Say Hello to Your New Toy Hall of Fame Inductees

My Little Pony finally made it to the winner's circle. After seven times as an also-ran, the pastel-colored ponies were enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame on Tuesday, along with Transformers action figures and the Phase 10 card game, per the AP. "These are three very deserving toys that showcase the wide range of how people play," said Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections and chief curator.

• My Little Pony: Hasbro's mini-horses, distinguishable by different "cutie marks" on their haunches, were introduced in the 1980s and reintroduced in 2003, outselling even Barbie for several years. The collectibles were recognized for encouraging fantasy and storytelling—the kind of creative play the Hall of Fame demands of inductees. "The My Little Pony line has endured for decades because it combines several traditional forms of doll play with children's fascination with horses," said Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, curator of dolls and toys. "The variety of figures promotes collecting as a pastime, too."

• Phase 10: The card game was introduced by inventor and entrepreneur Ken Johnson in 1982. Today, Mattel sells 2 million decks of the card game annually in 30 countries and more than 20 languages. That makes it one of the bestselling card games in the world, according to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, where the Toy Hall of Fame is housed.
• Transformers: This brand came along in the 1980s, when Hasbro bought the rights to several existing Japanese toy lines featuring transforming robots. They were first marketed with a cartoon and have since graduated to a series of live-action films. Regular new Transformers characters keep collectors coming back, Bensch said, "but the toys are also popular because they are so suited to the ways kids play."
• Other contenders: The honorees rose to the top in voting by a panel of experts and the public from among 12 finalists. This year's field included: the party game Apples to Apples, balloons, "Choose Your Own Adventure" game books, Hess Toy Trucks, the Pokemon Trading Card Game, remote-controlled vehicles, the Sequence party game, the stick horse, and the trampoline.

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