The Amazing Magic Robot Game

One of the coolest robot-related items in my toy collection is this, "The Amazing Magic Robot" game, made in England by Merit in 1953.

Look how excited those kids are! That's because it's AMAZING!

The game contains several sheets colorfully printed with trivia questions and their answers. The Amazing Magic Robot, 2 1/2 inches tall, is placed in a circle on the question side of the board, and turned to the position of the query you would like to have answered. When picked up and placed on the answer side, he Amazingly! and Magically! spins and points to the correct answer. (It's done with magnets, somehow.)

The Magic Robot himself appears to be made from a smaller version of the Archer Space Men's robot mold. He's a cutie.

The Amazing Magic Robot is not only amazing, he's also 

Ingenious, Mystical, and Infallible!

And judging from this illustration, he's intent on world domination...

McKee's Moving Puzzle

A few weeks ago I stumbled across one of the most amazing advertising premiums I've ever seen. Made in 1927, "McKee's Moving Puzzle" in its nondescript, 4 by 3 1/4 inch box holds a remarkable toy inside: a wooden furniture puzzle complete with some clever copywriting.

The McKee Moving & Storage Company was based in the city of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1927 they distributed this puzzle as an advertising premium to potential customers. The box cover reads,
"We can solve all your moving, packing, storage, and shipping problems." 

Inside, the puzzle consists of 9 wooden pieces labelled as various pieces of furniture: piano, chairs, rug, mat, lamp, table, clock, and sofa. The trick is to move the piano from one corner to another without jumping, raising, or turning any piece, one piece at a time. (It's incredibly difficult. I gave up very quickly.) Clever ad copy inside the cover reads:
"Moving is always a problem. Placing the furniture is frequently a puzzle...we can solve this puzzle, as well as your Moving, Storage, Packing or Shipping problems. Write for solution." 

Thank goodness the instructions were included, or I would never have managed it. The text ends with a final advertisement:
"If you have followed the above directions you are now an expert piano mover as far as this puzzle is concerned. However, should you have a real piano or other  household goods to move back, store, or ship don't fail to call on us." 

McKee's is apparently still in business, and if I lived in Saskatchewan, I would definitely hire them to move some of my furniture around, just to show my appreciation for this fantastic toy.

Vintage Car Travel Game

I love the fantastic period art on this 1958 Milton Bradly Travel board game. An aqua green station wagon (with fins!) carries dad, mom, and the requisite two children away on a vacation. Everyone is so nattily dressed, like they just stepped out of a "Leave It To Beaver" episode: dad in a suit and tie, mom in a smart hat, the children in starched and pressed "play clothes"...what a difference from today's standard vacation ensemble of t shirts, shorts, and flip flops!

The game play is pretty simple (just spin, move, and follow the directions on each space that can help or hinder your trip) and typically '50s moralistic (one space reads: "children behaving --- driver speeds ahead 2").

I played this on my trip last week and sadly must report it's rather dull. But it still has great kitschy art value!

Church Rummage Sale Finds: Vintage Barbie and Board Game

A local church had its annual summer festival this past weekend, and it included a rummage/jumble/white elephant sale. A lot of collectors have given up on these sorts of sales, in the belief that things like eBay and the Antiques Road Show have resulted in a much more antiques-savvy public, who know better than to donate valuable items to be sold for pennies. But I optimistically persevere, and am occasionally rewarded with a treasure. Or, in this case, two treasures. Amongst the miles of tables full of household detritus, I finally spotted:

1) Why: the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Game from 1958:  complete and in fantastic condition. Price: .75 cents!!! This is a much-sought vintage game that typically sells in the $45-$65 range, with appeal for TV, movie, horror, toy, and board game collectors.

2) a 1963 Barbie Fashion Queen doll, with two of her three original wigs, also in great condition. Price: $5.00!!! This Fashion Queen would normally retail for about $50-70.

I gleefully scooped them both up and raced for the checkout, where a smiling little old church lady took my $5.75. For a moment, I felt a pang of guilt and thought, "should I tell her what these are and how they should be priced?" But I didn't. I am SO going to hell....

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Game, Why, is basically a paranormal version of Clue, the classic detective game. The premise is that Alfred's mansion, depicted on the wonderfully illustrated game board, is haunted by several ghosts, and he's hired four famous detectives, one of whom is played by you, to determine how and why the ghosts were murdered. 

