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11/30/2004: Christmas Junk ‘04: Milton Bradley Travel Games!

One of the biggest holiday traditions in my family, outside the usual overindulgence of greasy food and gifts nobody really needs: Board games. Every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, my family would gather around the table for their post-dinner black coffee, grab some wooden letters out of a sack and spend an hour or two trying to become the Scrabble Christmas Champion. Other times, Monopoly got the nod. Fact was, we were all growing older, and save for our family ties, maybe we were growing apart. With less and less common conversational ground between relatives, there’s nothing better than a board game to get everyone mingling.

Course, there’s one small problem with this ideal if you come from a family as large as mine – and certainly, many of you come from large families. Board games take up a lot of room, and not everyone at the table can actually play them. You’re faced with a situation where the players eat away at 50% of the holiday table’s real estate, knocking over all the wine decanters and coffee cups, completely oblivious to the fact that the non-playing folks were openly mapping their demise at the very same table, annoyed with having to use the Vermont Avenue deed card as a coaster.

Don’t fret – there’s a perfect solution. If you haven’t been to a toy store in ages, you’ve probably forgotten that Milton Bradley (the company that makes pretty much every board game worth devoting three hours of our lives to) produces travel sized versions of all their biggest hits. Now you can play Connect Four at the dinner table without invading Uncle George’s personal space!

Obviously, games like Monopoly aren’t too conducive to being shrunk down, but virtually every other game Milton Bradley relies on for their annual net revenue has been given the mini treatment. Even childlike wonders like Hungry Hungry Hippos have been shrunk down to a more negotiable size, and before you run to the toy store with your fingers crossed, yes, they actually make travel-sized Battleship, too.

The travel games generally follow the same rules and schematics as their larger counterparts, save for a few changes that make playing in such a small area easier. (Hungry Hungry Hippos, for instance, eliminates two of the original four pastel colored hippos in favor of a strictly two-player game) The Milton Bradley Travel Games are incredibly affordable (most of them retail for just five bucks), and they continue to be a great way to make an already special holiday celebration all the more…well, competitive.

PS: I love you dream woman.

PPS: Milton Bradley Travel Games make exxxcellent stocking stuffers. Even Milton Bradley says so — check out this entry from last year’s Advent Calendar, including a short review and download of a Milton Bradley T.G. commercial featuring Santa rolling the dice.

Longtime lurker… I totally forgot about Hungry Hungry Hippo! I used to play that game when I was a kid and home sick from school…

H3 was the coolest game to have until the head broke off and only a stump was left.

This past Thanksgiving we played Scene IT and Trivial Pursuit DVD edition with about 12 people in teams. It was fun. Cranium is also a fun game.

When Little Brother and his Wife come down for the holidays, Monopoly will be played, but mostly we play Dungeon! because its the only board game I own where you can waylay the other players. I guess that can be done with Risk, but I never really played that, even though I have the 2120 version.

Prepare to have your world rocked: Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley are…. the same company! Both owned by Hasbro, unless something has changed or I have no idea what I’m talking about.

I have a pocket Othello game. Same exact thing as the original, except tinier and thus easier to lose pieces. Plus, it can double as checkers, assuming you don’t mind the monochrome squares. I haven’t played it much since I learned how much I suck at Othello when I played my friend at the movie theater last year, waiting for The Matrix Reloaded.

I really want the Trivial Pursuit 90’s version. I bet they don’t make it in some sort of travel size, either. Everywhere I go, it’s listed as $40 or more. For some fifteen year old inane questions? Gimme a Break (Nell Carter, oh!). Mr. Traj doesn’t play board games (whatta pooper, I swear), but I could theorhetically ask myself trivial questions and promise not to cheat while I move my lone game piece around the board. I bet I win, too.

Anyone else looking into that Klasky Csupo writing contest posted a few blogs back? I’m all over that like you-know-what on you-know-where.

I’ve found these last few blog posts a bit on the depressing side for some reason. They seem to be tinged with a bit of sadness. Eh, maybe it’s just me.

I have the Trivial Pursuit 90s edition. It doesn’t come w/ a CD like the 25 year anniversary one does (which I think was a fun and welcome addition to the game). Instead, theres separate holders for the cards for all of the categories and some weird way of choosing them that I can’t remember now b/c I’m too depressed. Check it out though, it’s good.

Seriously, my wife made me buy like ten freakin’ Kinder Egg Advent Calendars…

How about I eat the chocolate you hate, scan the pics and you write zany stuff for it?

Y’know, if this year’s X-mas season at X-E is gonna be an improvement on last year’s, my brain will most likely explode because the enjoyment of it will be just too much for me to handle.

I have the keychain OuiJa! You never know when you might need one. almost as freaky is that 20Q gadget. I bought one for one of my nephews for his birthday, and it creeps him out sometimes. MB has put out a new version of orignal Merlin! I gotta get one of those! I have the last new version, 10th Quest, and its fun and all, but I used to have the original, and had hours of fun with it.

