Suspense builds for 2026 Toy Hall of Fame newcomers

Collectively, the finalists that are in the running to be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y., make for a very strong field of contenders this year.

 

Among the 12 toys, games and playthings nominated, only three or four are likely to be selected. Winners will be announced in early November.

Here is the alphabetical list of finalists: Bingo, Bop It!, Care Bears, Mahjong, Monster High dolls, Mouse Trap, Pokémon Trading Card Game, Polly Pocket, the slide, Sorry!, Tickle Me Elmo and Yahtzee.

 

“This year’s group gives everyone plenty to talk about – from classic games to plush icons and other toys that have shaped generations of play,” said Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, senior curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, home of the Toy Hall of Fame. “The debate is part of the fun because every toy sparks different memories and makes its own case for why it matters.”

 

Criteria for induction include:

Icon-status (the toy is widely recognized, respected and remembered).

Longevity (the toy is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over multiple generations).

Discovery (the toy fosters learning, creativity or discovery through play).

Innovation (the toy profoundly changed play or toy design).

Some of the 2026 finalists have been nominated before, including Bingo, Care Bears, Tickle Me Elmo and Yahtzee.

All those work for me as being hall-of-fame worthy. Here’s why:

Bingo is a game of chance that originated in Naples, Italy, in 1530 or thereabouts. It was modified by both the Germans and the French before making its way to the United States.

In 1929, the game was introduced in America as “Beano,” using dried beans as markers on cardboard playing cards, by Hugh J. Ward, who lived in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa., along the Monongahela River. Ward copyrighted the game and published a rule book in 1933.

 

The game was further popularized and commercialized by Edwin S. Lowe of Brooklyn, N.Y., a toymaker and game entrepreneur. He overheard someone with a winning card accidentally blurt out “bingo” instead of “beano.” 

So, Lowe went with the name “Bingo” for his version of the same game.

 

Lowe hired Carl Leffler, a Columbia University mathematics professor in New York City, to come up with non-repeating number groups so that fewer people would get Bingo at the same time. 

By 1930, Prof. Leffler had invented 6,000 different bingo cards.

 

This was also the answer to the prayers of an unnamed Catholic priest in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., who had seized upon the game thinking it to be the solution to his problem of financing the parish school. He bought several sets of the game and invited his parishioners to play the game with great gusto and frequency.

The E. S. Lowe Company had great success with its bingo game sets, while also manufacturing chess and checkers games and assorted plastic toys.

In 1956, Lowe acquired the rights to a dice game was invented by an anonymous Canadian couple, who called it “The Yacht Game,” because they played it on their yacht with their friends. 

Lowe changed the name to “Yahtzee.”

 

The Milton Bradley Company acquired the E. S. Lowe Company (along with rights to Bingo, Yahtzee and other toy lines) in 1973 for $26 million. Milton Bradley became a subsidiary of Hasbro in 1984.

 

A large Yahtzee tournament is held annually in January in Eureka, Calif., sponsored by two local Rotary clubs there to benefit Nation’s Finest, an organization that assists veterans in need in northern California.

 

Soft and sweet, cute and cuddly, Care Bears have been teaching youngsters compassion, kindness and consideration for others for 45 years.

 

The Care Bears were created in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik of Cleveland, Ohio, for American Greetings. 

The plush stuffed animals were subsequently manufactured and released by the toy company Kenner in 1983. The Care Bears’ unique “tummy symbols” have special powers.

 

Authentic Brands Group of New York City acquired the intellectual property of Care Bears, one of the world’s most enduring family entertainment franchises, in August 2026.

 

Tickle Me Elmo made his debut 30 years ago as a furry, plush doll based on the bright red Muppet character Elmo from the “Sesame Street” children’s television show and Jim Henson Productions. 

Elmo shakes, giggles and vibrates when squeezed.

Tickle Me Elmo was introduced in 1996 by Tyco Toys of Woodbury Heights, N.J. 

The toy franchise rights are now owned by Mattel, Inc., of Segundo, Calif., as part of its Fisher-Price division. (Mattel acquired Tyco Toys in 1997.)

 

“Putting electronics into a plush-type toy had been done before, but Tickle Me Elmo took it to the next level and allowed the toy to emulate the experience of being tickled,” reported Chris Bensch, who recently retired from of the Toy Hall of Fame.

“When Elmo was tickled, he laughed, then he laughed some more and shook with glee. Tickle Me Elmo relates to basic play elements – anticipation, surprise and pleasure,” Bensch said.

 

Among traditional board games, Mahjong, Mouse Trap and Sorry! have a lot of fans as well.

Mahjong (also known as Mah-Jongg) evolved in the 1700s, as a gambling card game in China. Variations spread to Korea, Japan and other Asian markets.

 

In 1912, Joseph Park Babcock of Lafayette, Ind., an engineering school graduate of Purdue University, was sent to Suzhou, China, by his employer, the Standard Oil Company.

 

He and his wife enjoyed playing the Chinese tile game and created a simplified version of Mahjong to introduce in America in 1920. Rules were standardized in 1924, and many game sets were then produced in the United States by several companies.