The detectives are clever spoofs of famous mystery icons like Sherlock Holmes and Dick Tracy:

The Fashion Queen Barbie was an unusual entry in the legendary doll line. Instead of rooted hair, she featured a molded 'do, and came with three wigs in differing colors and styles so her young owner could change her looks. Unfortunately, the materials in the wigs and head reacted badly to each other over time, resulting in chemical melt marks to the doll's cranium if the wigs were left in place for an extended period. This makes finding a Fashion Queen in good condition a bit trickier than one might expect. My rummage sale find is amazingly and delightfully melt mark free.

Here she is as found, with her two wigs:

Here she is with her brunette flip:

And with her red bubble cut:

 Barbie is dressed for church...

Antique Ten-Pins

I don't know why, but I love old wooden ten-pins. They're just beautiful objects, with their patina revealing their age and use. I cluster them around the house in little groupings, and they just make me smile as they remind me of carnivals and games. These vary in age, with the oldest from the 1900s and the latest from the 1940s, and the tallest is about 6 inches high.

Vintage Carnival Duck Pond Game Pieces

My favorite carnival game of all time is the Duck Pond, because, really, who doesn't like a game where you're guaranteed to win a prize, regardless of your lack of skill? All you have to do is pick up a little plastic duck floating in the artificial pond, turn it over, and the number marked underneath corresponds to the prize you win. Who cares that the prizes are flimsy plastic tchotchkes ordered by the ton: you won something! Yay!

I was very lucky to find some vintage Duck Pond ducks for sale recently. Those on the left are carnival-used, while those on the right, on the bobbing bases, are unsold old store stock.

Aren't they cute?!

These ones, I think, have a rather startled expression on their faces.

Antique Milton Bradley Ten Pins Set

One of my greatest garage sale finds yesterday was this wooden tabletop ten pins set, made by Milton Bradley in the 1900s. The pins and balls are made of turned wood, and the pieces are in their original box. They all have a wonderfully smooth patina of age.

Cute "Peanut the Elephant" Board Game

I found this 1940s or '50s board game at an antique show last weekend, and it has to be one of the cutest games I've ever seen.

Peanut the Elephant, who looks rather like a cuddly stuffed version and less like the real thing, moves along a jungle trail, hoping to land on a peanut that somehow allows him to coast ahead of his competitors.

The spinner is, in a somewhat macabre fashion, shaped like Peanut's head:

And the playing pieces are adorable little elephants, made out of chalkware:

I'm kind of amazed these are all still here; I would have thought some child would have pocketed them long ago...

Mr. Ree! Board Game

At an outdoor antique show this past weekend, I found a vintage board game that has long been on my wish list: Mr. Ree! The Fireside Detective Game, made by Selchow & Righter in 1957. There are earlier versions dating to the 1930s, but any edition of the game is fairly hard to find, so I was delighted with this one.

Mr. Ree is very similar to Clue, the classic, and better-known, detective game. In fact, I would be surprised if there weren't lawsuits between the two companies somewhere in its past. The game board, a diagrammed house, is virtually identical, and the contents include a cast of characters, cards, and miniature metal weapons.

The actual gameplay is strikingly different from Clue's, though, and rather complicated. I got a headache just reading the instructions. The plot, however, is wonderful, the stuff of many a 1930s high society murder mystery film, and worth quoting in full from the directions:

"The Plot Thus Far" (READ ALOUD) In a red brick dwelling lives AUNT CORA, a wealthy spinster and her orphaned NIECE RHODA who is her heir. Aunt Cora is anxious that Rhoda marry a man of means but Rhoda is madly in love with GEORGE, a struggling young artist. A house party is in progress. Contrary to Aunt Cora's warnings, George has accepted Rhoda's invitation to the house party for he returns her love.
Also visiting at the house is the handsome but unscrupulous MR. PERRIN who aspires to marry Rhoda for her money, despite the fact that he is engaged to MISS LEE. Miss Lee noting that Perrin has gained favor with Aunt Cora becomes intensely jealous of his attentions to Rhoda. 
To make matters worse, the household is attended by BUTLER HIGGINS, an ex-convict and MAID BEATRICE, a faithful servant, though slightly unbalanced.
The local police force, having received information of the Butler's past, decides to keep a watchful eye on Aunt Cora's household and has sent MR. REE, a famous detective, to patrol the property. From this point on, the plot develops,leading up to the "MURDER" which is eventually committed."

 Mr. Ree's most endearing features, making up a major part of its appeal, are its unique 3 dimensional characters. Represented in Clue by simple wooden or plastic colored pawns, Mr. Ree's participants are fully realized individuals, standing on bases that actually open to hold tiny weapons, including an itty bitty bottle of poison. The game's resolution involves Mr. Ree, the detective, discovering which characters are hiding the weapons, and whom they have killed with which implement.