Oh, thanks Pedro. Maybe I’ll grab one from Walmart and then return it after I quiz myself on all of the questions.

I also want to know who Matt’s Dream Woman is. Is a proposal to the lady Milton Bradley in the near future?

Maybe Matt is sad that the buildup to Christmas will be over seemingly sooner this year? Admitting that he feels bad for the people shopping at Kmart shows signs of maturity. And, w/ maturity comes the realization that time moves quicker when you’re an adult. A month only means the small amount of time between two light bills. Christmas isn’t so much fun anymore, and that really sucks.

Thanks for writing so much the past week…it felt like a drought for a little while after halloween..we know you are very busy, but its such a great feeling when I go into my favorites and click XEntertainment and find something new…it’s like an addict getting his fix…can’t wait for more XE Xmas

my head asplode from halloween. Still trying to glue it back together. Sleep is the gateway drug to being awake.

Man, I forgot about Merlin. My family sat around and played Uno Attack this Thanksgiving. When they say attack, they mean it, too. Guard yourself.

My cousins had these games that looked like cassette tapes until you unfolded part of them to get the board. Anyone remember those?

They need to make mini Electronic Stratego. I still love my Electronic Stratego because of all the classic sounds it makes…..

They make Hungry Hungry Hippos that you can RIDE ON. Well, a kid could. I almost pissed myself when I saw them, then immediately switched to almost crying when I realized that I was way, way, way too big to fit on it. Still, a genius concept that just needs some adjustment so we big kids can use it too.

Freddy vs. Jason 2 shouldn’t be about who’s better at fighting and killing. It should be about which one is better at Hungry Hungry Hippos. But Freddy vs. Jason 3 should be about a slam dunk contest.

It’s fitting that I read this article directly after watching one of those NES time attack videos (you know, like when that dude beat Mario 3 in 8 minutes) of NES Monopoly. In it, the guy playing beat the game in THIRTY FIVE SECONDS. Amazing.

I also saw time attack movies for both Punch Out and Super Punch Out. Surprisingly, it’s fully possible to KO Nick Bruiser.

Gavok post a link of those time attack videos me and a friend have been looking for the NES Super Mario Bros. 1 clip since last summer.

The Genesis Pit Fighter one is hilarious for how broken the game is. Plus the boss is a leather freak with two manslaves at his throne.

Friday the 13th is good too just because it makes Jason look like Wile E. Coyote. "You defeated Jason, but he’s back and more powerful! Okay, you defeated him again but now he’s back and more– And you beat him again! Fine! Fuck you! Here’s the ending."

Phunqsauce,
There is an ELECTRONIC stratego??? Holy crap! Where have I been? I remember the "manual" version from way back, but couldn’t find it in that spot in the basement where favorite childhood toys go to die.

Matt- Was that a "Wayne’s World" reference? Think Garth- "I love you dream woman". EMAJORWITZ- I also love Kinder eggs- sometimes those toys inside kick ass too! Ahh….board games. CRANIUM is my new favorite but I will always remember the year I actually got MOUSETRAP for Xmas…set it all up (took forever to do so) and then put it aside to play after Xmas breakfast. Then, my brother and I got in a fight and he went to my room and kicked the game to pieces before anyone could play!! He kicked the shit out of it! Little bastard…

I have the keychain version of MouseTrap too. Gotta get started on my X-Mas shopping. No buying stuff for m’self, unless my back is turned.

I can’t wait for the advent calendar to start. X-E’s month of Christmas has become a modern tradition for me. I always check out the last post on Christmas Eve after I get home from church and watch some of the 24 hours of A Christmas Story.

Oh yeah, and Monopoly is the only game on the planet that’s been known to end life-long friendships.

I woke up this morning and raced to X-E with the excitement of knowing today is the first day of December and the rightful kickoff for an advent calender countdown. Seriously, my excitement paralleled a Christmas morning rush down the stairs to empty my stocking.

Well there was no Mare Winningham to greet me this morning. I’m not going to let this get me down. Nope, I’m just going to pretend it’s still November until Matt finds the time to start the countdown. That’s right, I’m stopping time until Matt gives December it’s official start.

Mr. C will most likely launch festivities later tonight. I ain’t worried. I’m gonna watch Rudolph tonight! Anybody else? I’m getting the DVD package of five Rankin-Bass specials this week too, just to really kick off my shopping fever.

Mara- That’s pretty frickin cool! Looked it up. If I had kids, or a cousin, or a nephew/niece that was small enough, I’d SO get it for them. But as it stands, my cousins are too old, my brother doesn’t have any kids, and I don’t have any kids (or even a woman in my life for that matter).

I can clearly see that as skinny as I may be, I still break the thing if I were to try and ride it. But Hell, I’m half-tempted to get one anyway, just for the novelty of it.

Hmm. Damn. I can’t get into the Holidays until the 18th, which is when I finally go home for Christmas.:( My last exam isn’t until the 17th, which really sucks. I envy all of you who are already getting into it. Oh well. Sucks to be me.

