The Ultimate Alphabet has been a great success on the iPad having reached the dizzying heights of  :

TOP 25 Overall in 29 countries.

TOP 5 Free Games for 6 countries.

TOP 25 Free Games for 57 countries.

#1 spot in 74 countries as a Free word game.

#1 spot in 66 countries as a Free Trivia game.

Download the FREE  iPhone version  on iTunes …

Letter A painting contains 362 words to find beginning with the letter A!

We are looking for beta testers please email me  >>>click here to mail me

TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, today noted that new research published by ESSEC, one of France’s leading business schools, shows that playing sports video games can increase participation in real sports, especially among young men and boys.

According to the study, 38 per cent of boys under the age of 21 who play sports games on active video game consoles practice their favorite virtual sport in real life and 75 per cent of video gamers participate in some kind of real sport. The more they play active video sports games, the more likely adolescents are to practice sports. The findings come out of a case study analyzed by students in ESSEC’s International Sports Marketing Chair.

“Video games are frequently demonized,” said Thierry Lardinoit, Head of the International Sports Marketing Chair, and Head of the Marketing Department at Essec.  “We now know that these fears are unfounded.  While it is difficult to fight against the consumption of video games, which has become more and more widespread among youth, we can use this consumption to further the realistic goal of encouraging physical activity among adolescents.”

“There is a strong correlation between playing video games and participating in real sports. Watching television is a threat to physical activity.  Video games are not, however,” he said.

Dr. Richard Wilson TIGA CEO, said:

“Video games have traditionally been developed for entertainment purposes but they can also have positive side effects. The ESSEC’s findings that playing sports video games can increase the likelihood of playing the sport in real life is a case in point.

“More generally, video games can be used for educational and training purposes. A fifth of UK games business make educational or serious games, making an explicit feature of learning.  A number of studies suggest that video games may help to promote skills such as visual and motor skills, strategic thinking, relationship building, computer literacy, collaboration, competition, multi-tasking and experiential learning.”

Jason Kingsley, TIGA Chairman and CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion, said:

“People play video games for enjoyment, but it is good to see this new research highlighting one of the positive spill-over effects of video games. This is important. Too often the benefits of video games can be overlooked.”

We have 4 signed books by Mike Wilks of the original The Ultimate Alphabet.

What you have to do to win one of the 4 books is be the first to complete one of the letters A, B, C or D with a perfect gold Trophy!

You can download the iPad game for FREE here and see if you are up to the challenge!

Simple eh!?  for more information about the game you can watch our demo here.

These books are out of print so it was quite a challenge to find copies of the book that hadn’t been loved too much!

High-profile firm held secret talks to fight Britain’s bid for production subsidies

One of the biggest game companies in the world exerted pressure on the UK government and British trade associations to abandon plans for UK tax breaks, Develop can reveal.

While the majority of UK studios lobbied tirelessly to attain tax relief, one publisher counterbalanced the bid with a scandalous assertion of its own international influence and power.

Insiders tell us that the publisher spoke to well-placed parliament allies to dissuade any legislative measures.

Click here to read more !!! from the original develop article.

We are developing our next game!!!  Its a fun and educational, aimed at preschool children aged at 3+.

Using our unique games  design from The Ultimate Alphabet, children will explore different landscapes and sounds while  searching for animals and learning how to spell them. Jigsaws Jumbles also used in The Ultimate Alphabet will assist greatly in the learning of new words and their spellings.

The game will develop and improve children’s learning  through  multi- sensory teaching methods. This method of teaching has been researched by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development^[1].

These methods help children to learn faster by using more than one of their senses^[2] …

• Visual, what a child sees;
• Auditory, what he hears;
• Auditory-Digital, child’s self-talk and
• Kinaesthetic, where the child touches and handles objects.^[3]

We would love to hear your thoughts!

[1] National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

[2] Orton– Gillingham.com, Institute For Multi- Sensory Education

[3] Dyslexia Online Magazine

Have you ever asked yourself why some people are more physically and mentally healthy than others and is there actually a way to keep your brain fit and trained, just as you do with your body?

