My Little Pony finally made it to the winner鈥檚 circle.
After years 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.
The honorees rose to the top in voting by a panel of experts and the public from among . This year鈥檚 field included: the party game Apples to Apples, balloons, 鈥淐hoose Your Own Adventure鈥� gamebooks, Hess Toy Trucks, Pok茅mon Trading Card Game, remote-controlled vehicles, Sequence, the stick horse and trampoline.
鈥淭hese are three very deserving toys that showcase the wide range of how people play,鈥� Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections and chief curator, said in a statement. 鈥淏ut for My Little Pony in particular, this year is extra validating. The beloved toy was a before finally crossing the finish line!鈥�
Hasbro鈥檚 mini-horses, distinguishable by different 鈥渃utie marks鈥� 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 鈥� the kind of creative play the Hall of Fame 鈥� along with popularity over time.
鈥淭he My Little Pony line has endured for decades because it combines several traditional forms of doll play with children鈥檚 fascination with horses,鈥� said Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, curator of dolls and toys. 鈥淭he variety of figures promotes collecting as a pastime, too.鈥�
Phase 10 was introduced by inventor and entrepreneur 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, where the Toy Hall of Fame is housed.
In the style of rummy, the game challenges players to collect groups of cards to complete 10 phases in sequential order before their opponents.
鈥淲hether played in its original form or in one of its variations, Phase 10 has become an iconic game title that continues to encourage multigenerational social and competitive play,鈥� said Mirek Stolee, the museum鈥檚 curator of board games and puzzles.
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 . Social media sites allow for debates over which figures are must-haves, as well as demonstrations of the sometimes complex process of manipulating them from robot to vehicle or other alternate form.
Regular new Transformers characters keep collectors coming back, Bensch said, 鈥渂ut the toys are also popular because they are so suited to the ways kids play. The toy line feeds kids鈥� imaginations and fantasy play.鈥�
Anyone can nominate a toy for the Hall of Fame. Museum staff narrows the field to 12 finalists each year. Fans can cast votes online for their favorites and their results are counted alongside ballots from a national advisory committee of historians, educators and others with industry expertise.
Carolyn Thompson, The Associated Press
