 Evaluation Summary - Category Ratings
Category ratings based on scale from 1 to 5 [3] = Meets Passing Criteria [4] = Excellent [5] = Outstanding / Best
( Only scores of 3 or higher are published. )
Product and service final rating is averaged from the sum of all evaluation category scores.
( With a total of 323 evaluation categories, only 6 of the applicable evaluation categories are featured for public view. )
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Creative Agenda |
FunFactor™ |
Game Structure |
Marketability |
Narrative Progression |
Response Level |
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CE Marked | UL Approved | JPMA Certified |  | (Not Applicable) | (Not Applicable) | | | ASTM Compliant | eco-Friendly | eco-Conscious | | (Not Applicable) |  | |
| CPSIA Compliant | Independent Lab Tested | Independent Lab Name | | (Unconfirmed) |
| | LeadSafe™ - Surface Coatings/Paint
(Complies with 16 CFR 1303/CPSIA 101) | LeadSafe™ - Content / Substrates
(Complies with CPSIA 101) | PhthalatesSafe™
(Complies with CPSIA 108) | | | | |
| BPASafe™ (Complies with CPSI EN71) | Soluble Heavy Metals
(Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106) | Mechanical/Physical (Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106) | | | (Not Applicable) | | | Flammability - Solids/Textiles (Complies with 16 CFR 1500.44/CFR 1610) | Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials (Complies with ASTM-4236/16 CFR 1500.14(b)(8) ) | iWatchDog™ Approved (Complies with ICCS™ Certification Standards) | | | |
| UPC | Manufacturer SKU | Age Grading | | | | |
| Manufactured In | Safety Hazard/Warnings | | U.S.A. |  CAUTION: Choking Hazard - Small Parts - Not intended for children under 3 years of age. |
Introducing Bailout! The Game
With the combination of today's economy and ecological concerns alone, developing a board game that will become a success can become a make it or break it experience. "Bailout The Game!" is a creative new board game which we take pride in announcing its induction into The Toy Man® Product Guide.
Wet Behind The Ears Yet...
In board game development there are those who are seasoned Veterans, and then there are those who are fresh out the gate in making their own stab at board game development. The creators of "Bailout! The Game" are of the latter definition of experience, still wet behind the ears, yet may have created a unique and soon to be realized tremendous success.
Bailout! The Game has the appearance of a classic board game with a quick 1-hour playing time! It is interactive and requires a competitive strategy to outsmart your opponents! Every action you take compounds upon the next creating a unique outcome every time you play. It is an innovative mixture of creative agenda and excellent narrative progression that entices players to play again and again, building newer and better strategies to LOSE money and WIN the game!
Taking eco-Issues Seriously
Bailout! The Game was far from just another average board game for us to evaluate. Never did I imagine at first look of this game that it would be such a literal riot of a game to play, yet there was something far greater to make note of. The box and the game board for Bailout! The Game are made from 100% recycled materials.
The ink used for printing is vegetable oil. The product is available primarily online, and if that isn't enough, the manufacturers of Bailout! The Game are currently researching how to include bio-polymer pieces rather than paraffin based pieces!
I will take a different direction now in my focus on this game. A board game can be fun, but skill development and improvement is a vital and constant reality of concern. Bailout! The Game is an outstanding example of providing a substantial contribution to critical skill development and improvement.
Children on the younger range of the target age group which the game was designed for are still developing the critical skills to an even greater degree but as the age groups move to the "higher" range, these same skills begin to become leaning more towards a near dormant state of functionality. Bailout! The Game stimulates a human body in so many different ways and proves to provide the kind of stimulus our bodies need to feel good, feel happy, and learn how to develop strategies, all simultaneously.
 Independent Evaluator Reports
Obtaining An Independent Perspective...
In this section we will cover "Bailout! The Game" from the perspectives of qualified individuals in the specific field associated with the product being evaluated. To accomplish that task we have called upon the assistance of two top level industry professionals who know their stuff and have the credentials to prove it.
Our professional and independent evaluators have formed
their own opinions from extensive analysis and produced detailed,
in-depth product evaluation reports connected
with their study and evaluation of Bailout! The Game. The information to follow is comprised of excerpts from those same reports which have been paraphrased in order to encapsulate the primary points Bailout! The Game.
PLEASE NOTE: The names of our independent evaluators are not disclosed to protect the privacy of these individuals upon their request. Their labors are provided at no charge to assist us in providing a well-balanced and qualified product evaluation summary. Their title is provided to clarify for our readers the specific type of specialist from which the information provided has been included in each product evaluation summary.