Luckily, it is a well known and proven fact that we should take care of our brain. There are several ways to keep your mind healthy…

1. Pay attention to what you eat. There are a lot of vitamins in vegetables and fruits, which are important for a healthy brain function. Foods which are full of protein are also known as brain fuel food. Getting the right amounts of meat and fish is important, but try not to overdo it in one area.^[1]
2. Drink enough water. It is surprising, how many people don’t even realize that their body is dehydrated. A dehydrated brain can’t function well and to prevent this, it is important to drink enough  water every day. Be careful with coffee and other caffeine drinks, as they will have the opposite effect.^[2]
3. Stay physically active. Try to move as much as possible, in order to keep your body fit. This will stimulate your blood circulation, which will provide oxygen to your brain and help you to think more clearly.  Many people say that exercising keeps them more energetic and fresh for the whole day. Moreover, physical activities can minimize depression and prevent some types of brain diseases as you age.^[3]
4. Do brain exercises. Train your mind everyday with mental games like solving puzzles, crosswords and word games. Learn a new skill like playing a musical instrument or painting. Choosing a brain activity which is the most interesting and challenging for you will keep you involved longer, enhance your learning abilities and help you retain information for longer.^[1]

These are some tips that will help you to keep you mentally active at a higher level. Make sure you  get enough sleep, avoid stressful activities and you should notice that your brain is on top form. Stay healthy!

[1]Adam A Brown, “Top Tips to Keeping a Healthy Mind” [accessed 25 May 2010]

[2] Ehow.com, “How to Keep an Aging Brain Active [accessed 25 May 2010]

[3] The Franklin Institute’s Center for Innovation in Science Learning (CISL), “Physical Exercise for a Better Brain” [accessed 25 May 2010]

[4] ibid., “Mental Exercise for a Better Brain” [accessed 25 May 2010]

Thanks to Night Leaf for helping us choose the right software so that we could make this fab demo of our game!!

OUT NOW on the iPad app store!!!

click on this link to buy from the app store…

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-ultimate-alphabet/id357031202?mt=8

GamePlay demo…

Tutorial demo…

click here to see our charity donation information.

Hi All,

Retweet to spread the word >>>>>>

I’m really glad that we have caught your attention.  This is a great opportunity for us to give back something and help the charity of your choice.

Recently we were showing off our iPad game The Ultimate Alphabet to our new friends at NewVoiceMedia and we got chatting about all the possible good we could do as a company and how to structure our company in a way to benefit others.

This got us thinking and we wanted to make a donation  from the sales of our game but we all couldn’t decide on which single charity!

So this is what we came up with…

From our first payment,

From the sales from our first game – The Ultimate Alphabet,

We will donate 5% of Toytek’s share to a UK registered charity of Your choice!

Plus to get the ball rolling we will donate £100

The game is being submitted to apple on the 20th

See the game in action! click here

How it works:

• Join our news group & send us your UK registered charity suggestion.
• Retweet this page with the supplied button above to spread the word.
• Only one charity suggestion for each address will be counted.

Click here to join the news group, see the list of charities & submit your own.

How will I know how well my charity is doing?

• You  can Follow us on twitter @toytekltd
• Or on facebook
• Or check in at our website every now and then.
• we will keep you up to date weekly on the progress of the suggested charities through the above channels.

When will the money be donated and to who?

• The charity selected will be the one with the most backing that was chosen by all of you.
• This charity will be selected on the day we receive our first payment.
• We will contact the charity on this day and arrange payment.

What is The Ultimate Alphabet?

We have developed Mike Wilks bestselling book The Ultimate Alphabet for the iPad and the iPhone.

The Ultimate Alphabet is a word based puzzle game played in 26 stunning and surreal paintings each depicting a letter of the alphabet. The first painting in the series is the letter A which has 362 things for the player to find and name beginning with that letter.

This fun and addictive educational game is to be released on the iPad and iPhone. It is designed with an array of  clues, hints and jigsaw jumbles to help the player complete and find all the words across all the letters. The challenge offers a learning experience that can be achieved by all levels of linguistic competence.

See our beautifully stunning game here – click here

Get a healthy Active brain!  expand your vocabulary and general knowledge in our amazingly fun interactive puzzle game….. check it out..

click here to see our charity donation information.