Tag Archives: National Toy Hall of Fame

Happy New Year! Goals for 2026!

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New year, new… blog post. (Sorry for anyone who was hoping for a new me. It’s just the same ol’ friendly neighborhood puzzle nerd.)

Happy New Year cruciverbalists, gamers, RPGers, and puzzle enthusiasts!

Let’s ring in the new year right, with Lily Hevesh’s domino rendition of Auld Lang Syne:

So, with everyone thinking of New Year’s resolutions and (hopefully) feeling positive for the year to come, what does the future hold for PuzzCulture?

Honestly, I’m not sure, but I would like to share some of my goals (puzzly and otherwise) for 2026.

Ideally, writing them publicly will be an incentive to work harder and bring these goals to fruition! There’s nothing quite like braingaming yourself into genuine productivity!

Keep a running tally of puzzles solved

I’m genuinely curious how many puzzles I solve in a calendar year, so I’m going to keep track of my puzzles per week, just for the delightful data. Maybe I’ll learn something about myself or the puzzle world from it!

Read two books a month

When I commuted by train every day to work, I used to read an average of 5 books a week. (250 books a year was a regular occurrence!) But when the pandemic hit and I started working from work, my reading frequency PLUMMETED. I’m hoping to get back into it and read two books a month. (One a week feels a bit too ambitious, but who knows?)

Double the PuzzCulture readership and grow our social media presence

2025 was a good year for us across the blog and social media, but we can always do better. So if there’s something you’d like to see, or something you’re enjoying that you’d like to see more of, please say so!

Construct one puzzle each month for the PuzzCulture readers

I usually create a puzzle for the major holidays, but this year, there will be a puzzle to solve each month (probably near the end of the month for my own sanity). Any favorite puzzle types? Let me know!

Submitting a crossword for publication

Publishing a crossword is a lofty goal, one that is mostly out of my hands. But submitting something I think is publishing-worthy… that’s an achievable goal, even if it doesn’t end up making the cut at one of the major outlets.

Finish at least four short stories

Half-finished stories have piled up over the last two years, and I need to get these brainworms out to make room for exciting new brainworms!

Publish a game and/or RPG module

Over the last two years, I’ve published a game through 9th Level Games’ Level 1 promotional collection for Free RPG Day. I don’t know if that will happen again this year, but yea or nay, I will be self-publishing something in 2026.

I’m not sure if it will be a short standalone game or an RPG module for an established system, but I feel good about this goal.

#JusticeForSnow

This year, snow got robbed of its rightful place in the National Toy Hall of Fame, and I’m gonna do everything I can to get it back on the ballot AND into the Hall of Fame this year! #JusticeForSnow

Actually compete in a crossword tournament

I love solving tournament puzzles (as you can tell from my reviews), but except for Crossword Tournament From Your Couch, I’ve never competed. Travel is tough for me, but I think I’m gonna take a shot and attempt an At-Home solve for one of this year’s tournaments. I’ll keep you posted!

Do you have any puzzly (or non-puzzly) goals for 2026? Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

Justice For Snow! (The 2025 Toy Hall of Fame Inductees Revealed)

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Back in September, I wrote about the 12 nominees for this year’s class of The National Toy Hall of Fame: Furby, spirograph, Star Wars lightsaber, Tickle Me Elmo, scooter, cornhole, Battleship, Catan, Connect Four, Trivial Pursuit, slime, and snow.

I predicted that Catan, Connect Four, and Tickle Me Elmo would win. And I was wrong, as none of those three were selected to join the Toy Hall of Fame.

But I was hoping that the lightsaber, snow, and Trivial Pursuit would make the cut, as they were my personal nominees for this year’s class.

And I did get one of them right!

Battleship, slime, and Trivial Pursuit were the 2025 class for the National Toy Hall of Fame, where they will join all the other inductees on display at The Strong National Museum of Play.

That being said, please allow me to get up on my soapbox for a moment.

How is snow not already in the National Toy Hall of Fame?

It’s not like natural items haven’t made the cut in the past. The stick is already in. And you’re telling me that snow — a free toy that falls from the sky AND CREATES ENTIRE DAYS FREE OF SCHOOL IN WHICH TO PLAY — is not a Hall of Famer?

Blasphemy. Battleship can’t create days off.

And so, fellow puzzlers and players and appreciators of all things play, I ask you on this day to join me in my new movement.

#JusticeForSnow

Oh yes, I’ve already started the hashtag in my reply to the announcement of this year’s inductees. And it’s just the beginning. I intend to correct this injustice with all of the influence I can bring to bear. (Please note, that amount of influence is minuscule, as The Strong National Museum of Play has refused to return my calls on several occasions.)

But I shall not be deterred!

Will you join me on this glorious endeavor? Or has the whimsy and wonder of playing with snow been whittled away by years of shoveling driveways clear or stepping in slushy puddles on the way to work?

I tell you, friends, my whimsy has not abated in the slightest. I can remember staring out the window with my dad, watching wet snow cling to the trees, as if they were painted just so, picture perfect for Christmas card art, right in front of us. And despite the fact that we knew it would royally suck to shovel that snow later, we still smiled as we watched it accumulate.

So, National Toy Hall of Fame, better make some room on next year’s ballot. It’s gonna be snow’s time to shine.

The National Toy Hall of Fame Finalists Are Here! Still Time to Vote!

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This year’s contenders for the National Toy Hall of Fame Class of 2025 have been whittled down to 12 finalists, and the competition is fierce.

