2023 has been the year of Barbie, and the love continues. The National Toy Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2023 finalists, and Barbie’s beau, Ken, is leading the way. Other nominees include Cabbage Patch Kids, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Battleship, Bop It, and Connect 4. Barbie, unsurprisingly, was part of the very first Toy Hall of Fame class back in 1998. The inductees will be announced in November. Check out a complete list of all the National Toy Hall of Fame winners below. What was your favorite toy growing up?
1998-99
- Barbie
- Crayola Crayon
- Erector Set
- Etch A Sketch
- Frisbee
- Hula hoop
- Lego
- Lincoln Logs
- Marbles
- Monopoly
- Play-Doh
- Radio Flyer wagon
- Roller Skates
- Teddy Bear
- Tinkertoy
- View-Master
- Duncan Yo-Yo
2000
- Bicycle
- Jacks
- Jump rope
- Potato Head
- Slinky
2001
- Silly Putty
- Tonka Trucks
2002
- Jigsaw puzzle
- Raggedy Ann: her induction this year came after a full year of campaigning from fans.
2003
| · Alphabet Blocks
· Checkers |
2004
- I. Joe: the G.I. JOE brand overwhelmed the competition in a Playthings Magazine poll asking which nominated toy most deserved to be honored.
- Rocking horse
- Scrabble
2005
| · Candy Land
· Cardboard box · Jack-in-the-box |
2006 – Atari Game System, Big Wheel, Easy-Bake Oven, Lite-Brite, Fisher-Price Little People, Hot Wheels, Lionel Trains, Operation Skill Game, Pez candy dispenser, rubber duck, skateboard, and Twister. Only two of the twelve nominees took their place in the hall that year.
| · Easy-Bake Oven
· Lionel Trains |
2007
- Atari 2600
- Kite
- Raggedy Andy
2008
- The Stick: Curators praised the stick for its all-purpose, no-cost, recreational qualities, noting its ability to serve either as raw material or an appendage transformed in myriad ways by a child’s creativity.
- The Baby Doll
- The Skateboard
2009
| · The ball
· Game Boy · Big Wheel |
2010
- The Game of Life
- Playing cards
2011
- Hot Wheels
- Dollhouse
- Blanket
2012
- Star Wars action figures
- Dominoes
2013
| · Chess
· Rubber duck |
2014
- Little green army men
- Bubbles
- Rubik’s Cube
2015
- Puppet
- Twister
- Super Soaker
2016
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Little People
- Swing
2017
- Clue
- Wiffle Ball
- Paper airplane
2018
- Magic 8 Ball
- Pinball
- Uno
2019
- Coloring book
- Magic: The Gathering
- Matchbox cars
2020
- Baby Nancy
- Sidewalk chalk
- Jenga
2021
- American Girl dolls
- Risk
- Sand
2022
- Lite-Brite
- Masters of the Universe
- Top
