erutnevdA fo dnaL A

 Ok, I couldn't write it upside down, so I wrote it backwards.

You see, before we mosey into the next game, we need to take a slight detour down under.  Today I have a weird duck for you (don't worry GDB readers, it's not an actual duck). May I present to you, Walt Disney's Adventureland Game- Australian edition!

Now the first thing that jumps out at me (good thing it's not a real duck) is that apparently Australians think the Mark Twain runs on the Jungle Cruise waterways. Maybe that's the only stock photo they had of a Disneyland boat? Maybe they just didn't know any different? Maybe they didn't really care? Heck, I don't know. But it kind of looks nice, I guess.

That brings me to my next observation- the type font. Although it's not marked anywhere, I think this was produced in the late 60s to early 70s based on that alone. It would not surprise me to see the Osmonds on board. 

The game board is slightly smaller than the original, and the whole game is made of that "too thin" cardboard that the Lakeside games are made of. The cards are a bit smaller too. I can't speak about the game pieces because I didn't get any with it. I tried to look up an example online, but had no luck. That means it's rare!

However "rare" doesn't always mean "valuable," and I suspect that's the case here. The game is just too cheaply made for me to think there are tons of collectors out there dying to have it. Also, it could even be a knockoff. Interestingly enough, the instructions mention the Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Frontierland games. I've never seen them in this version so they might not exist. Of course, I'd never seen this one before I stumbled across it under a ton of other games at a thrift store, so you never know.

But, when I saw it I HAD to have it, so I grabbed it, shoved a couple of kids and an old lady out of the way on my way to the register and plunked down my money! (They were ok)

So until next time, shove kids and old people out of the way for treasure!

A Land of Adventure!

 Last week we had a game that was produced before Disneyland actually existed, and that covered the whole park. This week's game was produced in 1956, the year AFTER the park opened! This enabled the game designers to get a better idea of what they were trying to show. 

There were actually games made of all of the lands and since my family visits usually start with a left turn into Adventureland, that's where we will start today. Here is the (slightly battered) box top!

As you can see, the artist got pretty close to the real Disneyland attraction. It's amazing how having something actually exist helps! By the way, if you want to see a cleaner version of the art work, the same picture is duplicated on the back of the game board.

Let's get a look at those rules! Here ya go!

I like the gameplay because you do what people have been doing for as long as the ride has existed- take pictures of the animals! In this case, you quite literally "take" them, from a pile of white cards. If they match one of your previously handed out pink cards you keep both. Once you have all three, sail like a maniac to the dock! Maybe it will help to visualize what I'm taking about if I show you the set up board. 

By the way, you can only take a picture if you land on a picture of a camera. Makes sense. An interesting detail is that the "boat" game pieces don't look like the Jungle Cruise boats. These tiny metal boats look like this:

I suspect they were actually made for a different game and repurposed for this one. The same goes for the spinner, which features a tall sailing ship. Of course, there would eventually be that type of ship at Disneyland, but it would be a few years. Here's a closeup of the spinner:

The condition of this game is somewhere around "pretty good, but not great" (my own grading system). However, it really doesn't matter because I got these games to play with my daughter, and they served that purpose well! 

A few years ago (after I had purchased mine), Parker Brothers re-released this game with all of the original art work. I don't know if the tokens are still tiny metal ships, but I doubt it. Anyway, I'm glad I have an original. It has much more character (important in a Disney game- pun intended).

So, once again, my definition of "treasure" comes not from the condition or value of the item, but from the memories it holds and how much it was enjoyed.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

The Original Disneyland Game!

 This week we're moving west and back in time almost 20 years from last week's post! The year was 1954 and Disneyland (the place) was coming together because of Disneyland (the TV show). The funding was secured and construction would soon begin. Exciting times to say the least!

Now Walt well knew the art of marketing. He was doing "synergy" before anyone knew what it was. Therefore, he knew the more ways he could get the park into the public's mind, the better off he was. And what better way than through books, games, and tv aimed at kids?

What we have is a game by Transogram simply called "Walt Disney's Disneyland Game." I think this and a Peter Pan game were the only Disney games Transogram made. They are more famous for games like Green Ghost and Ka'bala. Still, they did it well!

The side of the box sums up what the game is all about.

The really great thing about this game is the incredible artwork. Here are examples from the box and the board.

Now some of these illustrations are pretty close to what was eventually built, but some (I'm looking at YOU Tomorrowland!) are not really close. Ok, the monorail in the Tomorrowland illustration is certainly cool, but the one that was eventually there looks little like it. Actually, in all of the lands, there is not much that made it to the park exactly like the pictures. 

Want to know what's in the box? Here ya go!

Now, this is what you do with that stuff...

Now, this is sort of like the Walt Disney World game from last week in that you travel to each part of the park, but for some reason this game is actually more fun. Of course there are more rules to this game, but that makes it interesting.

As a side note, the Disneyland Railroad is called Casey Jr. in the instructions. Of course, in some places Tomorrowland is called "Land of Tomorrow" so things were obviously not nailed down quite yet. 

Yes, I have played this game, and I enjoyed it in a simple way. For some reason it mirrors the feel of the early park very well! I would certainly consider it a "treasure!"

So, until next time, keep looking for treasure...and play with it when you find it!

Visiting Walt Disney World!

 After I posted last week's game, Major asked about others that I might have. I realized that I have the fodder for several posts sitting on my board game shelf, so, with Sue's encouragement, I will feature them for the next few weeks!

I told the good Major that all my other games were from Disneyland. It turns out that I lied. ...Ok, actually I just forgot. Here is my final (unless I remember another one) WDW game, "A Visit to Walt Disney World" by Milton Bradley!