Losing Our Heads Dexterity Puzzles

Here are a few of my latest dexterity puzzle games. From Japan circa the 1930s, they're tiny (only about 2 inches tall) and fragile (made of cardboard with a thin plastic covering). They're also a bit ghoulish: each of the three rather comical characters have literally lost their heads, and it's up to the player to shake them back into place. 

Decapitated.

Un-decapitated.

1950s Space Themed Dexterity Puzzles

Here's a fun trio of games from my collection, all dating from 1957 and made by Comon Tatar, Inc. The first one is called "Stop the Martians!" and features a classic flying saucer buzzing a city. The second is "Trip to the Moon", and the last is my favorite: "Space Gallery," with fantastic graphics of a spaceman, ray gun, Sputnik-style satellite, and a monstrous, many-tentacled alien.

Old Black Cat Dexterity Puzzle Game

Here's a Halloween themed dexterity puzzle from my collection (click on the "dexterity puzzle" label at the bottom of this post to see some more). You have to ring the black cat's tail in the order specified to win. I can attest that it's really, really hard!

Vintage Disney Haunted Mansion Game

If I had to choose one vintage board game as my most favorite of all time, this would be it: the classic Disney Haunted Mansion Game made by Lakeside in the 1970s. Based on the beloved attraction at Walt Disney World, the game beautifully recreated its scenes and specters.

I had this game as a child, and my sister, cousins, and I played it over and over, until the game literally disintegrated. Last year, I finally decided my nostalgic yearning was strong enough to justify paying the steep asking price for a decent example. Now, we play it again, but very, very carefully!

Antique Fortune Telling Games

Here are some of my favorite antique fortune telling games.
The first two are Halloween themed, with a great design of a witch and her cauldron, and date to the 1940s.

The "Fortune Telling Favor Set" is a small box that contains a set of tiny metal charms. The hostess would insert these charms into a cake, and the guests would hopefully find the charms and not swallow them! Each charm has a corresponding fortune: there's a pipe, which predicts "your pipe dreams come true"; a thimble
(spinsterhood); a baby (that's an obvious one); and several more.

The large witch game of "Hallowe'en Fortunes" is a simple spinner fortune teller. You spin the wheel, and the number that shows up in the cauldron matches a fortune printed below. I tested it this morning, spun the number 6, and it said: "Your fortune is good, you see, For you will contented be." Whew! Glad I didn't get 9: "At 50, you'll be grumpy, fat, round and very stumpy."

The last game has a very ponderous title: "Fortunescope: The Prognosticator of Human Destiny." It's another spinner type, and was printed in 1935. I love the graphics on this one, of a mysterious swami and his crystal ball.

Antique Fortune Telling Cards

Some Other Stuff I collect besides toys are vintage fortune telling cards and games. At Halloween I bring them out, and guests enjoy playing with them. Here are three fortune telling card decks, dating from about 1920 - late 1940s. I've had the best luck with Ingalls, the Wonderful Zodiac...

Voodoo Doll Game

One of the most longed-for games on my wish list was this, the Voodoo Doll Game made by Schaper in the 1960s.

The box alone is fantastic, with great graphics. The voodoo doll offers you handfuls of pins, while a ghoulish witch doctor lurks in the background. The game itself resembles a playset: there's a 3-D jungle hut, a witch doctor figure, and a giant voodoo doll.

The game is really fun to play: you and your opponent take turns putting pins in the voodoo doll. If the witch doctor jumps out of his hut at you, you lose! (I always lose, and it's really quite startling when the little figure comes hurtling out of the hut...)

Vintage Addams Family Games

Over the summer, I was really lucky and found both vintage 1960s Addams Family board games at yard sale prices, and have been saving them for an October post.

The boxes aren't the best, but the games inside are great, with really colorful, fun graphics.

1970s Ghostland Lunch Box

I love lunchboxes, board games, and spooky things, so this 1970s haunted house lunchbox with a game on the back is about as good as it gets for me! I remember wanting this as a child, but either it wasn't available in my area, or it was too expensive. When I finally found one last year, I felt like I was 8 years old again...

Here are the side views: 

And closeups of the  spinner and directions:

Vintage Dexterity Puzzles

Vintage dexterity puzzles are some of my favorite toys to collect. The little worlds behind their windows are so inviting, their lithography is lovely, and they're just fun to play. Here are some of the highlights of my collection. These were all made in England by R. Journet & Co., I'm guessing in the 1940s.



























Besides the games on the front side, each of these puzzles features this tongue-twister on the back. See how quickly you can say it!