As you know by now, I was a kid of the 80's. I loved the
toys and games we had then, they were so much more fun than the mindless video
games kids play today. It’s funny, when I was a kid adults would comment on how
much better the toys they had were, and now I am saying it. Weird. Here is a
look at some of the 80’s things I had as a kid, and as usual this list is in no
particular order.
Action Figures.
Honestly, I could do a whole article just on action figures.
These were the things I loved more than anything. I loved making up stories and
acting them out, so to speak. I had Masters of the Universe, Star Wars,
G.I.Joe, Secret Wars (Marvel), Super Powers (DC), Transformers, MASK, and many
others. Unfortunately, I no longer have any of these. The only memories I have
are the mini comic books which came with many of the figures. Lots of great
memories with these toys though, not to mention the awesome vehicles and play
sets. The Hall of Justice was the best, and Snake Mountain was pretty fun too.
It even had a microphone so you could change your voice! I know, lame. It gets worst, I had so many Star Wars figures that I had the Darth Vadar shaped case to store them all!
Rubik's Cube
Does anything say 80’s more? It's such a simple idea, it's a
3-D puzzle and all you have to do is line up the colors on each side. Easy,
right? Frustrating is more like it. I spent hours playing with this thing, it
was lots of fun. Everyone had their little ways of cheating, mine was to peel
the stickers off and replace them. No wonder I bought them so much. If you
think that's bad, you should have seen what I did to my slinky!
Laser Tag.
This was awesome! Most people these days hear Laser Tag they
think of the laser tag arenas where people go to. Before it became a version of
paint ball, it was in homes. You strapped on a belt with a sensor, and if the
laser hit the sensor then it would beep. This was lots of fun.
Pound Puppies
I don't think there was a kid in the 80's that didn't have
one of these. I had a puppy and a purrie, and they were real soft and cute. The
catch was you would actually "adopt" them, which meant naming them
and everything. They basically were to us what The Build-a-Bear Workshop is to
today's kids. Except we didn't help put them together. They were still really soft and cute.
Speak n Spell
I loved this freaking thing. I don’t know why, considering
it was just a spelling toy with a really robotic, almost annoying, voice.
However, it did have games which were kind of fun. You gotta have respect for a
toy which had a pivotal role in one of the greatest movies ever made, E.T.
Trivial Pursuit
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have played
this over
the years. It's such a simple premise, answer trivia questions and
college
pieces of colored "pie". Each color was a different category (why was
brown always the toughest?) When you have all the pieces you win. One
problem,
the questions were kind of hard! I loved this game; I had the regular
version,
the young players, the 80's, the TV, and probably a few others I can't
remember
right now.
Connect Four
Amazing how such a simple idea can be so much fun. It was
just tic tac toe, except the board was vertical. I think the fact it was so
simple was the appeal. No crazy rules, no hard trivia questions, you just
choose a color and then take turns dropping the colored discs from the top into
a seven-column, six-row vertically-suspended grid.
Battleship
I wanted to limit this list to games which originated or
became popular in the 80's. This game has been around a lot longer. However, I
decided to include it because in 1989 we got Electronic Talking Battleship,
which was a lot of fun. We all know the game, strategically place your boats
and then call the number/letters until you have found your opponents. This was
the ultimate strategy game. You know, they should make a movie out of it.....
Simon
When I mentioned Connect Four I said the appeal was its simplicity.
If simplicity is key that explains why this little creation was so popular. I
don't get it, even though I did have one. It's basically memory only with sound
and lights.
Cabbage Patch Dolls
Ever see a TV show or movie where there is a riot in a toy
store and think, "that could never happen!". Well, let me tell you
about 1984. These little dolls debuted, and they were beyond sensations!
Personally, I don't get it but people went crazy over these things.
Knight Rider Talking Voice Car
I wish I could tell you how many times I played with this
thing. Of course Knight Rider was the 80's show which aired on NBC. David
Hasselhoff drove a talking car named KITT. This toy was so cool! It talked, and
you could fit a version of Michael Knight inside! Man, I wish I still had this.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Gotta be honest. I never watched the show, and I never
bought the toys. I did have an action figure, not sure how that happened.