Mouse Trap was first released in 1963 by the Ideal Toy Company and is famous for being one of the first mass-produced, three-dimensional board games. 

The game’s iconic contraption was inspired by the complex, chain-reaction cartoon machinery invented by artist Rube Goldberg, who spent most of his career in New York City.

 

The design concept for Mouse Trap was created by Marvin Glass and Associates, a toy design and engineering firm based in Chicago. 

(Milton Bradley took over production of Mouse Trap in 1986, and ownership transferred to Hasbro in 2016.)

Sorry! is a board game that was invented in 1929 by William Henry Storey of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The game was subsequently sold in the United Kingdom by Waddingtons of Leeds in West Yorkshire, the British games manufacturer.

 

Storey was granted a U.S. patent in 1933, and Sorry! was adopted by Parker Brothers in 1934. Hasbro acquired Parker Brothers in 1991 and continues to produce Sorry! as one of its flagship products.

 

Sorry! is one of many variants descended from Parcheesi, which originated in India. Instead of traditional dice, players draw cards which control the movement of their four pawns from start to home.

 

A Toy Hall of Fame spokesperson said: “Sorry! has lasted because its game play is so random that it prompts good-natured (and devious) gotcha! fun. Even young players can claim victory over adults if they draw the right cards.”

The venerable playground slide is a generic nominee for the Toy Hall of Fame, and a bit of a sleeper. You never know how the panel of judges will score the generics. (Also, consider the fact that the playground swing is already in the Hall of Fame.)

 

The Hall of Fame spokesperson said: “While the origins of the first slide for play and recreation are debated, many scholars believe slides have existed for centuries. Slides are both a means for thrill-seeking and exercise.”

“Although the apparatus has changed over time, the benefits of playing with a slide remain the same. Slides help kids to develop motor skills, encourage exploration and promote play. And many grown-ups agree that riding down a slide is invigorating.”

The odds of being voted into the Toy Hall of Fame appear to be fairly slim to dim for Bop It!, Monster High dolls, the Pokémon card game and Polly Pocket. Here’s a brief description of each, provided by the Hall of Fame.

Bop It! debuted in 1996, combining electronic game processes with free play and physical elements in an innovative way. The handheld game challenges players to follow voice-recorded commands and press the large button, or pull a handle or twist a lever, depending on the instruction. Experts claim the game helps with hand-eye coordination, focus and attention and sensory motor integration.

 

Monster High hit the fashion doll scene in 2010. The first line included Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Lagoona Blue and Cleo de Nile. These were not just the children of vampires, mummies, werewolves and sea creations, but complicated characters with backstories packaged in small diaries. Monster High dolls have defied traditional beauty standards, encouraged self-love and inclusivity and broke the mold in the doll aisle.

 

Pokémon Trading Card Game has sold billions of cards since it debuted in 1996. The game’s mechanics are straightforward and can be grasped within a single game. Supported by a dedicated community of anime enthusiasts, manga readers and video game players, the Pokémon card game is renowned for its accessibility, making it an attractive option for players of diverse ages and backgrounds.

 

Polly Pocket has proven since 1989 that good things come in small packages. The first Polly Pocket playsets consisted of a pastel-colored clamshell case that opened to reveal an entire world with molded spaces such as a beach, café or country cottage, giving kids a sanctuary to hold in their hands. Polly Pocket was a simple concept for creative play rooted in whimsy and escape.

 

Thus far, 90 individual toys, games or playthings have been inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame since it was established in 1998. The charter members are indicated in boldface type:

Alphabet blocks, American Girl Doll, Atari 2600 Game System, baby doll, Baby Nancy, ball, Barbie, Battleship, baseball cards, bicycle, Big Wheel, blanket, bubbles, Cabbage Patch Kids, Candy Land, cardboard box, checkers, chess, Clue, coloring book, Crayola Crayons, dollhouse, dominoes, Duncan Yo-Yo, Dungeons & Dragons and Easy-Bake Oven.

Erector Set, Etch A Sketch, Fisher-Price Corn Popper, Fisher-Price Little People, Frisbee, G.I. Joe, The Game of Life, Hot Wheels, Hula Hoop, jack-in-the-box, jacks, Jenga, jigsaw puzzle, jump rope, kite, LEGO, Lincoln Logs, Lionel Trains, Lite-Brite, little green army men, Magic 8 Ball, Magic: The Gathering, marbles and Masters of the Universe,

 

Matchbox Cars, Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head, My Little Pony, Nerf, Nintendo Game Boy, paper airplane, Phase 10, pinball, Play-Doh, playing cards, puppet, Radio Flyer Wagon, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Risk, rocking horse, roller skates, rubber duck, Rubik’s Cube, sand, Scrabble, sidewalk chalk, Silly Putty, skateboard, slime and Slinky.

 

Star Wars action figures, stick, Super Soaker, swing, teddy bear, Tinkertoy, Tonka Trucks, top, Transformers, Trivial Pursuit, Twister, Uno, View-Master and Wiffle Ball.