The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: RyanCDN on August 10, 2009, 12:54:56 PM
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You know, I picked up something from a thrift store yesterday and it got me to thinking.
What do you think is one of the ugliest looking home games you have seen?
I know there are some that are nicer looking that others, by my vote goes to the 25th Anniversary edition of WoF.
I like the idea of the deluxe wheel coming back, but the whole thing is excessively silver. The silver everywhere practically gave me the sensation of wanting to throw up. Surely that amount of silver will trigger a migraine headache in somebody.
-Ryan
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I think I am going to enjoy this thread Ryan! I like the home games that most closely resemble their on-air counterparts. My vote for ugliest goes to The New Tic-Tac Dough by Ideal. It is garish with poorly chosen colors.
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[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'222527\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 08:14 PM\']I think I am going to enjoy this thread Ryan! I like the home games that most closely resemble their on-air counterparts. My vote for ugliest goes to The New Tic-Tac Dough by Ideal. It is garish with poorly chosen colors.[/quote]
Wasn't the New TTD game simply a repackaged Ideal Hollywood Squares game with a different "skin" and added category shuffle "wheel" on the back of the board?
/I used to love how cool & creative Ideal toys & games were back then, but I agree on the TTD game.
//IMHO, Ideal's Toss Across Tic tac toe board looked better than TTD's board.
///Toss Across used trilons.
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I'd have to go with Remote Control. I remember being disappointed that the board in the home game looked nothing like the giant TV on the show.
Another disappointment was the board for the first edition Combs Feud game. Compared to the board from the MB versions, it looked nothing like the one on the show. And it was ugggggggggly!
What can I say? I was George Constanza finicky as a childhood game show fan!
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I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board, while the UK home version had full color rebuses. The whole set was blue, and there was no variation in color. It was the ugliest letdown I'd ever seen.
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1/2 off topic
I'll go with Aggravation. I'm sure some(if not most) of you had this game, and remember How uniformed and proper the game looked and played. But now they just went and F[eeeep]ked it all up by "Nickelodeonizing" it with weird shapes, confusing patterns, putrid colors, and damn I can't even tell where the Hell I start at anymore! I was really starting to like that game too. -_-.
Any way as far as ugly Gameshow themed game boards. hmmm. I can't really think of any..hmmm(looks up) Yeah the Combs version of Family Feud was ugly.
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[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222559\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 11:15 PM\']I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board[/quote]It did? First, I thought Pressman did the game. I also thought the rebuses came in "sheets", and you would tear one off and insert it into the board.
It *has* been 15+ years, however.
Edit: I've been told I was incorrect and was thinking of the Endless version. Clarification appreciated.
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As far as ugliest board games go, the dice table from the 1980'a version of High Rollers. The color looked like it was burnt orange instead of fire engine red. Even the number stickers didn't quite help. I'd expect maybe some "hot" colors, but no such luck. The only good thing about that table was it was scaled nicely to make it playable, but that was it.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'222570\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:37 AM\'][quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222559\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 11:15 PM\']I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board[/quote]It did? First, I thought Pressman did the game. I also thought the rebuses came in "sheets", and you would tear one off and insert it into the board.
It *has* been 15+ years, however.
Edit: I've been told I was incorrect and was thinking of the Endless version. Clarification appreciated.
[/quote]
FWIW, I have the Pressman version of CC, and the rebuses are on two-sided, individual sheets. There's even a sticker on the back of the box advertising as much. Must have been a change they made in later "printings".
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If we're allowed to mention other than game shows, I have to go with the Dr. Laura board game that came out in the late 90s. It had her face on the cover. It also said on the box that it "teaches children values." I almost threw up in the aisle at Kmart right then and there. N0 - I didn't buy it.
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[quote name=\'Sodboy13\' post=\'222585\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 08:24 AM\'][quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'222570\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:37 AM\'][quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222559\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 11:15 PM\']I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board[/quote]It did? First, I thought Pressman did the game. I also thought the rebuses came in "sheets", and you would tear one off and insert it into the board.
It *has* been 15+ years, however.
Edit: I've been told I was incorrect and was thinking of the Endless version. Clarification appreciated.
[/quote]
FWIW, I have the Pressman version of CC, and the rebuses are on two-sided, individual sheets. There's even a sticker on the back of the box advertising as much. Must have been a change they made in later "printings".
