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NY Times: Walmart, Target pull game that had children defuse toy bomb

Greg Nash

Walmart and Target have pulled from their shelves a kid’s game that asked players to defuse a toy bomb, The New York Times reported on Monday. 

Target told the Times it stopped selling the game last fall, while a Walmart spokeswoman said it has no plans to reorder it.

{mosads}”[Walmart appreciates] the concerns that have been raised regarding this item,” a Walmart spokeswoman said.

“Cut the Wire,” a game recommended for children ages 6 and up, asks players to defuse a fake bomb before a timer runs out.

It has been criticized by parents who say it promotes violence.

The game’s manufacturer, YULU, told the Times that it stopped making “Cut the Wire” in October.

“We created Cut the Wire as a fun strategy game for kids where the object is to defuse the device and be the hero,” Jochem van Rijn, the company’s president, said. “We’re very sorry for any concern the game may have caused and, therefore, we are no longer shipping new product in the market in North America.”

A deputy at a Florida sheriff’s office mailed the game to a lieutenant, sparking concern and prompting an evacuation of the building, The Tampa Bay Times reported. The deputy responsible for the incident, which he said was intended as a prank, reportedly resigned shortly after. 

If “Cut the Wire” players cut the “wrong” wire, the game lights up and vibrates in a simulated “explosion.” 

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