Gogo's Crazy Bones

GoGo's Crazy Bones

Also known as GoGos
Designer(s)	Magic Box Int - part of Martomagic (PPI Worldwide)
Players	2 Or More
Setup time	1 minute
Playing time	Dependant on game
Random chance	High
Skill(s) required	Negotiation
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 popular fad during the 1990s and 2000s. They are produced by Catalan company Magic Box Int., and PPI Worldwide Group.^[1] They are distributed by Panini in Brazil, and Plus Marketing in Europe.^{[citation needed]} Toy Craze was formerly the USA distributor;^[2] however, the Canadian-based company Jonic Distribution North America (www.jdna.ca) is currently the sole distributor in North America. The main website for Gogo's Crazy Bones is www.gogoscrazybones.com.^[3][4], and the official global activities site is www.gogosland.com.

History

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.^[5] This ancient pastime is also known as Tabas.^[6][7] Games played are reminiscent of marbles and jacks.^[8] 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' or 'most wanted') 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,^[5][9] which had sold over 350 million packs from its inception in 1996 to 1997.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[5] Some sources indicate Bill Flaherty, who became President of Toy Craze, also founded the company.^[10] Gogos agreed to provide him with inventory for no money down in return for 50% of all profits.^[9] This deal was later renegotiated, and the manufacturer was later paid a royalty of sales.^[9]

Crazy Bones became a popular fad and collectible item in the late 1990s

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.^[9] 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 (www.frommtoys.com) and Eric Segal, called All 4 Fun Toy Products Ltd. to benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation Canada. Wayne Fromm is owner of Fromm Toys Inc. and Eric Segal is owner 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.^{[citation needed]} Nearly four million free packs have been distributed.^{[citation needed]} Crazy Bones secured a number of high-profile partners, including McDonald's, which included the product as Happy Meal toys nationwide.^[11] These Crazy Bones were significantly larger than the normal toys, possibly to reduce risk of choking among young children.^[11]

Within two years, the company's revenues had grown to nearly $17 million. By favoring tours of scout meetings and the like over television and print advertisements, Toy Craze has also kept its marketing costs to around 10%.^[9]

Crazy Bones were originally distributed in Canada through the Concord, Ontario-based company Playtoy Industries, where they enjoyed similar success.^[12] Playtoy Industries declared bankruptcy in December 1999 and Wayne Fromm and Eric Segal catapulted Crazy Bones through a joint venture (www.frommtoys.com)

Crazy Bones enjoyed incredible popularity in the late 1990s. From 1998-2000, 31.5 million packages were sold.^[13] Over 23 million figurines were sold in the UK and Spain in a recent relaunch between March and December 2008.^[13]

Crazy Bones were banned in many schools, as they were blamed for encouraged theft, arguments, and in-class distractions.^[14][15]

Rebranding

Old Crazy Bones logo, prior to rebranding

The product was formerly known as simply "Crazy Bones." It is currently marketed as "Gogo's Crazy Bones."

GoGo's Crazy Bones in America

US

Crazy Bones was first released by an American company HotShots.^{[citation needed]}

HotShots later lost or sold the Crazy Bone patent. Toy Craze then obtained, distributed and licensed it, with Magic Box int. manufacturing them.^{[dubious – discuss]} In April 2000, Toy Craze increased licensing to include at least 10 licensees. Toy Craze, opened in 1997, continued to release Crazy Bones in a variety of forms: "Original",^[16] "Buddies",^[17] "Mutants",^[18] "Things",^[19] "Aliens",^[20] "Sports",^[21] Mega,^[22] Ghost,^[23] "Third Series"^[24] "Dragonball Z",^[25] "Toy Story 2",^[26] "Medabots" and "Shin-chan"

As of October 2010, the current distributor for Gogo's Crazy Bones in the US is Jonic Distribution North America (www.jdna.ca).

