The Amazing Game That's Not a Game

 Howdy, attic searchers!

This week I'm featuring an odd duck in my spooky game collection. But before I dive in, a bit of background...

In the 60s and 70s people were going nutsy-coo coo for all things spooky and (if you wanted to sound scientific) "paranormal." I bring up the scientific term because that's exactly what this next "game" was trying to take on. Can the ooky-spooky world be made scientific? Sure!

Well...sort of.

In the 60s an entertainer named Kreskin was all the rage. He was a self-described "mentalist" (NOT psychic) who wanted to demonstrate that people could train their minds to do wonderful things...or train themselves to pick up on subtle clues from asking people questions- his goal seemsto shift depending on whom he's talking to. 

Anyway, in 1966 Milton Bradley was quick to jump onboard the craze with this:

The first thing that jumps out at me is that somehow they went 30 years into the future to get Jeff Goldblum to pose for the cover. The second thing that strikes me is that this is a game in much the same was as a Ouija board is a game. There is no competition here. It's all about testing the powers of...THE UNSEEN...(insert spooky music). This "game" is actually a collection of devices to "test" your extra-sensory perception. Let's dive in, shall we? (You said "yes." I know because I read your mind...and because you're still reading...)

Upon opening the box, we see this screen. It has weird marks on it that also appear on a deck of cards. This screen is to block the person looking at the cards from the person trying to guess the cards. Sorry, Dr. Venkman, no electric shocks here.

Next, we have the game board. This is actually something for the Mystery Pendulum to swing over to answer questions and such- much like that Ouija board that I mentioned earlier. Sort of "divining."

Additional cards for the pendulum. 

I don't know who Mike and David are, but apparently they were the original owners of the kit. They played it a LOT.

Fortunately, they left a few blank sheets.

The artwork inside the box looks like the outside

Here are cards to test your mind reading ability... Or.....something.....

And the Mystery Pendulum! It's plastic. Heavy plastic, but plastic.

If you don't want to read the detailed instructions, we have some printed on the cards...

But if you DO want to read all of them, here they are!

Like I said, this isn't really a game, although it was sold as one. In researching this (yes, I do research...every once in a great while) I found this quote from Kreskin himself about the game:

"Regarding your inquiry about the Kreskin ESP game, yours truly designed the game. As far as the artwork for the box, the Milton Bradley people had their staff do that. At one point, the amount of sales was over a million and it approached two million.
Thank you for your interest about the game. It became a very popular showcase, as I played it with many people on television, including Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, and Merv Griffin, as the pendulum proved to be a fascinating phenomena.

With all my best thoughts,
Kreskin"

By the way, Kreskin is still with us and still performs occasionally. For some reason, that's very reassuring. 

By the way, you can use anything on a string for a pendulum. Maybe you can use it while you're searching for treasure!