McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds Celebrates 6th Anniversary of Its Popular Word Game, You’ve Been Sentenced!
May 5th 2011 marked the anniversary of the launch of the popular word game You’ve been Sentenced! The game was the first offering from McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds, which now boasts a roster of nine award winning toys, games and children’s products.
Wilmington, DE, May 07, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Educational game development firm McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds is celebrating the 6th anniversary of the launch of its flagship product, the You’ve been Sentenced! word game in May 2011.
The multi award-winning You’ve been Sentenced! word game uses pentagon-shaped cards with conjugations of funny words, famous names, and familiar places. Each player uses his or her hand of 10 cards to build a grammatically correct sentence, racing the other players while also trying to score the most points per round. Sentences also have to be justifiable in meaning, making players use both creativity and common sense.
Although the game is now a staple on thousands of stores shelves – from Borders, to Barnes and Noble, to over 1,000 independent toy and game retailers across the country - on Dec. 29, 2004 the game was still just a vague idea in McNeill Designs’ CEO Donald McNeill’s head. The concept? Players would make sentences from words on cards – something that had never been done in the game world before.
From his initial “a-ha moment,” McNeill moved quickly. Having no background in game design, he assembled a talented team of designers, language specialists and business advisors to turn the dream into reality.
In order to make the game “work,” McNeill also had to figure out the correct balance of word usage in the English language. It took months to turn the initial concept into one that would not only work, but would be entertaining, as well. This preparation also included reading the dictionary – cover to cover, twice – for just the right words to include.
Since its launch in 2005, the You’ve Been Sentenced! game has been recognized by both the gaming and education communities and is the recipient of numerous awards including:
* Creative Child Magazine, Seal of Excellence
* Dr. Toy Best Products
* Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Gold Seal Award
* Spewgie Award, Best Family Fun Game
* iParenting Media Hot Product Award
* FAO Schwarz Toy Auditions, Winner
* National Parenting Seal of Approval
* Mr. Dad Seal of Approval
* George Lucas Educational Foundation's Edutopia magazine, Hot Media for Educators
* MENSA Society's Parenting for High Potential magazine, Resource Roundup Pick
* Scholastic Instructor Magazine Teachers Pick Best of 2009
* Tillywig 2010 Laugh Out Loud Fun Award
Following up its success with You’ve been Sentenced! McNeill Designs’ added the award-winning memory game Twisted Fish, numerous You’ve been Sentenced! themed add-on decks, and more to its roster of products. Most recently, the firm announced the launch of a NASA Space Terminology Deck themed add-on deck for the You’ve been Sentenced! word game.
For more information about McNeill Designs, its products, and people, or to request a media sample, please contact Susan McNeill at 302.478.2757 or visit McNeillDesigns (dot) com.
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The multi award-winning You’ve been Sentenced! word game uses pentagon-shaped cards with conjugations of funny words, famous names, and familiar places. Each player uses his or her hand of 10 cards to build a grammatically correct sentence, racing the other players while also trying to score the most points per round. Sentences also have to be justifiable in meaning, making players use both creativity and common sense.
Although the game is now a staple on thousands of stores shelves – from Borders, to Barnes and Noble, to over 1,000 independent toy and game retailers across the country - on Dec. 29, 2004 the game was still just a vague idea in McNeill Designs’ CEO Donald McNeill’s head. The concept? Players would make sentences from words on cards – something that had never been done in the game world before.
From his initial “a-ha moment,” McNeill moved quickly. Having no background in game design, he assembled a talented team of designers, language specialists and business advisors to turn the dream into reality.
In order to make the game “work,” McNeill also had to figure out the correct balance of word usage in the English language. It took months to turn the initial concept into one that would not only work, but would be entertaining, as well. This preparation also included reading the dictionary – cover to cover, twice – for just the right words to include.
Since its launch in 2005, the You’ve Been Sentenced! game has been recognized by both the gaming and education communities and is the recipient of numerous awards including:
* Creative Child Magazine, Seal of Excellence
* Dr. Toy Best Products
* Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Gold Seal Award
* Spewgie Award, Best Family Fun Game
* iParenting Media Hot Product Award
* FAO Schwarz Toy Auditions, Winner
* National Parenting Seal of Approval
* Mr. Dad Seal of Approval
* George Lucas Educational Foundation's Edutopia magazine, Hot Media for Educators
* MENSA Society's Parenting for High Potential magazine, Resource Roundup Pick
* Scholastic Instructor Magazine Teachers Pick Best of 2009
* Tillywig 2010 Laugh Out Loud Fun Award
Following up its success with You’ve been Sentenced! McNeill Designs’ added the award-winning memory game Twisted Fish, numerous You’ve been Sentenced! themed add-on decks, and more to its roster of products. Most recently, the firm announced the launch of a NASA Space Terminology Deck themed add-on deck for the You’ve been Sentenced! word game.
For more information about McNeill Designs, its products, and people, or to request a media sample, please contact Susan McNeill at 302.478.2757 or visit McNeillDesigns (dot) com.
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Contact
McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds
Susan McNeill
302-478-2757
www.McNeillDesigns.com
Susan McNeill
302-478-2757
www.McNeillDesigns.com
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