The original bones were small plastic figurines made with faces. Each bone had a different name and personality. The long line of characters included the well known Jaws, Top Hat, and Eggy. Slight variations in design with a shift to a more spooky nature, of 59-78, led to production of the Mutant set of bones. On the other hand, Things, Ghost, Aliens, Buddies, and Sports were intended as each containing brand new characters. "Sports"(40 units) had sports uniformed crazy bones characters. "Buddies" included 58 Gogos, each, like the past series', with its own function and design including: Liberty, Book worm, and Slick. In the "Things" series (60 units) all the bones were shaped like various everyday objects such as: a TV, couch, or book, but as with the other series' they had smiley faces. "Aliens"(60 units) had anthropomorphic figures of a classic grey, big eyed, alien. Some of the designs included: Salad Head(Caesar), Cyclops, Boris, Tut and others. A "Third" series of Crazy Bones (In the old packaging and design)named "The New Generation" was later released, including 120 all new characters.^[27] Some seem to be variations of the originals, or mutant original, but they are all meant as new characters to the series. McDonald's has also done a promotion with Crazy Bones.

A collection of Crazy Bones in a bowl

Canada

The Classic series was available in Canada in the 1990s. The rebranded Gogo's Crazy Bones series 1 is sold in Canada in 2009. Series 2 becomes available in May 2011. Series 3 becomes available on August 12, 2011.

GoGo's Crazy Bones in Europe

In Europe Crazy Bones are released in different sets for different countries.^[28]

UK

Sets

The following sets have been released;

GoGo's Crazy Bones (80 bones, each available in 5 colours, 15 'Wanted' and 5 'Most Wanted' rare bones with different paint schemes)[Series 1]

• GoGo's Crazy Bones Evolution (80 bones, each available in 5 colours, approximately half are translucent with embedded glitter)[Series 2]
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Explorer (80 bones, each available in 4 normal colours and a 5th 'laser' metallic colour) [Series 3]
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Advance (10 bones, each available in 5 colours. Only available in Tin Boxes)
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Power (80 bones - each available in 2 normal and 2 metallic colours, and 10 'Most Wanted' rare metallic bones with added paint steps) [Series 4] - This set also adds a collectible card game to the mix with each pack containing 2 bones and two cards (often 1 normal figure, 1 metallic figure, 1 normal game card, and 1 metallic card) with a chance of a 'Most Wanted' figure or card replacing one of these. The Most Wanted cards have the character name suffixed with a '-W', and have a laser-style finish.
• Gogo's Crazy Bones Gold Series Limited Edition Tin Part 1. (10 bones. Only available in Tin Boxes.) Gold metallic versions of popular characters from series 1-3.
• GoGo's Crazy Bones England 2010 (27 bones, 5 'laser' variants) These bones each represent a member of the England 2010 football squad. Each has a more complex paint scheme than usual, and the rear of the bone has the name of the player it represents.
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Superstar (80 bones, each available in 2 colours, plus 4 Most Wanted versions)[Series 5]. Features a selection of the most popular bones from Series 1-4. Each bone has a new "fuzzy" finish. Most Wanted versions have a combined Fuzzy Metallic finish. Packs have a retail price of £1.99 and contain 2 bones, 2 stickers and 1 storage/display cube. The cubes come in seven colours and can be attached to each other in the style of popular building bricks.^[29]
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Gold Series Limited Edition Tin Part 2. (10 bones. Only available in Tin Boxes.) Gold metallic versions of popular characters from series 1-4.
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Trading card series. (160 cards, 128 'Normal' and 32 'Leaders'. Traiding card versions of popular characters from Series 1-4.
• GoGo's Crazy Bones Comic. A monthly magazine that is very similar to Mega Metropolis. Extras, like new products, are included.

