Sorry Guys

 ...but I have a bit of pneumonia. 

I'll have the attic up and running again on Sunday!

I appeciate you all!

The First Man to Orbit the Backyard

 The mid 1960s was a prime time for iconic toys. Last week's entry was certainly one, as is this week's. Throughout the 60s, the United States was locked in a massive space race with the Soviet Union. The Soviets were winning at first, but like the 1980 Miracle on Ice, in the end, the winner was the good ol' U.S.A.!

The U.S. manned space program went through three phases- Project Mercury, Project Gemini, and Project Apollo. Hasbro's space program had one phase...sort of a cross between Mercury and Gemini. They outfitted their best man, G.I. Joe to take on the awesome responsibility. 

The G.I. Joe Space Capsule is as iconic as a 60s toy can get. I got one for Christmas in 1967! That one left me many mom-generated garage sales ago, but thanks to eBay, I got a new one in pretty good (but not perfect) shape! Here she is!

Looking straight at the beast. This thing is big! Something you realise when you think that the guy that fits it in is 12 inches tall!

Looking at the side, you can see one flaw. The sliding plastic hatch has a pretty good crack in it. It must have been hit by space debris. Still, it works fine.

The proud "United States" sticker on the other side.

The nose is a great place for all of the legal info. Plus, it just looks cool.

The retro rockets on the back. 

The control panel. If it looks like it's been wet, it probably has. You see, these floated to simulate a slashdown. The one I actually had as a kid didn't float because I dropped it on the hard floor and knocked a hole in one of those retro rockets. 

Joe's couch doesn't look too comfortable. There are also supposed to be two handles that he could hold onto, but these are missing. Still, it's not too bad. You can tell this is an original release because of all of the blue plastic. Later releases were molded in pale green glow-in-the-dark plastic.

Another view of the dials and fiddly-bits. That's a technical term. Really.

I say this is an iconic toy because just about every guy in their late 50s to mid 60s seems to have either had one, or knew someone who had one. Really, other that the "more Gemini-like" large hatch, it's a pretty good copy of a Mercury capsule. And, as I mentioned before, its rather large and heavy, standing almost 14 inches tall and over 9 inches in diameter. Great attributes for a toy!

I keep meaning to get a period correct "Joe" and space suit to go with it, but I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for yet. Someday!

I was going to include a picture of me in 1967 opening gifts with the capsule sitting beside me, but for the life of me I can't find the photo album. Check back, though, because when I find it, I'll add it. I was a darn cute kid!

EDIT: I FOUND IT!

Here I am at age 5 opening up my really cool Christmas presents at my grandparents' house! It's a really good picture of the space capsule box! The capsule is peaking out from behind the box. I have the Marx train set. I have no idea what I'm opening...

Here's a better view! That's also my Incredible Edible machine on the right. They tasted like erasers. They were wonderful! That's also my cousin who is five months older than me. I never let her forget that.

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

Ghosts of Green Mean Halloween!

Hello and welcome to the Halloween edition of The Attic! The past few posts have been leading up to what I consider to be the most Halloweenish (it's a word...really!) game of all- Green Ghost by Transogram!

It's really weird how many people have great memories of this game. I'm one of them! I guess it was a combination of Monster Mania being in full swing in 1965, and really fun looking TV ads showing kids playing it in the dark. It didn't hurt that the box was fairly huge and had fun graphics! But for whatever reason, that blobbish green spinning guy found a place in many kids' hearts!

Now, before we dive in, let me tell you how I came by my adult replacement for my childhood game. You see, in 1997, Marx bought out Transogram and re-released Green Ghost. When I bought it, I found out that it wasn't really the game I remembered. The board was black plastic with a large glow in the dark sticker for the playing field. The pieces were hard plastic instead of the softer almost rubbery plastic of the original, and although most of the box art was the same, it wasn't exact. A swing and a miss in my book. 

Soon after, I found a reasonably priced game on eBay. The catch was that it was a mail-order version (probably from Sears or JC Penny) so the box had no graphics other than the name of the game. I decided to get it and "redress" my Marx box to be a (sort of) Transogram box. So, I have genuine 1965 insides and a "faked" outside! Let's take a look, shall we?

Here's that box I was talking about. The main art is the same, but the details are different. It's close enough until I can get an original box...

And here's the side...

Now, for the "real" stuff inside...

Looking straight down on the glow in the dark board. 

The "Sunken Ship" section of the board...With the "Pet Bat" token.

The "Haunted House" section...With the "Pet Rat" token.

The "Gnarley Tree" section....With the "Pet Black Cat and "Pet Vulture" tokens!

I like how the board has these defined areas for no real reason at all other than they set the mood well!

Here we have the detail on the square key door...

...the triangle key door...

...and the circle key door. 

See this key? You don't want this key. It opens exactly nothing...

Now what's behind those doors in the pits? Let's see!

First, we have Bat Feathers!!! Ok, I know and you know that bats are mammals and don't have feathers and blah, blah, blah- but just go with it, ok?

And we have Snakes!!!! Ok, these are prettt pathetic snakes, but again, just roll with it for the sake of the game, ok?

And we have Bones!!! Or sticks. Or little plastic bits that don't look like sticks or bones. 

None of these make any difference, however, because you are really just looking for the ghost kids. You see ol' GG has lost his kid, Kelly, and Mrs. GG is gonna be really mad when she finds out so he sent his pets (that's you) out to round up Kelly. The only problem is that all kid ghosts look exactly alike and only ol' GG can tell who Kelly is. So, you have to abduct every ghost kid in the neighborhood and let GG pick who Kelly is. 

