The National Toy Hall of Fame revealed the 12 finalists for its 2022 class, and once again my favorite childhood toy . . . illegal fireworks . . . was robbed.

The finalists this year are:  Bingo . . . Breyer Horses . . . Lite-Brite . . . Catan (or The Settlers of Catan) . . . Masters of the Universe . . . Nerf toys . . . the piñata . . . Phase 10 . . . Pound Puppies . . . Rack-O . . . the Spirograph . . . and the top.

The winners will be voted on by toy industry experts . . . plus public voting at MuseumOfPlay.org throughout the next week.  Three of the 12 toys will wind up getting inducted.  They’ll be announced on November 10th.

Catan was also nominated last year, along with Masters of the Universe and the piñata, but they didn’t make the cut.  The three that DID make it in last year were:  American Girl Dolls, Risk, and sand . . . just SAND.