[/quote]
Well you guys are probably right...I know the second edition used the puzzle pages, and I thought the first edition used a roll-o-matic board. The Game Show Home Game Home Page used to have a page with all of the Concentration home games pictured, but it's not there anymore.
To the topic on hand, I really can't think of any UGLY games. Some had crude box art, and yes, some had rules that strayed from the TV show ('92 Jeopardy! comes to mind), but I really can't think of any games where the equipment itself looked ugly. Some of the stuff from the 70s is crude, but brown, yellow, and orange were the all the rage back then.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'222570\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:37 AM\'][quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222559\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 11:15 PM\']I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board[/quote]It did? First, I thought Pressman did the game. I also thought the rebuses came in "sheets", and you would tear one off and insert it into the board.
It *has* been 15+ years, however.
Edit: I've been told I was incorrect and was thinking of the Endless version. Clarification appreciated.
[/quote]
I do not own this game, but my understanding is that they tinkered with the format withing this edition. I also thought that there were some copies that included full color. I think your reference of single sheets is correct though. Whether some also include the roll of puzzles, I have no clue. I could almost assure you Matt would know the ins and outs of this.
-Ryan
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'222576\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:33 AM\']As far as ugliest board games go, the dice table from the 1980'a version of High Rollers. The color looked like it was burnt orange instead of fire engine red. Even the number stickers didn't quite help. I'd expect maybe some "hot" colors, but no such luck. The only good thing about that table was it was scaled nicely to make it playable, but that was it.[/quote]
I disagree. The numbers weren't stickers. They were cardboard pieces. Sure, the game table was part of the box and maybe the colors didn't match 100%. The pieces and parts looked like what were on the TV show.
[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'222570\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 02:37 AM\'][quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222559\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 11:15 PM\']I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board[/quote]It did? First, I thought Pressman did the game. I also thought the rebuses came in "sheets", and you would tear one off and insert it into the board.
It *has* been 15+ years, however.
Edit: I've been told I was incorrect and was thinking of the Endless version. Clarification appreciated.[/quote]
Are you sure? I saw a Classic Concentration box game at a thrift store 2 weeks ago and I remember seeing the rebuses on sheets when I checked the contents. Or what they said above me while I wrote this response.
I don't have a pick for an ugly home game right now. Since I'm packing my games up today, I'm sure I'll find something worth sharing...
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'222593\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 10:34 AM\']If we're allowed to mention other than game shows[/quote]
Oh, if we're going this route now, I thought the cover art for the Ben Casey box game was hideous.
All those sick patients and things.........yucko!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45797613@N00/307188004 (http://\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/45797613@N00/307188004\")
On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?
Yanking myself back to topic, there was a box game for The Hollywood Squares featuring celebrities with misshapen cartoon faces which looked rather scary.
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I have a Pressman version of Classic Concentration, has a small #5750 in a corner, and it most definitely has a roll of non-color rebuses.
I'll dig it out later to give more specs.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222606\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:51 AM\']On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?[/quote]
As I said years ago, Brett and Charles without likeness rights.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222612\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:16 PM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222606\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:51 AM\']On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?[/quote]
As I said years ago, Brett and Charles without likeness rights.
[/quote]
Sorry. I was sick that day.
What games actually did have the host/star and/or co-host/co-star and/or actual celeb pics on the box?
I have a beauty of Mike Darrow on the home version of The $128,000 Question.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222616\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:21 PM\']I have a beauty of Mike Darrow on the home version of The $128,000 Question.[/quote]
And you have my sympathy and condolences. Any show where they have to stop tape and redo the intro because the host gets caught in the curtain - yes that actually happened at a taping. They obviously didn't air it.
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'222618\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:44 PM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222616\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:21 PM\']I have a beauty of Mike Darrow on the home version of The $128,000 Question.[/quote]
And you have my sympathy and condolences. Any show where they have to stop tape and redo the intro because the host gets caught in the curtain - yes that actually happened at a taping. They obviously didn't air it.
[/quote]
Now see. Jim Peck falls on his hindmost at it stays in. Mike could have achieved blooper immortality if the bit hadn't been redone. No fair!
Oh, and it's a great smiling picture of Mike Darrow on the box, it is. He has 127 teeth.
I have a $64,000 Question home game with a serious Hal March on the box. As on the show, you can check out the answers beforehand.
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[quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'222618\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:44 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222616\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:21 PM\']I have a beauty of Mike Darrow on the home version of The $128,000 Question.[/quote]
And you have my sympathy and condolences. Any show where they have to stop tape and redo the intro because the host gets caught in the curtain - yes that actually happened at a taping. They obviously didn't air it.