Specials

In March 2009, to mark the release of the Explorer series in the UK, the Daily Mirror newspaper ran a week-long promotion where they gave away free figurines, stickers and sticker books. Two of the figurines were exclusive to this giveaway^[30]

In April 2009, the Entertainer toy shop in Kingston upon Thames held a 'swap day'. Every swapper received a special 'Laser Mosh' - Mosh is the first bone in the original series. The Laser Mosh is lime green, and carries the same coating as the Explorer special Gogos.^[31]

Daily mirror Exclusive Gogos Crazy Bones

Gogo's Mega Metropolis

In January 2010, gogo's Crazy Bones Mega Metropolis^[32] was re-released in the UK after an earlier trial in selected areas. A Partwork, the magazine features a new 'Mega Gogo' each week. Starting with Mosh (Gogo #1 from Series #1) the Mega versions are (so far) all from series 1. After that, The others have been released in a different order (1,8,3,9 etc.) Each Mega Gogo has a flip-top head which opens to reveal an evolution series 2 bone. The mega bones' heads are also removable, allowing mutant versions to be created once other models have been collected. Each Mega bone comes in several colour variants, some of which do not match the original colours from the series. The Mega bones are contained in a hexagonal 'pod'. These are connectible and also have different colours to collect. It is possible to pull these apart to make multi-colour pods.

GoGo's Trading Card Game

From January 21, 2011, Magic Box International adds a new Gogo's Crazy Bones Trading Card Game. This new trading game complements the range of Gogo collectable figurines and creates an exciting new way to play and collect Gogos. There are 160 cards to collect, including 32 special prismatic 'Leader' cards. Packets of the Gogo's Crazy Bones Trading Card Game contain 6 cards, including 1 special card and are priced at 50p. A Starter Pack is also available containing a Collector Album for storing the cards, a full game guide, checklist and 3 packets of cards. The Starter Pack is priced at £3.99. As with all Gogo's Crazy Bones collections, an extensive marketing campaign is in place to support the launch. This includes a large TV advertising campaign and product sampling via the Gogo's Crazy Bones Comic.^[33]

Gogo's Crazy Bones in South Africa

Gogo's Crazy Bones Series 1 was released in South Africa in October 2009.^[34] The collectables are available as 4 product variations:

• A booster pack with 3 figurines and 3 stickers
• A collectables special bag sold with 3 figurines
• A sticker album
• A collector’s item tin containing 10 unique figurines that are not available in any of the other product lines.

In December 2009 the largest South African Sunday newspaper listed the toy as the top gift for boys between the ages of 6 and 8. Four months after release the sales have already exceeded 200,000 units.

Gogo’s Crazy Bones Series 2 was released on March 18, 2010.^[35] The South African distributors and licensors of the toy are Blowfish Entertainment.^[36]

Gogo's Crazy Bones In Other Countries

• Foot Gogo's. Football themed Gogo's
• Cool Gogo's. Gogo's with a Hip-Hop theme. A tin with 10 metallic Gogo's was also released.
• Urban Toys. Very similar to series 1. Gogo's are colored differently, some are numbered differently,and there are only 60 Gogo's.
• Megatrip Gogo's. A series with 80 different Gogo's. Special colors included Glow, Glitter, Multicolor, and Metal.

Gogo's have also been promoted in supermarkets, like C1000 and Carrefour. Evolution, Explorer, Power, and Superstar are yet to be released in these countries.

Gameplay

Other than the collectible nature of Crazy Bones there are multiple games that can be played with the figurines including:^[37]

• Traditional - Players take turns flicking Gogos at their Gogos, points are scored depending on how many of their opponents Gogos are knocked over.
• On-Line - players throw pieces towards a line on the ground, the closest to the line wins.^[38]
• Battle - players line up multiple pieces and flick them towards the opposing players pieces in an attempt to knock them over.^[39]
• Bowling - players line up multiple pieces and 'bowl' a further piece at them. (Akin to ten-pin bowling.)
• Bomber - players place multiple pieces in a circle on the ground, then throw a further piece at them in an attempt to knock them out of the circle.
• Airborne - players throw a piece into the air, then attempt to pick up a second piece whilst the first is still in the air. They then throw the two pieces in the air, attempting to pick up a third and so on until they fail. (Akin to Jacks.)
• Basket - players attempt to bounce pieces into a box.
• Dice - players toss a piece as one would a dice, with points assigned based on how the piece lands: 5 for upright, 2 on its side, 1 face up, 0 face down.
• Box it - players draw a box on the ground, attempting to throw as many pieces in the box as possible.

