Battleship, Trivial Pursuit, Slime Get a Long-Coveted Call

Slime, that gooey, sticky, and often-homemade plaything, was enshrined into the National Toy Hall of Fame on Thursday, along with perennial bestselling games Battleship and Trivial Pursuit, reports the AP. Battleship, the Hasbro strategy game that challenges players to strike an opponent's warships, and Trivial Pursuit, which tests players' knowledge in categories like geography and sports, have each sold more than 100 million copies over several decades, according to the Hall of Fame. Each year, the HOF recognizes toys that have inspired creative play across generations, culling its finalists from among thousands of nominees sent in online. Voting by the public and a panel of experts decides which playthings will be inducted.

• Battleship: This game started as a pencil-and-paper game in the 1930s, but it was Milton Bradley's 1967 plastic edition with fold-up stations and model ships that became a hit with the public. Its popularity crested when Universal Pictures and Hasbro, which now owns Milton Bradley, released the 2012 movie Battleship, which was loosely based on the game. Battleship was also among the first board games to be computerized, in 1979, according to the Hall of Fame.

• Trivial Pursuit: This game lets players compete alone or in teams as they maneuver around a board answering trivia questions in exchange for wedges in a game piece. Canadian journalists Chris Haney and Scott Abbott came up with the game in 1979 and eventually sold the rights to Hasbro. Frequently updated specialty versions have emerged for young players, baby boomers, and other demographics, while an online daily quiz keeps players engaged, says Chris Bensch, chief curator at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
• Slime: The appeal of this plaything is more about squish than skill. Introduced commercially in 1976, slime has been manufactured under various brand names, but it's even more accessible as a do-it-yourself project. The internet offers a variety of recipes using ingredients like baking soda, glue, and contact lens solution. "Though slime continues to carry icky connotations to slugs and swamps—all part of the fun for some—the toy offers meaningful play," museum curator Michelle Parnett-Dwyer says, adding that it's also used for stress relief and building motor skills.
• Other entries: This year's inductees, which will be on permanent display at the Hall of Fame inside the Strong Museum, were voted in over other nominees such as the games Catan and Connect 4, the Spirograph drawing device, the lightsaber from Star Wars, Furby, and Tickle Me Elmo. They also beat out classics including scooters, cornhole, and snow.