PLAY Across America™ 2026 - The Journey
PLAY Across America™ 2026 has been completed, with loads of excitement and plenty of smiles to go with it. This article has been designed to give you a small peek at the incredible journey to NYC on an Amtrak train, off to Toy Fair NY 2026, and then back to Los Angeles, once again on Amtrak. |
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And So It Begins
A combination of Amtrak and games from The Op Games served to create the perfect mix to inform people, It's time to play! FLIP7 games were given to passengers and Amtrak staff, getting people to sit down and discover the incredible level of fun playing FLIP7.
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FLIP7 - Are you the type of player to play it safe and bank points before you bust, or are you going to risk it all and go for the bonus points by flipping over seven in a row? Press your luck meets strategy in this addictive card game that's sure to be the greatest card game you’ve ever played!
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| We have it clear now that there will be plenty of games, fun and excitement to go with them, so, why don't we take a more in-depth look at each one of the games and the excitement of PLAY Across America? |
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10 Days In The USA...On Amtrak
10 Days in the USA was one of the games from our premiere sponsor, The Op Games, that was are a new experience of PLAY, for passengers, creating a sense of enjoyment that kept passengers connected with lasting experience of fun not soon to be forgotten. The ingenious game design that is singular and addictive of this game and all others from The Op Games maintained contant repetitive Play throughout PLAY Across America. |
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10 DAYS in the USA - Whether you're jet-setting, cruising by car, or strolling on foot, you must strategize your route meticulously by arranging destination and transportation cards, and with a dash of luck and ingenious planning, you could outsmart your fellow travelers to win the game.
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This genetleman was addicted to 10 Days in the USA! In my playing the game, he beat my socks off in both games I played against him. The intriguing part of the experience is what he said before I left to work with other passengers..."That game is really cool! I actually learned more about each of the states and where each of the states are than i knew before playing the game!"
I never realized the full value of the games contributed by our sponsor The Op Games until now. As the journey continued, more and more passengers shared the same sentiment about the games they were playing.
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The Amandas - PLAY Across America just would not have been the same without the Amanda's, two staff members from our premiere sponsor, The Op Games.
Throughout the journey, the Amanda's were a vital source of not just information about the games we were providing for the passengers to Play. The ladies interacted with the passengers and got plenty of social activity going that eventually led to playing one of the many games we had and gave away! |
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A Learning Experience - What was most interesting to learn from our experiencxe in our interaction with fellow passengers was how many people were already familiar with one or more of the games we we demoing and giving away. This couple was a serious example.
In discussion with them, we discovered so much about their personal experiences with tabletop games and the various likes and dislikes they had about various games in general. Our discussions took our interaction with them with games to an entirely new level of making a train ride experience more unique. |
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Decisions, Decisions - Hues and Cues, a game from The Ops Games, was one of the most often played games on the train and in Union Station, Chicago.
Hues and Cues provides a unique challenge by the card holder having to select from one of 4 colors on a playing card drawn, then first give the other players a single word clue what color they have selected, then give a second hint with two words. The other players try to guess what color that has been selected by putting their playing pieces on two different colored squares on the game board.
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Hues and Cues® - Hues and Cues® is the award-winning vibrant game of colorful communication where players are challenged to make connections to colors with words. Since everyone imagines colors differently, connecting colors and clues has never been this much fun! |
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A New Twist - Passengers definitely got hookled with this game. It's called Tacta, and it's addicitive. It was outright hilarious how not just the passengers but even one of the Amanda's and even myself got engaged into the Play of this game, turning the cards to align and cover our opponents’ shapes with matching squares, triangles, and rectangles.
Now just imagine using a table top in the recreation car of a train as your cards begin spreading wider and wider and your tabletop space gets smaller and smaller! Trust me, this game is sort of like dominoes yet even better for the passengers.
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Tacta - It’s all connected! In this sneakily strategic card game, players flip, twist, and turn their cards to align and cover their opponents’ shapes with matching squares, triangles, and rectangles. With an ever-growing board, up to 8 colors light up game night with TACTA™. Analyze, strategize, and optimize because in TACTA™, every card counts. |
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Wonky - To win, be the first to get rid of your cards. It’s that simple. Or is it? Wonky® is a party game with a hint of playful tension.
Get rid of cards by playing one with an available matching cube. Successfully add that cube to the tower. The challenge is, the oddly-shaped custom-cubes, slip, slide, and wobble when stacked. With each added block, the difficulty increases for the next player. If the tower falls on your turn, add 3 cards to your hand.
Now just imagine trying to play Wonky on an Amtrak train! One couple did. The more times the stack of rocks fell, the more the couple laughed! |
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Wild Republic Flipkins not only wowed the passengers on Amtrak, but even the staff were enthralled by the cute characters provided for giveaway on the train by Wild Republic. |
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Glyphics - Bored of charades? Terrible at drawing? Then, Glyphics is the game for you! Simply choose a word from your card, create using any shapes you need, and be the fastest guesser to win a point!
Glyphics was popular on the train but we found interest was lacking with the passengers because they had difficulty putting the shapes into place as they desired on the train. |
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Hutan - Step into a world of wonder and natural splendor with HUTAN, an immersive family game inspired by the Indonesian word for rainforest.
The passengers that played Hutan on the train really enjoyed it. They found it quite engaging. The passengers in the private rooms were the ones who took the most interest. They were absolutely captivated with this game while riding the train. |
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Tapple - The Original Tapple is the award-winning, fast paced word game that gives players a rush of excitement as they race to beat the clock! Just say a word, beat the timer and win!
Passengers on the train from Los Angeles to NY were not real active with Tapple, but on the return ride, that was an entirely different story! 10 seconds never seemed to be long enough for the players as they played to their hearts content! |
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LEGO made its mark on the train with a SPEED CHAMPIONS Formula 1 car! This man was put the 251 piece kit together the fastest and won it! Most everyone else took forever to build the car but notthis gent! |
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Excitement Without a Doubt
There's no question about it, PLAY Across America™ 2026 was an incredible time of excitement and social interaction. Smiles were aplenty and the passengers remained enagaged in their activity whether with a game, toy, plush, or a combination of them. Special recognition to The Op Games, Duncan, Wild Republic and Lego for helping us in putting smiles on so many faces this year on Amtrak. Now we prepare for PLAY Across America 2027! |
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