Two New Playmobil Video Games This Week

For reals! It's been slow on the toy front but a Playmobil Circus game is coming to the Nintendo Wii this week, and a Playmobil Pirates game is coming to the Nintendo DS. It is presently unknown if any cool exclusive figures will be offered as mail-ins or some such, but hey-- heads up, gamers!

And apparently you can gamble with the dead. Truly, the pinnacle of electronic entertainment has arrived.

Promotional 7969 Ghost Pirate Set: Germany

Currently a premium set when you order from the direct service department in Germany, this nifty set as scanned to Klickywelt includes an exclusive red three-headed sea serpent, a unique ghost, and several colorful barrels of what we presume is rum. It's a safe bet this is going to be offered in the USA (if it isn't already) but if you haven't seen it, here it is!

The same link also shows a promotional animal set with cheetah cubs (or kitten repaints) plus a baby gorilla in a diaper. Truly, you can't go wrong.

New Vikings, Pirates Blisters Found

USA residents: your local Target stores may have two new sets for you to pick up at a mere $2.99 a hit.



5802 Pirates (seemingly inspired by but different from existing figures)
5848 Viking Warriors (seemingly recycled from existing sets)

Happy hunting!

Kmart Gets Playmobil 2-Packs

While doing a tour of stores around the USA, we just spotted a bunch of new Playmobil sets at a Kmart in Phoenix, AZ. Interestingly, the retail prices are a few dollars cheaper than Los Angeles and they are also carrying a few items we have not seen previously. Pirate set 5826 and Crusaders set 5825 were $3.99 each. We hear the prices are higher at other Kmarts, and are not yet able to confirm Wal-Mart or other store pricing.

Toys "R" Us Gets Lots of New Playmobil (if you're in the USA)

It seems that all of a sudden, some (but not all) Toys "R" Us stores in the USA are getting a massive push of new product. Some stores have stuff in more than one aisle, with all sorts of sizes and price points to delight and amuse. Even more astonishing, there were loads of sets I haven't seen before, so being my lazy self, I didn't write down all the numbers for your reference. (Sorry.) Here are some of the things we saw in today's runs:

Circus
Small clown, $100 tent, dog act, pony act, tightrope, and what probably amounted to the entire new theme minus one or two sets.

Take Alongs
In addition to the 4774 Barbarian set we reported earlier, a new Knight set (4775) and Pirate set (4776) were available. It didn't seem like there was a spot for a fourth set, so that seems to be that.

Knights
A red dragon-with-barbarian is available for $20. It's the older dragon mold (the one with arms).

Dinosaurs
Seemingly the entire line is being sold at Toys "R" Us for roughly the same prices Playmobil sold it for directly in January. Even the boring little quad is there.

Romans
There's a Roman camp, 5838 Gladiators with tiger, and some larger sets you have no doubt seen elsewhere.

Christmas
The return of the Nativity Scene, and a new advent calendar packed with little woodland creatures. In other words, zzzzz.

Now if I wasn't so cheap to not have a camera phone, I could probably share pictures. Since so many new items were there today, it seems unlikely there would be too much more-- but it's nice to see the biggest toy retailer in the US picking up some serious slack for the brand. It's as close as we've ever seen to a full year's line outside of a specialty toy retailer.

Sadly, there were no new Specials (or Pals) to be seen, and there were no sign of the new blister packs we're told are being sold at select larger Wal-Mart stores. There were, however, a large number of older sets which have been at the stores for ages or have been restocked.

2009/2010 Playmobil Themes Revealed

Over on the various Playmobil forums, a number of new sets and themes are being shown. I'd like to point you to Playmoboard, as accounts are free and it, like this blog, are in English.

New themes include Ghost Pirates and Merpeople, or Mermaid stuff. The Merfolk line seems like a follow-up to the fairies, only now it's under the sea. Highlights include seahorses galore and new fishy kids. There's also an evil sea witch.

Knights continues, this time with loads of wolves and a lot of gold elements. Truth be told, I have a hard time discerning this as new, and the sets seem mostly to be on the small side. Aside from some catapults, it's a very redeco-oriented line.

The Ghost Pirates are pretty stunning, if you like such things. A giant glow-in-the-dark whale skeleton (unfortunately cast in green), huge clams, a giant manta ray, killer crabs, and a three-headed sea serpent make this a really cool, really supernatural line. A haunted ghost ship rounds things out, complete with tattered sails and a crew of the dead. This seems to build on existing themes, plus brings the giant sea life we've all come to know and love from LEGO's ill-fated Aquaraiders line. I must say, these look like a lot of fun.

The new Specials, sadly, are not so special. It appears we're getting a new Mongolian warrior (nice!), but we're getting yet another orange-clad sanitation worker, more kids-with-gifts, and some lady on a floaty pool thing. Where are the crazy awesome ninjas, monsters, and literary figures we used to get? Oh well. Check 'em all out!

Reader Q&A: 5775 Pirate's Attack

Reader Scott asked: Have you ever heard of set 5775? This set has a pirate ship and a fort (awesome)! I saw this set in a coupon when I received a recent order, but the only other place I have seen it is on the Toys'r'us website. Do you know if this set is upcoming or discontinued?

First, when in doubt, be sure to consult the tools you have at your disposal. Checking TOys "R" Us is most useful, but you can also check Google and my personal favorite, eBay. Seeing closed auctions can show you who's selling what, and where.

As far as I can tell it has not yet been discontinued. This particular Pirate's Attack Ship has indeed been out for a while, and in the 5775 configuration appears to be a US mass market exclusive-- which means you probably will only see it at Toys "R" Us or on closeout down the road. I've seen this set come and go at a few Toys "R" Us stores around Los Angeles, but it comes and goes. I'd suggest you hit the road for a good old fashioned toy run-- check your local stores (or call them) to see if the set is available. Due to the fact employees generally have a number of duties to perform, I tend to prefer to just make the drive and stick my head in the store(s) in question.

Happy hunting, Scott! If you have a question, feel free to leave a comment or email me, if I can't find the answer I'll at least leave you with a believable lie. Or the truth. One of those.

New US Mass Market Pirate Ship 5810

Well, it's new-ish. Set 5810, the latest Pirate Corsair, is hitting Toys "R" Us stores around the USA for about $29.99. It's similar to another ship in another set, but it has white flags, different figures, and a totally different crew-- made of figures you might recognize from elsewhere.