I beat the @!#! out of Dad last night!

What's the ad for?
Wrasslin by Avalon Hill
Year
1991

Spotted in...

The Scoop

Wrasslin' was a card game released by Avalon Hill in 1990. Avalon Hill was a board game company better known for it's complex war games, although they did have a small stable of non-war games like this one in their catalog. This ad is pretty funny...and I quote " Why did you drop kick your mom when he crawled over to tag her." The type of humor definitely appeals to young buys, so I guess they knew their target audience.

You can find a fun review of the game over at the Fortress AT website.

Below are some images from www.boardgamegeek.com

Image by BGG user Gialmere

Image by BGG user mrbeankc

Web of Gold

What's the ad for?
Web of Gold, the board game

Year
1990

Spotted in

The Scoop

Web of Gold was released by TSR in 1987. It looks like it was a simple pick up and deliver game. Game components look cool but game play is reportedly lame...

Image courtesy of boardgamegeek.com

The New Dungeon! the board game

What's the ad for?

The New Dungeon!

Year

1989

Spotted in

The Scoop

Here is two ads for the price of one. I thought I would group these two ads together since the are for the same game. The New Dungeon!  A simplified version of Dungeons and Dragons, this was a revised version of the 1975 game, wait for it...Dungeon.

War games of the board variety

What's the ad for?

WW II board games

Year

1985

Spotted in

The Scoop

Couldn't find anything out about these games. Even the ever resourceful www.boardgamegeek.com had nothing on this. Did Model Expo make the games or just distribute. I'm guessing the later. They are still around, Model Expo that is. Anyone ever order any of these games?

Buck Rogers: Battle for the 25th Century Game

What's the ad for?

Buck Rogers: Battle for the 25th Century Game
Year
1988

Spotted in

The scoop
Wow. Look at all those bits. If this game came out today it would most definitely be put out by Fantasy Flight. I'm a big board game fan but sadly I have never played this one. From what I read over at boardgamegeek.com it plays close to Axis and Allies. Gotta love the theme. Which would you rather play? A World War II game or a Sci-Fi game?

See-Action Football

Alright, I am going to try a new format. It might change over time so here goes...

What's the ad for?
See-Action Football board game
Year
1974
Spotted in
Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane # 136
The scoop
This was the first edition of See-Action football released. A later version was endorsed by you know who. You can't fault the company for having an original idea. It's pretty cool sounding actually. From www.boardgamegeek.com...

"Strategy combines with visual gimmicky in this title. Each player (offensive and defensive) secretly chooses a slide depicting their play choice, and one player sets the randomizing knob on the game's slide projector. They then view the two overlaid slides which produce an image of the play in progress, moving them through until a yardage/penalty result shows up at the bottom of the screen. Standard scoring rules for American football apply." 


The version shown in the ad was not licensed by the NFL and therefore did not use real NFL teams, just the cities. What do you do for New England then? Well, you call it Boston.

Image by Tony Nardo

Attack of the Mutants!

What's the ad for?
Attack of the Mutants

Year
1981

Spotted in

 The Scoop
 Another ad for a game that I never realized was a game when I was a kid. I must not have even read the text, but I sure remember the picture. Attack of the Mutants was a board game released by Yaquinto Publications, who were only around for a few years (1979-1983).The game was a campy hex and counter war game where the heroes are pitted against newly mutated monsters, transformed by a horrible nuclear accident at a nearby power station (the Big Melt-Down of 1993). Below is a photo of the game contents. The game fetches a nice price if you can find it.

photo from www.boardgamegeek.com

Task Force and Fighting Ships

This is an ad that ran for years, starting from the 50's. This is one in particular I scanned from a DC comic from the late 70's. The company was called "Helen of Toy". Back in the 50's-70's there was a few mail order toy companies. Helen of Toy sold around a dozen different sets. I'm sure a lot of these sets were sold and you have to hand most of the credit to the artists. They sure captured my imagination. I didn't even realize it was a game (similar to Battleship)...I just thought it was toy soldiers and boats.

Were you ever curious about what you got for $2.49? Well, look no further.

Fighting Ships
















Photo: Paul Sauberer

Task Force



















Photo:Chris Brua