Category: News

“AMERICAN NATIVE FLOWERS” SCRAMBLE SQUARES® PUZZLE HONORED AMONG” DR. TOY’S 10 BEST SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS” FOR 2004 BY THE INSTITUTE FOR CHILDHOOD RESOURCES

REDONDO BEACH, CA…October 5, 2004… b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that its “AMERICAN NATIVE FLOWERS” Scramble Squares® 9-piece brain teaser puzzle has been honored by The Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco as among “Dr. Toy’s 10 BEST SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTS” FOR 2004.” The “AMERICAN NATIVE FLOWERS” Scramble Squares® puzzle was designed by b. dazzle, inc. in collaboration with and in support of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas.

The 13th Annual report of “Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products 2004 awards, announced today, is now available on the Internet’s World Wide Web to parents, teachers and others in the magazine, Dr. Toy’s Guide. The Web site’s address is http://www.drtoy.com. The free report is available by sending a SASE #10 envelope to Dr. Toy and requesting a copy.

“Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Awards Program 2004” was developed by noted child development authority Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Toy) as a service to consumers who desire to purchase safe, affordable, educationally oriented and stimulating toys and products for children.

“As a childhood specialist for over 35 years,” says Dr. Toy, Director of the Institute for Childhood Resources, founded in San Francisco in 1975, “I have seen the continuous, essential need for more year round resources for consumers to identify and choose the most appropriate, safe and engaging learning and developmental products for all children.”

Dr. Toy reports that in the years the innovative on-line magazine, Dr. Toy’s Guide, has been available, “thousands of visitors daily from around the world have accessed its information.” The site was the first on-line to evaluate toys and children’s products.

The report, “Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products for 2004,” is being released, according to Dr. Toy, to, “encourage parents and teachers to focus on the value of play as essential to the learning process.”

She adds, “The smart play products selected from 100 companies across the U.S., Canada and from other countries will provide children with exciting new learning tools that will help them not only to do better in school, but will also provide constructive activities to do after school.”

The winning products include innovative toys, games, books, videos, audiotapes, software/CD’s, crafts, socially responsible and other children’s products. Dr. Auerbach believes, “parents and grandparents need help to get a head start locating new, diversified products that children will enjoy using while they increase learning skills, enhance instruction and expand creativity.”

Exquisite, award winning Scramble Squares® brain teaser puzzles for ages 4 to 104 are at least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4” x 4” pieces, Scramble Squares® puzzles are Perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle™! At under $10.00 retail, Scramble Squares® puzzles make inexpensive, but highly entertaining and valued gifts for both men and women alike… for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Halloween, birthdays, get well, graduation, travel and holidays. Scramble Squares® puzzles are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™ Over 100 exquisite styles of colorful original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, gourmet, fantasy, hobbies and activities, and more new styles are added every six months. Store displays come complete with the unique Scramble Squares® “5-Minute Challenge™” in store free puzzle giveaway promotion for consumers who solve a Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes!

In 2004, b. dazzle, inc. entered into an agreement with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of Austin, Texas, to produce native plant-inspired puzzles. This collaboration has resulted in the “American Native Flowers” Scramble Squares® puzzle, the first in that series being introduced by b. dazzle, inc. The Wildflower Center is working with b. dazzle to develop more Scramble Squares® puzzles based on native plants and wildflowers of North America. Each wildflower puzzle will carry the Center’s logo, as well as educational information about the plants depicted and the role they play environmentally.

Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and the late actress Helen Hayes founded the Wildflower Center in 1982. With members in the United States and Canada, it is the premier organization in North America dedicated to promoting the importance of native plants in the environment.

Each Scramble Squares® puzzle package includes a panel of fascinating factual information on the subject of the puzzle, as well as a trivia question and hidden answer, all packaged in a unique and handy heavy duty 101/2″ long x 53/4″ wide x 3/8″ deep resealable vinyl travel pouch, which may be collected and stored easily in a standard 3-ring binder. The vinyl pouch is crystal clear, enabling the consumer to see the extraordinary beauty of the puzzles’ realistic original art, while achieving a very high amount of retail value per square foot of store space for the merchant.

