Popular Toys From the '60s

Vintage Toys Still Popular Today

• Many toys created in the '60s are still alive now. The Etch-A-Sketch hasn't changed much over the decades. It still has a gray screen filled with aluminum powder, and two knobs on the bottom that you can move in a vertical or horizontal direction to create images.

  Play-Doh, the ever bright goo that can kids can shape into just about anything, didn't have as many accessories as are available now, but it was still a cherished item for the creative brain.

  Those who have nerves of steel might feel inclined to play Operation, the game of carefully removing body parts without setting off the big red nose of Cavity Sam .

Multi-Player Games

• Board games brought children together with others. In "Clue," for instance, you would carefully maneuver yourself around the board to find out who murdered the victim, with what and where.

  Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots was a two player action game in which players control boxing robots until a head pops off.

  For parties, people would play Twister, in which spinning a wheel would decide which body part would have to be placed on which color, creating a mess of bodies on a large, flat mat.

Batteries Sold Separately

• Lite-Brite is a creative toy allowing the user to choose either a pre-printed sheet design or his imagination to create a work of art with brightly colored mini-lights.

  Chatty Cathy, the doll that speaks for herself, is a classic example of a pull-string sound toy.

  Nobody can forget the Easy-Bake Oven, a safe mini-oven that would allow kids to create their own little recipes in the kitchen without getting in the way of mommy.

The Simple Things in Life

• Glass marbles were the focus of collecting and games in which players shoot them at each other or use them to hit a target. Spinning a ball bearing top would help pass the hours away by either trying to best your "top" time, or to beat a friend's time. Still popular now, kids can set little plastic LEGO bricks together to build and design houses, farms, skyscrapers or even rocket ships.