Earlier today, in a ceremony held at The Strong’s National Museum of Play, Clue, the Wiffle Ball, and paper airplanes were inducted in to the National Toy Hall of Fame. Selection for the Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have “inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period.”

Clue, modeled after murder-mystery dinner parties, was invented by a British couple during the war years but did not see publication by Waddingtons, under the name “Cluedo”, until 1949. The game was soon thereafter purchased by Parker Brothers and released in the United States as “Clue”.

The Wiffle Ball, a hollow, plastic baseball replacement, was invented in the 1950s. Holes cut in the plastic ball slow its movement, allowing play in more cramped spaces and with fewer broken windows, as well as some mean curves even by amateur pitchers [all still important features when we played on 180th Terrace back in the late 70s and early 80s].

The origin of paper airplanes is said to date back to 1909, just a few years after the Wright brothers’ first flight.

These three toys were chosen by a panel of industry judges from a field of 12 finalists. Among the 62 previous inductees are marbles, Dungeons & Dragons, the Slinky, Barbie, puppets, and alphabet blocks.

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Tokaido, a game from publishers Funforge and Passport about traveling the East sea road in Japan, is now available in digital form (Android and iOS). At first glance, it appears to do a good job of maintaining the tabletop version’s beautiful aesthetic. There’s strategy for sure but the board game, at least, I enjoyed as much for the journey as for the winning. Single player, pass-and-play, and online multiplayer options are all available.

Zynga, in collaboration with Hasbro, has released Boggle With Friends. Available on Android and iOS, Boggle With Friends has both head-to-head and solo game modes, and is free-to-play with in-app purchases.

Also licensed from Hasbro, Marmalade Game Studio has released mobile versions of Clue (A.K.A. Cluedo) for Android and iOS. Right now, it’s single-player only but a multiplayer mode is planned.

Dungeons & Dragons-based Planescape: Torment is coming back in an Enhanced Edition from Beamdog playable on PC and mobile.

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Zontik’s luxury board games and accessories range from the merely expensive (for example, a $120 pair of acrylic dice cups) to the ostentatious (like a $5,900 Cluedo board game) and even the outrageous (such as a $42,000 game table).

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