Scramble Squares® teaches:
o Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Skills
o Patience
o Perseverance
o Statistical Probabilities
o Cooperative and Solitary Productivity

Scramble Squares® also helps maintain mental agility, sharpness and memory in seniors and adults, while providing hours of quiet and stimulating entertainment.

b. dazzle provides a free 24″ x 36″ full color “WIN A FREE PUZZLE” promotional poster to any store offering its customers the Scramble Squares® “5–MINUTE CHALLENGE™.” Retailers can give a free Scramble Squares® puzzle to any customer who accepts the challenge and successfully solves the nine piece Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes. b. dazzle promptly replaces the stores’ puzzles awarded to consumers at no cost to the merchants. b. dazzle’s permanent wood counter, floor and slat wall displays each feature a demonstration puzzle on an interactive playing surface with an electronic timer to time consumers in the 5–MINUTE CHALLENGE™. b. dazzle also offers a free, very compact, corrugated counter spinner display, including the timer and poster, with the purchase of any 72 Scramble Squares® puzzles in any quantity per style.

“We are very pleased, honored and extremely gratified that our newest Scramble Squares® puzzles have maintained the very high standards that Dr. Toy upholds as her criteria for the annual “DR. TOY’S 100 BEST PRODUCTS” awards,” says b. dazzle founder, puzzle designer, president & CEO, Kathie Gavin. “Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products” Awards Program is the standard by which we measure our design and production success. We are proud to have again achieved that success,” Gavin adds.

TEN SCRAMBLE SQUARES® PUZZLES NAMED TO DR. TOY’S “SMART PLAY/SMART TOYS AWARD” FOR 2004 BY THE INSTITUTE FOR CHILDHOOD RESOURCES

REDONDO BEACH, CA…July 12, 2004… b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that ten of its Scramble Squares® 9-piece brain teaser puzzles have been honored by The Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco as “Dr. Toy’s Smart Play/Smart Toys, the Best Smart Products for Baby to Older Children for 2004.” Scramble Squares® received more of the awards than any other of the seventy-nine products named to the “Dr. Toy’s Smart Play/Smart Toys” list for this year. The ten Scramble Squares® puzzles receiving this prestigious award are “Butterflies,” “Forest Animals,” “Frogs,” “Insects,” “Philadelphia,” “Symphony,” “Teddy Bears,” Tropical Fish,” “Vintage Airplanes” and “Washington, D.C.”

The first report report of winning toys for “Dr. Toy’s Smart Play/Smart Toys 2004,” based on the newly released book by noted child development authority Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Toy), is now available to parents, teachers and others on Dr. Toy’s Guide, on the Internet’s World Wide Web. The free report is available by requesting a copy by sending a SASE #10 envelope to Dr. Toy or by logging onto www.drtoy.com.

“Dr. Toy’s Smart Play/Smart Toys Award Program 2004” was developed by Dr. Auerbach as a service to consumers who desire to purchase safe, affordable, educationally oriented and stimulating toys and other products for children.
“As a childhood specialist for over 35 years,” says Dr. Toy, Director of the Institute for Childhood Resources, founded in San Francisco in 1975, “I have seen the continuous, essential need for more year-round resources for consumers to identify and choose the most appropriate, safe and engaging learning and developmental products for all children.”

Dr. Toy reports that in the years the innovative on-line magazine, Dr. Toy’s Guide, has been available, “thousands of visitors daily from around the world have accessed its information.” This web site was the first on-line to evaluate toys and children’s products. The report is being released according to Dr. Toy to “encourage parents and teachers to focus on the value of play as essential to the learning process.” She adds, “The smart play products selected from varied companies across the U.S., Canada and from other countries will provide children with exciting new learning tools that will help them not only to do better in school, but will also provide constructive activities to do after school.”

The winning products include innovative toys, games, books, videos, audiotapes, software/CD’s, crafts and other children’s products. Dr. Auerbach believes “parents need help to get a head start locating new diversified products that children will enjoy using while they increase learning skills, enhance instruction and expand creativity.” The honored products are from among large and small companies and range from low to high tech for “hours of constructive, educational and stimulating fun. “Children learn best through play,” says Dr. Auerbach, “and these “Smart Toys and Smart Products” encourage children to maximize their potentials and make the most of “Smart Play.”

Exquisite, award winning Scramble Squares® brain teaser puzzles for ages 4 to 104 are at least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4” x 4” pieces, Scramble Squares® puzzles are Perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle™! At under $10.00 retail, Scramble Squares® puzzles make inexpensive, but highly entertaining and valued gifts for both men and women alike… for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Halloween, birthdays, get well, graduation, travel and holidays. Scramble Squares® puzzles are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™ Over 100 exquisite styles of colorful original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, hobbies and activities, and more new styles are added every six months. Store displays come complete with the unique Scramble Squares® “5-Minute Challenge™” in store free puzzle giveaway promotion for consumers who solve a Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes!

