On September 18, The Strong Museum and the National Toy Hall of Fame revealed the 12 finalists eligible for induction into the Toy Hall of Fame.

This year’s list of eligible toys features a wide variety of toys from a good old fashioned kid operated horse to vehicles that run on batteries and electric power.

The 2024 finalists for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame are:
Apple to Apples
balloons
Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks
Hess Toy Trucks
My Little Pony
Phase 10
Pokémon Trading Card Game
remote-controlled (R/C) vehicles
Sequence
stick horse
trampoline
Transformers

Vice president for collections and chief curator Christopher Bensch spoke on the lists of finalists saying, “it’s great to see some returning contenders such as My Little Pony and Transformers among this year’s class of 12 finalists, but they’re up against some worthy first-time finalists, including party game Apples to Apples, the trampoline, and balloons.  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!”

Many of the original nominations are made by toy enthusiasts and fans.  Until September 25 fans may cast their vote at toyhalloffame.org for the toys they think deserves induction in The Hall.  Fans votes will be counted and included as a single “Player’s Choice” vote; joining the votes of the expert panel.

The newest class of the National Toy Hall of Fame will be announced in November and will join the 84 toys that have been inducted into The Hall since its creation in 1998.

The criteria for eligibility for induction into the Hall of Fame are the toy’s iconic status, longevity of the toy, does the toy foster discovery and creativity, and innovation.

Meet the 2024 Toy Hall of Fame finalists:

Apples to Apples is a party game.  Created in 1999, a “judge” poses questions to participants designed to prompt creative and provocative answers.  The lively banter of the game has sparked its popularity over the past 25 years.

Created out of latex and mylar, the Balloon has proved to be a very versatile commodity. Blow it up and tie it off; suddenly it becomes a substitute ball, add water and it sparks some lively activity filled with squeals on a hot day, blow it up and tie it off and can become the palette for a piece of art (balloon animals and molds for paper Mache), and they can be used to celebrate an event or wish someone to get well.  The Montgolfier Brother invented the hot air balloon in 1783 and in 1824, the latex balloon made its debut.

Choose Your own Adventure Gamebooks has their roots in the time honoured tradition of oral storytelling.  The gamebooks provide a spark for the players to create their own story and role playing game.  Sparking a generation of game designers, the gamebooks have seen over 270 MILLION copies fly off the shelves.

In 1964, the Hess service stations introduced the Hess Toy Trucks each holiday season.  The large battery operated toys spawned many hours of imaginative play.  For some 60 years, Hess released a new truck each year in time for the holiday season.

Making its return again this year My Little Pony was first introduced in the 1980’s.  The brightly coloured long maned ponies invites children to create fantasy, doll play, collection, hair grooming, and storytelling through play.

Created by Ken Johnson in 1982, Phase 10 is a card game similar to rummy that encourages players to create 10 phases in sequential order before their opponents.  The game has gone on to be one of the biggest sellers – second only to Hall of Famer “Uno”.

 The Pokémon Trading Card Game appeared in 1996.  The world of  trading cards has long outgrown trading sports figures collected from packages of bubble gum.  Since its debut the Pokémon Trading Cards have exceeded 64 BILLION cards in circulation.

Popularity of the Remote-Controlled (R/C) Vehicles skyrocketed when children discovered they no longer needed to crawl on their knees to propel a car or truck.  R/C cars have also seen a good bit of popularity from adults as well.  The game became seeing how fast the controller would maneuver the vehicle without crashing it.

Sequence is a game that combines the board game and a card game together.  Players must use the cards in their hands to create the proper sequence of chips on the board.  Simple to learn, Sequence is suitable for players of any age but requires both luck and strategy.

Long referred to as the Hobbyhorse, the Stick Horse is simply the head of a horse of a stick similar to that of a broom or mop.  Millions of children have used a stick horse (bought or created) for hours of play chasing the “bad guys” before “riding off into the sunset”.

In 1945 George Nissan created what he called a “Tumbling Device”; it later became known as the Trampoline (based on the Spanish word for diving board). In the near 80 years since its creation, the trampoline has spawned many a wannabe gymnasts…and daredevils…looking to soar through the air.

The Transformers are two toys in one – a vehicle that morphs into a monster or super hero type person.  Coming with their own backstory, the Transformers have spawned graphic novels, television shows, films, electronic games, and numerous other merchandise items.  With multiple forms the Transformers spark the imaginations of the millions of children who have spent hours with the toys.

the National Toy Hall of Fame is located inside The Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

photo credits: Courtesy of The Strong, Rochester, New York