ASTRA SELECTS THE RANK GAME AS "FAVORITE PICK" AT TOY FAIR NY

 

New York, NY, February 25, 2020 – In an era when technology and work life have invaded our leisure time with family and friends, people need help relearning how to talk with one another. THE RANK GAME, a fun, new all-together card game created to build relationships, is recognized today by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) as a “Favorite Pick” at Toy Fair NY, the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere.

THE RANK GAME, fully funded on Kickstarter in less than 48 hours in December, and sold into 35 U.S. states in just it’s first 65 days of availability at TheRankGame.com, debuted at Toy Fair NY for retail distribution, and quickly became a hit. 

Designed by “Disney couple” Dana and Chip Brown, a Walt Disney Imagineer and a Disney Studios Producer, and parents of three, THE RANK GAME is a simple and interactive way for any group to put their phones down and engage in meaningful interactions with people in person. 

“Playing The Rank Game has been a lot of fun for years, informally between my friends and family,” said Chip. “It is humbling and exciting to see so many excellent independent retailers enjoy the game themselves, and so emphatically embrace it as they share it with their customers to put The Rank Game into people’s hands all over the world.”

The design for THE RANK GAME comes from Dana Brown’s Imagineer experience, having spent countless hours creating intentional experiences that millions of people around the world have enjoyed. Concurrently, THE RANK GAME incorporates Dana’s personal belief that every moment in our lives can be filled with intentional experiences.

“Chip and I have spent our whole careers developing and designing experiences for people to engage popular characters they may know from movies and TV shows. It’s been very rewarding to invest our time and energy in creating a really fun tool that brings people together by focusing on their life and the people in their life,” said Dana. “We call it an ‘all-together’ game because it brings people from all backgrounds together, and also, everyone is playing the game all together at once—Nobody has to wait for someone else to take their turn—They play all together.”

Everyone from family to friends to strangers on the train can play THE RANK GAME. With 11 expansion packs featuring topics ranging from culture and sports to faith and ‘girl’s night,’ THE RANK GAME is sure to be a hit with everyone, anywhere, all the time.

The rules are easy, pick a card and start ranking. Whichever Guesser comes closest to the Ranker’s choices, wins! It couldn’t be simpler. This promotes fun competition, because players only win when they look at the topics from other peoples’ perspectives. This basic element defines the community-building power of THE RANK GAME.

Bring THE RANK GAME to your next game night, party, retreat or pub crawl to start natural, light-hearted conversations and foster intentional, meaningful human connection. Learn more about your people and experience thousands of hours of fun with THE RANK GAME at www.therankgame.com. 

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About Chip and Dana Brown
Dana was a Lead Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering for two entirely new-concept parks: TokyoDisneySeas/Mediterranean Harbor and Disney’s California Adventure Paradise Pier. This role included the responsibility of creating the interactive and magical experiences in-between the rides, in open spaces, restaurants and retail, where consumers spend most of their time. Chip has spent more than 25 years in the media and entertainment industry, including TV, film, internet, live theatre, radio, animation, music and publishing. He helped lead Disney’s Tony ® Award-winning The Lion King to become the largest financial opening in Broadway history.

About Storyastic
Storyastic cultivates meaningful human connection in the age of tech and screentime through the creation of fun, interactive experiences and tools simple enough for everyone to play. Founded by Dana Brown, former Lead Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering and Chip Brown, former producer at Walt Disney Studios and publisher for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Storyastic is an imaginative toy, game, and entertainment company whose debut product is THE RANK GAME. 

About ASTRA
The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is a non-profit association that provides education, networking, product sourcing and discounts, and consumer public relations to grow the specialty toy industry. ASTRA is the largest association serving the specialty toy industry and thrives on the communication and cooperation of its members including retailers, manufacturers and sales representatives.

About Toy Fair NY
Toy Fair is an annual event that is produced by The Toy Association. The largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere, Toy Fair takes place each February at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The show brings together exhibiting manufacturers, distributors, importers, and sales agents to showcase hundreds of thousands of toys and youth entertainment products to retail outlets and trade guests from 100 countries. 

CONTACT:   Chip Brown, (310) 497-7400, chip@propermedia.com