Current Scramble Squares® puzzle topic categories include nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, gourmet, hobbies and activities. New styles are added approximately every six months. The suggested retail price for a Scramble Squares® puzzle is $7.95 each.

Each Scramble Squares® puzzle package includes a panel of fascinating factual information on the subject of the puzzle, as well as a trivia question and hidden answer, all packaged in a unique and handy heavy duty 101/2″ long x 53/4″ wide x 3/8″ deep resealable vinyl travel pouch, which may be collected and stored easily in a standard 3-ring binder. The vinyl pouch is crystal clear, enabling the consumer to see the extraordinary beauty of the puzzles’ realistic original art, while achieving a very high amount of retail value per square foot of store space for the merchant.

Scramble Squares® teaches:
o Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Skills
o Patience
o Perseverance
o Statistical Probabilities
o Cooperative and Solitary Productivity

Scramble Squares® also helps maintain mental agility, sharpness and memory in seniors and adults, while providing hours of quiet and stimulating entertainment.

b. dazzle provides a free 24″ x 36″ full color “WIN A FREE PUZZLE” promotional poster to any store offering its customers the Scramble Squares® “5–MINUTE CHALLENGE.™” Retailers can give a free Scramble Squares® puzzle to any customer who accepts the challenge and successfully solves the nine piece Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes. b. dazzle promptly replaces the stores’ puzzles awarded to consumers at no cost to the merchants. b. dazzle’s permanent wood counter, floor and slat wall displays each

Our company’s mission is to produce a wide range of beautiful, wholesome, entertaining and informative gifts for under $10.00 retail for all ages of adults and children that can be selected by style to appeal to the personal interests of the gift recipient ,” says b. dazzle founder, puzzle designer, president & CEO, Kathie Gavin.

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of this “American Native Flowers” Scramble Squares® puzzle, being introduced this summer, will be donated to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Exquisite, award winning Scramble Squares® brain teaser puzzles for ages 4 to 104 are at least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4″ x 4″ pieces, Scramble Squares® puzzles are Perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle™!

LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER PARTNERS WITH b. dazzle, inc. TO PRODUCE “AMERICAN NATIVE FLOWERS” SCRAMBLE SQUARES® PUZZLE

REDONDO BEACH, CA -March 12, 2004 – b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas, to produce native plant-inspired puzzles. This collaboration has already resulted in the “American Native Flowers” Scramble Squares® puzzle being introduced by b. dazzle, inc. at the 2004 Summer wholesale gift trade shows held throughout the United States.

The Wildflower Center is working with b. dazzle to develop Scramble Squares® puzzles based on native plants and wildflowers of North America. Each wildflower puzzle will carry the Center’s logo, as well as educational information about the plants depicted and the role they play environmentally.

Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and the late actress Helen Hayes founded the Wildflower Center in 1982. With members in the United States and Canada, it is the premier organization in North America dedicated to promoting the importance of native plants in the environment. Other recent Wildflower Center Licensees in its expanding licensing program include HK Insights (home fragrances and personal care products) and Native American Seed (wildflower seeds). Hinson & Company, New York, launched a major new collection of wildflower-inspired wallpaper and Fabrics in the Fall of 2003.

“We are thrilled to be working with the Wildflower Center and very gratified that we will be contributing to their good work in such things as research, conservation and restoration— which impacts all of North America,” says Kathie Gavin, president & ceo of b. dazzle, inc.

Exquisite, award winning Scramble Squares® brain teaser puzzles for ages 4 to 104 are at least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4″ x 4″ pieces, Scramble Squares® puzzles are Perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle™! At less than $10.00 retail, Scramble Squares® puzzles make inexpensive, but highly entertaining and valued gifts for both men and women alike… for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, get well, graduation, travel and holidays. Scramble Squares® puzzles are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™

More than one hundred exquisite styles of colorful original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, gourmet hobbies and activities. Fourteen new styles of Scramble Squares® puzzles were introduced in January. New styles are added approximately every six months. The suggested retail price for a Scramble Squares® puzzle is $7.95 each. Store displays come complete with the unique Scramble Squares® “5-Minute Challenge™” in store free puzzle giveaway promotion!

