The National Toy Hall of Fame named 12 finalists contending to join the ranks of America’s greatest toys and games as part of a class of 2023 to be announced Nov 9.
The finalists are Barbie’s beau Ken, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Cabbage Patch Kids, baseball cards, Slime, Bop It, bingo, Nerf toys, Battleship, Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks, Connect 4 and the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe car.
The hall is hosted as an exhibit at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
In the 25 years the hall of fame has existed, 80 toys have been inducted.
The public will be able to vote for their picks online for a week beginning Wednesday.
Officials say the museum’s inductees are evaluated on four criteria: how iconic a toy or game is, how long the product has been extant, how much learning, creativity or discovery the toy or game fosters in children, and how innovative the product was in terms of design and appeal.
In 2022, the top, Lite-Brite and the Masters of the Universe action figures were inducted.
