Random Hitchcock

 Greetings, Atticites! The season o' spooky stuff is once again upon us, so I thought I would share one of my "accidental collections." Accidental collections are where, over the years, I purchased items just because I liked them, and not because I was trying to complete a set of anything. So, the items I'm about to show you are in no way complete, but they do live in a special place in my youth. So, let me start this post with a proper introduction...

 Good Evening....

Tonight I bring you a collection of books that, while not terrifying, may have made your youthful slumber slightly more difficult. These are the stories of the supernatural collected for youths by the great Alfred Hitchcock himself...

Ok, maybe he really didn't collect the stories himself, but starting in 1961, kids could get story collections published by Random House that were branded to, and introduced by, Alfred Hitchcock. Here is the first one...

I first found this tome hiding in my school library. The cover alone made it worth checking out...

  

The illustration wraps around the whole book in glossy glory!

The end pages are beautifully illustrated as well. British illustrator Fred Banbery did all the artwork.

A brief description...

The fly pages with more fun art...

Ah, here we are...The introduction by Mr. Hitchcock! Now, I'm pretty sure he never wrote any of these (even for his TV show- which was put together much like these books) but I bet you can't read them without hearing his voice!

Even the individual stories are illustrated. This is from "The Wastwych Secret."

A look at all the stories. Robert Arthur, who created the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series for Random House, collected and arranged these. Interestingly, he didn't pull them all from youth publications, but also culled adult sources as well. He was a firm believer that kids should never be talked down to, and his Three Investigator stories make this point very clearly. The mysteries work for both kids and adults.

In the 1980s, these books were rereleased in paperback. They were not even close to as nice as the originals. Although the cover (non-wrap around) illustration was ok, there are NO illustrations in the book at all. 

And now for a book that was released in 1963...

This book is different in that Robert Arthur actually wrote all the mysteries. They are actually good puzzles, with no cheating and last minute "the butler did it" solutions.

Here is "Alfred" again!

And the Banbery illustrations are just as wonderful as in the first tome. This is for "The Mystery of the Seven Wrong Clocks."

So, these are my first two! The funny thing is that the stories and puzzles still hold up, owing much to Arthur's philosophy on kids' books. For the next couple of weeks, I'll share a few more.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

The Game of (after) Life

I just ran across this game in the ol' game closet, but it kind of fits since we're so close to October.

Senet is an ancient Egyptian game that is around 3000 years old (not my copy, of course...I got mine at a thrift store about 25 years ago). It represents a soul's trip through the afterlife, since ancient Egyptians were really focused on stuff like that. Copies were found in a lot of ancient tombs, including King Tut's tomb. 

Here is my copy, found in Stu's Tomb of Games (i.e. the game closet) This is how the board is set up to get ready to play.

Those sticks you see are actually "dice" in a way. Interestingly, you can't roll a "5." You'll see why in the instructions.

Almost all Senet boards, even the ancient ones were made of wood (some were ivory and other materials, but even the royal ones were usually wood) and they contained a drawer to store the pieces, just like this one.

Unfirtunately the rules were lost over the centuries. Egyptologists have reconstructed them since the 1930s when the game gained new attention. There have been several very scholarly attempts, with people really getting upset about things and yelling and throwing pens and note pads and storming out of stuffy meetings in a huff to go get a nice cup of tea and wonder why they put up with those idiots to begin with. Cambridge indeed!  Humph!

Well, that's how I imagine it anyway. 

Here is the best they came up with.

Upon first read, they can seem complicated, but if you play, you'll find that it's not that hard. I would keep the rules handy for the first couple of games, though.

All in all, Senet is actually a fun game, especially considering the subject matter. Of course, the subject really doesn't matter (see what I did there?) since in our modern times most of the religious themes are hazy at best.

So go ahead and take that trip to the afterlife! It'll be fun!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Hanging Around

 Sometimes I get a game just because ir's complete and in good shape. Later I go back and think, "What was I thinking?" Today's subject kind of fits that situation. I give you Milton Bradley's Hangman.

As you can see, this isn't even the cooler mid 70s version that featured Vincent Price on the box. No, this game is from 1988, as you can easily see from the family on the box. 

The back of the box shows the games one gimmick: the scoring dials on the letter trays.

And here we have the actual contents you see after taking off the top.

Popping one open, we see the little letter tiles...

...and the business side of the dial. The dial will only turn in one direction, by the way.

What you don't want to see!

As if we needed them, here are the directions...

So why do I think this game is silly? Because kids for years have been using a simple pencil and paper to do the same thing. I can't see what this version adds to that, other than bulk and expense. 

Speaking of the pencil/paper version; it goes back at least 130 years. The Victorians (with their fascination with the morbid) seem to have come up with it as a parlor game. Milton Bradley came out with this version in 1976, which is very late in the game (so to speak). As noted, mine came out in 1988. It has actually been out of production for around 25 years or so. 

But...I have it. Why? Because it was dirt cheap, in good condition, and appatently it was a slow day at the thrift store. 

Oh well, at least I got a post out of it!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Ah...The Game That Got It Right!

