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The
winners emerged Thursday from a field of 12 finalists that
included Bop It!, mahjong, Monster High dolls, Polly Pocket,
Tickle Me Elmo, Yahtzee and the board games Sorry! (Sorry,
Sorry!) and Mouse Trap.
Experts at The Strong National Museum of Play, home to the
National Toy Hall of Fame, note that bingo, which “descends from
an Italian lottery played around 1530,” is now played virtually
worldwide.
“While bingo is now often associated with an older audience, it
has become increasingly popular with young adults. Recently,
public bingo games have gone beyond fundraising and have become
popular in bars and nightclubs,” curator Mirek Stolee said in a
statement.
The effort to get the Care Bears into the Hall was helped by
earning nearly 1 million followers on social media, while
Pokémon trading cards were buoyed by anime enthusiasts and manga
readers.
The Hall said the slide helps children develop motor skills and
encourages exploration. “People of all ages remember fondly the
simple, satisfying, and energizing experience of racing down a
slide,” said Jeremy Saucier, vice president for collections.
While anyone can nominate a toy, the ones that make it into the
Hall must be considered icons, have engaged multiple
generations, fostered creativity, or profoundly changed play or
toy design.
The four 2026 winners will join the 90 toys already enshrined in
the National Toy Hall of Fame, a list that includes Cabbage
Patch Kids, Dungeons & Dragons, Hot Wheels and Frisbee.
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