You’ve got classic toys from across the decades (Furby, spirograph, Star Wars lightsaber, Tickle Me Elmo), representatives from more physical activities (scooter, cornhole), board games (Battleship, Catan, Connect Four, and Trivial Pursuit), and even materials kids play with (slime, snow).

The idea of “play” is represented in so many different ways across these 12 finalists, and it really encompasses just how vast and varied play is, how much imagination and expression and creativity are reflected in all sorts of different childhood experiences.

Personally, I’m rooting for the lightsaber, Trivial Pursuit, and snow to make the cut. I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was 2. Trivial Pursuit was the first trivia game I can remember playing (even if it was an edition intended for players way older than I was at the time). And snow is so fundamental to winter play — sledding, snowmen, snowball fights, DAYS OFF FROM SCHOOL TO PLAY — that it’s surprising it hasn’t already been inducted.

(Though I suspect Catan, Connect Four, and Tickle Me Elmo will make the cut instead of some of my faves.)

And voting is still open for another day.

Yes, while the final determinations are made by the National Toy Hall of Fame’s National Selection Advisory Committee — ooh, so formal! — the three toys that receive the most public votes will be submitted for consideration alongside the top three submissions from the Selection Committee.

Which of these twelve contenders would you like to see join such playtime luminaries as Lite-Brite, My Little Pony, the stick, the Atari 2600, and the Rubik’s Cube? Let me know in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you.

And while you’re at it, tell me what toys you think should be in the National Toy Hall of Fame!

Nominees Announced for the World Video Game Hall of Fame!

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Rochester, New York is the home of The Strong National Museum of Play, and they have a very important mission: to chronicle the history and importance of play.

Child development, social interaction, imagination… all of these key features in a healthy individual are facilitated by play, and the staff at The Strong help us not only understand that process, but celebrates it by hosting both the National Toy Hall of Fame and the World Video Game Hall of Fame under its brightly-colored umbrella.

As you might have guessed, puzzles and games play a significant role in The Strong’s work, and they’re represented in both Halls of Fame. Clue, Chess, Scrabble, the Rubik’s Cube, and Dungeons & Dragons are all inductees in the National Toy Hall of Fame, while Myst, Tetris, The Oregon Trail, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? are among the puzzlier inductees on the video game side of things.

And The Strong have recently announced the nominees for this year’s class of video games to be inducted in the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

This year’s finalists for the 2025 class run the gamut from 8-bit classes, modern phenomenon, and games that took play to surprising new places, and they represent different genres, play styles, and aspects of gaming across decades.

The 2025 finalists are: Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Defender, Frogger, Golden Eye, Golden Tee, Harvest Moon, Mattel Football, Quake, NBA 2K and Tamagotchi.

What a field! Everywhere from arcades (Frogger) to pocket games (Tamagotchi) are on display here, as well as social gaming both in person (Golden Eye) and online (Quake).

The nominees were chosen from thousands of nominations online. The field was then narrowed by staff members at The Strong based on “longevity, geographical reach, and influence on game design and pop culture.” Only a small handful of these finalists will be selected by an international committee of experts as this year’s inductees.

Everyone has an award show that they geek out over, and you’re probably not surprised to discover that these Halls of Fame are two of my favorite awards given out each year. I love seeing deserving games and puzzles get the spotlight they deserve for helping change how we play and interact with each other.

You can check out the full list of National Toy Hall of Fame inductees and World Video Game Hall of Fame inductees at these links. Do yourself a favor and take a stroll through not only your childhood, but the childhoods of generations past. It’s a real treat.

What toys and games would you like to see inducted in the future? Let us know in the comments below!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Hall of Fame edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of Dungeons & Dragons!

I’ve written about Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying games in the past, because I think they are a wonderful, underappreciated part of the world of puzzles and games. Some of the best and most satisfying riddles and puzzles I’ve ever solved were an integral part of a game of D&D.

So I’m excited to announce that Dungeons & Dragons has been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame!

Housed at The Strong National Museum of Play, the National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes those products and improvised toys that have played a crucial role in the development of children and teens.

Whether they assist in hand-eye coordination, storytelling, deduction, athletics, or creativity, they are all classic examples of toys tied to fond memories of childhood. Previous inductees include the Rubik’s Cube (2014), Hot Wheels (2011), the Radio Flyer Wagon (1999), Jacks (2000), and Play-Doh (1998).

And I for one think Dungeons & Dragons is a very worthy addition to this club.

From the induction notice:

Dungeons & Dragons and its imitators actually changed the nature of play.

In Dungeons & Dragons players assume the roles of characters who inhabit a world moderated and narrated by a Dungeon Master, a player who explains the action to others and solicits their reactions to the unfolding story. The Dungeon Master’s storytelling skills and the players’ abilities to imagine add enjoyment to the game. Some aspects of the play are familiar, such as dice. But the special dice for Dungeons & Dragons hold up to 20 sides. Rolling them determines each character’s individual strengths, plots their complex interactions, and decides the outcome of their encounters.

More than any other game, Dungeons & Dragons paved the way for older children and adults to experience imaginative play. It was groundbreaking. And it opened the door for other kinds of table games that borrow many of its unique mechanics.

For over forty years, Dungeons & Dragons has been synonymous with roleplaying, collaborative storytelling, and good old-fashioned sword-swinging derring-do. And I think it’s fantastic that it’s getting some long-overdue recognition for the positive role it has played in so many people’s lives.

Congratulations to you, Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax. Thank you for hours and hours of brilliant, engaging fun.

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