Israeli inventor Yair Shilo was voted Toy Innovator of the Year 2024 at the 17th annual Toy & Game Innovation Excellence (TAGIE) Awards, November 8 in Rosemont, Illinois.

Shilo’s Power Saber, from Goliath Games and Nextoy, is the world’s first automatic retractable and extendable light saber. With the press of a button, the blade smoothly extends and retracts with “Star Wars” style speed and ease.

Dubbed “The Holy Grail of Saber Toys” by The Verge and “The Groundbreaking Must-Have Toy of the Year” by Parenting Jungle, the $50 Power Saber has received rave reviews from Star Wars YouTube influencers. It also won in the high-tech category of the UK-based Kidult Awards, announced November 22.

“Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to have a saber. I mean, who doesn’t?” Shilo, 43, explained in a video about the product.

But he didn’t want it only for himself; he wanted to invent a toy for the masses. He spent years building prototypes with everyday items like coffeemakers and toothbrushes.

With a background in mechanical engineering and business management, he formed his own engineering company.  

Shilo had a working prototype ready just when the pandemic hit, and that slowed things down. However, he persisted in getting his toy developed and onto the market.

The world’s greatest toys are born from a passion to turn the impossible into reality.

Brian Weiss, Goliath Games

“After nearly five years of collaboration with Yair and his team, I am honored to help bring to market the most eagerly anticipated toy of all time — an automatic extending and retractable saber, with bright lights and exciting sound effects — through our partnership with Goliath,” said Robert Fuhrer, president of Nextoy. “We debuted the Power Saber at ComicCon and the lines were blocks long!”

Brian Weiss, president of Goliath North America, added, “The world’s greatest toys are born from a passion to turn the impossible into reality; when that happens, you don’t just create a fantastic toy — you create pure magic.”

One of the other TAGIE nominees for 2024 Toy Innovator of the Year was Israeli duo Liran Ganor and Yigal Livne, inventors of Nerf Better Than Balloons.

This Hasbro toy improves on homemade water balloons, offering self-sealing pods that stay in one piece when they burst, so cleanup is easy.

Ironically, Hasbro worked with Shilo for a couple of years on developing the Power Saber but the partnership did not work out in the end, and Shilo turned to Goliath Games and Nextoy to make his dream come true.