The Astra Play Awards shine a spotlight on exemplary products across a wide range of categories in the Specialty Play Community. There are no fees for nominations, placement, or promotion!
WHO can Nominate Products for Consideration?
Anyone can nominate their favorite products that fit the criteria below.
CRITERIA - Items being nominated and chosen must adhere to the criteria below.
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Is it New?
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Astra Play Award nominees must be items introduced and available to the general retail market between September 2024 and September 2026. The committee must have a final product to review in February. No prototypes will be accepted for the review process.
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Is It Unique?
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Astra Play Award candidates should have a novel design, either an original concept or a significant new rendition.
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Is It Available?
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Astra Play Award products should be in good supply and ready to ship by September 2026 to all credit-worthy independent specialty toy retailers in North America.
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Is it Significant?
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Astra Play Award products should be meaningful within the industry whether it is thought-provoking or groundbreaking.
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WHAT is the Process?
There are hundreds of products to review during each year's award cycle! To keep up with the list of nominated products, the Astra Play Awards Committee continually references the list leading up to the deadline: ensuring the criteria is met, requesting samples, gathering feedback from store associates and customers. Oftentimes they host game nights in their stores, in their communities, or in their neighborhoods with kiddos so they can observe their engagement with the game or toy. Committee members take their review process seriously and take pride in engaging a wide range of people in the process. By the time the committee meets in person to narrow the selection down to three finalists in a myriad of categories, all can feel confident they have been play tested and approved by families and kiddos in communities across the country.
WHEN are the Finalists Chosen?
The Play Awards Committee meets in person every spring to review, discuss, and play with samples of the nominated products. Our esteemed committee members are Certified Play Experts, schooled in the science of play. They utilize their knowledge of appropriate play skills across all age levels when reviewing each item, creating the categories, and selecting the finalists. The finalists are then announced in April.
HOW are the Winners Chosen?
Astra is proud of the fact that our Play Award Winners are chosen by retailers! Once the finalists are announced in the spring, a voting ballet is made available to retailers to select their favorite in each category. Then the winners are announced at our June event, Marketplace & Academy, at our Star Awards Gala. Here all finalists and winners are recognized and celebrated by their specialty toy community peers. Another way Astra spotlights the Play Award finalists and winners is by producing a catalog for retail members.
WHERE do all the Toy Samples go after they've been reviewed?
Throughout the nine-month cycle of nominating, reviewing, and selecting products as Astra Play Award finalists, many samples are provided by manufacturers to be evaluated. Once reviewed by the Play Awards committee, these samples then get put to many good uses. Some end up with the kiddos and families who help in the review process in categories like Games and Science. Some are donated to good causes within the communities where our Play Award Committee members live and work, such as the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. However, the largest number of samples are given to a local charity in the area where that year's committee meets in person to determine the finalists. For example, after our meeting in February 2024 that took place in Las Vegas, the hundreds of toy samples were donated to the Las Vegas Shriners. Astra and the Play Awards Committee work to ensure every sample finds a good home. After all, these toys are the best of the best!
WHY is the Play Awards Catalog important? Speaking of the best of the best, Astra creates a catalog each year to further highlight the Play Award finalists and winners! Manufacturers - expand brand visibility and recognition. Retailers- utilize this valuable marketing tool to showcase top-rated products in the store, attract new customers, and solidify your store as a valuable resource. Research shows customers look to their neighborhood retailers for a curated assortment of trusted products.