The Toys That Built America

This season turns the lens on an exciting new selection of bold visionaries and creators behind history’s biggest-selling toys, games, and action figures as they build billion-dollar empires against the backdrop of a changing world in the 20th century.

1. 

   E1. Transforming Toy Invasion

   Oct 15, 2023 · 41m

   In 1983, underdog company Tonka sets out to bring a game-changing toy from Japan to America: the transformable robot. But they're soon confronted by industry giant, Hasbro, who has its own competing toy line. It's a true David vs. Goliath story, as both race to rule this new frontier.

2. 

   E2. Mind Game Masters

   Oct 22, 2023 · 41m

   Before World War II, board games are mostly simple, but postwar peace and prosperity reveals a demand for more challenging pastimes. After decades of struggle, three different innovators break the mold to release games that combine fun with an intellectual challenge: Scrabble, Clue and Yahtzee.

3. 

   E3. Video Game Visionaries

   Oct 29, 2023 · 41m

   Thanks to the industry-defining innovations of three men through the creation of games like Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon, Nintendo goes from a struggling playing card company to a video game juggernaut.

4. 

   E4. Game Night Legends

   Nov 5, 2023 · 41m

   In the 1970s, the board game industry was aimed almost entirely at children, until a literal game changer came along in Trivial Pursuit; redefining the possibilities for adult fun, it opened up a whole new genre.

5. 

   E5. Mighty Mutant Mayhem

   Nov 12, 2023 · 41m

   The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles high kick their way into the action figure market in the late 1980s, opening the door for a new kind of martial arts toy. But their place at the top is soon challenged by a mighty morphin phenomenon that takes the world by storm.

6. 

   E6. Old Games, New Twists

   Nov 26, 2023 · 41m

   As toys become increasingly complex in the early 1970s, two unconventional inventors risk their homes and careers to bring revolutionary twists to classic games; together, Uno and Connect Four unleash a wave of family-friendly games.

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