[/quote]
And how exactly does that sully the board game?
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How about Alex Trebek on the High Rollers home game? Poor guy looks like he just walked in and was told "Last Call"
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222616\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:21 AM\']What games actually did have the host/star and/or co-host/co-star and/or actual celeb pics on the box?[/quote]Offhand, I know Vanna is on the '92 WoF game by Tyco and Mark L. Whalberg was on one of the boxes for The Moment of Truth.
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[quote name=\'curtking\' post=\'222620\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:51 PM\'][quote name=\'BillCullen1\' post=\'222618\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:44 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222616\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:21 PM\']I have a beauty of Mike Darrow on the home version of The $128,000 Question.[/quote]
And you have my sympathy and condolences. Any show where they have to stop tape and redo the intro because the host gets caught in the curtain - yes that actually happened at a taping. They obviously didn't air it.
[/quote]
And how exactly does that sully the board game?
[/quote]
Because, silly, it gives one pause as to whether or not the photo shot was nailed on the first take. Lowers the eBay value.
Back to the hijacked topic, The Winker graced the cover of High Rollers in the late 1980s.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'222625\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:07 PM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222616\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:21 AM\']What games actually did have the host/star and/or co-host/co-star and/or actual celeb pics on the box?[/quote]Offhand, I know Vanna is on the '92 WoF game by Tyco and Mark L. Whalberg was on one of the boxes for The Moment of Truth.
[/quote]
Photos of hosts (or Vanna) on the boxes of games are failry common. Offhand, I'd guess maybe about a third of them do, more or less. Virtually all the recent ones do. Foxworthy, Brady, Walberg, Philbin, Vieira, Mandel, O'Hurley, Carey, Treadway, Woolery and Bailey all come to mind in just the last couple of years, and I'm sure I missed a few. The first photograph of a host on a home game box is probably "Uncle Jim" McWilliams, host of radio's Uncle Jim's Question Bee.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222628\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:23 PM\']Photos of hosts (or Vanna) on the boxes of games are failry common. Offhand, I'd guess maybe about a third of them do, more or less. Virtually all the recent ones do. Foxworthy, Brady, Walberg, Philbin, Vieira, Mandel, O'Hurley, Carey, Treadway, Woolery and Bailey all come to mind in just the last couple of years, and I'm sure I missed a few. The first photograph of a host on a home game box is probably "Uncle Jim" McWilliams, host of radio's Uncle Jim's Question Bee.[/quote]
Saget too, on the Nintendo DS version of 1 vs. 100. Oh no! Another off-topic swerve!
Can the next off-topic swerve be which games had images from the TV show on its packaging or the game itself?
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[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222596\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 10:45 AM\']Some had crude box art, and yes, some had rules that strayed from the TV show ('92 Jeopardy! comes to mind),[/quote]
Could you clarify please? I'm curious as to how you could foul up @#*($ing Jeopardy!.
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[quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'222631\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:09 AM\']Could you clarify please? I'm curious as to how you could foul up @#*($ing Jeopardy!.[/quote]
Yes, this was when they were in their "Host Your Own Game" phase. Everyone had a single category in front of them, and for that category, that player was the "host".
Here's a picture. (http://\"http://boardgamegeek.com/image/29808\")
Never having played it, I hesitate to come to the knee-jerk conclusion that they "fouled up @#*($ing Jeopardy!." Making it so everyone can play instead of one person having to stand off to the side and "host" doesn't sound like the worst idea, honestly.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222628\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:23 PM\']Photos of hosts (or Vanna) on the boxes of games are failry common. Offhand, I'd guess maybe about a third of them do, more or less. Virtually all the recent ones do.[/quote]There does seem to have been a period from about the mid-sixties to the mid-eighties when host photos on games were relatively rare, especially on Milton Bradley games, which were the majority of home versions. When I was growing up (way back in the seventies and eighties) I almost never saw a home version with the host's visage. Most had drawings, rather than photos, of the show's set, too. Wink's High Rollers is the first one I vividly recall that had the host's picture (and a photo of the set with a game in progress to boot!). After that it became quite common, to the point that, as you said, that seems to be the rule today.
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Could you clarify please? I'm curious as to how you could foul up @#*($ing Jeopardy!.
