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Iconic British toy chain reveals top 100 toys of all time including retro classics – did your favourite make the list?
AN ICONIC toy chain has revealed a list of the top 100 toys of all time, including some childhood classics.
The team of buyers at Hamleys has rounded up its favourite games, dolls and more throughout history as it marks its 265th birthday.
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Victoria Kay, head buyer at Hamleys, said: "Once you start looking at this (list), it turns rapidly into a nostalgia-fest – even for toys from four or five years ago."
Classic toys such as Barbie dolls, first launched in 1959, made the top 100 list, as well as iconic card game UNO.
LEGO Harry Potter, which first went on sale in 2018, also made Hamleys' list.
Some nostalgic toys also featured, including space hoppers, which first launched in 1970, and Jenga.
We reveal the top 100 list down below, but here are five standouts.
Monopoly
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A game which inevitably leads to debate and arguments among friends and family, Monopoly first launched in 1935.
The true icon of board games, more than 113 local editions exist in countries across the world with it available in 46 languages.
Since its launch almost a century ago, it is believed to have sold over 300million copies worldwide.
You can currently pick up the classic Monopoly game from Smyths Toys for £14.99.
A simple but endlessly enjoyable game, more than 150million sets of UNO have sold worldwide across 80 countries.
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The game, which you win by getting rid of all your cards, was first invented in 1971.
A pack of UNO cards is on sale for £3.99 currently on
Rubik's Cube
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No list of top toys would be complete without the Rubik's Cube, of which more than 500million copies have been sold globally.
Hamleys claims this makes it the biggest selling puzzle game of all time, after its launch in 1974.
The current world record for solving a Rubik's Cube is held by Xuanyi Geng, who completed a 3x3x3 cube in just over three seconds.
The Works is selling one on its website for £3.
Nintendo Game Boy
Three Nintendo consoles made it onto Hamleys' top 100 list, including the 1989 Game Boy.
The first of its kind, the Game Boy line went on to become a cultural icon of the 1990s and 2000s.
An original 1989 device is currently on sale for £75 on CeX's website.
They have been known to sell for as much as £620 in the past though, while other retro computer games have gone for up to £1.5million.
Barbie
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An undoubted staple in many children's lives growing up, the first Barbie doll launched in 1959.
Since then, one billion of the dolls, made by Mattel, are thought to have been sold worldwide.
So famous is the toy, a feature-length film was released in 2023 chronicling about the character.
Shoppers can currently buy a Barbie Fashionista doll on The Entertainer's website for £7.
Sell a vintage model and you could end up getting nearly £1,000 though, according to one expert.
What else made the list?
Other best-selling dolls made the list including Tiny Tears, Polly Pocket, My Little Pony and Bratz.
Action figures such as Action Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars figurines also made the cut.
Clackers from the 1960s featured - combining two balls attached to a piece of string that you can bang together to make a "clack" sound.
Hamleys' top 100 list
Lego Classic Bricks
Monopoly
Beanie Babies
Polly Pocket
My Little Pony
UNO
Rubik's Cube
Tamagotchi
Clackers
Trivial Pursuit
Slime
Scooter
Pogo Stick
LUDO
Subbuteo
Transformers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Operation
Hungry Hippos
Connect 4
Kaledeiscope
Hatchimals
Bratz
Care Bearas
Yo Yo
Weebles
Masters of the Universe
Matchbox Cars
Speak and Spell
LeapPad
Teletubby Doll
Thunderbirds Tracy Island
Power Rangers
Pie Face
Lite-Brite
Nerf Blasters
Sylvanian Families
Battleships
Nintendo Game Boy 1989
Stretch Armstrong
Furby
Hot Wheels Cars
Troll Dols
Play-Doh
Pokemon Cards
Slinky
Cabbage Patch Kids
Mr. Potato Head
Tiny Tears Doll
Mouse Trap
Nintendo Wii
View-Master
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot
LOL Surprise Dolls
Pogs
Fingerlings
Barbie Doll
Simon
LEGO Harry Potter
Etch a Sketch
Action Man
Spirograph
Glo Worm
Nintendo Switch
Hula Hoop
Super Soaker
Baby Alive Doll
Tiddlywinks
Fisher-Price Telephone
Space Hoppers
Plasticine
Meccano
Marbles
Tammy Doll
Skittles
K'nex
Walkie Talkies
Boggle
Rubik's Snake
Playmobil
Jenga
Horny Trains
Buckaroo
Zapf Creation Dolls
Top Trumps
Scalextric
Cluedo
Spinning Tops
Fuzzy Felt
Space Invaders
Hamley Bear
Silly Putty
Magic Markers
Tonka Trucks
Sindy Doll
Wooden London Bus
Rocking Horse
Toy Soliders
Snakes and Ladders
Boglins
Pokemon cards and Top Trumps were also selected by the buying team at Hamleys.
Meanwhile, Playstation and the Xbox also made an appearance.
Victoria, head buyer, said there were a multitude of reasons why toys are so successful among shoppers.
"They can be educational, encourage role play, drive imagination or problem-solving, they can bring comfort or develop hand-eye coordination – there can be so many factors in creating immersiveness.
'You can never underestimate the power of togetherness created around some of the big-sellers – those toys that bring people of all ages together – get families around a table talking, playing, challenging, maybe even cheating.
'We also mustn't forget that simplicity is often key – the joy of cuddling a doll or storytelling with an action figure or a superfast Hot Wheel car.
"Combined with a good dose of jeopardy and you have something truly memorable."
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