vintage games

I’d never heard of it before, but Tiltin’ Milton tripped my trigger — a great name, screaming retro graphics, and a corny rhyming tagline:

Don’t Tilt Milton While He’s Snoozin’
I’ll Be Winnin’, You’ll Be Losin’

Tiltin' Milton Vintage Game Box

I didn’t care if the box has signs of water damage and too-securely (and paper-damagingly) taped shut to see if it had all the pieces. I’m an old school gaming girl; I love such adventures into unknown board game territory.

And I’m a cheap old broad too — who can pass up a 50 cent thrift store find? (Don’t hate me ‘cuz I’m lucky enough to score the nifty thrifty!)

Because this new edition of an old game is part of my “Old Games I Make People Play” collection, once home, the family was assembled to play. And we discovered this is a board-less vintage game.

1968 Tiltin' Milton Game by Ideal

The game instructions, including the list of pieces, are printed inside the game box lid; from there we learned that while our new old game was not complete, it could still be played well-enough. We have the large plastic “Milton,” his hammock, and the tree to place it on. Of the 10 “large objects,” we have 9; of the 10 “accessory objects,” we have 8 (one of the 8 is damaged, but as the eyeglasses just “sit” on the newspaper, it still works).

The object of this 2 or more person game is to place things on the large plastic Milton who sleeps in his precarious hammock — without tiltin’ Milton so much that he falls to the ground.

Trying Not To Do Too Much Tiltin' Of Milton

It is both as simple and as difficult as it sounds. Simple in that there’s not too much strategy involved other than how to best balance the game pieces; difficult because you are forced to follow the game rules and the laws of gravity.

Oops! Someone's Been Tiltin' Milton!

The first player chooses any “large” object on Milton by placing the peg of the object into one of holes in Milton’s body — and their turn ends. “Note: Players may hold Milton or the hammock, with one hand, when placing objects.”

The next person to play places the relevant “accessory” object, as shown inside the box lid (shown below), onto the “large” object and then also places another large object on Milton before their turn ends.

Tiltin Milton Game Piece "Object Pairing" Diagram

Play continues like that of the second player until Milton is tilted out of his hammock; the player who causes this event to occur is eliminated from the game. All objects are removed from Milton, and he is replaced in his hammock for play to begin again — minus the player who sent Milton tiltin’ too far — until only one player remains. That player is the winner.

Tiltin Milton Game By Ideal Toys

While this game was manufactured before makers printed suggested ages on the boxes, this 1969 Ideal Toy ad illustrates that the game was suggested for 5 year olds; call us five year olds, because we had a fun time, playing two games.

Close-Up Of Tiltin Milton Game In 1969 Ideal Toys Ad

It’s not my favorite game, but it’s certainly an easy to set-up and take down game with a short enough duration that allows you to squeeze in a quick game before dinner or bedtime. I’d actually like to get the missing pieces — however this game isn’t so easy to come by.

Tiltin’ Milton (No. 2352-3) is a big plastic board-less game which was produced by Ideal Toy Corporation in 1968 — part of Ideal’s 1960’s foray into games. In terms of collecting context, Ideal went into the manufacture of games in a big, elaborate way, making games that were more like toys with large 3-D plastic pieces that relied more on mechanical designs than traditional board game play. (I was unable to find out for certain, but it’s a fair bet that Marvin Glass was actually behind Titltin Milton.) These 3-D plastic board-less (or at least less board-based) games are iconic and even early games which didn’t fare so well at the time are rather popular with collectors.

While I won’t go so far as some sellers and say it’s “RARE” (in all caps yet!), the Tiltin Milton Game certainly isn’t über common. I presume this is because it was one of the few 3-D plastic-dominant games Ideal did not have much success with, so few games were made, let alone sold and valued enough to be saved. Despite eBay sellers listing the game from $50 to over $230, past sales of the game show of the two listed, only one sold — and that for $6.99. (But these prices are a snapshot of “today” and who knows what the future holds for Milton?)

In any case, it seems like it will be awhile before I find my missing pieces at an affordable price. So, if you should find yourself with a spare Tiltin’ Milton tree branch, eyeglasses, ice cubes, &/or sandwich…

Meanwhile, I continue to play without a full deck with a few missing pieces.

Playing Tiltin' Milton

Last month I wrote about vintage Bingo games & The Game-Lovers Library Bingo game by Metro Manufacturing Co. At the same thrift shop, I also discovered not one but two copies of Bottoms-Up, a vintage game by E. S. Lowe Company. I grabbed them both for several reasons…

The collectibility: Along with my adoration of old games, Bottoms-Up is also a vintage game designed to sit on the shelf, like a book. Like Metro Mfg. Company’s Game-Lovers Library series, Lowe’s “Bookshelf of Games” were made in the 40’s, came in both the cheap and DeLuxe Editions (bound in Genuine Top-Grain Leather), and are smaller, portable sized games.

