As families make their vacation plans this summer, toys are sure to be packed along with all the other essential gear. Travel-sized games, craft sets and other portable playthings are the perfect boredom busters for long car rides and delayed flights—and a surefire way to occupy kids of all ages. And aside from being parental lifesavers, quelling the dreaded “Are we there yet?” mantra, travel toys are also a retailer's opportunity for strong sales, not just during the slower summer season but all year round.

As manufacturers come to market with new travel toys each year, they take into account parents' needs when hitting the road with their kids. “We have discovered that parents care about games that create cohesiveness in play, rather than dividing people through fierce competition,” says Allen Wolf, president of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Morning Star Games. A travel toy that can be played with over and over again—and is easily portable—has the makings of a best seller, he says, noting, “Parents are interested in games that change each time they are played.”

Morning Star offers four travel games, three of which are packaged in lunchboxes to foster easy transport and another, Slap Wacky, which is packaged in a compact box. Pet Detectives, for ages 7 and up, encourages sleuths-in-the-making to don detective hats and earn prizes for finding lost animal friends. Custom cards enable players to personalize the game with pictures of their own pets. Meanwhile, Morning Star's You're Pulling My Leg (available for ages 13 and up and in a junior version for ages 9 and up) prompts players to share personal stories as other players try to determine whether or not they are telling the truth. Designed to help build relationships while on the go, both versions of the game can be played in the car, at the airport or virtually anywhere.

Becky Hickel, director of sales and product development for Magnetic Poetry, Minneapolis, also sees a lot of parental demand for travel toys that can maintain kids' interest.

“The consumer rules the day,” she tells Playthings. “Many parents are looking for 100 or 1,000 miles of preoccupation, so the product not only has to be priced properly, but appeal to both parent and child.” The added pressure of having to compete alongside hi-tech gadgets means vendors must zero in on what captures the imagination instead of just offering more bells and whistles.

“A perennial challenge for us is how to make 'basic' toys and games that are fun, engaging and interesting enough for a generation of kids who are growing up with sound chips, remote controls and TiVos,” Hickel explains.

While Magnetic Poetry does not conduct traditional focus groups, it taps into some equally valuable resources—suppliers, co-workers, kids and teachers—to gauge their thoughts on product ideas and concepts. Such feedback has been instrumental in the development of new items for the company, including those for 2007. Following on the heels of six titles under its Go Games brand last year, Magnetic Poetry is introducing four new additions this spring: Sudoku, Pachisi (an Indian game of strategy and luck), Chinese Checkers and Travel Bingo. The magnetized game pieces minimize the chance of lost parts while traveling, and each game is packaged in a zippered storage pouch for easy transport.

Because many children—especially younger ones—don't like to leave home without their “best friends,” licensed travel toys are often a big draw for these little consumers. Learning Curve's Take Along line of playsets for ages 3 and up feature a number of favorite characters from Nickelodeon television shows like Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! Michael Edelstein, managing director of Learning Curve's Preschool Play division, calls this line “the ultimate in preschool play,” adding that, “Kids get to take their favorite characters with them anywhere they go.”

Take Along Nickelodeon is an extension of Learning Curve's Take Along Thomas line, which will also include new products this year. To promote one of the items in the new line, the Take Along Thomas & Percy Carnival Set, Learning Curve will be placing television spots on select kids' networks for its fall and winter 2007 retail rollout. Of this line, Edelstein points to the spiral track as a fun play pattern that works well as a travel toy.

Concepts like these are successfully translated into product thanks to comments culled from consumer focus groups. As a result, Learning Curve executives have learned that portability and 'fun factor' are equally important when it comes to designing a notable travel toy.

“Parents don't want to carry around a bulky toy, but they do want to keep their children entertained,” says Edelstein. The focus groups also enable the company to determine which properties they should pursue—a plus considering the plethora of licensing opportunities in the market these days.

