Green Ghost is a board game for up to 4 players, first published in 1965 by Transogram. [1] Green Ghost is the first board game designed to be played in the dark.[ citation needed ]
Transogram mass-produced the game in 1965, [2] then sold its toy interests to Marx Toys in 1970. In Australia, the game was distributed by the Ideal Toy Company.
In 1997 Marx Toys produced a 30th Anniversary edition of the game (MCMXCVII, Item #3905). This box has "Find Kelly the Ghost... if you DARE" printed on it.
Green Ghost remains collectible, but with so many different editions it is difficult for collectors to know if they have a complete set. [3]
Original television commercials for the game encouraged players to play it in the dark. [4] The 1965 box has printed on it "THE EXCITING GAME OF MYSTERY THAT GLOWS IN THE DARK."
The central character in the game was modeled on The Blob and the design was aimed at the campy horror genre of shows like The Addams Family. [5]
The board is of the 3D type in that it features standing scenery and is designed to appear as a spooky town. The luminous plastic board is elevated on six stilts and underneath are three boxes, covered by locked trapdoors. The pits contain either plastic bones, "bat" feathers or rubber snakes, plus a number of hidden "ghost kids" (one of which is "Kelly", the Green Ghost's child). [6]
Spinning the large Green Ghost gives you the number of spaces you can move your pawn: vulture, rat, cat, or bat. Players use trapdoor keys to collect ghost kids and increase their chances of winning. When all twelve ghost kids have been retrieved from the traps, they are placed in little holes on the Green Ghost spinner (players need to remember which ghost kids are found). Then the large Green Ghost is spun one more time, pointing to the little ghost it identifies as Kelly. Whoever found the one pointed to wins the game.
Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents. Turns rotate among players who control armies of playing pieces with which they attempt to capture territories from other players, with results determined by dice rolls. Players may form and dissolve alliances during the course of the game. The goal of the game is to occupy every territory on the board and, in doing so, eliminate the other players. The game can be lengthy, requiring several hours to multiple days to finish. European versions are structured so that each player has a limited "secret mission" objective that shortens the game.
Cluedo, known as Clue in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddingtons in the United Kingdom in 1949. Since then, it has been relaunched and updated several times, and it is currently owned and published by the American game and toy company Hasbro.
The Magic 8 Ball is a plastic sphere, made to look like an oversized eight ball, that is used for fortune-telling or seeking advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman and is currently manufactured by Mattel. The user asks a yes–no question to the ball, then turns it over to reveal an answer that floats up into a window.
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
Playmobil is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group, headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a 7.5 cm (3.0 in) tall human figure with a smiling face. A wide range of accessories, buildings and vehicles, as well as many sorts of animals, are also part of the Playmobil line.
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1919 to 1980. They made many types of toys including tin toys, toy soldiers, toy guns, action figures, dolls, toy cars and model trains. Some of their notable toys are Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Big Wheel tricycles, Disney branded dollhouses and playsets based on TV shows like Gunsmoke. Its products were often imprinted with the slogan "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"
A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve combat-related themes. Toy soldiers vary from simple playthings to highly realistic and detailed models. The latter are of more recent development and are sometimes called model figures to distinguish them from traditional toy soldiers. Larger scale toys such as dolls and action figures may come in military uniforms, but they are not generally considered toy soldiers.
A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about 13 mm in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are often collected, both for nostalgia and for their aesthetic colors.
Hungry Hungry Hippos is a tabletop game made for 2–4 players, produced by Hasbro, under the brand of its subsidiary, Milton Bradley. The idea for the game was published in 1967 by toy inventor Fred Kroll and it was introduced in 1978. The objective is for each player to collect as many marbles as possible with their toy hippopotamus model. The game was, at one point, marketed under the "Elefun and Friends" banner, along with Elefun, Mouse Trap and Gator Golf.
Mouse Trap is a board game first published by Ideal in 1963 for two to four players. It is one of the first mass-produced three-dimensional board games. Players at first cooperate to build a working mouse trap in the style of a Rube Goldberg machine. Then, players turn against each other to trap opponents' mouse-shaped game pieces.
All Star Baseball is a 1941 baseball board game designed by baseball player Ethan Allen. The game, manufactured by Cadaco-Ellis, was the best-selling baseball board game of all time. It has been honored as one of the fifty most influential American board games of all time.
Lord of the Rings is a cooperative board game based on the high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Published in 2000 by Kosmos in Germany, Wizards of the Coast in the U.S., and Parker Brothers in the U.K., the game is designed by Reiner Knizia and features artwork by illustrator John Howe. In the game, each player plays a hobbit in the party, and the party will aim to destroy the One Ring. Upon its release, the game received a Spiel des Jahres special award. A slightly revised version was later published by Fantasy Flight Games.
The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.
Batman action figures have been produced since the 1940s. These action figures, inspired by the character's appearance in comics and serials, were created by DC Comics and manufactured by various toy companies. These figures were made of various materials such as wood, tin, and plastic. They were typically between 6 and 8 inches in height and featured movable joints that allowed them to be posed in various positions.
Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy, Toni, Saucy Walker, Shirley Temple, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy, Thumbelina, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube.
Masterpiece is a board game by Parker Brothers, now a brand of Hasbro. Players participate in auctions for famous works of art. It was designed by Jeffrey Breslow of Marvin Glass and Associates and originally published in 1970 by Parker Brothers, and then published again in 1976 and 1996. The game is now out of print. In this game, players compete with other players to bid on potentially valuable paintings, and negotiate with other players to trade these works of art, build a portfolio, amass money, and win the game. The top value of a painting in the 1970 edition is $1 million, and $10 million in the 1996 edition; however, getting the full value for the painting requires some luck in landing on the right square on the board to sell a painting to the bank.
Mall Madness is a shopping themed board game released by Milton Bradley in 1988.
Discworld: Ankh Morpork is a board game set in the largest city-state in Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Designed by Martin Wallace and Treefrog Games, the game revolves around the playing of cards and placing minions onto the board. Each player attempts to meet the win condition for the personality that they randomly and secretly selected at the start of the game. The game features many characters from the Discworld series, but players do not need to have any knowledge about the books.
Transogram was an American producer of toys, games and other leisure products from the early 20th century to 1971. It is best known for such long-produced games as Tiddledy Winks and Game of India, as well as such baby-boomer favorites as Green Ghost and television tie-in board games for such characters and series as Atom Ant, The Flintstones, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Perry Mason and Tom and Jerry.