Vintage Bookshelf Of Games Bottoms-Up Game By E.S. Lowe

The ultimate reason for purchasing: The pig butt game pieces. Yup, you read that right; the game pieces feature the bottoms of pigs! My mom, who now has a nice collection of pig behinds, needed more — and I couldn’t pass the other game up for myself either. So I greedily snatched up both games on the spot.

Vintage Bottoms-Up Pig Butt Game Pieces

Now that I own the vintage game, I’ve fallen in love with it for other reasons…

While the pork playing pieces are absolutely charming, the final joy lies in the fact that Bottoms–Up is played like one of my favorite games, Shutbox aka Shut The Box.

You begin by hiding all the pig behinds, so that the nine pieces display their dot-numbered sides (1-9). Then you roll the dice, and then turn down (or ‘bottoms up’) playing pieces that equal the total sum of the numbers on both dice. For example, if you roll an 8, you may ‘bottoms up’ the 8, the 7 & 1, the 5, 2 & 1, or some other valid combination totaling 8. You keep rolling the dice & doing the math to display as many pig bottoms as you can, until you roll a sum which cannot be equaled in the remaining numbered pieces.

The goal is to get zero, or as low a score as you can when you add up the remaining numbered pieces. Then the next person plays and tries to beat your score.

According to the official game rules:

The game proceeds in this fashion until all players have had their chance at the play. The player remaining with the lowest number on his face-up blocks, wins the game and is credited with the number of points left by each other player.

If a player wins by turning down all of his blocks, he wins double and is credited with double of the amount of points remaining in every other player’s hand.

The official rules for Bottoms-Up state that this is a game of 2, 3, or 4 players; however, I enjoy playing the game alone, competing against myself for the lowest score (just as with Shutbox and Solitaire). No game-Nazi can prevent me from playing this way if I so choose. Besides, you can’t take away this option for a lover of vintage games… Not everyone will play old games with me — or for as long as I like.

And with Bottoms-Up, well, I guess it takes a special kind of game nerd to also get such a kick out of pig bottoms.

But the final reason to love this old game is for the irony. Edwin Lowe is said to be the father of the Bingo game:

…while traveling through Georgia one late December night in 1929, Lowe came across a country fair where a very popular game by the name of Beano was being played. Sensing a possible winner, Lowe inquired about the game, learned it had originally come from a fair in Germany, bought some of the game cards, and returned home to New York. With some cards of his own and some dried beans, he introduced the game to friends. One woman, seeing she had won, got so excited, she couldn’t remember to yell “Beano” and yelled “Bingo” instead. In an interview years later, Lowe recalled that moment: “I cannot describe the sense of elation which that girl’s cry brought to me, all I could think of was that I was going to come out with this game and I was going to call it Bingo.”

So while I don’t (yet) own a Lowe Bingo game, I’m a bit closer to justifying that future purchase.

It will be another “space” filled on my checklist of Bookshelf Of Games games — so when I do get them all, I’ll not only be a fulfilled (and rationalizing) collector, but I’ll have achieved a full-card Bingo. And that’s satisfying on so many levels for this vintage game nerd.

Vintage Lowe's Bookshelf Of Games List

As usual, I spotted a retro game at the thrift store and had to spend a whopping $1.99 — and make the someone play it. This time the game was Parker Brothers’ Careers (No. 66) and the victim was the husband, Derek. Fortunately, the only pieces missing were two dice — and, after lengthy searching, I was able to remedy that so we could play. (No one escaped playing games with me that easily!) Overall, I think it’s a very cool game. But then, maybe my standards are low; I just love board games & when they are “old” I’m twice as happy to play them.

Retro parker Bros. Careers Game

The version of the game we played has copyrights of 1971, 1976, & 1979 — however, it seems that there were several versions of the game & the game box during these years, and (at least in 1978), different international versions too, thus making it even more challenging for board game collectors who can’t exactly judge a game by it’s box cover.

1978 International Version Of Career Board Game

In fact, Parker Brothers’ Career board game has quite a number of versions — and the changes aren’t only in graphics.

The board game was first manufactured by Parker Brothers in 1955. Since then, Careers has been reprinted from time to time & you will also find official copies of Careers put out by Waddingtons and others — with the most recent edition of the game being published in 2008 by Winning Moves, who brought back the original version (including refill score pads). This is not only cool for those of us who may not be able to find (or afford) a complete vintage game, but for those of us who do not wish to risk wear & tear on a collectible by playing it with the family.

However, the different versions of the Careers game vary quite a bit — so if you’re at all like me, you’ll want to know more about all the options.

