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Squinkies is an American line of collectible, plastic toys created by Minnesota-based toy company, Blip Toys. The figurines are usually sold in packages of 16 and are encased in plastic bubbles, similar to vending machine toys. After their introduction in 2010, Squinkies quickly became a fad in the United States, often selling out in stores across the nation. The line won the International Toy Fair's "Girl Toy of the Year" award and also made the Toys "R" Us "Hot List."

In addition to the original figurines, Blip Toys also sells Squinkies accessories and other lines including, Squinkies Boys, Zinkies, and Biginkies. A new line of accessories, Squinkies 'Do Drops, was released in 2016 and features hat and hair options for newer Squinkies toys. In total, hundreds of unique Squinkies toys have been released.

History
Squinkies was first released in August 2010 by Blip Toys, a toy company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Blip Toys was founded in 2000 and headed by Bill Nichols, who is also credited as the inventor of Squinkies. The company had previously released a series of novelty toys (including Whimzy Pets, Hair Balls, Zubber, and Zoom-O) that had achieved marginal success. Prior to the release of Squinkies, Nichols met with representatives from Walmart, Target, and Toys "R" Us. He also sent prototypes of the toy to numerous mommy blogs, many of which reviewed them favorably. At the time of the Squinkies' release, the company had 16 employees.

When the toys were released, they were an almost instant success. Squinkies could be purchased in packages of 16 for $10, and there were around 100 different toys in total. Stores and online outlets (including Walmart.com) started to sell out of the toys by November 2010. The figurines included characters like princesses, elephants, babies, and others. By December, Blip Toys had released 300 unique Squinkies and were in the process of licensing deals to release branded Squinkies from Barbie, Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses, and others. The toys made it on the Toys "R" Us "Hot List," and the line was also honored with the International Toy Fair's "Girl Toy of the Year" award. The Squinkies line was generally considered one of the most popular toys of the 2010 holiday season.

In April 2011, Activision released a Squinkies video game for the Nintendo DS. In June of that year, Blip Toys introduced Squinkies Boys, which included figurines like Spider-Man, ninjas, Hot Wheels, and skaters along with a series of new play sets. Other new lines of Squinkies include Zinkies (smaller versions of the original Squinkies released in 2012) and Biginkies (bigger versions of the original toys released in 2013). Squinkies were also sold in McDonald's happy meals in 2012. The most recent accessory line for Squinkies is known as "Squinkies 'Do Drops" and was released in 2016.

Products
Squinkies are small, plastic, "squishy" collectible toys in plastic bubbles that are usually sold in packages of 16 for around $10. Each toy has a whole in the bottom that allows them to fit on the eraser-end of pencils. Depending on the package, a certain number of Squinkies are obscured so that customers cannot see them until the package is opened. Some Squinkies are rarer than others while certain Squinkies can only be found at specific stores (e.g. the blue monkey and yellow pig were only available at Toys "R" Us in 2010).

The original line of Squinkies released in 2010 was marketed toward girls and featured a range of animals, princesses, babies, and other figurines. Play sets were also released early on like the gumball machine and the Cupcake Surprise Bake Shop. In 2011, the Squinkies Boys line was released with a set of new toys like ninjas, skaters, and licensed Spider-Man and Hot Wheels figurines. Boy versions of the play sets were also released along with a dice game that allowed children to compete to win Squinkies from their peers.

Zinkies, smaller versions of the original toys, and Biginkies, bigger versions of the original toys, were released in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Zinkies come in packages of 12 and also have a "display and play" set in each package. Biginkies (or BIGinkies) are twice the size of regular Squinkies and come in packages of 2. Squinkies has licensing deals with numerous companies and brands including Marvel Comics, Disney, Hello Kitty, and others. Squinkies 'Do Drops, released in June 2016, is a line of 150 Squinkies with 50 "'Dos" (hats, wigs, crowns, and other headpieces). Each package comes with the opportunity to get "Squinkieville" (a fictional Squinkie-inspired land) villas that can be used as play sets.

Activision licensed the Squinkies brand to create a Nintendo DS video game in 2011. Each game came with 4 rare Squinkies that could not be found elsewhere. The game allowed players to follow the Squinkies Princess on her quest to collect around 250 Squinkies. Mini-games and puzzles were incorporated into the gameplay.