Slime, Battleship and Trivial Pursuit join the Toy Hall of Fame

Slime, the slimy, sticky and often homemade toy, was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame on Thursday along with the perennial hit games Battleship and Trivial Pursuit.

Each year, the Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have inspired creative play across generations, selecting its finalists from thousands of nominees submitted online. Public voting and a panel of experts decide which toys will be inducted.

Milton Bradley’s Battleship, a strategy game that challenges players to strike at an opponent’s warships, and Trivial Pursuit, which tests players’ knowledge in categories such as geography and sports, have each sold more than 100 million copies over several decades, according to the Hall of Fame.

Battleship began as a pencil and paper game in the 1930s, but it was Milton Bradley’s 1967 plastic edition with collapsible stations and model ships that became a hit with audiences. Its popularity peaked when Universal Pictures and Hasbro, which now owns Milton Bradley, released the 2012 film, “Battleship,” loosely based on the game. Battleship was also among the first board games to be computerized in 1979, according to the Hall of Fame, and there are now many electronic versions.

Trivial Pursuit allows players to compete alone or in teams as they move around a board answering trivia questions in exchange for corners in a game piece. Canadian journalists Chris Haney and Scott Abbott invented the game in 1979 and eventually sold the rights to Hasbro. Frequently updated specialized versions have emerged for younger players, baby boomers and other segments and a daily online quiz keeps players engaged, said chief curator Chris Bensch.

Slime’s appeal lies more in the crush than the skill.

It was introduced commercially in 1976 and has been manufactured under various brand names, but is even more accessible as a DIY project. The Internet offers a variety of recipes using ingredients like baking soda, glue, and contact lens solution.

“While slime continues to have disgusting connotations of slugs and swamps — all part of the fun for some — the toy provides meaningful play,” said curator Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, adding that it is also used to relieve stress and develop motor skills.

The honorees will be on permanent display at the Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

This year’s inductees were chosen from other nominees including the games Catan and Connect Four, the Spirograph drawing device, the “Star Wars” lightsaber, Furby and Tickle Me Elmo. They also beat classics like scooters, cornhole and snow.