Monsterolgy and Animal Planet Wildlands Games Now Available! Yay!

I've been going on about Nukotoys and their amazing apps for over a year now. And now, I'm thrilled to tell you, the NUKO™ cards are finally available at Apple Stores, Target, Walmart, and Toy ‘R Us and the apps are available (for FREE) in the iTunes App Store. 

I'm so excited for Nukotoys. I've never met a group that I have wanted to see succeed more than the amazing people behind this company. I'm in awe at how far the company has come in a year and I love that I was able to even play a small roll in it. As you may know, I was in NYC with them a few weeks ago helping them spread the word to bloggers about the games and every single person I spoke was amazed by what they are doing. The only "complaint" I heard was bloggers going home and their kids NOT being able to purchase more cards immediately. Well, now they are available to the world. And I couldn't be more excited about seeing them at my local Apple store the other day. 

When I first posted about the games last year, the technology behind how the physical cards worked with the apps wasn't being disclosed. While Co-CEO Rodger Raderman still likes to refer to the technology simply as "magic," it's really a special ink in the card that conducts a charge when it comes in contact with the iPad’s touchscreen. Each “Nuko” (what they call the actual individual cards) has an invisible code printed using this ink. When pressed on the touchscreen of your iOS device (iPad or iPod touch), it reads the code and then activates the creatures on the card inside the game. Crazy cool, huh?

If you haven't had the chance to see the games in action yet, check out this video clip that tells you a little more about the games and why they are so, freaking, cool.

So look for the Monsterology and Animal Planet Wildlands cards the next time you are out shopping!

*Disclosure: I have done paid work for Nukotoys in the past year. But this post was written not out of any obligation, but just because I'm really excited for them.

Hangin' with my "Toys"

July 2011: I had my mind blown. How else would you describe sitting inside a video dome at “The World’s Coolest Office” in the SOMA area of San Francisco with 10ft tall unicorns flying over your head? 

Yes, this was my introduction to Nukotoys and their Monsterology and Animal Planet Wildlands games. A cool office, packed with some of the smartest and most talented people that I had ever had the pleasure of being around. And yes, I was very, very impressed. So impressed that I stalked them for the better part of last year, insisting that they needed my blogger-relations help. See, being a mom and blogger with a tech background, I was floored by the technology and the ideas that were in the works to create a whole new kind of toy company. I wanted to be part of it - in any way possible. 

When the card first taps the screen and a monster or African animal pops to life on your iPad, you too will want to have anything possible to do with this fantastic game. It's a moment to remember; you will stare at the card and wonder "How did that just happen?" And while we are trying to figure out the intricacies of such a cool technology, our kids will grab the iPad and just start playing. 

We are lucky. Since I managed to talk myself into a blogger brand ambassador position with Nukotoys my kids have been playing with the game through each new stage of development. Each stage brought new awe and wonderment, and a year later they still ask daily to play it. And that was before they ever got to tap a card.

Sometimes something extraordinary comes along and you just need to tell everyone about it. That's my role - the singer of praises. Being a blogger and having that relationship with my readers and fellow bloggers I hope that I've established a trust factor. When I say something is a MUST see, they believe me. 

This week I'll be in New York City attending the largest blogging conference of the year. While I'm going as a blogger to NYC, I'm also helping Nukotoys get the message out about the impending launch of their amazing products. If you are headed to the Big Toy Book's Sweet Suite on Aug. 2, stop by our booth and say hi. If you are interested in spending a little more time with us, let us know and we will have you for a group brunch or a one-on-one demo. If you miss us at the Sweet Suite, feel free to tweet at us @Nukotoys or @HipMamaB. 

One of the best parts about being a blogger is sharing something amazing with the rest of the world. I can't wait for you to see a Cyclops spring to life in Monsterology or a tiger leap across the open terrain in Animal Planet Wildlands.

 Find us in New York next week and prepare to squeal....