Later this year, the National Toy Hall of Fame could induct snow — yes, the cold, white stuff that falls from the sky. But only if it ices out enough of the competition — a group that features hugely popular board games, outdoor favorites and giggling plushies.
The Hall of Fame announced its 12 finalists for the Class of 2025 Wednesday and opened voting to the public and a panel of judges who will choose which few will be honored in November.
Along with snow, the contenders include tabletop favorites Battleship, Catan, Connect Four, Spirograph and Trivial Pursuit, as well as crowd-pleasers — scooters, slime and cornhole. The “Star Wars” lightsaber, Furby and Tickle Me Elmo round out the finalists chosen from among the thousands of nominees the Toy Hall of Fame receives each year.
“This year’s contenders present some playful matchups," said Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections and chief curator.
Along with a slate of board games and tactile materials like snow and slime, he said, “There’s also Tickle Me Elmo and Furby — two technological icons of the 90s toy world — battling it out.”
“I’m always excited to see where the judges and public come out in their votes," Bensch said. "At the end of the day, the playful debates just go to show how much personal and cultural relevance these toys have for us all.”
The public has a week, until Sept. 24, to vote for their favorites. The three top vote-getters will make up a “Player's Choice” ballot to be counted alongside 22 other ballots from a panel of historians, educators and other experts. The winners will be announced in November by The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, where the Hall of Fame is located.
While anyone can nominate a toy, the ones that make it into the hall have to be considered icons, have engaged multiple generations, fostered creativity, or profoundly changed play or toy design.
Last year, My Little Pony, Transformers action figures and the Phase 10 card game were honored, bringing to 87 the number of toys inducted since the Hall of Fame was established in 1998.
— Battleship: Milton Bradley has sold more than 100 million copies of the strategy game since introducing its plastic warships and pegboard version in 1967. Originally a pencil-and-paper game, Battleship was among the first board games to be computerized in 1979.
— Catan: Known earlier as Settlers of Catan, the game first published by Kosmos in Germany was one of the first German-style board games to achieve popularity outside of Europe. More than 45 million copies in 40 languages have sold since it was introduced in 1995. It has inspired dozens of spinoffs and new editions, including electronic versions, and even a cookbook.
— Connect Four: Players drop discs into a grid in hopes of being the first to get four in a row. Spoiler alert: The game has been mathematically solved, meaning the first player can always win with the right moves.
— Cornhole challenges players to throw bean bags though a hole in a slanted wooden board to score points. The nominee stands out for a simplicity that has made it a staple at picnics, on bar patios and while tailgating.
— Furby debuted in 1998 and within the first three years, 40 million of the drowsy-eyed robotic creatures were sold. An enhanced version was reintroduced to a new generation of kids in 2023.
— The scooter has provided riders with low-tech, two-wheeled transportation for generations, evolving along the way to incorporate lightweight materials and innovative technology.
— Slime, whether commercially produced or homemade, is on the list for its ability to encourage messy and experimental play. Since it's commercial introduction in 1976, it has become an element of other playthings and a featured player on television shows.
— Snow is recognized for its versatility, allowing children and adults to make snowballs and sculpt the cold, wintry stuff into forts and figures, while also serving as a base for sledding, skiing and snowboarding. The nominee would join the ranks of other back-to-basic inductees like the stick, sand and cardboard box.
— Spirograph, with its plastic gears, rings, triangles and bars, has entertained and educated the masses for 60 years. Users place the tip of pen into a hole of a gear and rotate it around or within other gears to create intricate, geometric drawings.
— Kenner released the first “Star Wars” lightsaber in 1978 on the heels of the 1977 “Star Wars” movie. An arsenal has followed, with lights and sound, demonstrating the influence of popular culture on play.
— Tickle Me Elmo, with its contagious laughter, was the must-have toy of the 1996 holiday season. The “Sesame Street” character wasn't the first stuffed animal to get electronics, but the giggling Muppet took the concept to another level.
— Trivial Pursuit debuted more than 40 years ago with a challenging mix of trivia questions on geography, history, sports and other topics. More than 100 million copies were sold by 2023.
FILE - Children play in the snow around the Capitol as winter weather shuts down Washington, Feb. 13, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - Craig Crow, center, throws snowballs as he plays in the snow with his children and neighbors, Feb. 15, 2021, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.
Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.
Here is the latest:
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as “good news” reports that the death sentence has been lifted for an Iranian shopkeeper arrested in a violent crackdown on protests.
Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani had said he faced imminent execution.
Trump posed Thursday on his Truth Social site: “FoxNews: ‘Iranian protester will no longer be sentenced to death after President Trump’s warnings. Likewise others.’ This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”
Iranian state media denied Soltani had been condemned to death. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
Trump sent tensions soaring this week by pledging that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters and urging them to continue demonstrating against authorities in the Islamic Republic.
On Wednesday Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying he had been told that “the killing in Iran is stopping.”
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union’s main foreign policy chief said the G7 members were “gravely concerned” by the developments surrounding the protests, and that they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people.”
The statement, published on the EU’s website Thursday, said the G7 were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and condemned “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces against protesters.
The G7 members “remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations,” the statement said.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.
“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.
“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”
“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”
Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.
Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.
Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.
Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.
Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,
Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.
“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.
Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.
Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.
The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.
Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.
Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.
State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.
“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.
“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.
Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.
A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