Last week we looked at a game with an interesting idea that, ultimately, just didn't work. This week, we'll look at a game with the same goal that actually does work! 

In 1979 Parker Brothers came out with The Mad Magazine Game! The goal? Lose all your money! Here it is!

Here are the instructions. As you can see, they're pretty simple. There's even a provision where if you don't understand a rule, you just vote on it. 

Here is the board. It's a standard track which is a lot more simple than the Simpsons board. More "Monopoly" than "big grid."

Here are the cards. They do have some silly tasks, but not as goofy as the Simpsons cards. They come across as more fun than embarrassing. 

So why does Mad work while The Simpsons fails?

Well, in my opinion:

1. It's simple. The Simpsons just has too many gimmicks going at once. You can sit down with Mad and play without thinking about it. After all, a joke you have to think about stops being funny.

2. Which brings us to the fact that the humor seems less forced in the Mad game. The Simpsons' universe of jokes is vast and wide. It takes a certain amount of understanding to get it. The gags don't really stand on their own, you need background. 

Mad doesn't have that issue. The magazine has always been simply satire. You can take any joke at face value. You don't need a reference point.

3. Mad is a printed product while The Simpsons are a television show. This makes more of a difference than I would have thought at first. The graphics of Mad have never been animated, We've never heard Alfred E. Newman's voice. The comic strips on the board speak the same language as in the magazine.

Anything based on The Simpsons has to deal with the fact that these are (very) animated characters and storylines. It's hard to get the same amount of excitement from printed text and graphics that you get from the show. The characters seem to be referenced, but maybe not present.

Now, that's a lot of words to say I like The Mad Magazine Game a lot better than The Simpsons- Loser Takes All. One might assume that because the goals of both games are the same (to lose everything) The Simpsons might have ripped off Mad. However, I don't think so. And if they did, they did a bad job of it.

So there you have it! The Mad Magazine Game can be had for around 25 bucks on eBay. It's worth it if you like silly games.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

When a Game Tries Too Hard

 Today I have a scrappy little game that despite all of it's spunk, is just not great.

Years ago, I picked up "The Simpsons- Loser Takes All!" at a thrift store for a hefty ninety-seven cents! It looked interesting, but when I looked closer, the game board wasn't the typical path type board...and there were all these weird pieces that made no sense to me. Here is all the stuff...

How do you play it?

Well, after reading the instructions I still wasn't sure how to explain it, so I went to Boardgame Geek and this is what it said...

A Simpsons branded party game with a strong truth or dare flavor.

The winner is the player with the lowest score at the end of the game.

Players select a Simpsons character for a pawn and place it on the board. They are given $20 in fake money and 10 junk food tokens as well as the give character cards matching the pawn they selected.

Players take turns using the spinner to decide actions and movement. Moving into a new square triggers the action described on the square, in addition to any action the spinner dictated.

Typical actions are giving away money or junk food tokens to other players, receiving money or junk food tokens from other players, and swapping money or junk food tokens with another player.

Special actions are the question spaces on the board. When a player lands on one they must read the next question on the current question card, write down their answer, and pick one of the other players to guess the written answer. If they guess correctly, they turn one of their character cards face down; if they guess incorrectly, then the current player turns one of the his/her character cards face down.

Some sample questions:
"True or False: I'd rather watch a horror movie than a sentimental drama."
"What's my favorite movie?"
"Has a dog ever chased me?"

When one player has turned all five character cards face down, the game is over. Players with face up character cards remaining must add three points per card to their point total (sum of junk food and money). The player with the lowest score wins.

So there you have it. I guess. 

I'm sorry, but the only way this game sounds fun is if you had a few Duff Beers in you- and then it would be too complicated to play. 

Still, the graphics and the text really tries, doesn't it? "Dys-FUN-tional?" If you have to say a game is fun, then it probably isn't. 

Now, to be fair, I've never tried to play it. Maybe there's something I'm missing? I don't think so, though.

So, I'll put it all back in the box, put it on the shelf, and try to remember to ask Jess if she wants it.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure! (even if you get a few turkeys)

Something That Popped Up!

 I was at an estate sale in my neighborhood tje other day and I spotted something I hadn't seen before- a popup book for the New York World's Fair! Here it is!

I did a little (very little) research on it, and apparently Peter and Wendy also appeared as paper dolls in "Peter and Wendy Get Dressed for the New York World's Fair." Yes, I think that sounds boring too. But anyway, lets take a look at this little gem...

My main interest in the New York World's Fair is Disney's involvement, but this book is pretty light on Disney attraction mentions. In fact, this page has the only one, and it's in passing, by mentioning the magic car ride Disney did for Ford. That's it. No more...

On the rest of the pages we get fairly generic takes on various fair areas. I would not hire Peter and Wendy as on the spot reporters.

The "popups" are only on every other page, which makes sense when you think about how the book is constructed. Some of the popup pages worked better than others, which is understandable for a 62 year old kid's book.

Wow! That was just like going to the real fair! Ok, no it wasn't. But it is a nifty little official item from 1964. 

My book isn't in great shape, but it's not terrible. These go for about 20 bucks in this condition, so my five buck splurge seems pretty good regardless of the condition. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!