Thirty-seven brand guides to toys — the companies, lines and stores behind them.
Toy brands speak to two audiences at once, children and the adults who buy for them. These guides cover toy makers, toy lines and toy stores, with dated ownership changes and closures stated plainly.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Party games and toys
Uno, Twister, Jenga, Connect 4, Pictionary, Boggle, Mr. Potato Head and Easy-Bake Oven.
- Uno — The card game Merle Robbins made in Reading, Ohio, in 1971, sold to Bob Tezak’s International Games of Joliet, Illinois, redesigned into red cards and a red package, and owned by Mattel since the 1990s; with four colour suits, the Minimalista deck and the Artiste Series.
- Twister — The mat game Reyn Guyer conceived as a shoe-polish promotion, developed with Charles Foley and Neil Rabens as Pretzel, released by Milton Bradley in 1966, played by Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor on The Tonight Show, and owned by Hasbro since its 1984 purchase of Milton Bradley.
- Jenga — Leslie Scott’s block-stacking game, named from the Swahili kujenga, “to build”, launched at the London Toy Fair in January 1983 with sets made in Yorkshire, licensed through Pokonobe Associates and Irwin Toy, and sold under the Milton Bradley name by Hasbro.
- Connect 4 — The upright disc-dropping grid game credited to Howard Wexler, with Ned Strongin as partner, launched by Milton Bradley under the Connect Four trademark in February 1974 and owned with Milton Bradley by Hasbro since 1984, now sold as Hasbro Gaming’s Connect 4.
- Pictionary — Robert Angel’s drawing-and-guessing game, launched in Seattle in June 1985 by Angel Games, licensed to Western Publishing through The Games Gang in 1986, made by Hasbro’s Milton Bradley in North America from 1994 and later sold to Mattel.
- Boggle — The timed word game of sixteen lettered cubes credited to Allan Turoff, released by Parker Brothers of Salem, Massachusetts, for the 1973 holiday season, owned by Hasbro since its 1991 purchase of Tonka, and later extended by Winning Moves.
- Mr. Potato Head — George Lerner’s Funny Face Man kit, owned by Hassenfeld Brothers (later Hasbro) since 1952, given a plastic potato body in 1964, cast in Toy Story in 1995 and sold as Potato Head since Hasbro dropped the “Mr” from the brand name in 2021.
- Easy-Bake Oven — A 1963 Kenner Products toy from Cincinnati, heated by two light bulbs, sold in turquoise and pale yellow, owned by Hasbro since 1991, redesigned with a heating element in 2011 and offered in black and silver from 2013.
Toy companies
Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master, Kenner, Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, Ideal Toy Company and MGA Entertainment.
- Hasbro — The toy and game company begun by Henry, Hillel and Herman Hassenfeld in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1923, which sold fabric remnants and pencil boxes before toys, took the short name Hasbro in 1968 and announced a headquarters move from Pawtucket to Boston in 2025.
- Mattel — The toy company founded as Mattel Creations in a Los Angeles garage in 1945 by Harold Matson and Ruth and Elliot Handler, named from “Matt” and “El”, maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels, branded simply “Mattel” with a red sun logo from 1969 and based in El Segundo, California.
- Spin Master — The Toronto toy and entertainment company founded in 1994 by Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie and Ben Varadi, built on Air Hogs, Bakugan and PAW Patrol, and owner of Meccano since 2013, Etch A Sketch since 2016, Rubik’s Cube since 2021 and Melissa & Doug since 2024.
- Kenner — The Cincinnati toy company the Steiner brothers named for Kenner Street in the 1940s, maker of the Easy-Bake Oven and Star Wars figures, owned by General Mills from 1967, Tonka from 1987 and Hasbro from 1991, closed as an operating company in 2000 and kept by Hasbro as a brand name.
- Parker Brothers — The Salem, Massachusetts game publisher George S. Parker started in 1883, family-run until General Mills bought it in 1968, part of Kenner Parker Toys and then Tonka, owned by Hasbro since 1991 and folded into Hasbro’s own game branding in 2009.
- Milton Bradley — The Springfield, Massachusetts lithography business Milton Bradley founded in 1860, maker of The Checkered Game of Life and kindergarten supplies, later based in East Longmeadow, owned by Hasbro since 1984 and folded into Hasbro’s own game branding in 2009.
- Ideal Toy Company — The Brooklyn firm of Morris and Rose Michtom, renamed from Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in 1938, maker of Shirley Temple and Betsy Wetsy dolls, the company that put Rubik’s Cube in stores in 1980, later View-Master Ideal, absorbed via Tyco into Mattel in 1997; the name lives on as a trademark.