How about adding a bonus round? ;-)
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[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' post=\'222637\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 02:56 PM\']There does seem to have been a period from about the mid-sixties to the mid-eighties when host photos on games were relatively rare, especially on Milton Bradley games, which were the majority of home versions. When I was growing up (way back in the seventies and eighties) I almost never saw a home version with the host's visage. Most had drawings, rather than photos, of the show's set, too. Wink's High Rollers is the first one I vividly recall that had the host's picture (and a photo of the set with a game in progress to boot!). After that it became quite common, to the point that, as you said, that seems to be the rule today.[/quote]
Speaking of High Rollers, the exception to what appeared to be the MB policy of that period was Alex Trebek on the cover of the original version. Of course, that game was an oddity for several reasons (http://\"http://userdata.acd.net/ottinger/gshghp/Inside/High.html\").
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222612\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:16 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222606\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:51 AM\']On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?[/quote]
As I said years ago, Brett and Charles without likeness rights.
[/quote]
Norma and Carl?! Stars of the Match Game?!
(That's for people who don't get this bit.)
-M
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'222635\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 01:43 PM\'][quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'222631\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:09 AM\']Could you clarify please? I'm curious as to how you could foul up @#*($ing Jeopardy!.[/quote]
Yes, this was when they were in their "Host Your Own Game" phase. Everyone had a single category in front of them, and for that category, that player was the "host".
Here's a picture. (http://\"http://boardgamegeek.com/image/29808\")
Never having played it, I hesitate to come to the knee-jerk conclusion that they "fouled up @#*($ing Jeopardy!." Making it so everyone can play instead of one person having to stand off to the side and "host" doesn't sound like the worst idea, honestly.
[/quote]
True, Chris...it almost seemed like they were trying to turn Jeopardy! into a party game instead of an intimidating quiz, which is an interesting idea. Even though I rarely used it as such, I liked the fact that it allowed for customization, as you could mix and match categories. Your friends hate The Civil War and 18th Century Literature? Just replace them with Potent Potables and Classic TV, and your game probably won't hit a standstill on that De Tocqueville question.
The rules were designed to keep everybody interested in the game, but I just remember reading halfway through them, before honestly realizing that I'd rarely, if ever, play it that way.
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[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'222644\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:01 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222612\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:16 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222606\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:51 AM\']On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?[/quote]
As I said years ago, Brett and Charles without likeness rights.
[/quote]
Norma and Carl?! Stars of the Match Game?!
(That's for people who don't get this bit.)
[/quote]
I'm certain that cleared it up for them. Speaking of a Match Game star.....
Richard Dawson would get a few good jabs in when showing the home edition to Family Feud with regard to how his picture wasn't on the box.
I also enjoyed when he'd open the box to show us......an empty box, then toss it into one of the wings.
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Yes, there are two editions of Pressman Toys' Classic Concentration. The first edition has the rebuses on a scroll; the second edition has them on cards. IMHO, the real crime with this version of my favorite game show is the exclusion of prize racks and the bonus game. When its contents are assembled, the box is more than double the size it needs to be!
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222648\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:17 PM\'][quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'222644\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:01 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222612\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:16 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222606\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:51 AM\']On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?[/quote]
As I said years ago, Brett and Charles without likeness rights.
[/quote]
Norma and Carl?! Stars of the Match Game?!
(That's for people who don't get this bit.)
[/quote]
I'm certain that cleared it up for them. Speaking of a Match Game star.....
Richard Dawson would get a few good jabs in when showing the home edition to Family Feud with regard to how his picture wasn't on the box.
I also enjoyed when he'd open the box to show us......an empty box, then toss it into one of the wings.
[/quote]
My absolute favorite moment involved Richard throwing the 3rd edition to the side...only to have a stagehand throw back a 1980 MB 'Hollywood Squares' game box.
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[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'222658\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 05:02 PM\']IMHO, the real crime with this version of my favorite game show is the exclusion of prize racks and the bonus game. When its contents are assembled, the box is more than double the size it needs to be![/quote]
That was my biggest gripe...no car round...especially when all it needed was 16 more prize squares and a sand timer. With about 10-15 minutes, you can create the car round yourself, but it's the principle. No color rebuses? Roll-o-matic board? Disappointing, but fine, cause they're major cost cutting measures. But 16 more 1 inch prize cards and a sand timer? With a box that big, with the cars on the game's box art, and it being such a cheap addition in the first place, you'd expect some sort of car round in there.
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[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'222644\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:01 PM\']Norma and Carl?! Stars of the Match Game?!
