An Inventive Game

 I remember getting the subject of this week's post for Christmas in 1974. It is the fun and wacky game, The Inventors! Let's jump right in, shall we?

Here is the box! You can see all the inventors in the patent office trying to get their inventions (which are actually in the game) patented. It seems the chap holding a certain board game has the best shot.

Upon opening the box, you see the fairly interesting game pieces. 

The board is divided into an inside and outside track. The players start on the outside track to collect inventions, and then move to the inside track to get paid for them with royalties. 

And here we have The Incredible Patent Picker Move Maker Machine. This gizmo rolls dice with a push of the plunger (while ringing a bell!) and puts metal patent clips of random values on the invention cards.

These are the metal patent clips. The higher the number (they go up to "2") the better!

This is how they are loaded into the machine!

Here are all the parts of the game.

And here are the Eureka Cards that add a bit of luck and skill to the game!

And what about those inventions? Well, here you go! As strange as these items seem, they are real historic patents.

A step by step illustration of how to add a patent clip...

On the back of the card, you can see the values.. 

Here are the details on how to play!

The person with the most money at the end of the game wins. The game is over when the last clip is played.

So, is it fun? Actually, yes! The wacky inventions and the Move Maker Machine keep things fun. All in all, it's a real winner!

The Inventors was designed by toy legend Marvin Glass, who was responsible for such hits as Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and Mousetrap. Or at least his employees were. You see, it has been said that Glass is the greatest toy inventor that never invented a toy! In a way, that's kind of fitting for this game.

Glass passed away in 1974, and this may have been one of the last products his studios released. It's good to go out with yet another winner!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!