2025 Finalists2025 Finalists
Battleship
Originally a pencil and paper game, Battleship’s inspiration began with similar two-person strategy games in the late 19th century. Various manufacturers printed paper versions beginning in the 1930s. Television advertising played a part […]
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Catan
First published by Kosmos in Germany, Catan (known earlier as Settlers of Catan) is one of the first German-style board games to achieve popularity outside of Europe. It is a strategic, competitive game in […]
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Connect 4
Connect Four, also known under non-proprietary names, is commonplace in many U.S. households. Taking turns dropping discs into a vertical grid, players attempt to form a line of four discs in their color. […]
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Cornhole
Cornhole boards and bean bags are common sights in the backyard or the bar patio. While the game is commonly associated with the American Midwest, it is enjoyed nationally and even internationally. Competing […]
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Furby
Furby—a fuzzy creature with piglet ears, a bird beak, and drowsy, blinking eyes—debuted in 1998. It featured innovative technology, including adaptive language learning (pre-programmed) and sensors. More than 40 million Furbies sold within the […]
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Scooter
First appearing as a homemade vehicle of two wheels, a wooden deck, and handlebars, the scooter began cruising American streets and sidewalks around the turn of the 20th century. Scooters continued to provide […]
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Slime
Slime has leveraged its squishy, squashy, tactile appeal to become a beloved plaything for generations of kids. From its commercial introduction in 1976, Slime has gone on to become an element of other […]
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Snow
Is snow just precipitation—or the ultimate vehicle for play? Packed into balls, it becomes a mostly harmless projectile that provides endless fun. It also supports slower, constructive play. It can be used to […]
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Spirograph
A simple toy for creating geometric drawings or a complicated tool for understanding complex mathematical formulas? Either way, Spirograph has entertained and educated kids of all ages for 60 years. Spirograph was first […]
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Star Wars Lightsaber
When 20th Century Fox released the first Star Wars movie in 1977, no one imagined it would change the toy industry and popular entertainment so dramatically. Kenner released an official Star Wars Light Saber toy […]
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Tickle Me Elmo
Tickle Me Elmo combined the appeal of Sesame Street’s stand-out character with a novel design and became the must-have toy of the 1996 holiday season. Putting electronics into a plush-type toy had been done before […]
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Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit’s brain-racking questions have been challenging players for more than 40 years. The game rewards a vast breadth of knowledge, with questions ranging from geography to entertainment, from history to art, and […]
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