LEGO named in top 100 toys of all time by Hamleys

LEGO bricks have been named in a list of the top 100 toys of all time by major toy brand Hamleys, listed alongside Barbie, Rubik’s cubes, and more.

UK toy store Hamleys has compiled a ‘hero’ top 100 list of the best toys of all time, informed with the guidance of the brand’s top buyers. In celebration of the toy store’s 265th birthday, the list features toys based on their cultural impact, enduring popularity, and historical significance.

LEGO has made the last, getting complimented on being ‘timeless, creative, and a global phenomenon’. Hamleys also noted how LEGO products have gone on to inspire toys, films and theme parks.

Toys that made it into the top 10 on the list include the Barbie doll, the Rubik’s cube, the board game Monopoly, the Tamagotchi virtual pet, the Action Man doll, the Teletubby doll, the Furby, the Frozen singing doll, and the Nintendo Game Boy.

Certain factors helped toys to climb the list, with buyers telling the Independent that nostalgia and exclusivity help catapult toys from good to great.

“Once you start looking at this, it turns rapidly into a nostalgia-fest – even for toys from four or five years ago,” said Victoria Kay, head buyer at Hamleys. “My personal favourite is the Sindy doll. I was always a Sindy girl as she was a cool British icon. I also adored Glo Worm, even though I was maybe a bit old for it and Simon felt like properly cutting edge, advanced technology when it came out – it was literally the soundtrack of Christmas in the 80s.”

“You can never underestimate the power of togetherness created around some of the big-sellers, continued Kay. “Those toys that bring people of all ages together: get families around a table talking, playing, challenging, maybe even cheating. Monopoly would be nothing without the competitive family battles that emerge.”

Featured image: Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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