(That's for people who don't get this bit.)[/quote]
Appreciated.
Appreciated by maybe six people on the board, but appreciated none the less.
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With regard to artwork instead of photos on boxes, I wonder what has become of most of that original artwork?
Is it sitting in MB's vault?
I always thought it would be cool to own one of those pieces. The MB Feud was probably my favoriite cover.
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[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222670\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:44 PM\']That was my biggest gripe...no car round...especially when all it needed was 16 more prize squares and a sand timer. With about 10-15 minutes, you can create the car round yourself, but it's the principle.[/quote]
Also a HUGE waste of content. Granted, your decision whether you want to waste the content or not, but you've just cut the number of available games for the average buyer in thirds, assuming the average buyer plays the game by the book.
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Since part of the thread's wandered that way, there's an episode of Pyramid where John Davidson tells the losing contestant that (s)he will get a home version of Hollywood Squares, because he has a garage full of them.
(and HS, that version at least, may not be especially *ugly* but it's surely among the most pointless GSHGs.)
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[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'222644\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 04:01 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222612\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:16 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'222606\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 11:51 AM\']On the 2nd edition box game for Match Game in the 70s, who are Norma and Carl?[/quote]
As I said years ago, Brett and Charles without likeness rights.
[/quote]
Norma and Carl?! Stars of the Match Game?!
(That's for people who don't get this bit.)
-M
[/quote]
So that's what the M stands for - MOSKOWITZ!
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Didn't HS '86 give out board games that weren't their own at one point?
R.
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[quote name=\'vtown7\' post=\'222682\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 09:01 PM\']Didn't HS '86 give out board games that weren't their own at one point?[/quote]
I'm going by memory, but I remember when watching a rerun of Davidson's Squares on USA 'back in the day', I do recall Davidson giving out a copy of The $1,000,000 Chance of A Lifetime home game. I recall asking myself, "Wouldn't a copy of there OWN home game been more appropriate"? Odd just...odd.
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[quote name=\'gamed121683\' post=\'222691\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 09:35 PM\'][quote name=\'vtown7\' post=\'222682\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 09:01 PM\']Didn't HS '86 give out board games that weren't their own at one point?[/quote]
I'm going by memory, but I remember when watching a rerun of Davidson's Squares on USA 'back in the day', I do recall Davidson giving out a copy of The $1,000,000 Chance of A Lifetime home game. I recall asking myself, "Wouldn't a copy of there OWN home game been more appropriate"? Odd just...odd.
[/quote]
That's an old Bill Cullen gag from the one extant episode of "Eye Guess" where he gives the contestants a "Password" home game.
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[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'222527\' date=\'Aug 10 2009, 08:14 PM\']I think I am going to enjoy this thread Ryan! I like the home games that most closely resemble their on-air counterparts. My vote for ugliest goes to The New Tic-Tac Dough by Ideal. It is garish with poorly chosen colors.[/quote]
Worst home version ever. Ugly pieces were just the start. The low quantity of questions crippled game play and took away what would have otherwise been a nifty "shuffling" effect, and what few questions there were were borderline idiotic. (Category: Riddles -- Q: "What do you call a baby pistol?" A: "A son of a gun!") Maybe not quite as bad as the doozies on Matt's High Rollers page, but still pretty bad. Ideal could have done so much better.
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IIRC, Davidson also gave away a Password game during a week with Betty White on board. They took a quick reaction shot, and she seemed a bit...well, it was somewhere between shock and puzzlement.
All but the last Hollywood Squares covers have never been very attractive, with the first MB taking the cake. The lid to The Sky's The Limit looks kinda amateurish.
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Can the next off-topic swerve be which games had images from the TV show on its packaging or the game itself?
I only have the second edition, but from GSN reruns, I'm sure the first edition of Joker's Wild had an actual shot from the show.
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'222752\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 10:43 AM\']
Can the next off-topic swerve be which games had images from the TV show on its packaging or the game itself?
I only have the second edition, but from GSN reruns, I'm sure the first edition of Joker's Wild had an actual shot from the show.[/quote]
You'd be wrong. (http://\"http://gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/TV%20Games/joker/JokersWild.JPG\")
The two strangest examples that immediately come to mind are the obscure Gamut of Games releases for Dealer's Choice (renamed Place Your Bets as a home game) and The Diamond Head Game. Perhaps even stranger are some games for which there are photographs of the set, but photos that are staged with actors and that clearly didn't come from the actual show. It seems that a lot of the early computer games did that.