PRODUCT: Bailout! The Game
MEDIA PLATFORM: Board Game
MEDIA CONTENT: Recreational Strategy
Professor of Psychology B.A., M.A., & Ph.D. - Educational Theory Specialist
"Bailout! The Game is well designed with its narrative influencing the players in development of strategies for prediction of what their opponents will do next through short term recollection. Just as with another product I recently looked at from you. the creative agenda hosts a narrative which demonstrates recognition of the significance of experience in the game play, active thought processing, and psycho-social interaction."
"An actively engaged player will be stimulated dramatically to adopt use of comparative evaluation of game experience for a constant evolution of narrative development. This creates a cascade effect which results in repetitive play and active engagement in strategic thought development. In addition there is an awakening of functional skills which in the past may have become more dormant from inactivity.”
"The creative agenda for a player with this game represents a clear cut exploration pattern of each facet of the game. The player's main enjoyment comes from the quality of the narrative produced as a result of the character, variety of task options, independent choice selection, and completions of tasks. At the same time SN and ESL players are also able to participate in active play as well, with no disadvantage apparent."
"What I found to be of strong significance with this board game is the extensive use of 'look back strategy' with all players. The target age range for which this game was developed is of optimum selection due to the fact that use of 'look back strategy' in games such as this is quite prevalent as well as a dominant factor needed to achieve the goal of winning the game.
"Due to the structure of the game, logical progression for prediction of an opponent's strategic play is not applicable. It is similar to a lottery, the number of potential numbers sequences is astronomical thus making predictive play with a lottery near impossible. The same rule applies with this game. The probability of the same game play being repeated anytime within a person's possession of the game is improbable if not impossible. This adds great value to the game due to the owner of the game feeling confident they made a wise investment."
Curriculum Content Specialist / Board Game Evaluator
"I would like to repeat what I have pointed out in the past, a short summary of how I perform an evaluation. In the evaluation of a board game, I have a specific outline of elemental components which comprise the basic structure of a well designed board game.
- An appealing title
- A good description of what the game is about, short yet
informative on the game box
- A clear description of whether or not if the game is designed for cooperative
play
- A clear definition of the player's role and options of play
- A well defined content scenario/instructions
- A well balanced price point vs game elements ratio
- A well structured & visibly appealing game board
The elemental components you see in the bullet list above, are but a brief portion of the entire list of what I look for to accurately determine where a game stands in my evaluation. Before the question is even beginning to be established in your mind, yes, the Bailout game you submitted passed my evaluation. My approval of this game is well earned."
"It was quite thought-provoking for me in the the evaluation of this game when I read your summary on the creators of the game and their vision they seek to realize. Considering that one of them is a teacher and the other a well-established architect I can see the influence from each of them in the design and run of the game."
"The title was great, the cooperative play was incredible even though this is more of an interest for children's games, and most noticeably, the instructions and players role were clear and simple. I would assume it was the teacher who created the instructions, they have the signature style of a well-educated teacher, most likely primary school age level classes?"
"The game box was light, easy to access, and the playing pieces and single dice were easily accessed in the platform of the box. The game board was of exceptional in quality and design. The game run was clear to see and understand for a player as well as in many manners similar to the Monopoly game when it was first launched following the major real estate business disaster where many business people lost their fortunes."
"The game board has real estate slots just as Monopoly but it takes a different turn and provides players an outlet to make light of the current state of our economy and the current real estate/stock market. Even in my evaluation with my fellowes, this game created the greatest level of entertainment we have seen for while.
The game board was subtle in its color scheme and layout while at the same time remaining somewhat visually appealing. It was an enjoyable experience to have such a strike on our competitive/analytical natures which served as a catalyst to cause us to play repeatedly to persist in our efforts to better each other."
The learning curve was short and simple to grasp which makes the game more enjoyable due to no extended period of learning to play, causing disparagement and loss of motivation to play. We were all caught quite unexpectedly by the quality, usefulness, and creation of such levity from the play of this game."
 Consumer Hands-On Evaluation
Nothing is more powerful than hands-on experience by a consumer with a product
when it is being evaluated. Based upon that fact we put every single product
we evaluate at the mercy of consumers in a hands-on evaluation where anything
goes. Shall we see how "Bailout! The Game" was seen with consumers?
 | Bailout! The Game was part of a consumer hands-on evaluation performed in a busy
public area in Las Vegas/Summerland, NV area, along with generous number of other
products. Having several products available for consumer evaluation all at once
provides a more well balanced and unbiased evaluation of the products. Many of
them had two or three copies available to provide a larger base of opportunity
for consumer evaluation yet Bailout! The Game managed to pull plenty its share
of the attention and fun.
Little did we know what an enjoyable experience we were going to have with
Bailout! The Game in this consumer hands-on evaluation. Unlike many of the
other products we had available for evaluation, Bailout!
