Very Vintage Clunker!

 Hey guys!

This week I'm going to feature a game that makes Recall look like best best thing since sliced bread! I picked this one up at an estate sale that really didn't have much of anything interesting. It was cheap, and old, so I figured "why not?"

Here it is!

Yep! It's "Spelling and Anagrams!" How's that for raw excitement? You can see how thrilled those kids are on the box, as they say their tag lines in glorious monotone!

The box is small, as I demonstrate here with my hand...

Now they tried to make this turkey exciting by putting thrilling descriptions on the sides! It didn't work.

The people responsible for this version of the game. Apparently the letter tiles are printed on squares of photo matting board.

The top comes off to reveal...

And there we have it! 216 tiles with letters on them! Yay!!!

Although the 1930 at the top of the instructions references the product number, I think it's also the publishing date. All the sources I could find (yes, I did research) say 1930s.

Read the instructions if you want. I couldn't make heads or tales out of them. Mainly because the game seems so mind numbingly dull.

And there you have it! I can honestly say that I'll probably never even attempt to play this game. These go for very cheap anywhere you see them for sale, by the way. 

However, they do have some historic value. You see, they inspired a certain Mr. Butts to come up with Scrabble, which is, in every way, a better game.

So there you have it! Until next time, keep seaching for treasure!

From the Depths to the Sky!

 Last week we explored warfare in the deep with Milton Bradley's Sub Search. This week we're taking to the skies with another Milton Bradley offering, Chopper Strike!

Offered in 1976, Chopper Strike is a little less well known than Sub Search. It's still a fun game of strategy, though. Like Sun Search, Chopper Strike uses a unique 3D board. In this case the whole top level is transparent, however. Let's take a look, shall we?

The box art probaby gives the best picture of how this game sets up. The idea is that each player has six jeeps (with anti-aircraft guns) and six choppers. The first person to take out all of their opponent's jeeps or choppers wins. In that way, it's very much like Sub Search. That's about the only way, though.

On the inside of the box, you get a short run-down of the idea...

And here is my game all set up! The clear plastic parts aren't stiff, brittle plastic, but are, rather, a little rubbery. This really helps with setting up the game. It also helps with not breaking the almost fifty year old parts! The only signs of age are a very slight yellowing of the clear.

A top down view gives you a better idea of the layout.

And here are the all important instructions (printed out from the internet)

Game play is actually very interesting. There are two die which are rolled each turn. One (with only a 1,2, or 3 possible) tells a player how many pieces he can move. The other regular die tells the player how many spaces each piece must move. The choppers can move anywhere, while the jeeps can only move on spaces not occupied by a lake or a hill. 

Destroying the enemy is also interesting. Choppers destroy enemy pieces by jumping them, as in checkers, while jeeps destroy enemy pieces by landing on them, as in chess. The upper and lower levels are considered one board. In other words, if a jeep lands on a space under a space occupied by a chopper, the chopper is shot down. 

I picked this game up many years ago at a thrift store. I was lucky that all the parts are there, except for one AA gun for a jeep, one one set of rotors for a chopper. That doesn't affect game play in any way. 

I was surprised that I didn't remember this game from my youth, as it's a really good strategy game. I guess I was beginning to think about girls and rock and roll a bit too much to be bothered with a board game. Also, Chopper Strike doesn't seem to have made as big of a splash as Battleship and Sub Search ("splash" Get it?)

That being said, I'm glad I discovered it, as it's arguably the best designed game of the three. It's easy to play, but still takes quite a bit of skill to master! 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Searching for Subs....

 And not the sandwich kind! 

Last week I shared a dud of a game that was thrown in with an purchase that I really did want? The wanted game? Sub Search by Milton Bradley! 

Sub Search was launched in 1973 as a "3D version" of Battleship. In reality, it's a better game, since there is more strategy involved. Let's take a look, shall we?

The box is in kind of rough shape. I think it was sitting in the same basement as the Recall game. 

Upon opening the big box, we see a lot of big parts!

This game didn't come with the instructions, but fortunately you can look up all of Milton Bradley's game instructions online and print them off! That's what I did here...

The Sub Search game board is a thing of beauty! Four levels of game playing fun! Each player gets three ships (with white peg "depth charges"), three subs, and a mine. 

Notice that the end pieces are translucent plastic. This is a smart idea so that the lower levels will have light. Also note that the different depths of the game board get darker the lower you go. 

Simulated game play!

Here are the instructions. They are actually pretty easy. The 3D aspect of near misses and torpedo attacks add quite a bit of excitement to game play. By the way, a torpedo attack is kind of a desperation move, since it shows where your sub is. Oh, and subs can't move. Bummer!

You can win by either taking out all three of your opponent's ships or subs (the subs are more likely). All in all, it's an exciting strategy game!

As boring as Recall may be, Sub Search more than makes up for it. So, I guess I can forgive those people for slipping in the clunker game with it. 

Sub Search is, sadly, out of production so if you want a copy Ebay is your friend. They seem to go for around fifty bucks, which is fair. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Total Recall

 No, not the movie, the GAME from 1968! I got this game tossed in to another game purchase years ago (I think the game I was after was Sub Search). I've never thought much about it, but I figured I'd do a quick post on it, so here we are!

Recall was put out by Milton Bradley in 1968. The idea is pretty simple; arrange some pre-printed die cut cards on a tray, let the other players see them for a moment, and then see how many details they can remember!

This is the rather large box (all the better for point of sale displays). Mine isn't in great shape, having at some point apparently been in a damp basement...

And here are the instructions. Over half of the print is just covering how to assemble and operate the wind-up turntable. 

The actual pieces are large and colorful, which kids tend to like. I was a little concerned that my turntable might not work after all these years, but with a bit of coaxing, it sprang to life (get the spring reference?)

And here are sample scenes that could be set up! Yay!

I really don't remember ever actually playing this, but a notepad in the box indicates otherwise. So I know I've played it at least once. And apparently it didn't make the biggest impression on me...

All in all, it's an ok game for a thrown in freebie, but it's not great. Speaking of "not great," here is the vintage 1968 commercial for it. "Not great" is an understatement.

Recall Ad

Yeah, get THAT catchy jingle out of your head.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!