Now that Christmas is around the corner, Hamleys top toys list for 2021 is out and this one’s primarily geared towards the West. In the top 10 there is one toy that stands out — PlayShifu Orboot Earth. The toy is from an early-learning Indian company (based in Bangalore) which has been making all the right noises for a few years now and earlier this year it had a $17m Series-B fund raise, which has helped boost its Indian manufacturing capacity for in-house consumption as well as exports.

The augmented reality-powered globe allows kids to explore the world with 400-plus highlights and 1,000-plus cool facts across six categories — cultures, cuisines, monuments, inventions, animals and maps.

Behind PlayShifu are Vivek Goyal and Dinesh Advani and last year we had asked Vivek about the impact of AR. He said: “While AR and its applications are at a nascent stage, there is a surge in the acceptance of AR toys and apps in Indian homes. We believe that AR apps on handheld devices would see a prominent push in the next three to five years in India, with most households having dedicated devices for children. Along with the penetration of devices, a plethora of content-rich AR apps will be available, giving abundant choices from which parents can choose.”

The company, in fact, had a fantastic run at CES last year, thanks to its game PlayShifu Tacto AR. With all its products, PlayShifu has managed to divert children from screen time towards something educational. For example, using Orboot Earth (compatible with most Android and iOS phones and tablets) one can explore wildlife, cuisines, cultures, inventions, maps, and monuments through AR. It’s a great tool that’s certain to keep children busy for hours.