Gogo's Crazy Bones
| Also known as Gogos | |
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| Designer(s) | Magic Box Int - part of Martomagic (PPI Worldwide) |
| Players | Any Number can play |
| Setup time | 1 minute |
| Playing time | Dependent on game |
| Random chance | High |
| http://www.gogossuperstar.com/ http://www.gogoscrazybones.com/ http://www.gogosland.com/ | |
Gogo's Crazy Bones (also referred to as Crazy Bones or Gogo's) are small, collectible figurines that became a popular fad during the 1990s and 2000s. They are produced by Spanish company Magic Box Int., and PPI Worldwide Group, the sole distributor in North America.
Crazy Bones was inspired by a children's game played in Ancient Greece and Rome called 'Astragal' (Knucklebones), where children played a similar game using sheep's knucklebones. This ancient pastime is also known as Tabas. Games played are reminiscent of marbles and jacks. Crazy Bones is a modern version of this game, played with characters molded from plastic. There are hundreds of individual characters, each character having a unique face and name. Each series has a number of 'rare' (referred to as 'wanted','most wanted' or 'w' on trading cards.) pieces that are sought after by collectors and are sold on numerous websites for many times their original value.
Crazy Bones was launched in the United States by Peter Gantner after witnessing the success of Barcelona-based GoGos in Spain, which had sold over 350 million packs from its inception in 1996 to 1997. Gantner formed Toy Craze in December 1997 with his brother David Ganter and businessman Scott Harris, and the company acquired the distribution rights in the US. Some sources indicate Bill Flaherty, who became President of Toy Craze, also founded the company. Gogos agreed to provide him with inventory for no of the money down in return for 50% of all profits. This deal was later renegotiated, and the manufacturer was later paid a royalty of sales.
A small company at the time of inception, Crazy Bones became a popular fad in the late 90s. The product was aggressively marketed to children, and promotional events took place in scout meetings, club groups, fairs, and shows, where free sample packs were distributed. Toy demos have also taken place in SkyDome, where children were given free packs and taught how to play Crazy Bones. This promotion was organized by the Canadian marketers of Crazy Bones, a joint venture by Wayne Fromm and Eric Segal of All 4 Fun Consumer Products Ltd. All 4 Fun Toy Products Ltd. also created a series of Crazy Bones for the Toronto Blue Jays, a cereal promotion with Cap'n Crunch and another with Wrigley. In 1999 and 2000 Fromm and Segal created one of Canada's largest collectible fad in the toy industry.. Fromm conceived of a musical band based on Crazy Bones in 2000, called B2K. This was a joint venture between Fromm, Segal and Iron Music. Nearly four million free packs have been distributed. Crazy Bones secured a number of high-profile partners, including McDonald's, which included the product as Happy Meal toys nationwide. These Crazy Bones were significantly larger than the normal toys, possibly to reduce risk of choking among young children.
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