Step Aside Las Vegas ... Survey Picks Minneapolis as Nation's Most Funominally Fun City
October 27 2003 - 7:02PM
PR Newswire (US)
Step Aside Las Vegas ... Survey Picks Minneapolis as Nation's Most
Funominally Fun City Sperling's Best Places and Board Game Maker
Cranium Unveil America's Top 50 Places for Fun SEATTLE, Oct. 27
/PRNewswire/ -- Where does fun live? Next door to America's only
Prince and first celebrity governor. Forget L.A. and Vegas,
Minneapolis -- home to the artist formerly known as Prince and
Jesse Ventura -- was today crowned the most fun city in America by
the makers of the most outrageously fun board games in the world,
Cranium, Inc. The prestigious honor was based on a survey recently
conducted by Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" expert Bert
Sperling, and commissioned by the maker of award-winning board
games, including Cranium and Cranium Cadoo, to determine the top 50
most fun cities in America. Surprise cities that didn't make it to
the top 10 include Las Vegas (No. 25), New York (No. 41) and,
bottoming out the list, New Orleans (No. 50). "When we came up with
the idea of searching for the most fun city in America, we wanted
to find a place that mirrored what we try to capture with every
Cranium game: An outrageously fun experience with something for
everyone," said Richard Tait, Cranium's Grand Poo-Bah and CEO. "At
first blush, it seems a little surprising that Minneapolis is that
place. But when you realize that it's home to Mary Tyler Moore,
four professional sports teams and the largest shopping mall in the
U.S., it's almost a no-brainer." Sperling ranked the cities on
their number of sports teams, restaurants, dance performances, toy
stores, and the amount of city budget spent on recreation, among
other factors. Minneapolis, the survey shows, has more theaters
than Boston, more parks than Denver, more golfers per capita than
any other city in America, and with 10,000 lakes in the state,
Minnesota, has more coastline than California, Florida, and Hawaii
combined. "These factors combined create a community with something
for everyone in the family to enjoy. Even the dogs have fun in
Minneapolis," said Sperling, noting that there are at least 15 dog
parks in the greater Minneapolis area. Arf! "The people of
Minneapolis and those of us at Cranium could have a great time
together," said Tait. In fact, they'll have their chance this
morning at 11:00 a.m. when Tait awards the Most Fun City
distinction to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak at the Cowles
Conservatory. While Minneapolis was named the most fun city, the
survey results actually show the 50 most fun cities across the
nation. Joining the joviality are the nation's capital (No. 7) and
Cranium's hometown, Seattle (No. 10). The complete top 10
includes*: 1. Minneapolis 2. Orange County, Calif. 3. San Jose,
Calif. 4. Atlanta 5. Chicago 6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C. 7.
Washington, D.C. 8. Oakland, Calif. 9. Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
10. Seattle Also included in the bottom 10 are: 40. Winston-Salem,
N.C. 41. New York 42. Boston 43. Hartford, Conn. 44. Austin-San
Marcos, Texas 45. Newark, N.J. 46. Miami 47. Bergen, N.J. 48. Fort
Lauderdale, Fla. 49. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. 50. New Orleans *Visit
http://www.cranium.com/ to see the top 50 Most Fun City list. MORE
FUN AHEAD! Knowing the most fun city is one thing, but does the
most fun family live there? You decide! Cranium is on the search
for America's Most Fun Family. No matter where you live -- or
whether your hometown was no. 1 on the list or not even on it --
Cranium wants to give your family a chance to shine. Families can
enter to win the distinction at http://www.cranium.com/ by writing
a 300-word essay about how their family finds fun everyday, as well
as in special events like birthdays and holidays. The winning
family will be named in early December. America's Most Fun Family
will win a trip to America's Most Fun City -- Minneapolis -- as
well as a lifetime supply of Cranium games. Rules and entry
qualifications are available at http://www.cranium.com/. Families
can also enter by mailing their submission in a hand-addressed,
stamped envelope to: CRANIUM "SEARCH FOR AMERICA'S MOST FUN FAMILY"
CONTEST, P.O. Box 7259, Melville, N.Y., 11775-7259. Include with
your essay, a 3"x5" piece of paper with your name, complete
address, city, state, zip code, and phone number. About Cranium and
the Cranium Family of Games Since its inception in 1998, Cranium,
Inc. has created entertaining and inspiring games designed to
provide Craniacs of any age with great new ways to connect with
friends and family. Cranium is the only company to win back-to-back
Toy Industry Association Game of the Year awards, in 2002 for
Cranium's flagship game, Cranium, the outrageously fun party game
for adults and teens; and again in 2003 for Cranium Cadoo(R),
Cranium's first children's game designed especially for kids 7 and
up. Cranium's award-winning games provide big grins for kids and
parents, and have sold more than 4 million copies altogether
worldwide. Cranium Cariboo(TM), winner of the Oppenheim Toy
Portfolio's Platinum Best Toy Award, combines matching activities
with early-learning fundamentals in a magical treasure hunt,
letting children ages 3 and up celebrate the joy of discovery.
Cranium Cadoo has won 10 industry awards for its activities and
questions specially designed to energize kids with
noggin'-noodling, laugh-out-loud fun. Cranium Hoopla(TM), the most
recent adult and teen Cranium addition, is a fast-paced race
against the clock that provides high-fiving fun with impromptu
performances, quick-witted word challenges, hilarious sketches, and
clever brain-teasers. About Cranium, Inc. Cranium, Inc. has been
creating outrageously fun games since the 1998 debut of Cranium,
which quickly became the fastest-selling independent board game in
history. Today, the Cranium craze is a global phenomenon with
Craniacs of all ages finding the fun at home, at work, at school,
or on the go. Cranium, Cranium Tin Edition, Cranium Primo Edition,
Cranium Booster Box(R) 1 and Booster Box 2, Cranium Hoopla, Cranium
Cadoo, Cranium Cadoo Tin Edition, Cranium Cadoo Booster Box(TM),
Cranium Cariboo, Cranium Hullabaloo, and Cranium Conga are
available in the United States. Around the world, international
editions of Cranium have been written by and for fun-loving people
in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Throughout
2003, Cranium, Inc. will debut 10 new international versions that
will be sold in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Cranium Cadoo is also available in a World English Edition. For
additional information about Cranium, Inc., its family of products,
and the Cranium Fund, visit the Cranium web site at:
http://www.cranium.com/. DATASOURCE: Cranium, Inc. CONTACT: Joan
Mocek, +1-312-297-7537, or , or Allison Hirsch, +1-312-297-7535, or
, both of Edelman, for Cranium, Inc. Web site:
http://www.cranium.com/
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