National Toy Hall of Fame announces finalists for 2024

From games to books to cars, this year’s list of finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame runs the gamut of memories from our childhood.

Twelve toys have made the cut for the list that will be whittled down by a panel of expert judges and the public, The Associated Press reported.

Those chosen will be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in November.

There are some new toys on the list like the trampoline and the game Apples to Apples and some that have been close but never crossed the Hall of Fame finish line like My Little Pony which has been a finalist seven times.

“These 12 toys represent the wide range of play — from strategic to whimsical to physical — and present many playful matchups. The selection judges and public will have some tough decisions this year,” The Strong National Museum of Play vice president for collections and curator, Christopher Bensch, said.

Last year the Hall of Fame inducted baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and Nerf toys, the AP reported.

Here is the list of finalists and why they were chosen by the Hall of Fame:

Apples to Apples

From the Hall of Fame: Apples to Apples debuted in 1999 and reshaped party games. “By encouraging a group to offer creative or provocative answers to the questions posed by the player acting as judge, Apples to Apples prompts a lively and humor-filled interchange that can supercharge any gathering of friends and family.”

Balloons

From the Hall of Fame: “From a single balloon on a string to glittering foil balloon arrangements to intricate balloon sculptures of clouds, play with balloons is something everyone can enjoy.” Balloons provide physical benefits from improving lung capacity by blowing them up to developing fine motor skills by tying a ribbon on one.

Choose Your Own Adventure Gamebooks

From the Hall of Fame: “With their roots in oral storytelling that asked listeners for their input, and the branching stories and role-playing simulations of the mid-20th century, Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks gave kids new opportunities to play with reading.” The books allow the readers to decide their story. The series has sold more than 270 million copies over the years.

Hess Toy Trucks

From the Hall of Fame: “Since 1964, the Hess toy trucks have signaled the beginning of the holiday season.” They give kids and parents a chance to embark on a treasure hunt every year trying to find the latest model of toys.

My Little Pony

From the Hall of Fame: My Little Pony toys were first introduced in the 1980s but disappeared until they came back in 2003. The “mini-horses encourages children in traditional forms of doll play—fantasy, storytelling, hair grooming, and collecting.” They come in more than 1,000 varieties and at one point even outsold the Hall of Fame toy Barbie.

Phase 10

From the Hall of Fame: “In 1982, Black game inventor and entrepreneur Ken Johnson introduced Phase 10. The rummy-style card game challenged players to collect various groups of cards to complete 10 phases, in sequential order, before their opponents.” It is considered one of the best-selling card games in the world.

Pokémon TCG

From the Hall of Fame: “The game’s mechanics are straightforward and can be grasped within a single game” Pokémon spawned comics, television shows and video games and has sold more than 64 billion cards since it started in 1996.

Remote Controlled Vehicles

From the Hall of Fame: R/C cars “offer kids the exhilaration of speed and control in miniature form. The thrill of R/C vehicles for kids is in manipulating the model to go as fast as possible without crashing and to wait to the very last nanosecond to turn left or right to avoid certain calamity.”

Sequence

From the Hall of Fame: “Sequence uses the familiar elements of a standard 52-card deck of playing cards in concert with a board on which players seek to occupy five-chip rows, columns, or diagonals before their competition.” Sequence is easy for any age group and is a combination of luck and strategy.

Stick Horse

From the Hall of Fame: “Play with a stick horse inspires creativity and imagination. Whether a child has a simple stick horse or one with an elaborate halter and shiny mane, they can gallop off into the sunset.”

Trampoline

From the Hall of Fame: It may seem to have been around forever, but the trampoline was patented as a “Tumbling Device” in 1945 by George Nissen. The word trampoline comes from the Spanish word for diving board.

Transformers

From the Hall of Fame: Introduced by Hasbro in the 1980s, Transformers were toys that were paired with a backstory from Marvel comics and a cartoon series that eventually expanded to movies, electronic games, and other branded items. " For more than 40 years now, the appeal of Transformers is, in part, that the toys do what kids do anyway—change the toy to suit the needs of play.”

You can vote now through September 25 to help decide which toys will be honored for the ages. All of the votes will be compiled and the public will be treated as one member of the committee of experts that make the decision. The ballot can be found here.

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