Boys' game

Girls' games and toys, as opposed to boys' games and toys, are a large yet difficult market for the children's toy industry. Creating games and toys that can be mass-marketed to girls is challenging for today's toy companies. Nancy Zwiers, an industry consultant and former head of worldwide marketing for Mattel's Barbie doll line, has pointed out the male-centred bias that interferes with development of girls' toys:

When I tour different company showrooms and look at what they're doing, many times it's a bunch of guys making decisions about what girls would like, and they miss the mark.

Many games and toys, or types of play, in many cultures are gender (and age) neutral, but some games and toys, similarly to fashion and professions, in certain cultures are given a gender role (masculine or feminine), and considered boys' games and toys or girls' games and toys. Games given a gender role are exclusive or segregationist, and a game is often considered by both children and adults appropriate for boys or girls but not both, though the difference may be difficult to discern by cultural participants and outside observers. Some games, such as many sports, are or where officially gender segregated, and the gender role given a toy or game may effect its marketing.

For example, in European and American culture, mumbly-peg is traditionally considered macho and dangerous, and thus a boys' game, a knife being a boys' toy, with neither being considered a girls' game or toy. In contrast, jump rope and clapping games are considered girls' games and toys, and may be considered inappropriate for boys.

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