The Willow Game - By Tor Books 1988

Google.com

Like a lot of children who grew up in the 1980s I loved the film Willow starring Val Kilmer and Warwick Davies amongst others, It's right up there with Legend, The Never Ending Story, Troll and The Labyrinth on my list of all time favourite live action fantasy films from my childhood.

So when I spotted the board game I never even knew had been made, in a Charity Shop for £1.00 back in the late 1990's.

I just had to have it - turned out I got very lucky, the game was not only complete but in perfect condition!

The game differs slightly from the film in that the background of how Elora Danan, the baby of the prophecy came to be in the Nelwyn (Dwarf's ) village and instead begins at the point where the Nelwyn Willow Ufgood begins his quest to take the foundling child back to the Daikini (humans), where he feels she belongs.  

Queen Bavmorda - Google.com

In the game he is already aware that the child is the subject of the prophecy and will if not caught by the evil Sorceress Queen Bavmorda, become the Empress of Tir Asleen and end the Sorceress' reign of evil.

Nockmaar - Google.com

Before you start the game you must chose which side you want to be on; Good or Evil...

Boardgamegeek.com

If you choose Good then you must protect the baby from the Evil Queen and her minions and take her to safety.

Boardgamegeek.com

 If you chose Evil then you must find and capture the baby and take her to Castle Nockmaar where Queen Bavmorda resides.

General Kael - Google.com

The players on the Evil side, who's job it is to discover which player on the side of Good is hiding the baby, spend the game hunting for The child and fighting the players on the opposing side in order to capture the baby and take her back to their Queen.

http://willowufgood.wikia.com

As the game is set in a Land of Magic it is possible that during the course of the game Transformation Cards may be played which could find you being transformed into a Possum, Pig or even the fierce, two headed, fire breathing dragon known as an Eborsisk.

Eborosisk - monsterlegacy.net

The game is for 2 to 6 players, and you may play one or more characters from the film. One of the players on the side of  Good has the task of keeping the baby safe during game play.

The Good characters begin the game much weaker than those on the side of Evil, but as the game progresses they become stronger by finding Places of Power and Treasures which enable them to free captive prisoners who will in turn help them to protect Elora Danan, this is one way the side of Good can win the game. 

The other way to win is to become so powerful that they can defeat Queen Bavmorda in combat.

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Tetris Board Game by Tomy - 1989

http://vadim.oversigma.com/Tetris.htm

Created in 1984 by Russian Computer Engineer and Video Game Designer Alexy Pajitnov while working at The Academy Of Science in Moscow, it quickly became one of the best known and most loved games in existence not least because it was available on every home computer (Commodore 64, Spectrum, P.C etc) as well as Arcade Machines and hand held consoles. 

http://vadim.oversigma.com/Tetris.htm

The premise is extremely simple, the player must rotate and fit one of 7 different coloured, randomly generated Tetrominoes into a grid as they fall from the top of the screen. The aim is to make a complete line across the grid, each time you do so that line is removed from the grid. 

 As the game progresses the Tetrominoes fall faster - if you aren't able to make enough complete lines and remove them from the grid, the Tetrominoes will pile up higher and higher until they reach the top of the grid. If this happens the game is lost.

In 1989 Tomy released a board game version of the well known game which works on the same principle. The grid is smaller as unlike the computer version of the game you play against another player.

To begin you move the central dividing slider to dead centre of the board and then press the button at the side of the board.

This generates the shape of the Tetromino and like the Video Game its entirely up to you which way you rotate it and where you place it in the grid.

When a player completes one or more lines, they move the central slider towards their opponent the  number of lines indicated by the key on the side of the board. The game continues until one player runs out of room on their side of the board.

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👣 The Bigfoot Board Game By Waddingtons - 1987 👣

https://www.coasttocoastam.com

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this, but as I'm sure by now you all know how much of a geek I am, so I guess it will come as no surprise to learn that I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the legendary creature known in some parts of the World as Bigfoot.

http://mauiwatch.com/2017/04/looking-back-harry-hendersons-1987/

Ever since I was a small child, I've loved the thought of this big beasties living as part of our World, but apart from the Human Race, I read all the books I could on the subject, watched as many documentaries as I could and so when Harry and The Henderson's came out in 1987, I was well up for watching that too!