The original version included Farming & Prospecting careers, by 1965 Prospecting was Uranium Prospecting and by 1971 Uranium Prospecting became Sports and Farming was changed to Ecology to reflect that 70’s trend. Other changes also reflected the times. On the original game board, there was a Sea career option which became Teaching — and then was eventually just dropped. Originally there was no unemployment; those without jobs say on the Park Bench corner, which then became the Unemployment Office — which surely shows more sitting than the simple Unemployment of my version. And can you imagine the thrill of playing the 1950’s versions and making an Expedition to the Moon before anyone really had?!

Vintage Careers Game Rules Sheet

Along with changes in the board (many spaces removed entirely), there were changes in scoring (older versions offering a two-player game option requiring 100 points to win, instead of 60), and of course the game pieces & graphics. Check out the reusable scoring sheets with the 1958 version!

1958 Careers Board Game

But arguably the worst change to the Careers game came in 1990 when Parker Brothers thought a hot pink pandering board game would profit big time. It didn’t. Because it was no What Shall I Be? The Exciting Game of Career Girls.

You wouldn’t know it, unless you either obsessively Googled the game or had a 1997 Pressman edition of the game which credits the game’s designer, but the Careers board game was designed by James Cooke Brown, an inventor, writer, university professor, and sociologist. He had even created a more advanced edition in which enlightenment, virtue and power were added to the Success Formula. Sadly, this game re-design was never published. But we can still hope. And perhaps pester the James Cooke Brown Trust for such a glorious thing:

James Cooke Brown Trust
c/o Jenny Brown
1720 NE 75th St
Gainesville, FL 32641

(email info@jobmarketbook.com)

Taking such action is sure to give you 10 Happiness Hearts!

Once upon a time, there was a collector who thought collecting vintage Bingo games would be one of the easiest things to collect…

I nearly always found old Bingo games at garage sales, flea markets & thrift stores — you didn’t even need to look for real vintage versions at actual antique shops because the games were so readily available. And not just because the game’s always been popular with the gambling lucky-troll holding daubing set either.

The game’s popularity dates back before church fundraisers and Native American casinos — so long ago that the game was once a “fun for all ages” entertainment staple in ye houses of yore. So you can find vintage Bingo sets in everything from the functional for larger groups to the retro kiddie goodness varieties. All of which are spectacular to see, really.

That’s what once excited me really — the opportunity to see how many of these old charmers I could get to fill my collecting card. But then, once I opened the musty cardboard boxes, I quickly discovered the problem.

Along with the too many pieces to be saved (resulting, in most cases, in very incomplete games), there were problems with old plastics, rendering cheery bright yellow tumbling mechanisms useless because they had become unglued at the seams — and while that’s less frightening than a gambling woman who’s become unglued due to loss of her lucky troll, such damage issues render your game unplayable.

Poo on that.

When you can’t even find enough cool vintage Bingo games to get four corners on your collector’s playing card, who wants to play anymore?

You could call me a poor sport; but really, my heart was broken. Like a vintage plastic Bingo ball thingy.

So for a number of years I wouldn’t even let myself be charmed and intrigued enough by a brightly colored, vintage graphics laden, box cover enough to wander over and “just see…” No. I wouldn’t fall for that again!

But recently, at a thrift store, hubby (who apparently didn’t know of my previous heartbreak) put into my hands a Bookgames Bingo game…

Vintage Metro Mfg Co Bookgames Case

This “pocket sized” Bingo game taught me a few things… One, that pockets must have been way-huge back in the 1940’s — even if the games were sold as “Perfect Gifts For the Men in Service.”

But the other thing was that there is hope for finding vintage Bingo games intact enough to play.

Sure, the spinner shows signs of wear, and I don’t know if any of the cards are lucky, but finally, a game that’s not only worthy of investing in buying a lucky troll, but one that is part of “The Game-Lovers Library.”

Vintage Bingo Game

Bookish in looks (with the name on the “spine”), it even came with a list of all the other Bookgames in the series — too-too cool for a collector.

Even if I’m not sure I can squeeze such a thing onto my sagging bookshelves.

UPDATE:

This post was included in the second edition of the New Vintage Reviews Carnival.

Because Becky asked, here’s a scan of the list of Metro Mfg. Co.’s list of games, as printed on part of the back of the “how to play Bingo” insert — click to enlarge!

"The Game-Lovers Library" List Of Bookgames

Heaven only knows when & where I got these old cards (which makes me think it was at Georgine’s, where we toss things into boxes quickly), but I do know why I bought them.

First, it was the graphics which grabbed me — vintage graphics usually do. Second was the tiny product advertising for Kitchen Klenzer & Automatic Soap Flakes on four of the cards — cards which had “Meet The Missus” on them (also very intriguing, so let’s call that the third reason).

But reason number four was the real kicker — the corny jokes on them.

1Q: What part of a baseball park should be reserved for platinum blondes?
1A: The Bleachers. Ba Dum Bum!

