If you grew up as a child in the 80’s, you’d remember picking up the landline, dialing 7 numbers, and asking if your friend could “come over to play.” Times were different back then.  Video games were just getting started and mobile devices were decades away.  Passing time had to be done using something other than a computer.  Here are some of the games that were played.

TAG

0 chance of catching this kid.

Tag, TV Tag, and Freeze Tag were staples.  Tag was actually quite dumb because the faster kids would never get caught.   TV tag was when you could name a TV show and that would get you immunity from getting caught for some period of time.  Freeze Tag was when you got tagged you were frozen and other kids would have to unfreeze you.  These games developed into Capture the Flat and Manhunt as you got older.

Bike Riding

I know you are but what am I?

Riding bikes around every inch of your neighborhood also seemed commonplace.  I pretty much knew every single street within a 10 block radius.  I’d never leave the side streets and once you got close to a busy road you’d just turn around or find a back route.  Riding to the pharmacy, which was probably about a mile away, seemed like a Pee Wee’s big adventure.

Skip It

Who remembers Skip-it?.  The counter on this toy sucked but for some reason it fascinated me.  It went to 999 and reset but it’s accuracy was definitely questionable.  Over time, the ball would always slam against the concrete so eventually it would get beat up.  Either way I enjoyed playing with this simple, stupid device.  The song from the commercial below would 100% get stuck in your head so major props to that ad agency.  I also had a crush on the girl at 23 seconds.

Pencil Fights

Pencil fights were when I was in Elementary School which places them in the late 80’s – Early 90’s.   This game eventually would get banned by the school.  I imagine myself as the Principal of the school and hearing, “kids are taking #2 Ticondaroga’s and slamming them against each other and trying to see which would break first.”  Wat?  Mark Gomberg actively sought out a piece of wood that he carved into a pencil and was virtually unbreakable.  The key was in the torque of the pencil.   More pencils would break from bending them back than actually hitting the other pencil.

GI Joe – “Got to get tough, Yo Joe”

I came across this picture on Reddit and it brought me back. GI Joe was one of my favorite cartoons growing up. The animated series aired in the mid to late 80’s so I was quite the young lad watching the show.  These action figures were my livelihood when I was young.

I used to own what seemed like hundreds of these action figures but it was probably closer to 100. Everyone’s legs and bodies were attached by this elastic string that would sometimes break and then your guys would be dismembered as seen in the front. It’s funny because I look at these characters and recognize a few but it was so long ago that I pretty much forget everything.  My mom sold all of them at a garage sale which destroyed some childhood nostalgia for a few measly dollars.

I owned what I think was this Command Center but there were a few others when I searched for it. This was a pretty sick toy at the time and hours were spent defending this base.  The guns would fire a missile which was obviously awesome.  Any projectile at the time was immediately placed as the best toy.

Let’s not forget the GI Joe PSA’s

Crossbows and Catapults

Crossbows and Catapults was a popular game

If you were a kid in this era there was this sweet mid-evil game called Crossbows and Catapults.  It may have been 90’s, I get lost when I go back this far.  The objective of the game was to knock down your opponents castle.  As you can see from the pic, blocks make up the castle and those discs are your weapons.  You use the brown weapons (crossbow and catapult) to fire the discs across the room at your opponent’s castle.  I can’t remember what the guys did but I don’t suspect much.   The catapult was the most fun to use but the crossbow was deadly.  The last castle standing won.