Gavin founded b. dazzle in 1994. The 11th Annual report of the Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco named Scramble Squares® puzzles as among “Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Educational Products” of 2003 and also one of “Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products of the Year” for the second consecutive year. At least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children, Scramble Squares® puzzles have also been selected by GAMES magazine, having a total circulation of 407,340, as one of the “100 BEST GAMES.” Scramble Squares® puzzles were awarded the January, 2004 “Chicago’s Choice Awards,” presented once a year during the January Chicago Gift & Home Market to acknowledge distinctive products and product lines exhibited at the Chicago Gift & Home Market at the Chicago Merchandise Mart.

In 1996, Learning magazine selected Scramble Squares® as The Best Educational Game in its “Product Picks for Math.”

Scramble Squares® teaches:
o Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Skills
o Patience
o Perseverance
o Statistical Probabilities
o Cooperative and Solitary Productivity

Scramble Squares® also helps maintain mental agility, sharpness and memory in seniors and adults, while providing hours of quiet and stimulating entertainment. The nine 4″ square puzzle pieces of a Scramble Squares® puzzle are easy for seniors to hold and easy to see, yet Scramble Squares® puzzles are as challenging as a one thousand piece jigsaw puzzle, but without the little pieces to lose or the mess all over the table.

b. dazzle provides a free 24″ x 36″ full color “WIN A FREE PUZZLE” promotional poster to any store offering its customers the Scramble Squares® “5-MINUTE CHALLENGE.™” Retailers can give a free Scramble Squares® puzzle to any customer who accepts the challenge and successfully solves the nine piece Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes. b. dazzle promptly replaces the stores’ puzzles awarded to consumers at no cost to the merchants. b. dazzle’s permanent wood counter, floor and slat wall displays each feature a demonstration puzzle on an interactive playing surface with an electronic timer to time consumers in the 5-MINUTE CHALLENGE.™ b. dazzle also offers a free, very compact, corrugated counter spinner display, including the timer and poster, with the purchase of any 72 Scramble Squares® puzzles in any quantity per style.

Our company’s mission is to produce a wide range of beautiful, wholesome, entertaining and informative gifts for under $10.00 retail for all ages of adults and children that can be selected by style to appeal to the personal interests of the gift recipient ,” says b. dazzle founder, puzzle designer, president & CEO, Kathie Gavin.

b. dazzle, inc. ANNOUNCES FOURTEEN NEW SCRAMBLE SQUARES® PUZZLE STYLES FOR 2004

REDONDO BEACH, CA…December 29, 2003… b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that will introduce fourteen (14) new Scramble Squares® puzzle styles for 2004 at the January wholesale trade shows. They are “American Native Flowers;” “Bald Eagles;” “Boating;” “Boston;” “Bunnies;” “Chili Today, Hot Tamale;” “Classic Cars;” “Covered Bridges;” “Fly Fishing;” “Hot Air Balloons;” “Ice Cream, You Scream;” “Red Hats;” “River Otters” and “Retrievers.”

Exquisite, award winning Scramble Squares® brain teaser puzzles for ages 4 to 104 are at least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4” x 4” pieces, Scramble Squares® puzzles are Perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle™! At under $10.00 retail, Scramble Squares® puzzles make inexpensive, but highly entertaining and valued gifts for both men and women alike… for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, get well, graduation, travel and holidays. Scramble Squares® puzzles are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™ Over one hundred exquisite styles of colorful original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, gourmet hobbies and activities, and more new styles are added every six months. Store displays come complete with the unique Scramble Squares® “5-Minute Challenge™” in store free puzzle giveaway promotion!

The 11th Annual report of the Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco named Scramble Squares® puzzles as among “Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Educational Products” of 2003 and also one of “Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products of the Year” for the second consecutive year. At least as popular with adults, seniors and teenagers as they are with children, Scramble Squares® puzzles have also been selected by GAMES magazine, having a total circulation of 407,340, as one of the “100 BEST GAMES.”

Current Scramble Squares® re, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, gourmet, hobbies and activities. New styles are added approximately every six months. The suggested retail price for a Scramble Squares® puzzle is $7.95 each.

