After a whopping success in 2011, Cricket Attax is back with a new avatar

Company Brief

New Delhi, April 30, 2012

Last year Topps India Sports & Entertainment Company introduced India to the collectable culture with the launch of the Topps Cricket Attax trading card game. The game was launched with nation-wide media and BTL campaign and spread like a viral to reach millions of kids across the length and breadth of the country. Cricket Attax was the craze of the season for kids and was acclaimed as one of the most successful features associated with IPL during the year. Taking forward their success form last year, Topps is back with Cricket Attax 2012. This year the popular game will be available in a new avatar with all new Starter Packs and multi-packs in a veritable range of SKU's ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 750.

Cricket Attax is based on the popular Indian T-20 cricket property – DLF Indian Premier League and is its official trading card game. This exciting game of strategy and skill really tests ones knowledge of cricket and creates a connect with the players, bringing fans closer to the league and its superstars. Cricket Attax is a game for 2 players, just like a real DLF IPL T20 matches, the aim is to beat your opponent by scoring the most runs and losing the fewest wickets.

With Cricket Attax boys and girls can select and create their own team with the likes of Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag, Virat, Gambhir, Kallis, Dravid, Ganguly, Gilchrist and Pollard just waiting to be found in card packets. The Cricket Attax collection comprises of primarily two key components 'Cards' and 'Starter Packs'. There are a total of 194 cards to be collected including 144 regular cards, 25 sliver effect foil cards and 25 gold effect foil cards. The packs also include Limited Edition cards of Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni and Zaheer Khan.

For starters one has to get the IPL Cricket Attax Starter Pack which includes the Collectors Box, the mega pitch, the game rules and check list as well as a pack of 10 cards. The starter pack priced at Rs, 99 will come with the game board, check list, squad box, 2 Cricket Attax Flow Packs of 5 cards. Or one can opt for the deluxe starter pack priced at Rs 349 IPL Cricket Attax 25 player cards with Limited Edition Sachin Tendulkar card, Pull out Deluxe game guide, Deluxe Game Pitch, Mega collector binder, picture check list and a poster! The binder in the starter pack can carry 432 cards which help in maintaining your collection, and the game guide helps you understand the statistics on each card and how it can be best used against the other players - an important tool which can help one in devising their game strategy and the game pitch is required to play the game.

The Cricket Attax cards are also available in packs of 5 cards which is priced at Rs. 15 and includes Regular, Silver and gold foil cards. Or there is Cricket Attax 3 Pack Blister priced at Rs. 45 and it includes 15 cards + 1 free silver card. The Cricket Attax is also available in a 6 pack blister which is priced at Rs. 90 and includes 30 cards + 1 Free Silver & 1 Gold each.

There is the Cricket Attax 50's Carry Box which includes Pack of 50 + 2 free packets + 1 Limited Edition 'Zaheer Khan' card! For the collectors there is also the Collector tin which includes 25 regular cards, 3 Silver + 2 Gold foil cards, 1 special 3-D lenticular Card, the coveted limited Edition 'M.S Dhoni' Gold card and the A4 Rule sheet.

The quintessential feature of Cricket Attax, given the collection and the game, is that it allows kids themselves to be the selectors or owners of their own dream team, much like the real tournament. Kids can not only make their own team but also play it off with other kids to win Cricket Attax T-20 matches.

Sanjeev Katyal, Head of India operations of Topps said, "Last year the brand brought in the culture of collectability and created a new category of collectables in India. The sales volumes created a history by reaching sales figures of nearly ten times than the nearest comparable toy collectable in the country. Cricket Attax's innovative design and development enables kids to relive the IPL phenomenon and connect with their icons and the passion that Indian kids have for the game! We have invested significantly to create one of the biggest media and BTL plans by any toy company. Yet our pricing is just at Rs.15 per packet. The inviting pricing has enabled kids across all socio economic classes and geographies in India to afford and enjoy the fun of collecting and playing the authentic game that connects them to their favorite sport and property. Given the enhanced depth and width of our offering and the massive scale of our marketing efforts, we are confident that this year we will multiply our reach both in terms of awareness and conversions at retail and set another new benchmark for Cricket Attax, the country's pioneering and No.1 trading card game & collectable for kids".

About availability:

The range is currently under distribution and will soon be available at all major modern retail and about 50,000 plus mom & pop outlets across the country.

How to play Cricket Attax 2:

Step 01: Know your players

- players name, players position, bowling rating, batting rating and runs score

Step 02: Pick your team

- Pick atleast one player from each position: Wicket-Keeper, Bowler, Batsman and All-rounder

- Pick one Power Play Card

- A player can only appear once in your team

- Lay all your team face down, so they can't be seen. Toss a coin - the winner decides if they want to bat or bowl first. Both Players have an innings batting and bowling

Step 03: Bowl VS Bat

- Based on the toss, the winning team opts to either bat or Bowl, in accordance the opposite team has to choose their card

Step 04: Runs Scored

- Compare the bowler's bowling score with the batsman's batting score. If the bowler wins, it's a wicket (no runs). If the batsman wins, the batting side score the number of runs indicated on the card. Record the result on the scorecard.

Step 05: Winner Chooses

- The winner of the round selects first in the next round, and play progresses until all eleven cards are used by the batting side

Step 06: Wicket

- Losing batsmen go on the losing pile and the bowler chooses first in the next round

Step 07: Draw

- If it's a tie, the card with the highest 'runs' total wins, then proceed as before

Step 08: Power Play

- Your Power Play card can only boosts a player from the same team. It only boosts a regular Captain card for a +5 ratings boost in batting or bowling. The card can be only used once in an innings and cannot be used in the final round

Step 09: Hat-Trick Hero

- Look for the Hat-Trick hero card which takes 3 wickets!

- Wicket 1: The facing batsman

- Wicket 2: The bowling team takes a wicket from the batting team and removes a player from their batting line-up

- Wicket 3: The Batting team chooses a player to remove from their batting line-up

- Without seeing the card, the team has to choose the wickets with the cards faced downwards

Step 10: The Final Scorecard

- Add up the total score and then switch over to see how the other player gets on

- Just like real cricket, the team that scores the most runs wins

For further information, please contact:

LinOpinion

Pratibha Kashyap

Mobile: +919891049987

E-mail: pratibha.Kashyap@loweandpartners.com