No playing around when these election results are announced

This won't be the first time you've heard this: We're on the verge of the most consequential election of our lifetimes.

When the results are officially announced Nov. 5, we'll finally have clarity. Will the voters get it right (Yahtzee, sidewalk chalk, bingo)? Or will they make a bad choice (Masters of the Universe toys, Risk)?

The consequences are enormous.

We're all wondering which three toys will be inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame this year in Rochester, N.Y.

Yes. The real election with results announced next week.

As you likely know, the 12 nominees for 2020 were announced earlier this year. Even during a pandemic, the Toy Hall of Fame goes forward, like a slinky (Class of 2000) bouncing down a long stairway or a Big Wheel (Class of 2009) going down a steep driveway. The nominees are the five aforementioned toys, as well as Baby Nancy, Breyer Horses, Jenga, Lite-Brite, My Little Pony, Sorry and Tamagotchi.

The Toy Hall of Fame began inducting toys in 1998. Most picks are great, but over the years, the hall has made the same obvious oversight, again and again: No version of the Nerf ball has been inducted, making it the Dan Marino, Barry Bonds or Susan Lucci of the toy world. Close, but never the chosen one.

Anyway, this year's ballot has some weaknesses in it, even if you ignore the Nerf snub. There are a couple of obvious slam-dunks (no offense to Nerf hoop), but even they aren't as strong as some earlier choices. For instance, the best group of the past decade is probably the Class of 2017, with the aforementioned Wiffle ball, Clue and the paper airplane.

All three of those rank higher than any of this year's nominees.

This year, sidewalk chalk is a strong favorite. While I don't think it existed when I was a kid (at least I didn't know about it. We just used regular chalk to play tic-tac-toe, design hopscotch boards and make lines to divide bike "lanes" on the road), but sidewalk chalk has been a part of childhood now for decades. Who doesn't like it?

The other favorite is likely bingo. While the Toy Hall of Fame website shows a specific board game of bingo, the nomination is for bingo in general. This is a rare multigenerational choice, as it's popular among kids (I remember playing it in school to learn letters and numbers, then playing it in middle school Spanish to learn numbers and letters: "Bay ocho. . . Bay ocho"). It remains a staple for seniors. Bingo seems an obvious choice.

The third slot is wide open. As mentioned, I'd go with Yahtzee, but I acknowledge that the game isn't as much fun as I remember. I could see Jenga being chosen, too. Sorry deserves consideration if for no other reason that the memorable TV commercials of the 1970s.

For now, hold your breath and wait for the election results, which will be announced a 7:30 a.m. Nov. 5. Let's hope the losers accept the decision with grace.

And let's hope Nerf gets nominated in 2021.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.