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Although it was never released to the public, Jack Barry did indeed have a home version of TJW on or around the third week of the show (I'd have to dig up my tapes to find the exact dates,etc.). The cover had the logo on the top stripe and a full stage shot on the rest. It also looked to be about the size of MB's Jeopardy! and TPIR games from the 70's. IIRC he also said to look for it in your local store very soon. Of course the one we all (or most) have came out a few months later.
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[quote name=\'joker316\' post=\'222774\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 12:50 PM\']Although it was never released to the public, Jack Barry did indeed have a home version of TJW on or around the third week of the show (I'd have to dig up my tapes to find the exact dates,etc.). The cover had the logo on the top stripe and a full stage shot on the rest.[/quote]
I remember that, not just for the cool box art, but also because he said to look at your local hardware store, among other choices. I have a screengrab of Richard Dawson with a prototype Feud box that was different than the finished art - a larger, pulled back shot of the set against a blue background. Maybe I can throw it on my photo hosting or something. Were there any other board game prototypes that made it to air? (thread shift #20,512...) The Wesley Eure episodes of Finders Keepers showed a home game box I've never seen anywhere else.
-Jason
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[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'222803\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 03:49 PM\']Were there any other board game prototypes that made it to air? (thread shift #20,512...)[/quote]
There is at least one example of a board game prototype that made it to air but didn't make it to stores! My friend (and fellow board member) Bob Zager vividly remembers that the children's game Runaround featured plugs for a home version that, as far as we can tell, was never released.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222804\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 03:56 PM\'][quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'222803\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 03:49 PM\']Were there any other board game prototypes that made it to air? (thread shift #20,512...)[/quote]
There is at least one example of a board game prototype that made it to air but didn't make it to stores! My friend (and fellow board member) Bob Zager vividly remembers that the children's game Runaround featured plugs for a home version that, as far as we can tell, was never released.
[/quote]
Yep, that's right! I remember asking for a copy of the game at Christmas time then (1972)! I not only didn't get one, but I'd never seen it in any stores afterwards.
It was apparantly licensed through Lakeside Toys, and I've been trying to find one of their catalogs from 1972 or 1973 to see if it was pictured, but haven't had any luck there either.
Supposedly, the game was "electric," which leads me to assume that it plugged-in like the "electric," football/baseball games by Tudor, which I had back then. Maybe the game never got released because it didn't meet UL safety requirements.
Just for the record, the UCLA television archives has at least one episode of Runaround on tape! Unless it's the pilot episode, it SHOULD show the game as one of the parting gifts!
While on the subject of prototype box art for games, I also recall seeing a prototype box for the Ideal Hollywood Squares box game, promoted on the show, which showed a rather serious looking Peter Marshall, complete with his eyeglasses!
IMO, that was my least favorite box game version (of HS, at least!)
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222755\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:08 AM\']The two strangest examples that immediately come to mind are the obscure Gamut of Games releases for Dealer's Choice (renamed Place Your Bets as a home game) and The Diamond Head Game.[/quote]
And wasn't the reason why DC came out as "Place Your Bets" was because there was already a board game out called "Dealers Choice", which in no way was related to the game show?
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[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222833\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 08:50 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222755\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:08 AM\']The two strangest examples that immediately come to mind are the obscure Gamut of Games releases for Dealer's Choice (renamed Place Your Bets as a home game) and The Diamond Head Game.[/quote]And wasn't the reason why DC came out as "Place Your Bets" was because there was already a board game out called "Dealers Choice", which in no way was related to the game show?[/quote]
Exactly. (http://\"http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/214461\")
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I'd like to change my vote from TTD by Ideal Toys to TPiR by Lowell. At least TTD had decent cover art. Lowell's production had a ugly cover with ugly and impractical game pieces.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222835\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 08:22 PM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222833\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 08:50 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222755\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:08 AM\']The two strangest examples that immediately come to mind are the obscure Gamut of Games releases for Dealer's Choice (renamed Place Your Bets as a home game) and The Diamond Head Game.[/quote]And wasn't the reason why DC came out as "Place Your Bets" was because there was already a board game out called "Dealers Choice", which in no way was related to the game show?[/quote]
Exactly. (http://\"http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/214461\")
[/quote]
I picked up the "other" Dealer's Choice at a garage sale when I was a kid. Game was forgettable, but the play money was cool. Very minimalist and '70s. I'm sure it's still around my parents' house somewhere.