This game actually came out before the Lakeside games. It was released just a year after the park opened; 1972. The idea is clearly to drum up enthusiasm for visiting the park, although very few attractions are actually represented. Of course, being as the goal is to visit every attraction in the park, more would make the game go longer than a typical kid's attention span. 

The board is made up of a semi-3D parkscape, that it actually pretty fun to look at. In fact, that's by far the best thing about the game, as game play is not exactly edge of your seat stuff. Here are some pictures of it: 

There are the instructions in case you are wondering. 

A couple of points- The Haunted Mansion is called The Haunted House, which is weird as the name had been "Haunted Mansion" for at least four years at this point. It also doesn't look like the Haunted Mansion, although it's closer to the Disneyland version than the WDW one. 

That red paper thing I'm holding is supposed to be a monorail. It sits on top of the "wall" that runs around the board. It doesn't do it well, and tends to fall off, injuring many passengers. Tragic, really.

The only other attraction is the teacups...ok, and maybe the train station, although it doesn't do anything in the game. 

The backdrop of Cindy's Castle with the fireworks is a nice touch, though.

All in all, it's a fairly interesting game board and a fairly snoozer game. Still, it's a nice addition to a Disney game collection. My example, purchased for the stately sum of five dollars, is in fair condition, having some torn box corners, and slight water staining on the box as well. But it's good enough for me!

So, even if it isn't perfect, or even that fun, it can still be treasure!

So keep looking for (any condition you like) treasure!

20,000 Leagues Under the Game

 You may not know it, but one of the things I collect are board games. Why? Well, as an only child, I didn't get to play them much, so I collected a bunch of Baby Boomer games from my childhood and played them with my daughter. Kid's are great! 

Anyway, four years after Walt Disney World opened, Lakeside released a couple of games based (loosely) on attractions. The most popular (and expensive) is The Haunted Mansion. A good example can fetch a couple hundred dollars. Much less popular (and expensive) is the one I have, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

I actually think the 20,000 Leagues game is the better of the two because The Haunted Mansion is a rebranded English game called Ghost Train." Also, 20,000 Leagues was the only attraction that was only found at WDW. And, finally, 20,000 Leagues doesn't exist any more. 

So, anyway, here it is...

The idea here is pretty simple. Each player controls a Nautilus and they try to get from their start to the home port first. The trick is that there are gunboats on a movable disc. When players move this disc, if a gunboat gun touches your Nautilus, you are sunk and you have to start over. 

Now what makes this game kind of nifty (in my opinion) is that the subs can move either surfaced or submerged. To submerge, you lift the top off of your sub. The gunboats can't touch you then (you are too short), but there are two problems: 1. You roll a special die which only goes up to three (instead of six, like the surfaced subs) and 2. The sub can hit "depth charge" spaces and be sunk. So, you decide how much and what kind of risks you take. Pretty cool, huh?

The actual game suffers from what I call "The Lakeside Flimsys." The whole game is made of card stock that is just a little too thin to stand up to many playings. The Haunted Mansion Game has the same problem. Still, if you're careful with it, you can play it without damaging it.

I found my copy on eBay many years ago. I just stumbled across it accidently. You don't see many of them, but like I said, they are pretty cheap (about 20-30 bucks if you can find one), so I think they are a much better bargain!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Rare Bird

 Well, if by "bird" you mean car. Small, miniature car. Notice I didn't say "toy car." Allow me to explain.

I actually posted about this car a while back. I found it in a box of Matchbox cars at an estate sale. The estate was from a professional European race car driver. 

I wasn't able to identify it at first. When I did a search on sold items on eBay (that's what you can do to find the approximate value of stuff) I was shocked to see that it went for about 250.00! But why? I couldn't find out much more. Here it is, by the way...

Well, while strolling around the interwebs, I found this,

"...1/43 white metal handbuilt and kits from the U.K. All are replicas of MGs (which were made in Abingdon, U.K. plant until plant closure in 1980.)

Abingdon Classics was begun by Max Kernick in 1975. Around July 1979, the JEM range of MG kits appeared (Magic Octagon Series). Many of the patterns were made by Ian Pickering. At first, built models with a "JM" number were sold in Abingdon Classics packaging. Production model MGs were issued in authentic MG factory colors."

So now I know that my car is an early Abingdon Classics model, made in the U.K.,  that was probably pre-built. It's probably from around 1979, and is a model, not a toy. Apparently these models are fairly rare and prized by collectors. 

It makes sense that a professional driver from Europe would have it, and I guess the people running the sale threw it in a box with the other cars not knowing what it was. In this case, I found treasure and didn't even know it! 

So, until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Plate of Railroad Berries...

 ...or...something

I don't have nearly as much Knott's Berry Farm stuff as I have Disney, but I have picked up a few odds and ends. This usually happens when I'm looking through an antique mall or thrift shop and don't find any Disneyland or Walt Disney World stuff, but I do spot sonething from Knott's. If there were Disney stuff, I probably wouldn't buy the Knott's stuff, but you hate to waste a whole trip.

That's probably how I got this item. I say "probably" because I really don't remember buying it or where I got it from. You see, not only is it a Knott's item, its a plate, and I usually pass those by. However, here ya go:

Its about 7 1/4 inches in diameter with lots of gold! 

The main thing that it has going for it is that it shows the Ghost Town and Calico Railroad, which is always cool. I also like the little historical blurb on the back. I have no idea when it was made, other than it had to be after 1952 (and probably a lot after). All in all, its not bad, its just not super great.

Still, I'll hang onto it. It's a nice testiment to not giving up on a dry run. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!