Twelve iconic toys, including Tickle Me Elmo, Polly Pocket, Care Bears, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, have been named finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame's Class of 2026. Public voting is underway, with inductees to be announced in November, joining a prestigious list of 90 existing honorees.
A selection of childhood staples, ranging from Tickle Me Elmo to the humble playground slide, are among the finalists for this year's National Toy Hall of Fame. The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, announced its 12 nominees for the Class of 2026 on Wednesday. Public voting runs from Sept. 16-23 and a panel of judges will select the inductees for an official announcement in November. The shortlist also includes Care Bears, the dice game Yahtzee, the ancient tile game Mahjong, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and Bingo. Completing the field of candidates are the handheld electronic game Bop It!, Monster High dolls, miniature Polly Pocket playsets, and the classic board games Mouse Trap and Sorry! "It’s debating season, and this year’s finalists give everyone plenty to talk about — from classic games to plush icons and other toys that have shaped generations of play,” Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, senior curator at the museum, said in a statement. “The debate is part of the fun because every toy sparks different memories and makes its own case for why it matters.” While public nominations are open to any toy, final honorees must achieve iconic standing, appeal across multiple generations, foster creative play, or fundamentally alter toy design. The top three selections will enter the Hall alongside 90 existing inductees, a collection that already features Cabbage Patch Kids, Dungeons & Dragons, Hot Wheels, Frisbee, G.I. Joe, and Mr. Potato Head. A few of this year's contenders have been previously nominated without making the final cut, including Tickle Me Elmo, Mahjong, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. To date, the following 90 toys have been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame: alphabet blocks, American Girl Doll, Atari 2600 Game System, baby doll, Baby Nancy, ball, Barbie, baseball cards, Battleship, 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, 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, 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, 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.