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[quote name=\'gamed121683\' post=\'222691\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 08:35 PM\'][quote name=\'vtown7\' post=\'222682\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 09:01 PM\']Didn't HS '86 give out board games that weren't their own at one point?[/quote]
I'm going by memory, but I remember when watching a rerun of Davidson's Squares on USA 'back in the day', I do recall Davidson giving out a copy of The $1,000,000 Chance of A Lifetime home game. I recall asking myself, "Wouldn't a copy of there OWN home game been more appropriate"? Odd just...odd.
[/quote]
Not to defend John Davidson, but that was a joke. He said they didn't have a home game of their own, so he'd give out the home game for another show. There was a home game later, but presumably after he made the (tiny) joke.
We played the original Family Feud game at a cabin over the weekend. Hands down, that's the ugliest home game of its era. The board apparatus is a mess, the box is just a nightmare, especially with the crabby disgusted older lady on the right. Poor illustration. Just awful.
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[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'222881\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 09:31 AM\']We played the original Family Feud game at a cabin over the weekend. Hands down, that's the ugliest home game of its era.[/quote]
Don't agree. I love that they made an effort to simulate the gameboard with the slidey things.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'222886\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:54 PM\'][quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'222881\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 09:31 AM\']We played the original Family Feud game at a cabin over the weekend. Hands down, that's the ugliest home game of its era.[/quote]Don't agree. I love that they made an effort to simulate the gameboard with the slidey things.[/quote]Oh, come on, Chris. Everyone knows that writing the answers on a dry-erase board is so much faster and more appealing!
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[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'222881\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:31 PM\']The board apparatus is a mess, the box is just a nightmare, especially with the crabby disgusted older lady on the right. Poor illustration. Just awful.[/quote]
I always got a kick out of any board game with cover art. Wheel and J!'s home games in the 80s gave me a chuckle; a brunette serving as the letter turner, and then on the J! box, a lady who can't wait to shout her answer out, and some yuppie opponent having this weird "Can't win for losing" expression on his face.
All this gameplay, but never a host to be found. Ray Combs once made fun of this on Feud, by pasting a picture of himself on the front of the box.
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[quote name=\'Sodboy13\' post=\'222856\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:31 AM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222835\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 08:22 PM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'222833\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 08:50 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'222755\' date=\'Aug 12 2009, 11:08 AM\']The two strangest examples that immediately come to mind are the obscure Gamut of Games releases for Dealer's Choice (renamed Place Your Bets as a home game) and The Diamond Head Game.[/quote]And wasn't the reason why DC came out as "Place Your Bets" was because there was already a board game out called "Dealers Choice", which in no way was related to the game show?[/quote]
Exactly. (http://\"http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/214461\")
[/quote]
I picked up the "other" Dealer's Choice at a garage sale when I was a kid. Game was forgettable, but the play money was cool. Very minimalist and '70s. I'm sure it's still around my parents' house somewhere.
[/quote]
If not, it's in my den. I had it as a kid, and bought it again when it became available on eBay -- too bad it's too complicated to explain in the forty-five seconds one usually allots during Game Nights before Pictionary is pulled out for the umpteenth time. (Other 1970s board games I have that fit that description: Facts in Five, High Stakes, The Magnificent Race.) Some of the car descriptions are hilarious.
When I was creating an outline of a game show novel, I pictured the cover art painted by the same guy who did all the MB box cover art in the 1970s. (I'm not really a good fiction writer, however -- one complete unpublished novel that will likely remain that way.)
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222909\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:41 PM\']If not, it's in my den. I had it as a kid, and bought it again when it became available on eBay -- too bad it's too complicated to explain in the forty-five seconds one usually allots during Game Nights before Pictionary is pulled out for the umpteenth time. (Other 1970s board games I have that fit that description: Facts in Five[/quote]
Dude, you gotta find a new gaming group. :)
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[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'222559\' date=\'Aug 11 2009, 12:15 AM\']I remember being disappointed with the Classic Concentration board game....after seeing the box art, I thought the game inside would be awesome. Alas, no. They still used the roll-o-matic puzzle board, while the UK home version had full color rebuses. The whole set was blue, and there was no variation in color. It was the ugliest letdown I'd ever seen.[/quote]
I just checked my copy (1st Edition) and it must've been a later printing since it has cards and the rebuses are blue, red and purple.
