games

Sometimes boynton's two major mt categories - dogs and ephemera - coalesce.
Checking out the dog nose gallery (as you do) (via the Presurfer) she found one that resembled poor old 15 y old Abby - on her last legs. Maybe Abby shall now officially be known as Spilli-wobble - but then guess it won't be long till we're all playing that game.

The latter was found shortly after the noses at a marvellous vintage toy site that features so many gems including Flipping the Kipper and Tipsi
Boynton had been searching for creepy critters that old plastic version of the beetle game. This site featured an earlier version of the set that boynton used to own - ( or is that- an entomological ancestor) which did at least show the potential hazard of small parts. Never very neat, boynton kept misplacing legs and antenae so that eventually players had to vie for a compound multicoloured critter. The non-plastic version, that "old favourite", on which these creatures were based seems to have faded from public consciousness, but boynton did play and participate in that olde folk custom of the beetle drive once upon a time. Interesting that the best info on this comes from Activities for Guides, and indeed under the Quiet section. Good to see they include the instruction: To make sure you have a quieter time (and anyone else who maybe in the same building) stop all screaming before it starts.
Sounds like a strange guide sub-cult of beetlemania. Not that boynton doubts the link between board games and acts of hysteria, or even violence. As discussed here before she was well schooled in the combative games of canasta, croquet and creepy critters and got to learn the warning signs of imminent sibling war.

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Comments: games

"Spilli-wobble" is certainly a preferred nick-name to "Cloudy-eyed Ugly"!
Posted by Nora at July 15, 2003 06:13 PM

Yes and the dog in the nose shot certainly looks a lot less cloudy than Spilli-wobble too. The resemblance is to her inner puppy.
Posted by boynton at July 16, 2003 12:00 PM

Wow how weird. We had that insect construction game too (or a similar one). Gave me an odd flashback to see it there.

Boynton- on the subject of dogs, I have recently noticed a number of people walking their dogs, after dark, with flashing lights attached to them, presumably so they can keep track of them. At first I thought that Faulkner park was being invaded by low-flying aliens, but no, it was definitely dogs. Do you know anything about this? They look like common-or-garden variety bike-lights but I'm wondering if some enterprising person has been marketing them as dog lights (perhaps "tail lights", it occurs to me, just now.)
Posted by mcb at July 16, 2003 03:01 PM

I used to see the LFAliens walking round the Boulevard mcb, the strange lights and often the white glow of the shoes were the only signs of presence. If Doug was up to a nocturnal stroll now I'd probably invest in a lead and a collar:
http://www.spectrallusion.com/pet_collars.htm

(but then I might also need a glow light for my beanie or pom-pom-less tam.)
Posted by boynton at July 16, 2003 04:49 PM

Old games - just wasted half an hour searching the Web for the Waddington's classic "Buccaneer" - now sadly about as readily available as all those old Avalon Hill games.
Posted by Gummo Trotsky at July 17, 2003 11:40 AM

"Buccaneer" sounded intriguing enough Gummo, for me to google-chase it up, which led to another great vintage site.
I thought that a tugboat might favour this one:
http://vzone.virgin.net/vintage.games/seawink.jpg
Posted by boynton at July 17, 2003 12:54 PM