However, I would be remiss if I did not mention this little 80's cash cow. The
turtles were huge, which I don't need to explain since virtually every reviewer
on this site has done something TMNT related. They began as a comic book, and
then become action figures, and you know the rest. Action figures, video
games....they were all over the place.
Couple brief mentions-
Light Brite-Light Brite, Light Brite...you are so boring
it's out of sight! Seriously hated this little toy.
Scattegories-This came out in 1988, and to be honest, I
sucked at this game. Not sure why.
Colorforms - Do they still have these? If so I might have to
find one. With my active imagination, these were hours of fun for me. I
remember vividly having a Knight Rider one and I played with that over and over
again. If you don't know what colorforms are it’s simple. You get a background,
and then stickers you can take on and off. Doesn't sound like much, but boy did
I love playing with them.
MicroMachines-These were little tiny cars which came in all kinds of colors and styles. The only reason I even remember these is because of the commercials for them, I never got into the actual toy.
Go-Bots-A really fun Transformers rip-off. I used to really like Go-Bots, they were smaller and a little easier to handle. However, hard as they tried they couldn't beat The Transformers in terms of characters and design.
My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake-Sorry, not a girl so I really don't have much to say about these except that they were iconic 80's toys.
Popples-These on the other hand I have lots to say. These
were cutest things! Popples were adorable little brightly colored creatures
with long tails that had a poof ball at the end. They also had a pouch on their backs that
when you flipped inside out would roll the Popples into balls. They got their name from the pop sound they
made when you turned them back right-side out. There was also a cartoon series
with a very catchy theme song, and a comic I'd love to see on AT4W
someday. Loved them!
Since I couldn't find a decent pic, I'll share this then.
Ready for an 80's trip?
I know I knocked the kids of today for being obsessed with
video games, but we did have them. Let's take a look at the 80's idea's of
gaming.
Here it is a classic Atari game console. I will give you a
second to laugh. I know, it looks amazingly primitive. However, kids like me
spent hours hovered over these things. Let's look a couple of my favorite
games. ET will not be on here, that game was awful!
PAC-MAN
This was the daddy of all video games. Pong was the
granddaddy. Don't know what that is? Look it up. The game was simple, move
pac-man around a maze collecting little pellets. Along the way four ghosts try
to catch you, but if you get a power pellet you can eat the ghosts! I loved
this, and played it all the time.
Space Invaders-This game is so boring by today's standards.
Come to think of it, it was kind of boring even by yesterday's standards.
However, it's still a classic.
Donkey Kong-Donkey Kong is to Mario what The Simpsons are to
Tracy Ullman. Why does everyone forget this is where Mario originated? Mario
Bros. was a spin-off of this game which featured a mean giant ape.
Q-Bert
Is he still around? I loved this little guy. He basically
has to jump on every cube to change its color. Of course, you need to do it
without falling or getting stopped by one of the many impediments along the
way.
Frogger-This game was so much fun! You have to respect a
game so popular it made it into a Seinfeld episode. Just get the frog across
the street, or river, without getting it killed. Sounds simple, right?
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? I loved this, played
on my PC rather than the Atari of Sega system. It was basically a geography lesson
disguised as a spy game. It was just so much fun, as was its sequels Where in
the USA and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego.
Finally, when I finally got a game boy in the last 80's I
grew obsessed with one game. I played every minute of every day until I
mastered it. It took me four months. What game?
I loved Super Marioland. I realize it’s probably just an
inferior copy of the NES version, but I didn't care. Game Boy really brought me
back to video games, for a little while anyway.
This
was fun, hope you enjoyed this little look back at the toys and games
that made the 80's so great. Did I miss any? As usual, let me know.
There is one more classic 80's toy I didn't mention, basically because I
hate him just like everyone else. He was annoying and just plain scary.
You know who I'm talking about....
sshhhhh.....he might hear you! 
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