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Saturday, January 3, 2009

Kitschy Kool: Volume 4: Board Games Old & New

Last night we hosted a game night at our house for around 10 of us. These are my favorite kind of nights, filled with good food, good friends and some good healthy competition ;-) (Seriously, whomever says the can play games just for fun, is a total liar… I play to win!)

So last night, since we had so many people, we played a few rounds of a newer favorite Apples to Apples. What a great party game for young and old, 4 players or 14 players. We love it and so did our guests. 



Later after a few guests left, 6 of us stuck around to play Scattergories. Now this is a classic game from the 80's that I literally have never lost when I played it; thus, it never gets old (at least for me)!



This game night made me reminisce on some favorite games from my childhood. Every year at Christmas, I used to go through the no defunct Service Merchandise catalog and fill my Christmas list with tons and tons of game, literally every game in the book!

Some of my favorite off the top of my head were...

Ker Plunk:

Similar concept to Jenga, in Ker Plunk you were supposed to slowly and carefully pull out each plastic stick, making the least number of marbles fall. The player with the least amount of marbles at the end wins!



We gave our nephew a more modern and childlike version of this game for Christmas, called Tumblin’ Monkeys. Same concept, just monkeys instead of marbles.


Next we have, Guess Who?:

I loved this game! Here’s a photo of the old-school version we had as kids. (sidenote: I think I had a crush on the boy on the box when I was a kid, lol.)



This is the game where you flip over a collection of faces with different color hair, eye color, hair, hats, glasses etc. to deduce who the secret person is that your opponent has chosen, by asking a serious of “yes” or “no” characteristic questions. It really honed my detective skills, which I thought might come in handy if I were to become a detective ;-)

And oh how I loved, Electronic Talking Battleship:

What can I say, except that the original Battleship was full of cheaters. See below:



Who did not move their ship a little to the left or the right when your friend called out a coordinate that landed on your ship?

Well, with Electronic Talking Battleship you could cheat no more! This thing KNEW where your ships were.



Press in the coordinates with your little red and yellow buttons and then just wait for the board to say "Destroyer Hit!" or better yet, “Battleship Sunk!”. Sweet Victory.

There are so many other games over the years that I loved, but I’ll leave you with this somewhat creepy, very kitschy and oh-so random game we also owned, Mr. Gameshow:



Mr. Gameshow was a plastic, electronic talking gameshow host that led you thru the game. As the box pointed out, it was "Just like a real game show in your home!" The game played in Mr. Gameshow resembled "Wheel of Fortune". Players earned money for correctly solving the puzzle. Most money at the end of the game wins. Classic! I loved ( and still do, love) gameshows, so this was quite a cool game in it’s day.

And she’d kill me if she EVER read this, but one time we caught my baby sister “making out” with "Mr. Game Show"(what a creepy guy) ...


...in the game-closet in our basement, so of course this holds a special place in my heart, lol.

Well, that is my latest edition of Kitschy Kool, featuring board games of past and present. Feel free to comment on some of your favorite games as well, I love being reminded of those blasts for the past!

6 comments:

N. January 3, 2009 at 4:13 PM  

I love playing games! I haven't played Apples to Apples in forever... We almost gave our nephew Guess Who for Christmas, but went with Operation instead. :)

Jennelle January 3, 2009 at 5:46 PM  

I'm OBSESSED with Scattergories! No one will ever play with me though, because I always kick their ass. ;)

Stephanie January 3, 2009 at 6:40 PM  

Well Jennelle, if we ever meet up in "real life" this sounds like a Scattergories challenge in the making!

Coree January 3, 2009 at 10:15 PM  

I love Apples to Apples! I played for the first time at a family gathering and won! I loved the game but most of my family didn't. I said it was because they lost!

Anonymous January 5, 2009 at 1:27 PM  

OMG! We just played Scattergories with my fiance's family yesterday! They also have Apples to Apples in the game repertoire, but no one likes to play it with me because I usually win. Some other family favs are Outburst and Scene It. Love the post!

Mary January 6, 2009 at 12:58 PM  

I love games, but cannot get into Apples to Apples. I hate the fact that it's so subjective and there are basically no rules. Another oldie, but goodie is Skip-Bo. I dominate!

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About Me

I'm a St. Louis native, but I have been living in Chicago since 2005 and am loving every windy minute of it. I enjoy cooking (more-so eating), home decorating and really anything creative. I'm a supporter of DIY & handmade goods, a fledgling foodie and a connoisseur of kitsch. I spend my days filling online shopping carts, emptying them and repeating the process all over again. Most of all I love spending time with my husband, Dave, our first child, Claire and my dog, Louie.

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