We asked 40 children, ages 6 through 12, to check out the fun factor in 24 toys that are expected to be hot holiday sellers this year. They range in price from less than $10 to $200.

After a day of unstructured play, we asked the kids to tell us whether they liked or disliked each toy, and to choose a favorite. Based on that, we came up with this year’s list of hot toys, in order of popularity.

What we found: The top four toys overall included everything from a racing timer to a magnifying handheld “bionic eye” to a remote-controlled vehicle equipped with a “spycam.” But not every toy was played with equally--a few were not played with at all.

Winners: Hot Wheels Racing Timer, Nerf N-Strike Disk Shot, VExplorer, and EyeClops Bionic Eye.

Some interest: Some toys also got lots of play, though not as much as the top toys. They included Zizzle Spotz, Lego Fire Station 7945, and Magnetix iCoaster.

Uneven response: A few toys, such as Robopanda and FurReal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot, drew some kids’ attention at first, but they soon got bored with them and moved on to other toys.

Availability: Most of these toys should be available through major retailers such as Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Target.com, Kmart.com, and Amazon.com. Only the Hot Wheels Racing Timer might have limited availability (we found it on Amazon.com, but not the other sites).

Safety concerns: Many of the toys we tested have small parts that could pose a choking hazard to kids under 3, and should be kept out of the reach of kids of that age group.

Some of the toys need to be used with a common-sense approach to safety. For example, the darts from the Nerf N-Strike and Agent Action Briefcase should not be aimed at anyone’s eyes or face.

One tested toy, Aqua Dots Super Studio, was recalled by the CPSC shortly after our tests were completed. See Recall: Aqua Dots Super Studio, as well as our Safety blog, for more information.

Recommendations: While parents are the best judges of the types of toys their kids tend to like, our listings provide guidance on the toys that were solid hits with the kids in our tests.

Also see our reports on the best toys for babies and toys for preschoolers for more information.