The Scramble Squares® slogan, “Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™,” is very accurate. In the April , 2002 issue of Journal of Computing in Small Colleges, Central Plains Region, four mathematics researchers, Keith A. Brandt, Kevin R. Burger, Jason Downing and Stuart Kilzer of the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics at Rockhurst University, a Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri, wrote in their paper on artificial intelligence (AI) computer programming, “The scramble squares puzzle is very complex. Indeed, there are 49 x 9! = 95,126,814,720 different arrangements of the nine pieces. This puzzle is actually an instance of what is known in AI as a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP).” Of the 95 billion different puzzle piece placement combinations, each Scramble Squares® has only one solution, and once a Scramble Squares® puzzle is solved, it is just as difficult to solve every other time it is played.

Each Scramble Squares® puzzle package includes a panel of fascinating factual information on the subject of the puzzle, as well as a trivia question and hidden answer, all packaged in a unique and handy heavy duty 101/2″ long x 53/4″ wide x 3/8″ deep resealable vinyl travel pouch, which may be collected and stored easily in a standard 3-ring binder. The vinyl pouch is crystal clear, enabling the consumer to see the extraordinary beauty of the puzzles’ realistic original art, while achieving a very high amount of retail value per square foot of store space for the merchant.

In 1996, Learning magazine selected Scramble Squares® as The Best Educational Game in its “Product Picks for Math.”

Scramble Squares® teaches:
o Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Skills
o Patience
o Perseverance
o Statistical Probabilities
o Cooperative and Solitary Productivity

Scramble Squares® also helps maintain mental agility, sharpness and memory in seniors and adults, while providing hours of quiet and stimulating entertainment. The nine 4″ square puzzle pieces of a Scramble Squares® puzzle are easy to hold and easy to see, yet Scramble Squares® puzzles are as challenging as a one thousand piece jigsaw puzzle, but without the little pieces to lose or the mess all over the table.

b. dazzle provides a free 24″ x 36″ full color “WIN A FREE PUZZLE” promotional poster to any store offering its customers the Scramble Squares® “5–MINUTE CHALLENGE.™” Retailers can give a free Scramble Squares® puzzle to any customer who accepts the challenge and successfully solves the nine piece Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes. b. dazzle promptly replaces the stores’ puzzles awarded to consumers at no cost to the merchants. b. dazzle’s permanent wood counter, floor and slat wall displays each feature a demonstration puzzle on an interactive playing surface with an electronic timer to time consumers in the 5–MINUTE CHALLENGE.™ b. dazzle also offers a free, very compact, corrugated counter spinner display, including the timer and poster, with the purchase of any 72 Scramble Squares® puzzles in any quantity per style.

Our company’s mission is to produce a wide range of beautiful, wholesome, entertaining and informative gifts for under $10.00 retail for all ages of adults and children that can be selected by style to appeal to the personal interests of the gift recipient ,” says b. dazzle founder, puzzle designer, president & CEO, Kathie Gavin.

SCRAMBLE SQUARES® PUZZLES WIN January 2004 CHICAGO’S CHOICE AWARD

REDONDO BEACH, CA…December 15, 2003 — b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that The Chicago Gift & Home Market™ has named b. dazzle’s Scramble Squares® 9-piece brain teaser puzzle line a winner of the January, 2004 Chicago’s Choice Awards. The award, presented once a year during the January Chicago Gift & Home Market, acknowledges distinctive products and product lines represented in Beckman’s Handcrafted Gift Show™ Chicago and in the temporary exhibits in The Merchandise Mart’s 8th Floor Market Suites. Gift and home décor retailers can see these award-winning products during the Chicago Gift & Home Market, January 24-27, 2004. b. dazzle, inc. is exhibiting on the 8th Floor of in booth C-237.

The Chicago’s Choice Awards are being presented to manufacturers from various categories with products that display quality, innovation, creativity and ingenuity, as selected by a panel of industry professionals. The Chicago’s Choice ribbon on booth signage during the January Chicago Gift & Home Market will make it easy for buyers to identify award winners. Winners will also be listed on a handout available at the Starting Gate on the 1st floor of The Mart during the Market, and online at www.merchandisemart.com (click on “Chicago Gift & Home Market” then on “Chicago’s Choice”).

Exquisite, award winning Scramble Squares® brain teaser puzzles for ages 4 to 104 are at least as popular with adults, seniors, teenagers and college students as they are with children. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4” x 4” pieces, Scramble Squares® puzzles are Perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle™! At under $10.00 retail, Scramble Squares® puzzles make inexpensive, but highly entertaining and valued gifts for both men and women alike… for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, get well, graduation, travel and holidays. Scramble Squares® puzzles are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™ 2-2-2/ SCRAMBLE SQUARES® PUZZLES WIN January 2004 CHICAGO’S CHOICE AWARD December 15, 2003.