Also adept at sifting through which licenses are tops with kids is Culver City, Calif.-based Small World Toys. Among the company's new travel toys is the Dr. Seuss Rhyme 'N' Go Magnetic Puzzle for ages 3 and up, available late this summer. One of 12 items under the company's new Dr. Seuss license, the product includes four magnetic puzzles featuring Dr. Seuss characters and rhymes, all packaged in a tin travel box that doubles as a palette, so pieces remain in place as they are assembled.

To help promote the brand, Small World will work with Dr. Seuss' licensor on marketing exposure. Director of marketing Karla Ilarde points to the annual Read Across America initiative in March as a one means of significant retail support already in place. “Every year, the National Education Association (NEA) partners with Seuss—the same day as the author's birthday—on a literacy campaign that reaches more than 45 million households,” she tells Playthings. For additional in-store support, the company has created a stand-alone unit specific to the brand for retailers.

When it comes to crafting product for travel, most manufacturers agree that compact design is a given. Cynthia Matthews, art director for New York-based Galison/Mudpuppy Press, defines a top-selling travel toy as one that “can be used in a small area without necessitating a stable, flat playing surface.”

However, suppliers say it is critical that scaling down product not compromise the play value. “This is an increasingly difficult task as the target age group lowers, because small hands…don't have the dexterity to manipulate small pieces,” Matthews notes. This is of particular concern with toys for younger children who are more susceptible to choking hazards, she adds.

As such, Mudpuppy concentrates its offerings on easy to transport items such as journals, sticker play sets, magnetic dolls and flash cards that are specifically designed for lap-style play. Among its 2007 roster of travel toys is the My Travel Journal, a simple yet sophisticated notebook that lets kids ages 7 and up record notes about their vacations, play games and more. Other items designed for play while seated include two new travel-themed sticker play sets, Happy Camper and At the Airport, as well as the World Traveler Dress Up Doll set.

Aside from being engaging and portable, consumers demand that travel toys be reasonably priced. “Having a lower price point is important because travel toys are usually an impulse buy,” says Dave Manga, president of Outset Media, Victoria, British Columbia.

And as is true when scaling down kid's products for size, low cost shouldn't sacrifice the toy or game's entertainment capability, he says. “It has to engage the brain,” Manga advises. “Travelers are waiting in check-in lines and airport lounges, sitting in the back seat of a car, riding in trains, buses…they're stationary much of the time. The mind is something people can still exercise while traveling, so toys and games that help them do that will sell well.”

With this in mind, Outset Media is releasing MindTrap Games, a series of six titles designed to tickle the brain with riddles and mysteries at varying skill levels. Manga points to the games' broad appeal as a plus for keeping kids intellectually challenged, especially during long summer vacations. “They're fun for all ages because it's not what you know that counts, but how you think.”

As companies come to market with new ways to make traveling fun, many manufacturers see an opportunity to offer their portable product in some alternative retail venues. Jennifer Schroder, sales manager for Mudpuppy, finds that retailers that carry adult travel products often have a section of children's travel toys and other products to keep them occupied while in transit.

Morning Star Games also supplies its games to luggage stores and tourist-area shops, which Wolf says would otherwise not stock games at all. “Consumers appreciate the ease of carrying these games as well as how easy they are to play in most environments,” he says of his line.

Learning Curve counts airports and other destination stores as new areas of business for its Take Along toys, while companies like Alex of Montvale, N.J., Magnetic Poetry and Outset Media all sell their products in non-traditional toy and game venues like museum gift shops, bookstores, craft and hobby shops, drug, convenience and even grocery stores.

With parents and children vacationing throughout the year, that doesn't mean manufacturers can put their feet up anytime soon. As Alex's president Nurit Amdur puts it, “Families travel all year round, so there is always a demand for good travel toys.”

And since travel is a year round ocassion, toys don't have to be a summer-only business. That's something that can benefit everyone involved in the category, including the consumer.