Dungeons & Dragons To Enter the Toy Hall of Fame?

Dungeons and Dragons is one of twelve finalists that may enter the toy hall of fame. You can check them out at http://aap.museumofplay.org/browse/165/toys in the National Toy Hall of Fame.

First, let me say that this whole National Toy Hall of Fame is a little suspect to me. Why? Let me list a few ways:

1. What's the definition of "toy?" They inducted a stick and a cardboard box into the toy hall of fame. Really? Why not dirt, sand, and rocks. Those make pretty awesome "toys" too. Aren't toys manufactured by humans for the express purpose of play?
2. They've only be inducting toys since 1998. The order in which they're making it in is a little suspect. I mean, The Game Boy was inducted before playing cards into the hall of fame. Tinkertoys beat out a baby doll. Really? I think babydolls are kinda timeless and universal while nobody plays with Tinkertoys anymore!
3. It seems a lot of the toys inducted are focused on 50's nostalgia. View Masters and Erector sets were early inductees along with Raggedy Ann and the rocking horse. What about more modern, cool toys such as Laser Tag or Bakugon? 
4. There are likewise some notable omissions. How about, I don't know, the toy sword? Or a cap gun? Not in the hall of fame! 

Now, that being said, I always like to see roleplaying get a little recognition. Even though I don't consider a roleplaying book to be a "toy" I'll still support this endeavor to recognize roleplaying for its cultural significance! Make sure you check it out. There's a section where you can add your own D&D stories (or stories for the other 12 nominees if you wished to) which is pretty cool. 

The nominees are: Dollhouse, Rubics Cube, Hot Wheels, Jenga, Puppet, Remote Control Vehicle, Jenga, Twister, Transfomers, Star Wars Action Figures, Transformers, and, of course, Dungeons and Dragons. Do I think Dungeons and Dragons has a shot of winning? No, probably not. Only two can get in this year. How can you NOT put Hot Wheels and the Rubics Cube in let along the Dollhouse? That's some pretty stiff competition.

I did find it interesting what book they chose to visually represent Dungeons and Dragons. It isn't the 4th Ed. Player's Handbook. Instead, they chose the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set (2nd Edition). Perhaps they chose this version because of the nostalgia factor or perhaps because this was when the game really exploded into the mainstream.

Good luck, Dungeons and Dragons! 1LR is supporting you!