Toytoyjac's Blog

Because Toys Animate Life….

Peace on Earth, Mars, and Andromeda!

Wow, it’s nearly here! Have we been in hibernation? Crazy few weeks – we’ve moved shop to something a bit bigger (yes, we can get customers in now!! lol)…. Board Games, Family Games, and Card Games have been selling steadily in the build up to the big day when families get together, eat, drink, and generally fall out over whose turn it is / which channel to watch / who ate the last mince pie :/

Another Year, and the TCG’s have again been our back bone, it is interesting how the popularity may wane of one of them (currently we’re mainly sticking to the big 4 – MTG, Pokemon, Yugioh!, and CFVanguard), and then a new release sees interest and sales take off. The release of the Pokemon X & Y DS game really gave the tcg a shot in the arm, and the latest Legendary Treasures Booster release has been our best selling Pokemon set for the year. The same can be said of YuGiOh!, Konami has obviously been listening to some quarters (and more than likely been hit by the rise of CFVanguard too!), and the recent release of the Blue Eyes Deck, and the Yugi & Kaiba Decks, has really sparked interest in players and collectors, many of whom had given up on the game. Magic the Gathering has obviously seen it’s player base swelled by the popularity of the Xbox game, and the age of those players starting younger too (amazing how many young kids are now playing and getting into MTG with their Dads!). Vanguard, is still pretty much the baby of the pack, and up to now, couldn’t do much wrong, but we have seen a swing, the initial rush to try the new kid on the block has slightly subsided, and some players have gone back to their old favorites YuGiOh! and Pokemon.

It’s been a fantastic year, and we have loads planned for 2014 🙂 So, thank you, we hope you all have a magical Christmas, and wish you Health, Wealth, and Happiness for the New Year 🙂 Be Good….!morph

December 15, 2013 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tis the Season to be…. Spooked, and Fired Up, and Full of Cheer, and Hope…

Wow, how fast has this year happened?!? The dark nights are now upon us, with Halloween here, and then Bonfire Night, and then Christmas and New Year crashing into our collective space it’s a crazy time 🙂 …. And in the middle of this chaos? We’re moving to a new shop with more space, yes we like to put ourselves in the x#@! Loving the Board games and TCG’s this year, but i think it’s time we tried to do something else as well, not sure what that is, but the thing is not to stand still too long or be trampled by the chain stores etc!!! So in the New year we will look at trying something else, maybe back to the Japanese Anime goodies that served us so well when we started up, maybe something more low key… who knows?

We do like this time of year, and we’re looking forward to having some time over the holidays for some great games – we have our eye on – Mage Wars, Race For The Galaxy, and more King Of Tokyo and Ticket To Ride 🙂

Bobba Fett‘Come On Bobba – Light My Fire’ 🙂

 

October 30, 2013 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We would be King…..

Our favourite game this Christmas? It has got to be ‘King of Tokyo’, although we have only played around a dozen times so far (it is still only the 27th!!) it has shot straight to the top of our favourite game chart!! It is enormous fun for all ages (8+, but we reckon even slightly younger ones will get the gist ok)… It is a great game for ‘non gamers’, in fact they seem even more keen to keep playing than the regular gamers!! It is extremely easy to pick up and learn (the aim of the game is to be ‘King of Toyko’ (surprise, surprise!) either by being the last monster standing or through accumulating victory points, it is primarily a dice game of sorts,  but with some great fun ‘special effect’ cards thrown in, which can be bought with energy cubes. The ‘Power Up’ expansion adds not only a great Pandakai toon to the game, but also ‘Evolution’ cards to all existing monsters….

The only downside for us, and we have read this elsewhere too, is the quality of some the printing on the cards, and the pieces can be slightly off, but in our copy it is only a couple of cards and doesn’t detract from our overall enjoyment. 🙂

power-up-expansion

So, if you’re looking for something a bit different next year, you can do a lot worse than the multi award winning King Of Toyko…

December 27, 2012 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watch Your Backs…. Santa’s on his way :)

Wow – it’s nearly here!!! Less than 2 weeks to Christmas, we can’t believe it…. It’s been a funny year in a lot of ways, and we’re pretty sure there aren’t many people who haven’t been affected in some way by the unique happenings around the World!!

One of the biggest surprises this year for us in the shop has been the massive affect of Cardfight Vanguard, we put off stocking it for so long, then tried it, and never looked back!!! With the UK high street looking pretty green around the gills, and no sign of immediate remedy, we’ve concentrated on trying to source and supply something a bit different than other local shops, and go that extra mile with service….  We’ve won a few, and i guess lost a few battles!!! That’s life :)….

