Classic Witches

 Well, if last week's spooky game wasn't a classic, this week's certainly is. In 1970 Milton Bradley introduced kids to the wacky world of Which Witch! Let's dive right in, shall we?

The box top shows kids cheerfully playing while two out of three witches try to do terrible things to them. Like turn them into mice. For real. 

The box side...because, why not?

But how do you play??? Ok here are the instructions...

Now this house has a few "special" features. Here's how you put them together...

Here are the playing pieces (in other words, "you"). Notice that each kid has a mouse of the same color to go with them. Why? Well, you can be turned into a mouse, of course! If you're a mouse, you can't move until you  pull a card breaking the spell.

This is the "Whammy Ball!" That gets dropped down the chimney to set off traps in each room. The traps send you back to specific "X" marked spaces. The trick is that you never know which trap is going to get triggered. Tricky. Veeeeeery tricky.

These are the cards that trigger everything. Each card represents a witch. Which witch will you pull? 

Let's go for a tour, ok? This is where you start, in the Broom Room. The trap is a broom that can sweep you away!

Next, we have the Witchin Kitchen. The trap is a catapult that the whammy ball can hit and give you the ability to fly! ...in a bad way. 

The catapult can get you in the Spell Cell too. When the Whammy Ball falls into this room, it actually tgiggers a trap in the next room as well. On this side it can fall in a bucket and get dumped on your head.

On the other side, in the Bat's Ballroom, it makes the wall swing up to knock you away. See those stairs? Your goal is on the top!

That top step wins you the game! But...wait...there's a Whammy Ball chute there too. This could go badly....very badly....

And that's pretty much how you play Which Witch! It amazes me that a game that is 100 percent luck can be so fun. I guess the traps are exciting enough to make up for that fact. But it IS a fun game, and it IS a classic. 

So why did this become a classic while Superstition didn't? Well, it came seven years earlier when Monster Mania was still fresh. The goal is less "problematic"  (no grave robbing here!) And the board, while still complicated to set up, is easier to maintain throughout the game. Also, instead of playing against Fate, you are playing against much more easily imagined witches. I think it all makes for a more fun experience.

The prices on eBay are also much higher for this game. I picked mine up at a thrift store, but had to pick up pieces on eBay to complete it (the "kids"). All in all, I think I got a good deal.

So, there you have it. Next week we'll have a game that isn't a game except that it is...sort of...

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!