FamilyFun's 2012 Toy of the Year Awards

The Top 10 Toys of the Year

#1 Symphony in B

Young maestros place up to six tiny plastic instruments (each with an electronic sensor) in the orchestra pit to hear them play together. The real fun comes in switching them around. Replace a violin and a piano with, say, an accordion and a tuba, and the whole tenor of a tune changes—oom-pah-pah Brahms, anyone? With 13 instruments and 15 songs, combinations are endless. Battat Toys, $49.99, Ages 3 and up

#2 Digital Light Designer

Kids can see their name—and much more—in lights with this way-cool glowing art gizmo. Use the stylus to draw pictures and play games on the outside of the dome, then turn on the animation mode and watch the drawings spin like a top. Crayola, $49.99, Ages 6 and up

#3 YBike Explorer

With its side-mounted steering handles and quick-swivel rear wheel, this lean, mean, kid-powered machine just screams for a driveway slalom course. YBike, $199.99, Ages 5 to 10

#4 Monster Fighters Vampyre Castle

With 949 pieces, Lego's monster of a building set has more moving parts than a bat-infested clock tower. "The greatest Lego set ever," raves one mom. "It glows in the dark! It flings spiders! It comes with a car!" LEGO, $99.99, Ages 8 and up

#5 Servin' Surprises Kitchen & Table

Little Chopped champions will find everything they need in this compact kitchen: 26 pieces of play food and dinnerware, a griddle, a burner, an oven, and sound effects (boiling water, sizzling grill). The best parent-friendly feature: the cooking area turns into a smooth- topped play table, with room to store most of the accoutrements neatly inside. Fisher-Price, $79.99, Ages 3 to 6

#6 Marker Airbrush

Our testers got, well, pumped up by this no-batteries- required airbrush set. Simply put a washable or fabric marker in the spray gun, give the unit a few pumps, and decorate away! Big bonus: when the set's markers run out, just replace them with standard Crayola markers. Crayola, $24.99, Ages 5 and up

#7 Monopoly Zapped

How do you improve on a classic? Add 21st-century tech by downloading a special app to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to boost the fun. Testers loved the app mini-games, such as Get Out of Jail, where players fling Mr. Monopoly, Angry Birds- style, into his waiting car. Hasbro, $29.99, Ages 8 and up

#8 Take Along Soccer Match (4725)

Sports-loving Playmobil fans will give its 22- by 33-inch soccer set a big cheer. Kids move their players into position to set up for the perfect kick or header. For all-important road matches, the game folds into its own carrying case. Playmobil, $59.99, Ages 5 to 10

#9 Micro Chargers Time Track

Don't let their 1-inch stature fool you: these cute-as-a-bug mini racers flash serious speed as they whiz around the twisting track. Scaled up to lifesize, they'd top out at 600 mph. Eat rubber, Jimmie Johnson! Moose Toys, $34.99, Ages 6 to 10

#10 Go-Go-Pogo

Our testers were leaping around like kangaroos at a sock hop on this electronic pogo. Five built-in challenges, such as speed trials and a freeze-tag version of Musical Statues, kept the fun going for hours. Diggin Active, $49.99, Ages 5 to 10