To be honest with you I can't remember much about that T.V. Show, but I do remember "Harry" and how innocent he was, the expressions on his face which conveyed so much emotionally and how I so wanted to find my own Bigfoot to love!!

In later years, I of course realised this would never happen, not least because of geography but also the elusive nature of these beasties, which adds so much to their lure.

Still I did manage to get myself a posable Bigfoot Action Figure and yay, also a board game, which comes with an adorable mini Bigfoot who lives on top of a mountain!

www.ebay.co.uk

As my game is currently in storage and the only photo of the board I could find on my laptop was far too fuzzy to show much detail, I had to use one of the board which I found on Ebay.uk, which is a much better photo as it not only shows the Explorers and Bigfoot better but it also shows how cool the artwork is on the box and how it not only is useful for storing the game but also becomes part of the game itself when the board is taken out and placed on top of the bottom section.

The game box itself is decorated around the edges with images of mountain scenes, the board itself can be taken out of the box to play but I think it's better played inside the box, that way, you'll never lose any of the parts, as those boulders have a tendency to roll off into hard to reach places!

Google Images

 You play as one of 4 coloured teams of 3 very happy looking Explorers, who are following Bigfoot's trail, marked by footprints around the board and eventually up the side of the mountain in order to find Bigfoot.

boardgamegeek.com/image/582255/bigfoot-game

This is obviously making Bigfoot very angry so at the same time that the Explorers are tracking him, Bigfoot is trying to keep them away by hurling (Subbuteo style kicking) boulders at you as you travel in an attempt to either scare you off his scent or make your Explorers fall off the side of the mountain as they climb closer towards him.

Bigfoot rotates throughout the game as he throws his boulders, so it isn't possible to stay behind him and try to hide from the falling boulders as they come tumbling downwards.

To win you must get each of your 3 Explorers to the top of the mountain, .

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🐵 Donkey Kong Board Game by Milton Bradley - 1982 🐵

Growing up in the 80s and frequenting Arcades as we all did in those days, it was impossible not to have heard of the platform game Donkey Kong.

http://gifsgallery.com/donkey+kong+gif

When home consoles became available it gave us all the ability to play our favourite Arcade games and even some of the most popular Arcade games which we always wanted to try but could never get a go on in the Arcade, without the need to have a load of coins to feed the machine with.

For those without access to Games Arcades or Home Consoles or just geeks like me, Milton Bradley had it covered when they launched a board game version of the Arcade hit!

I've already posted about my other Milton Bradley board game versions of popular Arcade games - Frogger from 1981 and Pac man from 1982. It seems like a weird concept at first, after all much of the Arcade games or even Home Console versions of these games comes from the difficulty, sense of achievement, sounds, music and speed in with the games move, but they oddly translate pretty well; this may of course depend on how big a Nerd you are, but meh I'm a pretty big one, and I like these versions for different reasons to why I like the Video Game versions but in some ways, just the same!

Anyway, on to game play and contents... The board is set out like the Video Game with the different levels and girders between each, for your Jumpman / Mario character counter to move up the board in an attempt to rescue The Lady / Pauline from the clutches of Donkey Kong. 

In keeping with the Video Game Donkey Kong throws Barrels and fireballs (once the barrels land at the bottom of the board)  in an attempt to hit and kill you.

The game features a large and quite dominating looking stand alone Donkey Kong, with a movable arm into which you place individual barrels which he then "throws" down the board. These barrels rolls are determined by throwing the "Donkey Die" which gives options for throwing barrels, or Donkey Kong taking a rest, so more more barrels or fireballs enter play until the next throw.

The game is for up to 4 players, each one has a different colour in order to differentiate while all the tokens are on the board. At the start of the game each player chooses one of the 4 Jumpman characters and is then dealt 3 cards before the game can begin.

The cards give players the ability to Jump or Smash the barrels with a hammer as you approach then, they also give the number of points you score when performing these acts as you move along and up the board. 

There are also opportunities to avoid obstacles on the board, again these opportunities are played with the use of cards. It is also possible to loose points accrued by not having enough cards in play during your turn and your opponent also has the opportunity to take a card off you at various points in the game. This of course makes the game harder than if it was just a case of getting to the top of the board to win.