The Game is designed for ages 13 and up. This caused an entirely new group
of people to participate in our evaluation event and plenty of laughter to
go around.
There was one group of friends who decided to play Bailout!
The Game, expecting it would just be one of those "play the game once to waste time" type games, before
they went to the movies, but Bailout!
The Game proved otherwise and quickly became the priority. |
These people really got into a competitive spirit
and began capping on each other with a variety of farcical comments as they began acquiring more debts in their rush
to try and be the winner. At one point as they were playing the game, one of the men
was laughing so strongly that he fell off his chair. What made the situation so unique was that he was still holding on
to his side, laughing hysterically on the floor, long after he fell!
In reviewing the feedback forms which the participants filled out, we had
such great enjoyment reading the variety of comments from each of the hands-on
evaluation participants who played Bailout!
The Game. There was no question in the slightest of Bailout!
The Game proving itself worth our time to bring it to this hands-on evaluation
event. This is the kind of game we enjoy seeing becoming the catalyst to make
people laugh hysterically or be straightforward with a classic smile.
 A Sampling Of Category Ratings
A small sampling of the individual category titles & rating
scores from the complete product review itself for
this product are featured here. The categories which have been selected to be
featured in this product evaluation summary for public view, specify some of
the primary points of how and why that specific rating score was reached.
- If a product is inducted, a product evaluation summary of the
complete review is published for public view.
- When a score has been assigned to a category rating, it has been through
a thorough validation process to ensure accuracy and no inflection of bias.
- If a product scores an overall category evaluation
rating average of [2] Two Stars or lower from the complete review results,
it fails the evaluation and is not inducted.
- Information for products which do not pass our evaluation is confidential
and is shared only with the company submitting the product.
The Featured Category Ratings for this Product Evaluation
Summary are listed below.
CREATIVE AGENDA: Rating Level - [5] 
* Creative Agenda - The Creative Agenda of a player represents what the player hopes to achieve by way of exploration
in their game experience.
Creative agenda is a vital factor in the evaluation of a good quality game,
whether it is a board or video game. This is especially so if it is an educational
game. Bailout! The Game was carefully evaluated to determine where it stood in
this category. The creative agenda produced by the game creates a historical
memory function which demonstrates recognition of the significance of experience,
strategic planning and development, active thought processing, interactive social
development, and executive cognitive functioning in learning, application of
the newly acquired knowledge, and entertainment combined."
As we went over the notes, reports, and videotapes, the players were having a generous level of enjoyment from the game, yet at the same time were quite strong in making active use of memory recall, strategy development,
and development of their own personal narrative for the game play method. In the category of Creative Agenda, Bailout! The Game was ablaze with a score of [5] stars.
FUNFACTOR™: Rating Level - [5]
Bailout! The Game was of no real challenge to establish an accurate
measure of the FunFactor™ associated with active game play. With Bailout!
The Game, the active game play was of the highest level in stirring emotions
and creating a comical parody of reversal in goal setting. With the average
board game, the objective is to collect the most be it in points or some other
significant item, but this is just the opposite with this game. With Bailout!
The Game, the objective is to have acquired the highest amount of debt when
all of the players have finally come to the end by reaching the Bailout Bank.
In reviewing all
of our videotapes of Bailout! The Game during all phases of its evaluation,
it was established that the level of FunFactor™ was literally immeasurable.
When the atmosphere of the players gets to the point where a player falls off
his chair due to his laughing so hard from the game play, determining the rating
for this category of FunFactor™ was clear, unquestionable, and simple.
In observation of all players, their focus was on creativity, strategy development,
and their own narrative being developed. The FunFactor™ was still prevalent
in active response. Bailout! The Game comes
in with a score of "5" stars in this category.
GAME STRUCTURE: Rating Level - [4] 
Bailout! The Game was interesting to say the very least when it came to evaluation
in the Game Structure category. As quoted by one of our independent evaluators,
"The game board was subtle in its color scheme and layout while at
the same time remaining somewhat visually appealing. It was an enjoyable
experience to have such a strike on our competitive/analytical natures which
served as a catalyst to cause us to play repeatedly to persist in our efforts
to better each other." He continued on with, "The learning curve
was short and simple to grasp which makes the game more enjoyable due to no
extended period of learning to play, causing disparagement and loss of motivation
to play."
The narrative progression of Bailout! The Game is such that a player is driven
to continue, to compete, and have fun doing it.
The structure of the game maintains the attention of the player
while at the same time stimulating the player's desire
to come back for more whether they win or lose the game.
Although the factors referenced above are well above average in the game structure
of Bailout! The Game, the design isn't strong enough to take it to the very
best in this category. Granted it is well above average which is quite an accomplishment,
yet there can be no question of the right for a perfect score in any category.