14Q: What is meant by a joint bank account?
14A: The husband puts in the money — the wife draws it out. Har Har Har

I just knew these cards would be a journey of discovery. Or a silly night at home playing the game — if they all were there, something you usually don’t have a clue about at any sale. So home they came.

In order to know if I had all the cards — or indeed all the parts of the game — I needed to look at the cards. I have 48 of them. If there were only 22 pairs of question & answer cards, and only four of the “Meet The Missus” cards, then all I need is question card #4, and answer card #15. Am I only missing two cards from the deck? (Hey, no jokes about me not playing with a full deck!) Or is there more to this game?

Time to turn to the Internet.

Quickly I discover this is a rather rare set of cards. It belongs to a 1937 game, of which there were at least four versions, according to Kovels. As Kovels doesn’t offer much in terms of description, and has no photos, I can’t even begin to guess which — if any — my cards belong to.

My search continues…

I discover that the Meet The Missus game was in fact an advertising premium for The Fitzpatrick Brothers (of Chicago, Illinois) who sponsored a radio show of the same name. The show was the 1934 brain-child of Thomas Kivlan, a salesman for Chicago’s WBBM. A young Tommy Bartlett was the show’s host — yes, that Tommy Bartlett, of the famous water-skiing show & other attractions in the Wisconsin Dells. This is exciting to me because I’m originally from Wisconsin, and I’ve been to The Dells & Tommy’s attractions many times. I love discovering hidden connections in things!

While many may remember Bartlett for his radio days at WBBM hosting Welcome Travelers with Bob Cunningham, Jim Ameche, and Les Lear, Bartlett’s early radio fame had much to do with Meet The Missus.

Meet The Missus was a daily radio show, on at 3:00 in the afternoon in 1937, which catered to housewives. It quickly became so popular that spin-off shows, such as The Missus Goes to Market, were created. By 1940 Kivlan had gone from salesman to advertising executive — and Tommy Bartlett had become “the housewife’s pinup boy”.

The Missus radio shows were, as my cards indicate, corny. It’s not just my hip 2008 mentality being cruel to some old time radio shows — even Time in 1940 called them “the cutest, corniest radio programs in the U. S.” But the shows were wildly popular. The Time article says:

In its early career on the air, The Missus Goes to Market opened 10,000 new outlets for Automatic Soap Flakes. Similarly successful, Meet the Missus has attracted a million requests for a card game advertised on the program, and pulls 3,000 letters a week. Reveling in his success with the matrons, young Tommie Bartlett earns $22,000 a year, lives handsomely in a duplex apartment on Lake Shore Drive. A feature of almost every berry, corn and apple festival around Chicago, Bachelor Tommie has so far received 20 proposals of marriage, inherited $5,000 from one mike-struck listener.

Did you catch that part about the million requests for a Meet The Missus card game advertised on the program? Me too. But what was this game exactly? Do I have a complete one? And, if so, which one?

I continued to search. And then I found it — at least the cards look identical to mine.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that I’m missing (at least) the game board (which is supposed to be made of heavy paper, measuring 18 inches square when unfolded), and the instructions (which were printed on the back of the mailing envelope). But that’s still not the worst of it.

It’s not just that I’m currently unable to play Meet The Missus, even if I’ve grown to adore it more minute by minute as I discover more about the game, but seeing those nifty gameboard graphics just makes me itch all the more… I need it, you see. The $150 may be entirely reasonable given its scarcity; but I don’t have it. And so that means I am unable to really meet this Missus.

Pooh.

But, if the Tommy Bartlett Show could continue this year, it’s 55th year, despite there being no more lake for a water show (Lake Delton literally vanished in 15 minutes this past June), then this collector can keep her spirits up and her eyes down, looking for more pieces of this old vintage game.

You can learn a lot from Tommy Bartlett, a man who never water skied yet started a water skiing show — and ended up in the Water Ski Hall of Fame. OK, so the guy slipped on a pair of water skies at his 70th birthday party, but still…

Bartlett himself was said to be a collector. Not just of tourist attractions and things to put in them (like one of Russia’s three spare core modules for the space station Mir, which is a main attraction at the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory), but of paperweights. In that old Time article, it was said that Bartlett listed lawyers’ offices, barbershops, & funeral parlors as the places he haunted, considering them to be the “best bets” for adding to his collection of (at that time) 150.

Maybe that’s where I’ll start my searches for the missing parts of my Meet The Missus game.

*****

Side Note: Tommy Bartlett died September 6, 1998 at the age of 84. It’s rather fitting as that was a Labor Day weekend, which is the end of the show season in the Wisconsin Dells. It is purely coincidental that this, another Labor Day weekend, is when I decided to dig through the box that had these cards in them & do my research. However, the serendipity, as it usually is in collecting, is delightful.