Playtoy Industries
Playtoy Industries was a Canada-based toy company founded in 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, by Donald Griffin. In 1997, it moved to Concord, Ontario. They were in bankruptcy in 2001.
The company distributed a range of games in Canada for the Sega Genesis. Playtoy both developed its own games, and licensed from others. Most often, they licensed from Pressman Toy Corporation. Playtoy Industries would then translate the product into French in order to ship a bilingual product. Playtoy also licensed to Pressman Toy Corporation as in the case of IQ2000.
Games were manufactured both locally at their combined offices/factory and overseas. The most notable exceptions were hoolahoops and some other plastic products which were assembled by ARC Industries (a sheltered workshop for adults with a developmental disability).
They also manufactured games based on game shows from TQS, CBC Television and some other Canadian channels, and were Johnson & Johnson's infant toys distributor in Canada (and responsible for the French translation).
Playtoy's mass manufactured Co-Operative Game line was licensed from Jim Deacove (Family Pastimes), who continued to manufacture the same games in small batches. Thus the same games, with the same titles, were sold in two forms at the same time.
Distributed games
Red Box Line (value line)
- Snakes & Ladders (1998)
- Pickup Sticks
- Checkers
- Replacement Chess Pieces
Developed by/for Playtoy
- IQ 2000 / Jeu de savoir (1984) Game of Knowledge (UK), Spiel des Wissens (Germany), Kwestie van weten (Netherlands), Seneca, el juego del saber (Spanish)
- IQ 2000 Rock Edition
- Monster Dominoes
Licensed From Pressman Toy Corporation
- La roue chanceuse /Wheel of Fortune (1989)
- "Siege" ( Game of Battle Action similar to Crossbows and Catapults ) 1994
- Rummikub (rummy tile game - made in Israel) 1995
Licensed from BroderBund
- Where in the World is Carmen San Diego (board game)
Co-Operative Games Line
Unknown
- La Guerre des clans /Family Feud (1993)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sewer Hockey (this is the only known Playtoy product which was sold in Quebec, without being translated into French)
Dizzy Dizzy Dinosaur
Distributed on behalf of Johnson and Johnson
- Balls in a Bowl