Bailout! The Game is a knockout of a game in the category for Game Structure
yet falls short of a perfect score by a single digit. Bailout! The Game moves
in smoothly with a score of [4] Stars in
this evaluation category.
MARKETABILITY: Rating Level - [4]
The category of Marketability was a perplexing category to determine an accurate
score for Bailout! The Game. The reason for this is that the board game has so
many positive features that make it just shine but when it comes to marketability,
the scores in other categories are simply contributory to a good score but there
are special considerations to consider.
All of the "fundamental components" referenced by one of
our independent evaluators in his review of Bailout! The Game play an integral
part in the rating score in this category. These are obvious factors to consider
but there are some items which cannot simply be defined in a set of evaluation
guidelines. One of these is the image that the box cover presents to a buyer.
In so many ways as far as Marketability goes, Bailout! The Game takes the
stops out. If this were a perfect world, Bailout! The Game would get a perfect
score but this is not a perfect world. The creators of the game may have their
own personal perspective of the message they feel the box cover shares, but
that doesn't guarantee that others will see it the same way.
Considering the
current political issues and real estate dilemma in the USA, the box cover could
deliver a negative message to a very limited segment of buyers. At first glance,
some buyers might lose out on seeing the full value of Bailout! The Game because
they see the word "Bailout", the money, and the Capital building,
as a reminder of circumstances in society which are in actuality an opposite
of what Bailout! The Game represent. Taking this information into consideration
along with other details, Bailout!
The Game hits a minor speed bump in this category of Marketability and pulls
an excellent score of [4] Stars.
NARRATIVE PROGRESSION: Rating Level - [5]
Narrative progression is a different kind of creature to take into consideration
when evaluating a product. It is a vital part of the design structure of a
game design. In the design of a board game such as Bailout! The Game, a smooth
transition in the narrative or flow of the game must be maintained. This means
taking on the challenge of maintaining the attention of the player while at
the same time delivering content which will inspire a player's desire
to come back for more.
Bailout! The Game has to have a smooth progression
of challenge a strategic development, while encouraging the player to develop
their own narration to develop and grow in their level of play and learning
simultaneously. Bailout! The Game has unquestionably pulled the stops out and
moves in smoothly with a perfect score of [5] Stars in the Narrative Progression
category.
RESPONSE LEVEL: Rating Level - [5]
In reviewing all segments of our evaluation process on videotapes, Bailout!
The Game was undoubtedly on a roll when it comes to response level from all
of the players. The players do not see Bailout! The Game as
a game, they see it more as a refreshing competitive challenge from which they
benefit. It's irresistible to a player to keep playing again and again, determined
to better their opponents.
Part of the reason for this is that every time a player begins their game play,
they are modifying or even creating an entirely new narrative for their play,
never having the same experience twice! Bailout!
The Game rides the wave in with a
perfect score of [5] Stars in this category.
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Approved |
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| eco-Recognition™
Seal:
Approved |
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| Award of Excellence:
Approved
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THE TOY MAN® ECO-RECOGNITION SEAL
"An emblem of the highest recognition...
for support of ecological concerns applied in full measure." |
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The Toy Man® eco-Recognition Seal™ embodies the highest recognition for products and services which provide a significant contribution to ecological concerns by one or more of the following;
- Recycled / Recyclable materials are being used primarily or entirely in the manufacturing of the product.
- Efforts are being made or already established for the product to be available exclusively or primarily online.
- A substantial effort is being made or is already available to provide a bio-polymer greenProduct™ option.
* The eco-Recognition™ Seal is part of The Toy Man® eco-Recognition Project™ to promote greenBusiness™ |
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THE TOY MAN® PRODUCT GUIDE AWARDS
"The globally recognized awards that are received by a limited few...
and give a product the well earned recognition it deserves!" |
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The
products and online services which become recipients of "The Toy Man® Award of Excellence" acheived an evaluation category rating average of [5] Stars, the highest level of rating available on a 1-5 scale evaluation model. The average is based upon the overall average from all applicable evaluation categories, not just the 6 evaluation categories featured in this summary. |
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"The
Toy Man®  Award serves as an emblem of recognition for products & online services that contribute substantially to positive skill growth and/or productivity. |
| ( This includes books, CD's, DVD's, consumer electronics & accessories, recreational games and equipment, home furnishings, juvenile, software, toys and specialty. ) |
This distinguished award is exclusive as well as unique, with the editor's signature which represents a product being selected as an  . |
PLEASE NOTE: The eChoice™ Award images which were used from 1971-1984, 1984-2007, 2007-April 2010 have been retired. Although the former versions of the eChoice™ Award have been retired, they still remain valid. |
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