Two New Hyper Games from Wild Planet – Just in Time for Summer

Wild Planet’s Hyper Dash game was a popular game for 2010 and now they’ve come out with 2 new Hyper games just in time for summer! Introducing Balance Bender and Freeze Ball. They are not available for purchase yet, but here’s a sneak peek.

Wild Planet’s Balance Bender

Toes curled, teetering on the edge of a Balance Bender pod, you aren’t thinking about muscle strength, coordination, flexibility or motor skills – you’re focused on the fun of almost falling.  Like other entries in Wild Planet’s award-winning Hyper Games brand, Balance Bender is a physical workout in the guise of a game.

Balance Bender comes with 10 colored and numbered pods.  These elevated surfaces serve as safe bases, the only places where players are allowed to stand.  Pretend the ground beneath you is hot lava, quicksand or shark-infested waters; play a variety of games with the same underlying objective – don’t fall off the pods!

Step through a course, picking up the scattered pods in numerical order until you’re left balancing on one foot on the final base.  It’s harder than it looks, and sometimes the wobbliest player wins.

Keep your feet on the pods and keep your balance as you move from pod to pod.  You’ll find several ways to play.

Age: 6+ / Players: 1-6 / Suggested Retail: $14.99 / Available: Summer 2011

Wild Planet’s Freeze Ball

Throw, run, dodge, catch – despite its name, Freeze Ball is not a game about standing still.  This high-energy addition to Wild Planet’s award-winning brand of Hyper Games involves matching colors and numbers and sharpening reflexes.

Freeze Ball comes with a soft, colorful six-sided ball and six number-shaped wristbands. Players begin the game by dividing up the bands, putting them on and waiting in suspense as the first player tosses the ball into the air.

If the ball lands with the blue side and number 2 facing up, the player wearing the blue 2-shaped band runs and retrieves the ball.  All other players scatter and run in the opposite direction.  Once the player with the matching band obtains the ball, he or she yells “freeze” and runners stop in their tracks, wondering who will become the first target.

Players keep their feet planted as the one in possession of the squishy foam ball decides if they will throw it at the person closest to them, or try to catch a more distant, unsuspecting opponent off guard.  As long as no one moves their feet, players can try to catch the ball or bend and duck to dodge it.

If a player catches the ball, the one who threw it gives the catcher a wristband; if a player is hit by the ball, the one who threw it receives a wristband.

The number of players determines how many bands each person gets at the start of the game. Once a player gives up all their bands, they’re eliminated. The game continues until one player obtains all six bands.

There are many other ways to play Freeze Ball – including modified versions for indoor playtime or playdates with kids of varying ages.  Kids can take turns tossing the ball straight up and calling out a color or number while the ball is airborne.  Players with the matching band try to catch the ball before it lands, earning a wristband if they succeed or forfeiting one if they miss.

Age: 6+ / Players: 1-6 / Suggested Retail: $14.99 / Available: Summer 2011