3 Classics Inducted Into National Toy Hall of Fame

If you’re still looking for gift ideas for the children or teens in your life, consider the newest inductees to the National Toy Hall of Fame.

They lack the hype of the latest hot holiday toy, but these classics have stood the test of time.

The 2016 inductees to the National Toy Hall of Fame, announced this week, are:

1. Dungeons & Dragons, aka D&D, a role-playing game first published in 1974.
2. Fisher-Price’s Little People, toy figure sets first released in 1959.
3. The swing, a simple piece of equipment that dates back centuries, if not millennia.

These inductees were selected on the advice of experts including historians and educators.

They were chosen from a group of 12 finalists, which also included:

• Bubble wrap
• Care Bears
• Clue
• The coloring book
• Nerf
• Pinball
• Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots
• Transformers
• Uno

The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York — where the hall of fame is based — said of the latest inductees:

One toy takes its riders to new heights, and the other two let the imagination soar.

Museum curator Christopher Bensch further explains to CBS MoneyWatch:

“What I love about Fisher-Price Little People and Dungeons & Dragons is they are two faces of the same kind of play. Fisher-Price Little People is a tool that empowers some of the youngest kids to make stories and make characters to play in that farm or airplane, and D&D empowers adults and older kids to do that same thing.”

For a list of all inductees going back to 1998, when the National Toy Hall of Fame was established, visit its website.

Do you remember playing with any of the toys inducted this year? Let us know below or over on our Facebook page.