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The Andie Summers Show

National Toy Hall of Fame Finalists 2023

By Andie Summers

Meet the 2023 finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame and vote for your favorite!

The Strong National Museum of Play is located in Rochester, New York. The Hall is dedicated to acknowledging the toys and games that have remained popular for many many years. But it doesn’t stop there. There are specific requirements each toy or game has to meet in order to be considered for the National Toy Hall of Fame. The toy must be widely recognized, respected and remembered. It has to be more than just a passing fad. Each toy must nurture and encourage learning, creativity, and/or discovery. And, each toy considered must have, in some way, changed the way kids play.

Seventy-eight toys have been enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame including Barbie, Crayola Crayon, Erector Set, Etch a Sketch, Frisbee, Roller Skates, Bicycle, Alphabet Blocks, Checkers, Jack in the Box, Candy Land, and so many more!

Let’s take a look at the games and toys that are considered for 2023. And, they run the gamut, let me tell you! If you saw the Barbie movie, then you might be happy to see that the Ken doll is in the running for the first time ever! Also included in this year’s nominations are Connect 4, Battleship, Nerf and so many more that you can see below. You can vote online for their favorites until September 20th. The seven winning toys will be made public in November.

The nominees for the National Toy Hall of Fame include:

  • Bop It!
  • Choose Your Own Adventure game books
  • Connect Four
  • Little Tykes Cozy Coupe

And …

  • Baseball Cards

    Believe it or not, baseball cards have been around since before the 1900s! Both baseball and photography started to gain traction around the same time, so someone had the brilliant idea to put them together.

    A man sells vintage baseball cards prior to the start of the last game at Yankee Stadium between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees on September 21, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankee Stadium held it's inaugural game on April 18, 1923 against the Boston Red Sox and tonight's match will be the final game to be played at the historic stadium. During it's 85 years as ''The Home of Champions,'' the stadium has also been known as ''The House that Ruth Built'' and ''The Cathedral.'' The stadium has been host to 33 World Series, three Papal visits and has been visited by legends such as Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Bera, Mickey Mantle and boxing great Muhummad Ali. In 2009 the Yankees will move across the street to a newly constructed stadium estimated to cost $1.3 billion

  • Battleship

    Talk about standing the test of time. Battleship is one of those games you loved to play as a kid and continue to play with your own kids.

    A Hasbro Battleship board game is displayed on a shelf at a Target store on February 08, 2021 in San Rafael, California. Hasbro reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings with net income of $105.2 million, or 76 cents a share, compared to $95.5 million, or 69 cents a share, one year ago.

  • Bingo

    Bingo has had a couple iterations through the years. In  England it’s a game of probability, but in the US it’s a game of chance. You are given a card with numbers and hope your numbers will be called.

    A bingo dabber is photographed during Gay Bingo November 23, 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since it started in 1996, Gay Bingo has raised over1.1 million dollars from ticket sales and donations for organizations assisting persons afflicted with the AIDS virus. This month's theme was Madonnarama Gay Bingo.

     

  • Cabbage Patch Kids

    How could Cabbage Patch Kids not be in the Hall of Fame yet?! I will never forget the craze in the 1980s. I’ll never forget how much I wanted one but knew enough not to ask. And I’ll never forget how surprised I was when I got Carlyn Fanni (I didn’t name her) for my birthday that year.

    Cabbage Patch Kids at the launch of Dream Toys 2012 at St Mary's Church on October 31, 2012 in London, England.

  • Ken

    Did you know Ken has a last name? And a middle name?! Kenneth Sean “Ken” Carson was introduced by  Mattel in 1961 as the counterpart of Barbie. Well done, Mattel. 

    A Ken doll is pictured during the press preview day of the International Toy Fair Nuernberg on February 2, 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany. Mattel celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Ken doll. 2,683 exhibitors will present their new toy products until February 8, 2011.

  • Nerf

    Nerf was developed by Parker Brothers all the way back in 1969. The idea was to create a ball that would be safe to play with indoors. Clearly a man developed this. Since then, Nerf has been using that soft foam to make everything from balls to bullets.

    A general view of the Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS-18 at the Dream Toys 2013 press day at St Mary's on November 6, 2013 in London, England.

  • Slime

    While there have been many iterations of slime, from homemade to Nickelodeon, the original was a bunch of goop sold in a trash can from Mattel. Move over Oscar.

    INGLEWOOD, CA - MARCH 24: John Cena gets slimed onstage at Nickelodeon's 2018 Kids' Choice Awards at The Forum on March 24, 2018 in Inglewood, California.

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

    It started as a comic book, and moved on to an entire franchise. Whether your favorite is Michelangelo, Donatella, Raphael, or Leonardo, you cannot argue with the impact Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

    LONDON - MARCH 23: (L-R) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raphael and Donatello pose outside Hamleys toy store on March 23, 2007 in London, England. The turtles were in town to promote their upcoming feature film which is released on March 30, 2007.

  • VOTE!!!

    Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. This is your chance to make sure your favorite childhood toy is enshrined forever! VOTE HERE

    Toys of all sizes and types are displayed at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center February 13, 2006 in New York City. The annual show attracts toy makers and inventors displaying their latest designs and inventions. According to 2005 U.S. sales figures, total toy industry sales fell almost 4 percent.

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