Archive Page 30

Board Games: Clash of the Titans Game (Whitman, 1981)

Published July 29, 2015 Board Games/Tabletop Games , Clash of the Titans 2 Comments

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I had the Alan Dean Foster novelization, the action figures, and I think one of the Whitman jigsaw puzzles, but I didn’t know about the board game. Simple spin, move, and draw affair: Each player has to get his/her Perseus all the magical equipment he needs to defeat Medusa and the Kraken.

The cover art is a copy of the movie poster by Dan Goozee (note Bubo had to be moved so as not to be obscured by the title letters), but the interior and card art is original. I wish I had some better close-ups. I think Whitman used the same artist for the puzzles, which are hard to find.

(Images via Board Game Geek)

Tron Video Game Tournament, 1982

Published July 28, 2015 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Promotions/Contests/Sweepstakes , Tron , Video Games 1 Comment

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That’s Cindy Morgan (Lora/Yori) and David Warner (Dillinger/Sark/MCP) in the first two photos. One of them looks luminous, and it ain’t the one dressed like a bum. Do you remember the monitors on top of the arcade cabs? No added pressure or anything.

According to the promotional poster below, the finals were held at Madison Square Garden on July 6th and 7th, 1982. Tron premiered on July 9th.

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(Images via the Tron Forums, the Examiner, Kolonai, All in for a Quarter, and the Unfiction Forums)

Star Wars Fun Cup Assortment (Dixie, 1980)

Published July 27, 2015 Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 2 Comments

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Really nice original art. Many of the cups were recolored and used for the Empire Strikes Back series released in 1981. The boxes are from the original Star Wars series. The cups are a mix from both series.

We always had Dixie cups in a little dispenser in the bathroom—wasteful, sure, but so much more civilized.

(Images via Flickr and Tumblr)

 

TSR/RPGA Miniatures Carrying Case, 1980

Published July 27, 2015 D&D , D&D Miniatures , TSR Leave a Comment

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For serious nerds only! I’m not sure if it was a product for sale/giveaway or a DIY number. The way the foam is cut makes me suspect the former, but the logo is stamped on a piece of cardboard, so who knows? TSR founded the RPGA in 1980 to organize and run tournaments at conventions. If anyone has seen one of these before, let me know.

Item sold on eBay a while ago for about 15 bucks.

Star Wars Poster Set (Kenner, 1977)

Published July 24, 2015 Arts and Crafts , Posters/Poster Art/Poster Pen Sets/Paint by Number , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 1 Comment

SW Poster Set 1977

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One of many Star Wars poster sets, this one came with Kenner’s “Playnts” that dried out, as I recall, within a few hours. Were these posters also given away in a General Mills cereal promotion, or am I thinking of something else?

Universal Monsters Oil Paint by Number Sets (Craft House, 1975)

Published July 24, 2015 Arts and Crafts , Posters/Poster Art/Poster Pen Sets/Paint by Number , Universal Monsters 1 Comment

Frank 1975

Mummy 1975

Mattel’s Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game Ads, 1981/1983

Published July 23, 2015 Board Games/Tabletop Games , D&D , D&D Computer Labyrinth Game (Mattel) , D&D Non-Gaming Merchandise , D&D Toys Leave a Comment

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From 1981 (top) and 1983 editions of Reading, Pennsylvania’s Reading Eagle newspaper. It may seem like a drastic price cut, but that is a lot of longevity for an expensive toy. The game has a 1980 copyright date, but I’m pretty sure it came out in 1981 along with Dark Tower.

Mego’s Planet of the Apes Toys at Lionel Play World, 1974

Published July 23, 2015 Mego , Planet of the Apes , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments Leave a Comment

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A “living replica” is just a guy in an ape suit, right?

From The Palm Beach Post, October 16, 1974.

1981 Article on Milton Bradley’s Dark Tower

Published July 22, 2015 Board Games/Tabletop Games , Dark Tower 1 Comment

Dark Tower 1981

The money quote, from George Ditomassi, Milton Bradley’s Senior VP for Sales:

We wanted a game that would cater to a market that already existed—Dungeons and Dragons… Dark Tower will not attract the Dungeons and Dragons aficionado. But that’s a small, intense market. We wanted the next level down—people who had heard about D&D but who didn’t want to be Dungeons and Dragons freaks. [Italics mine]

The article is from September 27, 1981. More Dark Tower here.

Atari Gauntlet Commercial, 1985

Published July 22, 2015 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Atari , Commercials , Video Games 3 Comments

First time I’ve seen this, and I don’t know if it ever aired. According to the source, it’s from a VHS tape belonging to Alan Murphy, a graphics programmer at Atari (1980-1987) who worked on coin-op and console games, including Gauntlet and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The animation is excellent!

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