Online Games

Some Gogo's Crazy Bones games can also be played online, on the Gogo's web site:

• Online Bowling:^[40]
• Online Battle:^[41]
• Sticker Jump^[42]
• Nuclos Power^[43]
• MemCards
• SpeedBones
• GoBricks

Other merchandise

European Crazy Bones, Evolution, Explorer and Superstar packets also contain stickers. These can be collected in sticker albums which are sold separately.

Series 4 Power Gogo's replace stickers with cards. There is a collector's folder with transparent sleeves for all cards. Released February 2011, The trading cards also have a collector's folder, sold with a free pack of cards @ £3.99.

Magic Box Int has also created various collector tins, bags (blue and green) and containers for the gogos.^[44]

In August 2009, plush toys of three types were released:

• 'Clipper' Keyrings (8 different designs)
• 6" Reversible dolls (5 designs that swap between 'normal' and 'most wanted')
• 8" 'Bone Shakers' (3 designs with removable heads that reveal a cup to throw normal-sized bones with)

All plush designs are based on bones from series 1

In March 2010, the 'England dugout 2010' was released to store the England 2010 collection.

Similar products

During the mid 1990s, Coca Cola released a similar brand of toys named "Hielocos" in Mexico, Ecuador and "Geloucos" in Brazil (translated to 'Crazy Ices').^[45]

Since the resurgence of the European Gogo's Crazy Bones, several similar products have entered the market;

• Little Tokyo's - Made by Exit toys of Barcelona
• Toonz/Blinku micro monsters (40 to collect + 2(?)half-toonz that connect to create a single micro monster) - Clearly derivative but with the gimmick of animated '3d motion effect' faces. Made by Dracco, a Danish company with a Macau-based subsidiary.
• Skyzos - Made by Panini. Each model has a good and evil side.
• Fings - Made by Topps Europe
• Frikis - Made by E-Max (Have a BONES™ label on the back.)
• Jojo's Bouncin Boneheads - Made by Imperial Toys
• Fidgets' Knuckleheads - Made by Moose
• Dracco Heads^[46] - Made by Dracco

