World's biggest toy fair in Nuremberg shows off games for adults

The world's largest toy fair in the German city of Nuremberg is focusing on games and toys for adults this year.

It opened on Tuesday and experts believe this high-spending target group has great potential for the industry. This year some 2,000 exhibitors from 70 countries are displaying their wares at the fair.

Toys that appeal to more than just children are part of the corporate philosophy of wooden building block manufacturer Kapla.

"The adults don't just play with the children to give them a treat," inventor Tom van der Bruggen said. "They have fun with it themselves, and the children feel that."

Van der Bruggen invented the flat wooden blocks to recreate buildings such as the Eiffel Tower as well as animals and vehicles.

The table football game Tipp-Kick has also been focused on both children and adults for 100 years, said Matthias Mieg, managing director of the family business from south-western Germany.

But other manufacturers are only just discovering that toys can still appeal to adults and want to expand in this area.

Playmobil, whose themes have so far concentrated on children up to the age of 10, now also wants to attract teenagers and adults with collectible figures of celebrities and manga heroes.

Other focal points of the trade fair include licences for films, series or computer games and sustainable toys.