 The winner is the player who scores the most points while travelling across and up the board.

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KOJAK Detective Board Game by Arrow Games Ltd - 1975

Growing up in the 80's there were a load of great cop shows to watch on T.V. one of my favourites was Kojak, it was gritty, and unlike our British cop shows, American Detectives had guns! 

While I enjoyed the punch ups our T.V crime fighters dished out on a variety of villains, there was something so alluring about the idea of living in a big city like New York and going on wild car chases, waving guns and saying things like "Book 'em Daddio", "say it to the judge" or in the case of Kojak "Who loves ya baby" while taking them "Down Town to get Booked" that found it's way into our pretend games far easier than anything The Sweeney or Body & Doyle from The Professionals had to offer.

The best thing was if you wanted to play at being Kojak all you needed was a plastic gun, a pair of sunglasses (optional) and a lollipop!

A few years back I found another way to play Kojak, when I happened upon a board game version of the series from 1975. Of course, I just had to get my hands on it and give it a go!!

The game is for 2 to 4 players who play the role of a Detective in the Manhattan South Precinct. The Detective counters take the form of two colour coded cars; choose from Red, Yellow, Green or Blue, which you move around the board as you hunt one of the 4 Criminal counters; also coloured Red, Blue, Yellow and Green. 

The idea is that 4 serious crimes have been committed and a file for each has been opened at the precinct; these are also colour coded: The Red File concerns a Bank Raid, The Yellow File a Political Corruption case, The Blue File a string of scams by a team of Confidence Tricksters and The Green File is a case of a Gangland Killing.

To set up the board to begin the game, each of the the 4 Criminal Counters (also colour coded) are placed on one of the areas of the board marked Bank, Club House, City Hall and Hotel on the sections of that area denoted by a black dot.

The Detective cars are placed in the Down Town Car Park in the centre of the board at the start of the game, the person with the highest number on the dice begins the game by travelling in a clockwise direction around the board until they reach the Contact Card Room, this is where you collect your assignment. 

After you receive your assignment you are able to draw Trap cards which will assist you in catching the Criminal you have been assigned to arrest. You will also need a Warrant card to do this. 

Once you have the correct cards to capture your Criminal you can proceed around the board until you get to one of the 4 buildings in which your Criminal is hiding. When you get there you Stake Out the building while the Criminal moves to a position in the building denoted by the red area in which you are able to arrest them.

Once your Criminal is caught you return to the Down Town Car Park and start again, until all the Criminals are captured. The winner is the Detective who makes the most number of arrests.

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🐸 Frogger Board Game by Milton Bradley - 1981 🐸

Another of my favourite games growing up was Frogger, which I'd play for hours on my Commodore 64 and oddly every time I went to an arcade too, I have no idea why I didn't try other games while there considering the amount of games to choose from, but for me, for a while Frogger was where it was at...

Just look at those graphics, is it any wonder that I was obsessed with getting my frog across that road?

This game still holds a special place in my heart, so my recent discovery of the existence of a Frogger Board Game was pretty mind blowing and once I had that knowledge I just had to get my hands on it, and yay I did too!

Anyone who's played the video game will not be surprised to learn that the object of the board game is to get your frog counter across the road to the safety area at the other side of the board.

Just like it's video game counterpart you have to avoid the cars that are moving across the road at the same time as your frog is attempting to cross.

Just like the video game both sides of the board have lily padded areas ( The Swamps) which are the safety areas, the black areas are Highways on which the cars you have to evade run, and the blue area in the centre of the board is the River which is where you place the coloured logs (red and yellow) where your frog can rest or leap from one to another to aid his journey across the board to safety.

At the time of purchase I'd stopped this game on Ebay and of course decided I had to have it, I hadn't seen another listing for this game and so decided I had to snap it up while I had the chance.

Unfortunately the listing stated that the cars were missing from the game, but they had been replaced with vintage matchbox cars instead, which I think adds to the appeal, as much as I would have loved to have found this game in it's entirety, little metal cars will do me just as well and definitely add to it's kitchness!

I did some research on this board game and discovered the section dedicated to this game on Board Game Geek  according to that site,  this is the second version of the game....