Box (http://\"http://img512.imageshack.us/i/photowju.jpg/\")
Rebuses (http://\"http://img512.imageshack.us/i/photo2ufi.jpg/\")
I'll try and dig out my copy of the UK version and get some shots of the full color rebuses.
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[quote name=\'pds319\' post=\'222932\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 06:35 PM\']I'll try and dig out my copy of the UK version and get some shots of the full color rebuses.[/quote]
Interestingly, I have a home game from the original UK run of the show (1959-60) which, oddly, has no rebuses at all. Seriously, that element of the game was completely removed from the home version. The rules say that the winner is the person with the greater value in prizes after all the matches have been made.
I thought at first that the British TV show adopted that rather weird change, but the ever-reliable UKGameshows (http://\"http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php?title=Concentration\") assures me otherwise.
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[quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222909\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:41 PM\'](Other 1970s board games I have that fit that description: Facts in Five,[/quote] Really? I agree with Chris. If the group can't sit still long enough for "use the initials along the top to write down words that fit the categories on the left," maybe it's time to pull up the tent.
The Magnificent Race.
I bought this for the little bowl thing where you twirl it and the marbles spin around the edge until one of them "wins" by falling in the depression. Too bad the game was just awful through and through.
Chucked the game, kept the bowl to see if I could work that into a project at some point.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'222912\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 04:19 PM\'][quote name=\'calliaume\' post=\'222909\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:41 PM\']If not, it's in my den. I had it as a kid, and bought it again when it became available on eBay -- too bad it's too complicated to explain in the forty-five seconds one usually allots during Game Nights before Pictionary is pulled out for the umpteenth time. (Other 1970s board games I have that fit that description: Facts in Five[/quote]
Dude, you gotta find a new gaming group. :)
[/quote]
They've never heard of Categories?
Then again, those cards with the "(person who has given occupation) of (player selects natoinality)" could be a killer. :-)
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[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'222881\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 12:31 PM\']We played the original Family Feud game at a cabin over the weekend. Hands down, that's the ugliest home game of its era. The board apparatus is a mess, the box is just a nightmare, especially with the crabby disgusted older lady on the right. Poor illustration. Just awful.[/quote]
I remember Dawson's comment on seeing the board game box. He was reading the answers off the home game box's board. "Let's see... Robert... Richard... Ronald... these are all people who are on uppers or downers."
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[quote name=\'pds319\' post=\'222932\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 05:35 PM\']I just checked my copy (1st Edition) and it must've been a later printing since it has cards and the rebuses are blue, red and purple.[/quote]
That's the same version I have.
As for the bonus round, well, that was an easy (sorta) fix: I made my own. Cut out 16 small slips of paper, numbering pairs with 1 through 8. Took 8 small envelopes, numbered them 1 through 8, and stuffed them with differing amounts of the included play money (I think the range was from $10,000-$20,000). Lay 'em out as 15 numbers, get a 60-second timer and... go!
Well, not quite. If you want it to even approach being functional, you'll have to lay the slide numbers on top of the windows, instead of tucking them in. You'll also have to be pretty quick and efficient with your grabs. This is probably why they didn't include the bonus round: the design of the board makes a timed exercise quite difficult to pull off.
/also made his own "Take"s with stickers and two of the credit cards from Bargain Hunter (http://\"http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/43070\")
//I'm not the only one here who bought board games at garage sales and resale shops when I was a kid because I saw possibilities in some of the parts, am I?
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Nope. Just gutted a few dozen games for parts tonight and have a very happy recycle dumpster.
The one problem I have with making games by cannibalizing others is the question material. When you pick up an old cheeser like Weakest Link, you won't have questions on Michael Phelps, current hit songs and movies and the like. Many have enough general questions to get by, but you may find yourself limiting the groups you play with when you need to have people with good enough memories (read:older) to recall performers, media and newsmakers of the 70s, 80s and 90s if you make tv home games calling for specific categories.
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Not ugly so much as sloppy. I found Endless Games' The Newlywed Game at a thrift store for fifty cents. So, I'm browsing through the question booklet when I find this, "Take a look at the monitor and you'll see snapshots of today's husbands..." Monitor? Can't EG afford a copy editor? Well, at least we know for sure the company uses material from the series!
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[quote name=\'alfonzos\' post=\'232464\' date=\'Dec 16 2009, 03:09 PM\']Can't EG afford a copy editor?[/quote]
I know you're familiar with their products, so you already know the answer to this question.