- MGA Entertainment — The Los Angeles toy company Isaac Larian built from a 1979 import business and Game & Watch distribution, renamed MGA Entertainment in 1997, maker of Bratz (2001) and L.O.L. Surprise! (2016), owner of Little Tikes since 2006, headquartered in Chatsworth since 2019.
Toy lines
G.I. Joe, Transformers, Furby, Tamagotchi, View-Master, Tonka, Magic 8 Ball and Teddy Ruxpin.
- G.I. Joe — The Hasbro line introduced in February 1964 as “America’s movable fighting man,” sold as an “action figure” rather than a doll, renamed the Adventure Team in 1970, relaunched at 3¾ inches in 1982 with a Marvel comic, and inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2004.
- Transformers — The 1984 Hasbro toy line built from Takara’s Diaclone and Micro Change robots, given Autobots, Decepticons and a backstory by Marvel Comics, marked with heat-sensitive rub signs from 1985, shared today by Hasbro and Takara Tomy, and inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2024.
- Furby — The talking toy patented by David Hampton and Caleb Chung, brought to market by Tiger Electronics in 1998 as Hasbro bought Tiger, speaking its own Furbish language, and relaunched by Hasbro in 2005, 2012, 2016 and 2023.
- Tamagotchi — The egg-shaped handheld pet devised by Bandai’s Aki Maita and Wiz’s Akihiro Yokoi, launched by Bandai in Japan in November 1996 and in the US in 1997, named from “egg” and “watch,” and relaunched from Tamagotchi Connection in 2004 to the Wi-Fi Tamagotchi Uni in 2023.
- View-Master — The stereoscopic viewer and reel developed by William Gruber with Sawyer’s of Portland, Oregon, introduced at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, owned by GAF from 1966, then View-Master International, View-Master Ideal and Tyco, merged into Mattel in 1997 and reissued as a 2015 VR viewer.
- Tonka — The toy trucks of Mound Metalcraft, founded in Mound, Minnesota, after World War II by Lynn Everett Baker, Avery F. Crounse and Alvin F. Tesch, renamed Tonka Toys in 1955, owned by Hasbro since 1991 and licensed to Basic Fun! from 2019, with an oval logo that became a word alone in 1978.
- Magic 8 Ball — The answer ball that grew out of Cincinnati’s Alabe Crafts, formed in 1946 by Abe Bookman and Carter, took its black 8-ball form for Brunswick Billiards in 1950, and passed to Ideal in 1971, then Tyco and, in 1997, Mattel.
- Teddy Ruxpin — Ken Forsse’s storytelling bear from Alchemy II in California, made by Worlds of Wonder from 1985 with a cassette that drove his eyes and mouth, and later by Playskool, Yes! Entertainment, BackPack Toys and Wicked Cool Toys.
Kids’ games and toys
Perfection, KerPlunk, Don’t Break the Ice, Hedbanz, Stretch Armstrong, Weebles and Erector Set.
- Perfection — The shape-matching game with a timer and a spring-loaded tray, patented in 1973 by Harmonic Reed Corporation of West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, sold by Lakeside, passed to Coleco and, from 1989, part of the Coleco product lines bought by Hasbro.
- KerPlunk — The marbles-and-sticks game that Ideal released in 1967, credited to toy inventor Eddy Goldfarb, named for the sound of falling marbles, and sold today by Mattel in the United States after Hasbro carried it in the United Kingdom.
- Don’t Break the Ice — The tabletop game of plastic ice blocks and little mallets, launched by Schaper of Minnesota in 1968 or 1969, which passed through Kusan and Tyco to Milton Bradley in 1986 and is now sold by Hasbro.
- Hedbanz — The “What Am I?” guessing game in which players wear a picture card in a headband, from Trends International, which Spin Master took on for the US and Mexico in 2011 and whose global rights it acquired in 2019, alongside a Hedbanz app.
- Stretch Armstrong — The gel-filled latex figure Kenner put on sale in 1976, reissued by Cap Toys in the 1990s, licensed by Hasbro to Character Options from 2015 and to Basic Fun! from 2025, with a Netflix series in 2017.
- Weebles — The weighted egg-shaped figures introduced in 1971, sold with the line “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down”, owned by Hasbro since its 1984 purchase of Milton Bradley and relaunched by licensee PlayMonster in 2023.
- Erector Set — A. C. Gilbert’s steel construction kit, patented in 1913 and sold by his Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, boxed in wood and then painted steel, later owned by Gabriel, Ideal and Tyco, and bought by Meccano in 1990.
Toy stores
Toys “R” Us, KB Toys, FAO Schwarz, Zany Brainy, Noodle Kidoodle and Learning Express Toys.
