Dungeons in the Dark

 Well this week I'm sharing what I was going to share last week if the post office hadn't been quite so slow. May I introduce Mattel Electronics Dungeons and Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game! 

Yes, that's certainly a mouthfull. But it's also a fairly good description of this cutting edge 1980 game. You see, in the late 70s (around the time I was a hip and cool teen) Dungeons and Dragons was huge! All the cool (nerdy) kids were rolling their 20 sided dice to score hits on their imaginary foes in a world completely created by the Dungeon Master.

 Now, I may have spent an hour (or a hundred) wandering these imaginary lands searching for riches, or, better yet, creating these worlds for my friends to explore. Time was plentiful, pizza was cheap, and the world was our oyster.

However, there was another ripple starting in the gaming pool. Electronic games, an offshoot of the birth of home computers and video arcades, began to appear. They were crude and simple, but to kids who had never seen the likes of them, they were exciting! It was only a (short) matter of time before the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons and electronics collided.

The first (and most sought after) mashup was...Dark Tower! My friend Chris had it. It's really cool. This post is not about it at all.

The second, and largely forgotten game was this one! (Insert fanfair). Let's take a look, shall we?

The box is colorful and, weirdly, features an Asian dragon. Most Dungeons and Dragons worlds were based on medieval Europe. Still, it's eye catching and colorful. My box is in fairly rough shape, but it still serves it's purpose.

A father and son searching for treasure!

The back lays out the stuff you get. Plus, it lets you know a little about what to expect.

And here we have the gameboard. Each square represents a bit of a dungeon to explore (say 10' by 10' area, for example). The thing that makes this game particularly challenging is that all information is given by sound alone. There is a sound when you walk into a wall. There is a sound when you wake the dragon up. There is a sound when you discover the treasure. And there is a sound when the dragon eats you. 

Yes, eats you. 

The point of it all is to simply grab the loot and make it back to your "secret room" before becoming a dragon Hot Pocket. (Dragons breathe fire, you know).

Now, to keep up with all that information the game is giving you, you have a drawer filled with props. There are red "wall" sections, and metal tokens for the dragon, treasure, and two brave knights. (Note: my game was missing the metal tokens, so I ordered new off eBay. They are the reason this post is a week late)

By the way, you can "test listen" to all the game sounds by playing them on this row of buttons.

The bottom of the game holds a pretty good rundown of how everything works.

Here is a typical setup. You only know where the walls are by running into them. You only know where the dragon is by waking him up (and then you only know approximately). You only know where the treasure is by tripping over it. In other words, it's as if the whole game is played in the dark!

The goal...

The baddie...

Sword Guy...

Mace Guy...

So how is the game? Actually, it's pretty good! The more you move, the higher the stress and when you hear the dragon wake up, it gets really exciting! It's not an easy game, which makes it repeatable. 

Interestingly enough, Mattel Electronics released a version with a screen right after this one. I've never played it, so I don't know how it stacks up. I think that one kind of phased this one out, so this one is fairly rare. 

All in all, it's a solid game that I recommend. Oh, and how about a period commercial? Here ya go!

Commercial!

So until next time, keep searching for treasure! (And don't get eaten!)

Kevin's Ride

 Blogging can be a tough game. Sometimes things you plan just don't work. Sometimes it's because you just suddenly realize the material isn't that interesting (I always run with it anyway), and sometimes logistics get in the way. 

For example, I ordered a part to complete a game off of eBay for this week, and although it was promised Thursday (a little later than I like to write it, but acceptable) here we are on Saturday with no stinkin' parts. So, what do you do?

You punt. You look around the house and grab something sorta interesting and go for it!

So, this week I give you...Kevin!

A bit of backstory is in order, I suppose. I found a little bendy alien on the ground outside of a middle school that the wife and I were voting at. He looked lonely, so I snatched him up and took him home. Somehow he ended up in my gig bag that I take with me when I play bass with various bands, so I started sticking him on top of my amp. 

At some point, someone asked me his name and I said "Kevin." This was mainly becsuse Kevin was just about the least alien name I could think of on the spot. 

As time went by, I noticed that Kevin was hard to spot on top of my amp, so I dug out an old broken toy flying saucer I had picked up at Good Will years ago, and plunked ol' Kev inside. He looked pretty good. But he needed...more....

A quick trip to my Amazon ap to buy some LEDs and an afternoon aimlessly soldering wires together until they worked gave us...Kevin's Ride! 

