Tag Archives: Toy Hall of Fame

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.

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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