- Toys “R” Us — Charles Lazarus’s Washington baby-furniture store turned toys-only chain in 1957, a backwards R meant to look as if a child wrote it, Geoffrey the Giraffe from 1965, US stores closed in 2018, and a name run by WHP Global since 2021 through Macy’s shops and standalone stores.
- KB Toys — Harry and Joseph Kaufman’s 1922 Pittsfield candy wholesaler, renamed Kay-Bee for the brothers’ initials, a mall toy chain that closed in 2009, and a name owned by Strategic Marks and licensed for merchandise since 2024.
- FAO Schwarz — Frederick August Otto Schwarz’s Baltimore Toy Bazaar of 1862, New York from 1870, the Fifth Avenue store and its floor piano in “Big” (1988), Toys “R” Us ownership from 2009, and ThreeSixty Group since 2016 with a flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza from 2018.
- Zany Brainy — The educational toy and book chain founded in 1991 by David Schlessinger, run from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, merged with Noodle Kidoodle in 2000, later owned by FAO Inc., and liquidated in 2003; a website now sells under the name.
- Noodle Kidoodle — The educational toy chain opened in November 1993 by Greenman Bros., a Long Island toy and housewares distributor, renamed Noodle Kidoodle Inc. in 1995, based in Farmingdale, New York, and bought by Zany Brainy in 2000, which rebranded its shops.
- Learning Express Toys — The specialty toy store begun in 1987 in Acton, Massachusetts, to raise money for Groton Community School, built by Sharon DiMinico into a franchise from 1990, run from Devens, Massachusetts, and trading as Learning Express Toys & Gifts.
At a glance: founding, owner and base
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership changes; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boggle | Released: Parker Brothers, Salem, Massachusetts (1973) | A Hasbro game brand | Today: A Hasbro game brand |
| Connect 4 | Milton Bradley, under the Connect Four trademark (1974) | Hasbro, which has owned Milton Bradley since 1984 | Today: Hasbro, which has owned Milton Bradley since 1984 |
| Don’t Break the Ice | Schaper, Minnesota (1968 or 1969) | Hasbro | Today: Hasbro |
| Easy-Bake Oven | Introduced: Kenner Products, Cincinnati, Ohio (1963) | Hasbro, owner since 1991 | Today: Hasbro, owner since 1991 |
| Erector Set | Patented: Alfred Carlton Gilbert, Mysto Manufacturing Company (1913) | Sold as Erector by Meccano; Meccano owned by Spin Master | Today: Sold as Erector by Meccano; Meccano owned by Spin Master |
| FAO Schwarz | Toy Bazaar, Baltimore; New York from 1870 (1862) | Operated by ThreeSixty Group since 2016; flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza | Today: Operated by ThreeSixty Group since 2016; flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza |
| Furby | United States (1998) | Hasbro, which bought Tiger in 1998 | Owner: Hasbro, which bought Tiger in 1998 |
| G.I. Joe | Introduced: Hasbro (then Hassenfeld Brothers), Rhode Island (1 February 1964) | Hasbro, Pawtucket, Rhode Island | Today: Hasbro, Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
| Hasbro | Hassenfeld Brothers, Providence, Rhode Island (1923) | Hasbro, Inc., moving its headquarters from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Boston | Today: Hasbro, Inc., moving its headquarters from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Boston |
| Hedbanz | Trends International | Spin Master: US and Mexico rights | Known for: Headbands, picture cards, “What Am I?” |
| Ideal Toy Company | Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, Brooklyn, New York (1903) | Former company; absorbed through Tyco into Mattel in 1997, name kept as a trademark | Today: Former company; absorbed through Tyco into Mattel in 1997, name kept as a trademark |
| Jenga | Created: Leslie Scott; launched at the London Toy Fair (1983) | A Pokonobe Associates brand, licensed to Hasbro | Today: A Pokonobe Associates brand, licensed to Hasbro |
| KB Toys | Kaufman Brothers, wholesale candy, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1922) | Stores closed in 2009; name owned by Strategic Marks and licensed since 2024 | Today: Stores closed in 2009; name owned by Strategic Marks and licensed since 2024 |
| Kenner | Cincinnati, Ohio, by Albert, Philip and Joseph L. Steiner (1946/47) | Closed as an operating company by Hasbro in 2000; the name is a Hasbro brand | Today: Closed as an operating company by Hasbro in 2000; the name is a Hasbro brand |