I found this cute close up of the frog counters on that site and had to share it as the photo's I've uploaded don't show the frogs in detail and as you can see from their photo, they are so darn cute!

BoardGameGeek.com

At times during the game you are able to move not only your frog counter but all the frog counters in play, this is determined by a throw of the die. The frog symbol on the die will bring this movement into effect. At any other time in the game you move only your counter. You have the ability to hinder an opponent's passage across the board, one way to do this is to move either a log or a car across the board using part or all of the number of moves dictated by your dice throw.

BoardGameGeek.com

Another photograph I found on that site, is a close up of the "logs" as you can see from the picture below, they are reversible with a fly symbol in the centre of each, on one side only. Like the video game, landing on the fly will give you a bonus - 2 extra spaces in which to move. The logs can be moved across the board or turned over to take a bonus (fly) out of play for a period of time.

BoardGameGeek.com

The image above shows the car pieces with which you can "squash" your opponent's frog, just like the cars in the video game. 

There is of course much more to game play than I've written about here but like all board games playing them is much more fun than reading or writing about them, plus if I was to tell you very nuance of play here, I'd totally spoil it for you when you play the game yourself! 

THE MUPPET SHOW BOARD GAME by PALITOY - 1977

I've never met anyone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s who doesn't still have a love for The Muppets,

 I really can't put my finger on why but ask anyone who was a child in those decades and just the mention of The Muppets will raise a wistful smile and a nostalgic longing inside them, heck even the adults around us at the time loved The Muppets and like us children of the 70s and 80s still look back on those halcyon days with longing, so it really should come as no surprise that I just happen to be the proud owner of a Muppet Show board game from 1977!

As you can see from the box, the game is for two to four players aged 8 to adult - the reason for this is because each player controls two of the eight counters.

The aim of the game is, as you'd expect pretty crazy - Chaos has broken out Back Stage in the theatre and no-one is where they should be, the audience are seated..."Curtains Up" is in a matter of minutes and The Muppets are running here, there and everywhere like a bunch of manics, so it's up to you to help Kermit get each pair of Muppets to the right place on stage before the curtain goes up...

When I opened the box I found all the playing pieces sealed in plastic bags, so I had to remove them and place them into the moulded areas of the box to check if I had everything needed to play the game.

The playing counters and their bases are colour coded, this corresponds to the area of the stage in which those Muppets should be waiting ready to perform their act once the curtain goes up.

As well as two Muppets each player has to control a "set" piece, these are also colour coded to match their respective Muppets.

Miss. Piggy & Rowlf have a Theatre set ( note they are dressed as Surgeons), Scooter & Fozzie Bear have a Park bench set, Zoot & The Great Gonzo have instruments and spotlights on their set and of course Dr. Teeth & Animal have their band set.

These pieces must also be moved to the front of the stage and placed in their respective areas before the Curtains go up.

You have a book of Stage Directions / Rule Book to help you and a pack of cards which contain directions, hazards etc...

The cards are used in place of a die and provide instructions on where and how to move, but they are not always so helpful... 

You may be moved Backstage, to The Wings, or moved by other players who draw a certain card, but to help you along and to counter these threats use could also draw Star Cards; these will countermand Hazard cards providing you hold at least one Movement card.

 The first person to get their Muppets and set pieces to the correct area at the front of the stage wins the game...

And allows Kermit to take a well earned rest!

15th August 2017.

As I've had a couple of requests for copies of the rules for this game, I've decided to revisit this post and upload scans of the Stage Directions (Rule Book) so anyone who needs a copy can just save and print them as required... So here goes!

7th March 2018

Many Thanks go to David Simpson, who downloaded copies of my original scans, retouched them and has kindly given me the retouched versions to upload here for anyone else who needs them..

As the Rule Book is printed on a single folded sheet,  the best way to print it so it looks more authentic would be to print the first side, then turn the paper over and print the second image on the other side.

It's also worth noting that the Rule Book is A5 in size so make sure you reduce the image so it is no more than 148 x 210 mm ( 5.8 x 8.3 inches) that way your replacement will be as authentic as a printed scan can be!

                                       

                                              Hope this helps, and happy gaming!!

                                   

                                                                Hugs,