Over one hundred exquisite styles of colorful original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, gourmet hobbies and activities. Fourteen new styles of Scramble Squares® puzzles will be introduced in January. Store displays come complete with the unique Scramble Squares® “5-Minute Challenge™” in store free puzzle giveaway promotion!

For more information about the Chicago’s Choice Awards and the Chicago Gift & Home Market, visit www.merchandisemart.com or call 800.677.6278(MART).

Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.

MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart, Chicago Apparel Center, and 33 North Dearborn in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building in New York; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Washington Office Center in Washington, D.C.

Vornado Realty Trust, owner of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.

The 11th Annual report of the Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco named Scramble Squares® puzzles as among “Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Educational Products” of 2003 and also one of “Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products of the Year” for the second consecutive year. At least as popular with adults, seniors and teenagers as they are with
children, Scramble Squares® puzzles have also been selected by GAMES magazine, having a total circulation of 407,340, as one of the “100 BEST GAMES.”

Current Scramble Squares® puzzle topic categories include nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, gourmet, hobbies and activities. New styles are added approximately every six months. The suggested retail price for a Scramble Squares® puzzle is $7.95 each.

The Scramble Squares® slogan, “Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve!™,” is very accurate. In the April , 2002 issue of Journal of Computing in Small Colleges, Central Plains Region, four mathematics researchers, Keith A. Brandt, Kevin R. Burger, Jason Downing and Stuart Kilzer of the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics at Rockhurst University, a Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri, wrote in their paper on artificial intelligence (AI) computer programming, “The scramble squares puzzle is very complex. Indeed, there are 49 x 9! = 95,126,814,720 different arrangements of the nine pieces. This puzzle is actually an instance of what is known in AI as a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP).” Of the 95 billion different puzzle piece placement combinations, each Scramble Squares® has only one solution, and once a Scramble Squares® puzzle is solved, it is just as difficult to solve every other time it is played.

Each Scramble Squares® puzzle package includes a panel of fascinating factual information on the subject of the puzzle, as well as a trivia question and hidden answer, all packaged in a unique and handy heavy duty 101/2″ long x 53/4″ wide x 3/8″ deep resealable vinyl travel pouch, which may be collected and stored easily in a standard 3-ring binder. The vinyl pouch is crystal clear, enabling the consumer to see the extraordinary beauty of the puzzles’ realistic original art, while achieving a very high amount of retail value per square foot of store space for the merchant.

In 1996, Learning magazine selected Scramble Squares® as The Best Educational Game in its “Product Picks for Math.”

Scramble Squares® teaches:
o Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Skills
o Patience
o Perseverance
o Statistical Probabilities
o Cooperative and Solitary Productivity

Scramble Squares® also helps maintain mental agility, sharpness and memory in seniors and adults, while providing hours of quiet and stimulating entertainment. The nine 4″ square puzzle pieces of a Scramble Squares® puzzle are easy to hold and easy to see, yet Scramble Squares® puzzles are as challenging as a one thousand piece jigsaw puzzle, but without the little pieces to lose or the mess all over the table.

b. dazzle provides a free 24″ x 36″ full color “WIN A FREE PUZZLE” promotional poster to any store offering its customers the Scramble Squares® “5–MINUTE CHALLENGE.™” Retailers can give a free Scramble Squares® puzzle to any customer who accepts the challenge and successfully solves the nine piece Scramble Squares® demonstration puzzle within five minutes. b. dazzle promptly replaces the stores’ puzzles awarded to consumers at no cost to the merchants. b. dazzle’s permanent wood counter, floor and slat wall displays each feature a demonstration puzzle on an interactive playing surface with an electronic timer to time consumers in the 5–MINUTE CHALLENGE.™ b. dazzle also offers a free, very compact, corrugated counter spinner display, including the timer and poster, with the purchase of any 72 Scramble Squares® puzzles in any quantity per style.

Our company’s mission is to produce a wide range of beautiful, wholesome, entertaining and informative gifts for under $10.00 retail for all ages of adults and children that can be selected by style to appeal to the personal interests of the gift recipient ,” says b. dazzle founder, puzzle designer, president & CEO, Kathie Gavin.