Now you can actually see him!

A few notes on the saucer: It's from the movie Mars Attacks and didn't work when I got it. It had a bubble on top, but Keven wouldn't fit in with it on there. I gutted all the old electronics and put in my Frankenstein creation. The on/off switch is one I ordered for something else, but it wouldn't fit. It's powered by a standard 9 volt battery. 

Interestingly, one of my bands, Off the Grid, has really taken to Kevin and made him the official mascot. Here's our logo...

So there you have the story of Kevin. A little bendy alien that went from lost to the mascot of a multi-hundred dollar empire!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Card Shark's Challenge

 This week's post is about a game I literally picked up on the side of the road. You see, there were some free antique doors that my wife wanted for craft projects in front of a house that was being remodeled, and there was a small pile of games and puzzles next to them. She got the doors and I got the games. 

Now, these weren't really exciting games. They were more like brain teasers by unknown (to me) companies. Today I'm sharing what is probably the most interesting, Scarne's Challenge. 

The box is in poor to terrible shape. In fact, it barely works as a box. The graphics are still there, though. Here they are...

Unfortunately, I didn't see $25,000 in the box, but I did see this...

Here is the board set up to play. Note that the numbers on a few of the tiles have worn off. It's easy to figure out what they're supposed to be, though. 

Ah, the rules! Before we look at them, let me tell you a little about what I found out about the game's creator, John Scarne. He is, after all, probably the most interesting thing about the game.

John Scarne wasn't just some bumpkin game designer. In fact, as a magician, he was one of the best card manipulators and mathematical geniuses around. During World War II, the military hired him to instruct the troops on how to avoid being cheated at cards and dice. He even played Paul Newman's hands in the 1973 movie, The Sting while he manipulated cards. This guy was good. Really good. In fact, he is considered by many to be the best ever.

He also spent much of his career disproving various "card counting" methods, and coming up with his own. He wrote about a dozen books on cards, magic, dice, and probability. He passed away in 1985 leaving quite a legacy behind. He's one of those people that is not generally well known, but in certain circles is very well known. He also created two games. One of which, published in 1947, is this one.

Now that I've set the stage, let's look at the instructions. You know a guy like Starne isn't going to create some historical simulation or fantasy adventure. Nope, this guy liked numbers. And numbers is what we get!

The closest thing this game reminds me of is the little peg jumping game that's on the tables in Cracker Barrel restaurants. But it's actually much more involved. Here you go...

The key is the setting youself up with your "jump moves" so that after your five you can manipulate the rest with "line moves." There are 20 preset games to choose from, each with scores for "par," "good," "fair," and "poor" games. I'm really good at "poor" and "incomplete" games. Especially "incomplete."

And here we have rules for group play, if you want to torture your friends...

All in all, it's not a bad game. But it's also not a great game. I can see how if you stick with it, you will improve your score. Still, I'm not sure I have that level of commitment. 

Starne's Challenge really is a challenge to get good at, and a fairly good game overall. It leans a little heavy into the puzzle side of gaming, having taken away all chance (no dice! No spinner!) which puts the full responsibility of how you do on your brain. My brain didn't like that. 

Still, for a "found on the side of the road" game, I guess it's not bad. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

You Sunk My....Carrier?

 Sorry this week's post is a little late! What can I say? Some weeks are just busier than others. 

Anyway, today we have a game that I think I got as an "add on" to another game I bought on eBay. In other words, I think I was buying Battleboard (which I've already written about) and this game was included as a package deal. 

I didn't know about this game as a kid, but it was certainly worthy of my attention. The game is Carrier Strike, by our old friends at Milton Bradly. I'm pretty sure that it was a follow up to Chopper Strike, which was released the year before. It was released in 1977, which would have made me about 14 or 15. Still, even a "cool" (in his own mind) teenager would have found this game fun and challenging. 

Let's take a look, shall we?

My box seems to have a rough case of WBS (wet basement syndrome). However, it only affects the cover art, and the rest of the box and contents are fine.

The bottom of the box offers a quick run down of what the point is to the game. 

Upon opening the box, you see a double fold board. Since the box is already pretty big, you know this board is going to be really big! In fact, it folds out to a 26.5" by 27" "ocean."

Here are all the bits and pieces, and there are quite a few of them. Luckily my game is complete!