References

1. ^ "Gogo's Attracts Four New Partners". http://www.licensingexpo.com/index.php/gogos-attracts-four-new-partners/. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
2. ^ "Toy market going crazy again over 'Bones' - Chicago Sun-Times | HighBeam Research - FREE trial". Highbeam.com. 2009-04-17. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-127A2C8F6A009810.html. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
3. ^ http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2010/04/c7585.html
4. ^ http://gogoscrazybones.com/news/?p=466
5. ^ ^{a b c} Stovsky, Renee (31 August 1998). "Kids are going nuts about Crazy Bones". Venice Herald-Tribune (Venice, FL, USA): pp. 1E, 2E. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vAkdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_30EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2167%2C7570923. Retrieved 8 April 2010. 
6. ^ "History Of Crazy Bones". http://www.crazybones.com/history.htm. 
7. ^ The Ancient And Modern Game Of Astragals. JSTOR 1254294. 
8. ^ "Welcome Parents!". http://www.classiccrazybones.com/parents.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d e} Hofman, Mike (August 1, 2000). "Upstarts: Obsession Marketing". inc.com. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20000801/19753.html. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
10. ^ Jim Vickers. "Happy Deal". http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/2215/82/0/Happy_Deal.aspx. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "McDonald's goes crazy for Crazy Bones". 10 February 2000. http://www.toycraze.com/pr/press/press5.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
12. ^ http://www.strategyonline.ca/articles/magazine/19990104/24035.html
13. ^ ^{a b} "Toy News - 2009 - iToys "collects" Gogo'sŽ Crazy Bones distribution rights for North America". Kidsturncentral.com. 2009-02-12. http://www.kidsturncentral.com/topics/toys/tn021209c.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
14. ^ Morris, Steven (2008-07-05). "Crazy Bones: Children turned into smugglers as schools crack down on the great Gogo's craze". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/jul/05/schools.uk2. Retrieved 2010-05-03. 
15. ^ "Helen checks out Gogo's Crazy Bones". BBC News. 2008-07-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7490000/newsid_7498200/7498263.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-02. 
16. ^ "Gogos". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/1thru60.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
17. ^ "Buddies". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/buddies.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
18. ^ "Mutants". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/mutants.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
19. ^ "Things". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/things.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
20. ^ "Aliens". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/aliens.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
21. ^ "Sports". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/sports/sports.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
22. ^ "Mega Bones". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/mega.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
23. ^ http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/Ghost.htm
24. ^ "Mega Bones". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/Copy%20of%20mega.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
25. ^ "Dragonball Z". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/dragonball_z.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
26. ^ "ToyStory2". Classiccrazybones.com. http://www.classiccrazybones.com/whoswho/toy_story_2.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-09. 
27. ^ http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/crazybones_2092_530678
28. ^ "ppi international". http://www.ppiworldwide.com/. 
29. ^ "Series 5 Superstar". gogoscrazybonescollector.com. http://gogoscrazybonescollector.com/Superstar-Series-5. Retrieved 2010-07-22. 
30. ^ "Free Gogo's with the Daily Mirror". http://www.toytalk.co.uk/2009/03/free-gogos-with-the-daily-mirror.html. 
31. ^ "Gogo’s goes on tour | Toy Industry | News by ToyNews". Toynews-online.biz. 2009-04-27. http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/31134/Gogos-goes-on-tour. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
32. ^ "Gogo's Mega Metropolis". http://www.gogos-metropolis.com/. 
33. ^ "GoGo's launch Trading Card Game". http://gogoscrazybonescollector.com/Trading-Card-Game/. 
34. ^ "go go Crazy Bones: Parent: Competitions". Parent24.com. 2010-02-28. http://www.parent24.com/Content/Competitions/459/c5f8183fe3434519822941e0f831e9f6/20-01-2010-02-24/Gogos_Crazy_Bones. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
35. ^ "About". http://www.gogos.co.za/?page_id=2. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
36. ^ "Blowfish Entertainment". Blowfish Entertainment. http://www.blowfishentertainment.co.za/GogosLic.php. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 
37. ^ "How To Play". http://www.crazybones.com/howtoplay/traditional.htm. 
38. ^ "How To Play On-line". http://gogosland.com/gogos_site.php#howtoplay3. 
39. ^ "How To Play Battle". http://gogosland.com/gogos_site.php#howtoplay4. 
40. ^ "Online Bowling". http://gogosland.com/dev/games/bowling. 
41. ^ "Online Battle". http://gogosland.com/dev/games/battle. 
42. ^ "Sticker Jump". http://gogosland.com/dev/games/jump. 
43. ^ "Nuclos Power". http://gogosland.com/dev/games/nuclos. 
44. ^ "Crazy Bones Merchandise". http://crazybones.stores.yahoo.net/crazbonmer.html. 
45. ^ "Atomic Pictures - Crazy Ice". http://www.atomicpictures.com/cc1mv.html. 
46. ^ "Dracco Heads". http://dawnofthechaoticdraco.webs.com/draccoheads.htm. 

External links

• Official site
• Official activities site
• Official European website
• UK and Ireland official supplier
• Website for Classic Crazy Bones
• Website for Crazy Bones Collectors
• Official Superstars website