On the run up to Christmas, we hope some the magic rubs off onto you, it’s still there, but with the constant bad news, and uncertainty, it has seemed somewhat elusive…. Sometimes you can look at life as half empty and despair, or it can be half full and you can make your own luck, and choose your own path :)….. Watch your Vanguard, Santa’s on his way….

Image

December 12, 2012 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , | Leave a comment

It’s Zombie Time :)….

With Christmas racing up to kiss us unaware !! It’s the time of year some people bring out a board game so they can fall out with family and friends 🙂 Some people play them all year, and fall out constantly with everyone :p

Zombies seem to be just as popular as ever in the gaming scene, with the Zombies!!! / Humans!!! games from Twilight Creations ever growing in number and popularity, and ‘Last Night On Earth’, ‘Munchkin Zombies’, ‘Zombie Dice’, ‘Mmmm Brains’, ‘The Walking Dead’ (Comic version from Zman or TV version from Cryptozoic), and others – it’s looking like this year is going to be extra blood thirsty, but then it is 2012…. 🙂

If all the blood n guts doesn’t really cut it for you this year though, there’s always ‘Pass The Pigs’…..

November 7, 2012 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We’re nearly there….So Hang your Stockings, and Merry Be!!!

Ahhh, the final countdown, we’re getting all excited, and tingley…. The last date for UK Christmas orders is Monday the 19th, after that we’ll still be shipping, but you probably won’t receive your orders in time for the BIG day…

We thank you all for making 2011 so special, we wish you a Magical Christmas, and hope your 2012 and beyond is filled with Health, Happiness, Hope, and Fun…

Be good (Remember naughty Boys and Girls get sacks of ashes from Santa!!), if JAC is good he’s getting a Kindle….. 🙂 Enjoy…..

December 17, 2011 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , | Leave a comment

Christmas, it’s turning Ugly…!!

Yes, Christmas is in full swing, according to the media it’s murder on the high street! All we can say is, although overall it’s about the same as last year so far, this is our fourth Christmas selling Uglydolls, and we’ve been selling more in the last couple of weeks than any other November / December….

Have an Ugly Christmas….

So, it looks like this Christmas Day is gonna be ‘Pretty Ugly’!! Just remember kiddies – Uglydolls are for life, not just for….. 🙂

 
Be good, enjoy….. Ohhh, and we’re past last Christmas orders for USA, Canada, and Eastern Europe now!!! Last orders for Western Europe (if they are still speaking to us!!!) is this weekend…. UK, don’t panic, about 10 days yet!!

December 9, 2011 Posted by | toytoyjac | , | Leave a comment

Another Month Hits The Dust – It’s Nearly Here!!!

As November comes to an end, it’s been a strange year (and really fast too! it should only be about June, right? – ‘We must be getting old’!!!) – December – Our favourite month (full of joy, hope, and nice things (we’re actually going off snow – defo getting too old!)). Incoming for our special people, loads of goodies, including restocks of Uglydolls – and some of the new Mugs, and ‘Piggy Banks’….. Have an Ugly Christmas!! You know you want one 🙂
 
'Drink Me'....!!!

'Drink Me'....!!!

November 26, 2011 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , | Leave a comment

We Know Christmas Is Coming – Pokemon Holiday Tins Are Due In!!

Yes, we know Christmas is close when the Pokemon TCG Holiday Collectors Tins are due in, and they’re in tomorrow!! 🙂 With the new Yu-Gi-Oh! Photon Shockwave Boosters, and other goodies restocked…. Next week we’ve got the new Pokemon TCG Boosters in, with some more of the Pokemon Plushies (proving very popular in shop). Go on, have a Pikachu this Christmas, you know you want one!! lol….

It's a Pokemon Christmas..... Again!

November 9, 2011 Posted by | toytoyjac | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘That’s All Folks’ – Have a Happy Christmas…

The Great British weather has put paid to online orders – We don’t advise ordering now if you’re hoping to get your goodies for Christmas! – Most delivery services are still way behind, catching up with the last snow fall – More due in the next few days!!…. But we’re still open at the shop until Christmas Eve – We’ve got new stuff coming in as well as restocking!! – But Hey – Stay Safe, Have Buckets of Fun – AND DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE SANTA SOMETHING TO WARM HIS BITS!!!

December 16, 2010 Posted by | toytoyjac | | Leave a comment