Our coverage of Hasbro’s Toy Fair 2011 showroom concludes will a look at the Board games segment. Last year, hasbro refreshed all of their classic game brands, coming out with such innovative products as Scrabble Flash and Monopoly Revolution. In fact, Scrabble Flash won Game of the Year at this year’s Toy of the Year Awards. So, let’s see what they have planned this year. One hint: “LIVE”

This year, Connect Four will get an update, though it will play slightly different. Called Connect Four: Launchers, it features two trays on separate levels, bringing a 3d effect to the game. You use launchers to launch red or yellow rings into the trays, which resemble egg cartons. The idea is to make four in a row, either horizontally or vertically.

The classic Strategy game Risk will also get an update this year, with new graphics and packaging.

Also, a big initiative for Hasbro is Cuponk. Cuponk is a game where you attempt trick shots into a cup using a ping pong ball. There are several different sets in the line.

Hasbro’s travel games slate gets a refresh as it is rebranded “Fun on the Run.” Games shown at Toy Fair include: Connect Four, Perfection, Battleship, Trouble, Guess Who? and Hungry Hippos.

The Monopoly Junior range will get two new items, Monopoly Crazy Cash, featuring the Crazy Cash Machine, as seen on the HUB’s Hasbro Family Game Night game show.

There will be several new licensed editions of Monopoly this year, including: Muhammad Ali, The Office and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Trivial Pursuit will get two new editions: Classic Rock and Disney for All, which features brand new, specially designed question cards.

Scrabble will get two new products, a refresh of Scrabble Slam, Scrabble Slam Turbo, which adds a Turbo device for new gameplay opportunities, and Scrabble Alphabet Soup, an intriguing new game that increases the accessibility of Scrabble to a younger audience. However, the game is for all ages and is a sort of combination of Scrabble and Bingo, played in “soup pot” with ” ladles.”

The card game segment gets a new, and very addictive addition in Ratuki. This is one of the most addictive games I have ever demoed and it should be a huge hit. The gameplay and fast and furious and involves counting to five.

The Flash games segment, which began with the very successful Scrabble Flash, continues with Yahtzee Flash and Simon Flash.

And then, there’s LIVE. LIVE is a revolutionary new way to play some of Hasbro’s classic games. The first two titles announced are Monopoly LIVE and Battleship LIVE. The games use a 360° infrared tower and metal embedded in the game board to bring you an interactive experience like never before.Each LIVE game is hosted by the tower, which reminds players about the rules, tracks the game, keeps score and adds unexpected twists to game play. For example, in BATTLESHIP LIVE a typhoon could suddenly cause damage to ships or an air attack could undermine the mission. In MONOPOLY LIVE, a sought after property could suddenly be up for auction or players could be invited to send the cab around the game board to earn cash when landing on Free Parking.

The technology behind LIVE is Motion Vision Play, which brings games to life through a revolutionary electronic tower and a specially designed game board that work together to communicate with players throughout the game. The tower contains an infrared camera that scans the game board and pieces in order to keep track of game play.

BATTLESHIP LIVE provides a revolutionary way to play the naval battle game play as players dive into the action and take hands-on control of every shot fired and missile launched. The voice of a naval commander provides direction as the Motion Vision Play technology in the LIVE tower detects all ship, cannon and hand movements during the game. Firing at targets comes alive with the sound of missiles flying through the air and water splashing as ships are correctly targeted and sunk. Surprise elements such as a typhoon or spy plane may interrupt and change the course of game play at any time.

MONOPOLY LIVE engages players in the highs and lows of the modern real estate market as it is brought to life by the Motion Vision Play technology. The LIVE tower is the centerpiece of the game, identifying movers, watching hand movements, tracking all bank balances and introducing unexpected events throughout the game. Players never know when they’re going to be able to take a cab ride around the board to their most coveted property, cash in on a horse race or ride out a stock rally for an unexpected dividend. The game also introduces some updated opportunities, such as the option to “green” utilities to earn tax breaks. Negotiating and trading with fellow players is still required to collect a complete color property group.

MONOPOLY LIVE and BATTLESHIP LIVE will be available in the game aisle in Fall 2011 for an approximate retail price of $49.99. Both games are recommended for ages 8 and up.

Finally, Hasbro was showcasing a unique new jigsaw puzzle product called JI ZA GO.  JI GA ZO is a 300-piece puzzle that can be rearranged to create face combinations of everyone you know, including images of yourself, friends, family, pets – the options abound. How does it work? JI GA ZO’s 300 pieces have varying levels of Sepia-colored gradations on one side and distinguishing symbols on the other. When the pieces are locked together, any face can be created. The key to this puzzle is the advanced JI GA ZO software. Upload a digital image to the JI GA ZO CD-ROM included in the box, and the software will produce a unique map that shows where each of the 300 pieces should be placed on the assembly grid to complete the JI GA ZO image.

The symbols make it possible for the JI GA ZO pieces to be individually identified and arranged in the correct position. In under an hour, the approximate time needed to place all of the pieces together, the JI GA ZO image will be revealed. Since the puzzle is assembled based on a custom map, the pieces can be continuously reshuffled and put back together to create new designs based on new maps.

Here are our pictures from the Board Games showroom. NOTE: Pictures of JI GA ZO, MONOPOLY LIVE and BATTLESHIP LIVE were provided by Hasbro. All other photos were taken by Andrew Orrino.

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Thanks to Alison Williams at Hunter Public Relations for her assistance.

That does it for Hasbro. Toy Fair coverage continues with Lego.