Scrabble has always been a popular game among expatriates in Saudi Arabia. There have even been some tournaments hosted by schools and workers’ organizations. Welcome to Scrabble’s new high-tech look called, “Scrabble Flash.” Made up of five electronic freestanding tiles, Scrabble Flash has players sliding, shuffling and swapping tiles to create as many three, four or five-letter words as possible in the allotted 75 seconds. This fast-paced word game uses “Wonder-Link Technology,” which allows the five electronic tiles included in the game to communicate with each other. When the tiles are lined up to create a new word, they light up and beep. The changing letters guarantee a new experience each time the game is played. Scrabble Flash retails for just $30. 
If Scrabble Flash sounds amusing then you’ll probably be quite interested to give Sifteo Cubes a try. Demoed in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sifteo Cubes are wireless 1.5-inch blocks with full-color screens that respond to motion and start interacting with the player and each other, as soon as they are picked up and moved around.
“Traditional game consoles have lost the tangible and interactive nature of classic tabletop games like Mahjong and dominoes, that bring people together,” said Jeevan Kalanithi, co-founder of Sifteo. “Players tell us that Sifteo cubes reduce ‘screen stare,’ banish tired thumbs and give families and individuals a more natural way to have fun.”
To play with Sifteo cubes, players first install Sifteo’s software onto an Internet-connected computer and then buy games and apps from Sifteo’s online library which is accessible through the software. A USB wireless link enables games and apps to be downloaded on to the Sifteo cubes for play. Sifteo’s game studio has built an initial collection of titles that includes challenging games for adults, learning puzzles for kids and games people can play together. The cubes will retail for $150 in Fall 2011. See the cubes in action at www.sifteo.com.
Another new entertainment device is the VINCI Tab (www.vincigenius.com). Marketed as a “touchscreen mobile learning platform,” VINCI is a tablet computer for babies and toddlers. A bumper guard handle wraps around the tablet, helping to  protect it from drops of up to 1.5m. The tablet is rugged and powerful running a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor combined with 512 MB of RAM, a 7” 480 x 800 multi-touch display and Android 2.2.
In order to avoid potentially harmful electromagnetic emissions VINCI does not use any WIFI or radio signals and must be connected by USB to another PC for content installation. VINCI comes pre-loaded with “Baby Haha’s Explorations,” a series of specially designed and exclusive 3D animated games, “The Ugly Duckling,” an animated story book with built-in games, and “Baby Haha’s Music Video Vol. 1,” a set of musical videos for nap time or song and dance activities. Additional games, storybooks and music videos can be purchased via download by visiting VINCI’s Online Store. The VINCI Tab becomes available this summer for $479.
While the VINCI system utilizes a new hardware device, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment decided to capitalize on the features of Kinect for Xbox 360 as the platform for its new game targeting young children. Development of “Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster,” has been guided by a social and emotional curriculum set forth from Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind the award winning Sesame Street television program. In the video game young players engage in activities that promote lifelong lessons about making friends, cooperation, and recognizing and labeling emotions.
Available in Fall 2011, “Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster,” is an interactive experience, where young players join Cookie Monster, Elmo and other Sesame Street characters as they explore a storybook. In the book, they make zany new monster friends from the Once Upon a Monster world and share in their adventures, solving problems, forging friendships and learning key life skills along the way. Parents and children become part of the whimsical storybook adventure by getting active together through dancing, jumping, flying and physical movement.  Watch a video presenting scenes from the new game at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sgfkzg_Lv4.