SEATTLE (May 2007) — Hidden City Games announced today that its Bella Sara fantasy-horse-themed trading card game for young girls is the recipient of both Dr. Toy’s “Best Products – Spring 2007” and iParenting Media’s “2007 Excellent Product” awards. 

Bella Sara is among a small number of products selected for Dr. Toy’s list of “Best Products – Spring 2007.”  The toys were chosen on the basis of being among the best products encouraging constructive play.  In addition, the thorough evaluation process created by the iParenting Media Awards program attained certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); the world's largest developer of standardization regulations and an internationally recognized standard of quality assurance.

“Hidden City Games is proud that Bella Sara has been recognized by both organizations for its qualities as an engaging and positive game for young girls” said Peter Adkison, CEO of Hidden City Games, and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast.  “These awards support a brand which we feel fulfills a need within the children’s market—for games fostering positive ideals such as caring and personal responsibility, and yet are still fun-to-play.”

The cards feature images of horses and inspirational sayings promoting “inner beauty” and a healthy self-image.  Each card can be used to activate a virtual horse in the online world of Bella Sara at www.bellasara.com, a child-friendly website with interactive environments, games, puzzles and wallpapers.  Some cards feature horses with additional elements of fantasy that swim, fly, or exhibit other whimsical traits. 

Adkison, who introduced the trading card game category to North America by distributing Pokémon and publishing Magic: The Gathering, licensed Bella Sara for worldwide distribution when he discovered the cards from Denmark.  Inspired by her daughter’s love for horses, Danish social worker Gitte Odder Braendgaard created Bella Sara to help give young girls a means to accept and express their feelings at an early, important developmental stage. 

More than 6 million Bella Sara cards have been sold in Scandinavia, the game’s market of origin, since 2005.  Available nationwide in major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us, Blockbuster and regional chains, Bella Sara card packs retail for $1.99. Each pack of cards includes one activity card and five random horse and/or energy cards.

Dr. Toy’s website:

http://www.drtoy.com/awards/2007_5_list.html

iParenting Media’s website:

http://iparentingmediaawards.com/press/050207.php

About Hidden City Games, LLC

Hidden City Games, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Seattle, Washington and is the exclusive licensor of Bella Sara for worldwide distribution outside of Scandinavia. The company is headed by an experienced executive team, including founder and CEO Peter D. Adkison, who formerly founded Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Jesper Myrfors, chief creative officer and original art director for Magic: The Gathering; and Paul Peterson, HCG’s vice president of research and development, who was previously on the R&D team for Magic: The Gathering. Under Adkison’s leadership, Wizards of the Coast created an entirely new genre of games with the release of Magic: The Gathering, which was the world’s first trading card game, published in 13 languages and loved by millions of players around the world. Additionally, Adkison introduced Pokémon trading cards to North America and reinvigorated the hugely popular Dungeons & Dragons brand after acquiring it from TSR. Adkison grew Wizards into a multimillion-dollar company before selling it to Hasbro in 1999 for nearly $500 million.

For more information on the Bella Sara brand, including images and video, please visit http://pressroom.bellasara.com


Media Contact:
Jonathan Zaleski
Schwartzman & Associates, Inc.
Tel.  +1 310-446-8310
Mobile +1 310-569-0153
jzaleski@schwartzmanpr.com

Sales & Distribution Contact:
Sean Lashgari
Director of Sales, North America
Hidden City Games
(425) 387-3315
sean@hiddencitygames.com


© 2007 Hidden City Games, LLC. BELLA SARA is a trademark of conceptcard and used by Hidden City Games under license. HIDDEN CITY GAMES is a trademark of Hidden City Games, LLC, in the U.S.A. and elsewhere. www.hiddencitygames.com