70s/80s board games

[EdenGlen]

Hi,

Any recommendations for vintage board games?

My dad introduced the kids to Careers which he used to play as a child and they love it. We also have an original Game of Life and that gets played every weekend.

We have tried newer games like Ticket to Ride but they aren’t that keen.

Does anyone know of any old games similar to Careers/Game of Life where you move around a board? It would be nice to find something on eBay I could get for Christmas.

Thanks!

Mike Read!

We love Careers, and yes no one else has ever heard of it!

The kids are nearly teenagers and find the old fashioned nature of it funny now e.g. their favourite career is uranium prospecting!

My PILs have loads of old games, and the kids have grown up loving them. Most favourites have already been mentioned - Scoop, Careers, Buccaneer and Wildlife. The one I'd add is Pit (with the original old fashioned cards). We also love Downfall.

I had two that were played to death in the late 70s, Masterpiece and Chartbuster. Not sure if they would appeal now but I loved both.

Also loved Careers!

We had Smuggle as well and I'm afraid my sister and I found it rather dull!
Great memories on this thread.

My brother always beat me at Downfall. Hate the game 😛

I’m a child of the 70s/80s. I was a very sickly child and played a lot of board games with my considerably healthier siblings.

We played:

Staying Alive!

Mastermind
Magic Robot
and very niche - Houston Scene. A bit like Monopoly with oil, I seem to remember.

I remember Kensington and Careers, but nothing more than their names.

Happy memories!

We have:

Connect 4
Guess who
Battleships
Mastermind
Cluedo
Ludo
Chess
Checkers
Chinese Checkers
Backgammon

And some newer games too.

Another vote for wildlife adventure- I found it in a charity shops and it’s a great game.

Mastermind. Masterpiece. Both 70s

I would never have thought of playing risk with my kids - but it is my favourite ever game and such fond memories of playing with friends at uni/in my twenties. I might give it a go and actually think it could be quite educational in terms of world politics and the discussions that could ensue! Despite being simple to play.

Does anyone remember Atmosfear? A game where you put a video on the telly and had to race to get through the game before the creepy ‘gatekeeper’ appeared on the screen calling you a maggot?! That was well loved with my cousins early 90s

Escape from Atlantis and Game of Knowledge were my childhood favourites ❤️

Some good ideas on here. I like to buy at least one new games for Xmas.

My cousins had Atmosfear. There was an Atmosfear 2 and also a Star Trek version, which I had.

I used to sit and play Monopoly with my teddies! 😂 the original Ghost Castle was good. Bought the new version for my kids, and wasn’t the same.

Anyone else remember Build a Better Burger?

Ah some great memories in this thread as an 80s child! We also had Careers. I think it was from 60s as was one of my parents.

My favourite in the 80s was Hotel and we still play it with the kids now. Like a much shorter version of Monopoly which looks more fun.
We also had my dad's 60s Bucaneer which our kids still love now. I also remember Scoop but not played for a long time so can't remember much about it.

This thread has reminded me my best friend had Mysteries of Old Peking and I asked to play it every time we went there.

My parents also recently found my old Neighbours game! Even though my kids don't know Neighbours we still had a laugh playing as you make up silly plots.

Oh blimey - can't remember the sayings, but I can remember my brother and I desperate to send the other one to 'Eigg, Rum and Muck'!

Have never been in real life, but found myself looking at 'properties for sale' in these islands not long ago and it reminded me!

We found a copy of Careers, we really like it.

I loved board games as a child, another vote for Scotland Yard.

Ghost Castle.

HeroQuest.

An obscure one was Barricade: each player had five pieces, and there were many different routes to the finish, with “barricades” that could never be passed, but if you landed on one, you could move it to block someone else.

Another obscure one was Blind Cow, which had pieces of card shaped like household objects (umbrella, saw, key etc.) which you had to identify while blindfolded.

Thomas the Tank Engine game. It was a maze of tracks to the finish, and the Fat Controller could block various spaces on the board; if you landed on a yellow square, you had to move the Fat Controller.

This is great everyone!

I’ve just ordered Go For Broke and Scoop on eBay and am watching lots of others.

I have warned my husband that we will have to have some board game nights to learn the rules before we play with the kids over Christmas. My in laws will think I’m mad on Christmas morning when the kids open their presents!

Was Chartbuster the one where you selected a song title then moved around the board doing gigs at various London music venues for record sales and the winner was the person that got to number one on the chart? Loved that.

We had Moviemaker. It was a sort of monopoly game where you acquired a story, leading actors, location cards etc and then collected money. My parents hated it but my cousin and I played it endlessly one summer holiday. Only made better by a trip to the local Wimpy half way through! A good modern one is Carcassone - we have played that with adult children for the past few Christmas afternoons.

Another vote for Escape From Colditz! Fun, tense game. But pretty violent... (the German player can shoot the escapees) My favourite escape route was the Staff Car.

PayDay
The Really Nasty Horse Racing Game
Totopoly

All fab.