Worlds of Wonder (toy company)

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Note: This is an article about the Worlds of Wonder toy company. For information on the Worlds of Wonder role-playing game, see Worlds of Wonder.

Worlds of Wonder or WoW was a 1980s American toy company, founded by former Atari employees, including Don Kingsborough.

Promotional photo of Don Kingsborough playing Lazer Tag.

Their successful products included:

Teddy Ruxpin, a story reading bear, in 1985
Lazer Tag, an early version of Laser Tag in 1986.
Action Max, a VCR and light gun game in 1987
Julie, an interactive talking doll in 1987
The Talking Mickey Mouse, an animated version of the iconic mouse
The Locker Answering Machine, a sound (high-pitch whistle) activated tape recorder that could be mounted on the inside of your locker.
GT Super Screamers, a slotless race car game using fly by wire technology, created in 1990. Note: For those who still own them, if the rechargeable batteries no longer work, a 9-volt can be rigged to the leads and the cars will run normally.

They also distributed the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States during its first few years.

Worlds Of Wonder went bankrupt in 1988, after the stock market crash on Black Monday (1987). Later versions of "Teddy Ruxpin" were brought out by Playskool and Yes! Entertainment, while the "Lazer Tag" brand was continued by Tiger Electronics.