The detailing on the pieces is nice, and more than one reviewer that I read commented on them.

Here we have a mock setup. The yellow carriers start from the yellow side and the red from the red side. You can place the carriers anywhere on your side.

A close up of a "loaded" yellow carrier...

...and a red one. Four planes are stored on top and six torpedos are stored below deck. The planes have a slot where they can carry a torpedo.

Attacks are aided by these templates that show when you are close enough to attack. These help because the hexagonal spaces are sometimes hard to judge.

So, let's take a look at the rules, shall we? For a game that packs as much strategy and skill into gameplay, the rules are fairly easy. It should be noted that more "serious" military simulation games (such as Avalon Hill games) use some of these same ideas, not to mention the style of gameboard.

As you can see by the instructions, this game is all about difficult choices. Do you move the carriers or the planes? Is my pilot good enough to engage in a dogfight? Do you split your roll between the planes or go all in on one? Are you at a good enough angle to launch your torpedo? Heck, even "If I launch my torpedo, am I going to accidently hit my own ship?" 

All in all, Carrier Strike is a fun game that's easy to play, but difficult to master! People that had it as a kid rave about it being one of the all time classics. I'm glad I got it as a "thrown in" game, since I knew nothing about this gem!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

One That Didn't Getaway!

 A lot of stuff I post on here, I've had for quite a while. Sometimes, however, I'll post a brand new find from a thrift store or estate sale. Today is one of those days!

Yesterday (yes, yesterday) I was looking at Facebook Marketplace when I saw a grail item for me. The AMF Getaway Chase Game from 1966! The price was extremely low, so I contacted the seller, half expecting not to hear back (Marketplace transactions can be a bit flaky). However, I DID hear back and a couple of hours later I owned a copy of this great game!

Now, it isn't perfect, but few are. The seller went out of his way to point out that the cars didn't work, and it was missing a couple of pieces. Still, let's take a look shall we?

This box is pretty big (20x24x3). It's also remarkably clean and intact after 59 years. AMF made this game for DX gas stations to sell in 1966. The game is actually a slot car type toy where the players try to bump each other's cars bumpers. You do this by changing the car's direction with switches in the track. 

Upon opening the game, we find the parts! And there are a lot of parts, although most of them are folded cardboard buildings and trees. 

I went to the trouble of assembling everything. I was surprised that the halves of the track (which are identical) and the switch controls fell together perfectly. The switches still work great! The buildings were a bit of a challenge, mainly because all of them have specific places where they go (they are numbered) and it takes a while to track them down in the instructions.

The "city" is to the left. The "country" is to the right, by the way.

Here's a little close up action! As you can see, the gangster car is zooming around a turn in the city, followed closely by the cops!

The cops score a point by tapping the gangsters' bumper! You can see the switches in the track.

Ok, now for the not so good part. All of the action in the previous pictures was faked, because these cars aren't going anywhere. Kids, this is why we take the batteries out of our toys! The C cells that were in these cars leaked and ate away most of the metal. Those motors are completely frozen (and useless) These are going to require a complete rebuild with fresh parts. Fortunately modern motors are easy to find! 

There was also some paperwork included. This is a envelope (not folded) and some scraps of stickers

This is the other side. You could get accesories! Cool!

And what about a DX credit card? Well, just fill this out and go back in time 60 years!

Now let's take a look at the instructions. I feel a bit sorry for the girl in this picture, as I'm sure the camera just caught her at a bad time, not actually having some sort of medical emergency...

This is what I was referring to when I said everything fit together perfectly. It really did just fold together.

And here is the building and tree map. I'm just missing the fire department and tree number 26. Hopefully we won't have a fire, as thin cardboard probably burns pretty well. Oh, and I'm missing all of the special "DX" buildings and signs. They were optional, but it's weird that none of them were included.

Here is how to build your cars...

Finally, we get to the game play. There are three types of games outlined here. There is the standard game, a road rally game (which is a lot like model airplane dogfighting) and a DX travel game which makes no sense and is stupid. 

Somehow my problem with the cars isn't covered on this page...

Hey! I'll just order new parts! Oh...wait. i don't really think that will work. Sigh...

And there you have it! The strange thing about this game is I'm pretty sure I didn't have it as a kid, but my cousin did. I have "sorta kinda" memories of it. Well, it doesn't matter, because I have it now! 

What's that? You want to see a period tv ad for it? Why sure!

Tv Ad!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!