Entry 16: Classic Games

        This past week a game we picked up on eBay arrived. It was a “vintage” game that was still new in the sealed shrink wrap (Deutschlandreise). As my daughter was splashing away in her kiddie pool at my parents’ house, all of us sat around the patio table and opened the game to see what it is all about. This game was from 1977 so we talked about how board games have come a long way in terms of design and materials used. We also discussed some “classic games” from our youth and how some of them have not changed much. 

        That got me thinking about some of the games that we played growing up. Most of which are still around, some are not made anymore. I want to highlight some that has stood up over time and a few that are hard to find. 

Chutes and Ladders 

 “Traditional game from ancient India was brought to the UK in 1892 and first commercially published in the USA by Milton Bradley in 1943 (as Chutes and Ladders). Players travel along the squares sometimes using ladders, which represent good acts, that allow the player to come closer to nirvana while the snakes were slides into evil.” (Boardgamegeek.com) 

        The Milton Bradley version has withstood time and is one that is still mass produced today. As simple game that I am sure will return to our collection for our daughter to play. 

The Game of Life 

        Another Milton Bradley game that was actually created over 150 years ago in 1860 and was one of the more popular parlor games of the time. A hundred years later the game got a redesign into what we know it as today. Since then, it has gone though a handful more transformations and has branched out into dozens of special editions, video games, and was even made into a television game show which lasted two seasons. 

Sorry! 

        Sorry! Is a game that has been around for almost 100 hundred years (created in 1929) that has not gone through major revisions of the game. The major changes to the game have been the wording on the cards you draw to move around the board. There have been a few other changes to the game but nothing major that affects the design or actual game play. 

Risk 

        The basic game of Risk has withstood the change in time. Minor differences (the game pieces) from the original to the present has allowed generations to enjoy the game together. There also has been around 50 officially licensed versions of the game published since the 1980s. 

Battleship 

        The origin of the game is still unknown but variations were played during World War I and the first commercially made version was called Salvo in the 1931. Upgraded versions have progressed the game into the “modern” age of gaming going from a paper game to pegboards to electronic and digital. “Hey, you sunk my Battleship.” 

Monopoly 

        Original version by Lizzie Magie was called The Landlord’s Game, the version we know today was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935 which dropped one of Lizzie’s rule sets. Like Risk, Monopoly has evolved, expanded, and been made into 1000s of variations. Of all the games I know, you can probably fill a large Amazon distribution warehouse with just variants of the ~opoly games from throughout the world and still not have enough space for all of them. 

Other Games 

        Other games that have withstood the test of time include Scrabble, Guess Who, Trivial Pursuit, and Pop-o-Matic Trouble. I am one that loves the Trivial Pursuit games and own a dozen or so editions of the game. 

Out of Print (OOP) Games 

        Key to the Kingdom (1990) is a game that had and wish I still had. The game had a “transforming” board in which the travelers would move through a whirlpool to get to the other parts of the board that fold. This game was a favorite of mine because of the fantasy adventure theme. 

        The other game that I wish I still had was called The Omega Virus (1992) which was an electronic space adventure game in which you had limited amount of time to gather resources and search & destroy the “omega virus.” It was a fun game because you had to enter codes into a keypad and if you were wrong the “omega virus” would mock you. 

        My sister and I were trying to come up with names of other games that we had or we played from our childhood that may be OOP games but we couldn’t think of any. We mostly reminisced about those two games and now I am wrestling and trying to justify spending $100 plus for each on eBay. My wife may not like that though but hey, the memories are worth it right?? 

Modern Times & Classic Games 

        As a person who loves board games and one who doesn’t mind finding classic “gems” at thrift stores, I feel that the classics are often overlooked and even put down because of the how “basic” they are as compared to modern games such in-depth Euros and Ameritrash (see article on Boardgamegeek for more info). Even though I love our modern game collection, it fun to go back to the classics from time to time. As with genealogy, it is nice to examine our “roots.”