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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