| KerPlunk | Released: Ideal Toy Company, United States (1967) | Sold by Mattel in the US under Mattel Games | Today: Sold by Mattel in the US under Mattel Games |
| Learning Express Toys | First store, Acton, Massachusetts (1987) | Founder: Sharon DiMinico | Home office: Devens, Massachusetts |
| Magic 8 Ball | Alabe Crafts, Cincinnati, Ohio (1946) | Mattel, owner since acquiring Tyco Toys in 1997 | Today: Mattel, owner since acquiring Tyco Toys in 1997 |
| Mattel | Mattel Creations, Los Angeles, California (1945) | Mattel, Inc., headquartered in El Segundo, California | Today: Mattel, Inc., headquartered in El Segundo, California |
| MGA Entertainment | Los Angeles area; company dates its start as Micro Games of America (1979) | MGA Entertainment, Inc., privately held, headquartered in Chatsworth, Los Angeles | Today: MGA Entertainment, Inc., privately held, headquartered in Chatsworth, Los Angeles |
| Milton Bradley | Milton Bradley Company, Springfield, Massachusetts (1860) | A Hasbro brand name, owned by Hasbro since 1984 | Today: A Hasbro brand name, owned by Hasbro since 1984 |
| Mr. Potato Head | Introduced: Hassenfeld Brothers (later Hasbro), Rhode Island (1952) | Sold as Potato Head by Hasbro, Pawtucket, Rhode Island | Today: Sold as Potato Head by Hasbro, Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
| Noodle Kidoodle | First Noodle Kidoodle store, Greenvale, New York (1993) | Greenman Bros., renamed Noodle Kidoodle Inc. in 1995 | Today: Bought by Zany Brainy in 2000; its stores were rebranded |
| Parker Brothers | George S. Parker Company, Salem, Massachusetts (1883) | A Hasbro brand name, owned by Hasbro since 1991 | Today: A Hasbro brand name, owned by Hasbro since 1991 |
| Perfection | Patented: US patent 3,710,455, Harmonic Reed Corporation, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (1973) | Part of the Coleco product lines Hasbro bought in 1989 | Today: Part of the Coleco product lines Hasbro bought in 1989 |
| Pictionary | Angel Games, Inc., Seattle, Washington (1985) | A Mattel game brand | Today: A Mattel game brand |
| Spin Master | Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1994) | Spin Master Corp., Toronto, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange | Today: Spin Master Corp., Toronto, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange |
| Stretch Armstrong | Kenner, Cincinnati, Ohio (1976) | A Hasbro name, licensed to Basic Fun! since 2025 | Today: A Hasbro name, licensed to Basic Fun! since 2025 |
| Tamagotchi | Japan (23 November 1996) | Bandai, part of Bandai Namco Holdings | Owner: Bandai, part of Bandai Namco Holdings |
| Teddy Ruxpin | Created by: Ken Forsse and Alchemy II, Northridge and Chatsworth, California (1985 toy debut) | Original maker: Worlds of Wonder, Fremont, California | Later makers: Playskool (Hasbro), Yes! Entertainment, BackPack Toys, Wicked Cool Toys |
| Tonka | Mound Metalcraft, Mound, Minnesota (1946 (Wikipedia)) | Owned by Hasbro since 1991; licensed to Basic Fun! from 2019 | Today: Owned by Hasbro since 1991; licensed to Basic Fun! from 2019 |
| Toys “R” Us | Baby-furniture store in Washington, D.C.; toys-only store from 1957 (1948) | Brand controlled by WHP Global (Tru Kids) since 2021 | Today: Brand controlled by WHP Global (Tru Kids) since 2021 |
| Transformers | Hasbro, United States (1984) | Hasbro and Takara Tomy | Today: Hasbro and Takara Tomy |
| Twister | Released: Milton Bradley, United States (1966) | Hasbro (owner of Milton Bradley since 1984) | Today: Hasbro (owner of Milton Bradley since 1984) |
| Uno | Made: Reading, Ohio (1971) | Mattel, El Segundo, California | Today: Mattel, El Segundo, California |
| View-Master | Introduced: 1939 New York World’s Fair (1939) | Developed by: William Gruber with Sawyer’s of Portland, Oregon | Owners: Sawyer’s, GAF (1966), View-Master International (1981), Tyco (1989), Mattel (1997) |
| Weebles | Introduced: United States (1971) | A Hasbro name, licensed to PlayMonster since 2023 | Today: A Hasbro name, licensed to PlayMonster since 2023 |
| Zany Brainy | Zany Brainy, with early stores in the mid-Atlantic region (1991) | Stores liquidated in 2003; a website sells under the Zany Brainy name | Today: Stores liquidated in 2003; a website sells under the Zany Brainy name |
See also all collections.