MAKHACHKALA, July 9 – RIA "Dagestan". Dagestani residents submitted 22 entries for the "Ideas for Games and Toys" category of the second All-Russian "Native Toy" competition. The category attracted 4,330 applications from all 89 Russian regions. Run by the "Znanie" Society and the Movement of the First under the "Youth and Children" national project, it accepted concepts without finished products—text, sketches, drawings, mock-ups and 3D models.
The most entries came from Moscow Region (396), Samara Region (267), Moscow (266) and the Donetsk People's Republic (202). As to Kirill Khvil, Deputy Director General of the "Znanie" Society, every submission carried a personal story and a wish to do something meaningful for children, noting that over 96% of authors had no professional background in toy manufacturing or design and included a neonatologist, a pharmacist, an oil refinery engineer, a lawyer and many others.
The contestants ranged from 8 to 79 years old, yet all shared a common impulse: to use a toy or a game to speak to a child about family, home and country. The most popular submissions were narrative-figurative toys (1,962) and board games (1,781), with fewer construction sets (355) and technical toys (232).
Around 30% focused on the unity of peoples, a theme introduced this season ahead of the Year of the Unity of the Peoples of Russia; another 30% dealt with family and spiritual-moral values, 20% with history and culture, 15% with 21st-century heroes, and 5% with technological breakthroughs. Teenagers aged 14–18 made up 17% of participants, and instead of digital gadgets they tended to invent characters and narratives.
Over 150 kindergarten educators, methodologists, and administrators submitted board games and figurative toys aimed at developing motor skills, logic, and historical awareness. About 40% of projects drew on folk crafts and folklore, nearly a third involved tactile and sensory toys using natural materials and hands-on play, and roughly a quarter were designed as family activities. Modern technology was also present, with proposals featuring QR codes, interactive elements and even AI for storytelling, history education and topic exploration.
The next stage is evaluation, where up to 40 works will advance for expert jury review and as many as 15 winners will be chosen for mentorship and further support. The best authors will refine their ideas and produce prototypes, with winners' work showcased at a major autumn exhibition alongside industry figures, children and parents. Finalists may also see their projects added to the Bank of Ideas and Prototypes or considered for registration as verified products under the "Native Toy" label. In its first season, the competition received over 28,000 applications, produced 24 winners and some are already in serial production, with a total print run exceeding 167,000 units.