenter: Jeff Pinsker, President of Pressman Toy
2016 Recipient for Digital Toy or Game Innovation
Winner: Phoebe Hayman, Seedling for Maze
Presenter: Robin Raskin, Founder of Living in Digital Times
2016 Recipient for Rising Star Designer
Alice Brooks, Roominate with PlayMonster for Cotton Candy Carnival
Presenter: PJ Palijo, Vice President of Product Design & Development for NBC Universal Consumer Products
2016 Inventor Advocacy Honoree
The UK Inventor Dinner Committee.
2016 Honoree for Lifetime Achievement
2016 Honoree for Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award
Sponsored by Hassenfeld Family Initiatives
Special Olympics Chicago
Attend the TAGIEs in 2017!
Don't miss out on an extraordinary evening! Join us at the TAGIEs for an elegant celebration of innovation and People of Play!
Meet the inventors, innovators and the toy & game industry behind your favorite toys and games championing the
Power of Play!