I’ll be Rudolph watching tonight. He’s not to be missed. I just wish we could see more obscure specials too.

By the way, Uncle George’s personal space doesn’t have to suffer during Monopoly play. There IS a travel edition.

I know what you mean Law Girl…I had to wait before I clicked on the site to add to the anticipation. I could hear the drumroll in my head. And then, silence. But Matt won’t disappoint, I guess we shouldn’t complain since we’ve had two bonus mini-preview articles.

Is anyone else incredibly sad that the Advent Calendar still isn’t up - I mean it’s not like I expected it to be up at 9am or anything but c’mon - it’s 2:45! I’ve been looking forward to that stupid calendar for a year and I know Matt is just sitting around watching old episodes of He-Man oblivious to the pain he’s causing to his legions of desperately bored fans who have nothing better to do at work than delve into the world of sucky Macy’s Day Parades and bizarre foodstuffs.

Okay i feel a little stupid - i didn’t see Law Girl’s first comment and assumed that Y2JB78 was referring to her 2:02p posting - glad to know that i’m not the only one lame enough to be anticipating the advent calendar!

Don’t you worry. Remember, FT job now. Things won’t ever be as smooth as they were when I was a hobo. But come tomorrow, yipppeeeee!

Does anyone else remember Playmobil as a Happy Meal toy? I scored a little Indian before McD’s started recalling them as a choking hazzard. I had to use all my toddler toy grubbing abilities to fight off my parents repeated requests to give him up. (I still have him in hiding)

For years I asked for Playmobil toys to keep little Indian company, but the response was always the same: "No, you’ll choke to death!"

Um…Law Girl, how old are you? I’m sure you’re not 3, so either your parents are weird, or you’re just making the whole thing up.

Ok, I eventually gave up asking for Playmobil and forgot all about little Indian until Mare Winningham showed up on X-E.

I tried to buy the advent calender this year, but it was a sold out sign, and not a choking hazzard warning, that kept me from the toys. I guess this is destiny keeping little Indian from ever getting any toy lovin’ from a Mare lookalike.

Man, wish I knew you guys love the Playmobil Advent Calendar, because they are just collecting dust here at our PX in Giessen, Germany.

My new addiction game is scadagories, I played it all summer!!!!….I also LOVE HHH, I actualy got it for my 22nd bday, cause I wasnt allowed to get it when I was a kid, cause of the noise factor…but now I bang bang raddle bang bang my game all day!

All I can say is, I hope December’s number one box is something w/ a face. No, not a pair of skiis, dammit!

I found a few kinder eggs at a convienenceses store a while back, the finding of the eggs had nothing to do with the main idea of this, but yeah. I thought the chocolate was pretty good. yeah. ahem.

JG!–omigod, I’d forgotten ALL ABOUT those cassette tape game things! Weren’t they magnetic or something? And had itty bitty pieces? I don’t even remember what the games were, just that they existed.

Matt, that is why I love you so much. You bring us nostalgia whores together. *mwah*

I actually had the travel version of Hot Shots Basketball. Basically you wound the lever on the back, and tried to catapult mini plastic basketballs into a basket. Not much fun if you use it for the intended car rides, especially since you’d always end up fishing one or both of the basketballs from between the seats. Eventually I found a better use for it, when I had GI Joe slam dunk contests.

I’m shocked there’s nothing on this site about those bootleg NES PowerPlayer things sold in malls.

Playmobil was awesome! I used to ask for the pirate ship every Christmas but I never got it.

Sirs:
Say, if you have any old unused trite cliches laying around that you’re not going to use for a while, we sure could use them. It’s almost time for Barry to cut another album and he’s moping around not knowing what to write.

I am a faithful reader with lots of xe experience and I noticed every year around December you refer to it as the "Christmas season" well I have something to say about this I am a festive young man and I have a request for the fair nature of this season. Can you now refer to this so-called "Christmas season" to the Holiday season because as we may know Christmas isn’t the only holiday there’s also Hannnaka, Kwanzzua, Festivus, and many Middle Eastern holidays. I don’t mean to be durative, but it would show a little fairness if you would please refer to this wonderful season to X-E’s Holiday Season 2004. -Thanks

I hope you’re kidding. After all, Matt never struck me as very P.C. He can call it "The Screw-Your-Neighbor’s-Wife-While-He-Makes-Eggnog-and-Strings-Popcorn Season" if he wants to. Damn.

While i can see the sense in a large department store referring to it as "The holiday Season," Matt, who celebrates Christmas, shouldn’t have to pander to those who do not. To him, as it is to all of us who celebrate Crhistmas, it is the Christmas season. That, to me, seems a pretty nonsensical request to make of a christian individual, even if he doesn’t go to church anymore.

I always thought those "Travel edition" or mini-board games were ridiculous. What’s wrong with a good old pack of playing cards? Or Uno?

I used to play the Hungry Hungry Hippos game in my basement with the ghost of bon scott, from AC/DC

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