Here are the directions in case you're still confused...

By the way, I made a copy of the original instructions because they were pretty yellowed and brittle. 

Anyway, the weirdest thing about the game, in my opinion, is that it isn't a race game, but rather a game where you try to increase the odds of a final spin selecting your piece as "Kelly." The more ghost kids you collect, the better your chances. A pretty unusual game, really. And you can literally collect all but one kid and still lose due to bad luck!

The Green Ghost says ghost kid #4 is Kelly...

So, is it fun? Well, as an adult it isn't as fun as I remember it being as a kid. Also, as it turns out, it doesn't glow very long. Remember those TV ads? Blacklight.

Still, the parts are pretty cool to look at and the overall design is nice, so it's still a winner in my book. 

By the way, 1965 saw another Green Ghost come into my life- totally unrelated to the game...

A good book, though! 

Until next time keep searching for treasure! (even in creepy pits with kid ghosts!)

Lost in a Triangle

Welcome to the week before Halloween! That means we have two more games to go (including this one)! 

Our spooky game this week is from 1975. That was a prime time for news (and books and movies) about things going missing mysteriously in The Bermuda Triangle- which happens to be the name of this game!

As you see by the cover, a sinister Mystery Cloud is out to make ships vanish off the face of the earth! Why? Because that's what sinister Mystery Clouds do! Everybody knows that! Sheesh!

Let's look inside the box!

Hey! There's nothing there! It's empty!!!

Just kidding- here we go:

On the inside if the box, we have a quick overview of the game.

When you take out the rather large board, you see a picture of a Mystery Cloud eating a ship. There are also game parts...

Here is a closeup of the parts. 16 ships, a die, cargo cards and....The CLOUD!!!!

How is the Cloud controlled? With this spinner, just like all clouds!

And here is the board. It's pretty big. And it actually is a map. Pretty cool, really.

This is what the board looks like set up. The idea is that you sail around picking up cargo and not getting eaten. ...you hope.

And how does the cloud eat ships? Magnets, of course! When the cloud passes over the magnetic ships, the magnets in the cloud grab 'em! I'm pretty sure that's how the real Bermuda Triangle works! Hey, it's as good a theory as any!

Ok, now for the instructions!

Even though it seems sort of complicated, it's easier to play than you might think. 

But is it fun?

Well, yes, actually! I think it works because it has a good gimmick. The Mystery Cloud is really clever! Plus, you have cool little ships to play with...and a real map to look at. So, what's not to like? 

My copy of this game is actually two games combined. A lot of times if you find an incomplete game, you can- with patience- find parts from other incomplete games. These came from two different thrift stores a couple a years apart. Score!

So there you have it! A fun game with just a little spookiness! Next week we have the main attraction! Hint: mid 60s, right in the middle of Monster Mania!

Until then, keep searching for treasure!

A Hitch in the Game

Good Evening....this week we have a board game that deals in the wholesome American values of murder, ghosts, and mayhem. Yes, I'm speaking of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents 'WHY?'."

You see, for 10 years- between 1955 and 1965, the famed director, Alfred Hitchcock brought (somewhat good naturedly) these types of things into American living rooms. The rattling death bone music and his droll introductions are the stuff of legend. 

In 1958 our good friends at Milton Bradley (I actually hadn't noticed that all these games came from them) came out with WHY?. The idea was simple- some folks wandered into Alfred's old house whilst going home from a costume party...and were brutally murdered. Now, you have to become one of four "famous" detectives and find out...well, why?

It's interesting that Who? isn't the goal here, but as the introduction to the game states, Hitchcock is hiring you to find out why they were murdered so their souls can go on their way and stop haunting him. Who killed them? Well, maybe it's best to not delve too deeply into that...

Anyway, let's get a closer look here, shall we?

Here is the game box. This is the 1961 version. Out of the three versions (1958, 1961, 1965) I like this one the best. I like that it has the old house on it, and the spooky sky. 

The first thing you have to read is on the inside of the box lid. This spells out the overall theme of the game and the goal. Plus, Alfred Hitchcock is speaking directly to you, so you know this part HAS to be important!

The meat of the directions are on the insert in the box. These are a little tough to read, so I took a few closeups...

As you can see, unlike other games I've featured here, there is skill a-plenty here! There seem to be a lot of rules but I've played this game, and I'm happy to report that it is, in fact, fun. 

I love the graphics on the game board!

Here we have our detectives! Dick Crazy (Dick Tracy), Charlie Clam (Charlie Chan), Sgt. Monday (Sgt. Friday), Shylock Bones (Sherlock Holmes)

Here are our ghosts...

...and Alfred Hitchcock, himself!

Here are the weapons, "No Clue" cards and "It's a Mystery to Me" card.

And here are the "Why?" cards. All good reasons, I guess. You know, if you're into that "murder" stuff. I'm not. Just in case anyone asks... Not that they would...

And some detail from the game board. As I said before, I really like this artwork.

This game was actually pretty popular when it was produced. After all, three editions ain't hay. The reviews I read from modern players seem to think it's too complicated. People gripe about having to move around the board and some even devised a version where you just use the cards. To these people I say, "Blech, whatta buncha wimps!"

The board is the fun part in my mind and since this is my blog that's all that matters. 

Get off my lawn!

Well that wraps it up for this week. We only have two more to go until Halloween! 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!