Vintage toys and games

19th October 2015abby Share:FacebookShare

Who remembers the pressure of babysitting a friend’s Tamagotchi or the unrivalled joy of completing a Rubik’s Cube?

With Christmas on the horizon and kids starting to ask Father Christmas for robots and iPads, we’ve been thinking about the past and researching our and your favourite vintage toys and games. Here’s what we found...

Pre-1960s

Monopoly
Born out of the Great Depression and designed to help people learn about economics, today Monopoly is the nation’s favourite game.

We’re sure everyone can relate to London-based blogger Olivia’s remarks about enviously watching the winner with their “massive stack of cash and numerous hotels that everyone keeps landing on.” That might be why Monopoly has been voted as the board game most likely to cause of arguments at Christmas. 

Teddy bears
The classic teddy bear is much less likely to cause offense than competing for real estate and bank notes.

First created in the 1900s, teddy bears remain a popular toy with over half of us owning one.

1960s

Twister
Twister was the first board game to use humans as the pieces. Twister’s PR department must have been thrilled when competitors accused it of selling “sex in a box”. What prudes and fools! 

Blogger Kate isn’t so shy and suggests you “buy a bottle of wine and bust out the classic game of twister.  It’s basically yoga with wine and your partner. What could be better?” Possibly this invention…

Etch-a-sketch
600,000 Etch-a-sketchs were sold during 1960, the year the toy launched. Since then, it has frustrated millions of people.

Blogger Becky remembers her Etch-a-sketch providing “hours of frustration” and Donna comments on The Tales of Me: “I hated mine....just couldn't do those damn circles and the lines that you could never break!”. James, on Twitter, concurs:

Slinkies
The Slinky is just a simple spring but over 350 million people have bought one since its launch in 1945. It can mesmerize you with its mechanical beauty as it ‘walks’ down stairs. However, this didn’t always last...

Writer Sophie Heawood recalls: “You pour one downstairs, and it bounces from step to step, getting ever more off course, and then you can’t get it back into the right shape and it never looks like it did on the box again.” The disfigurement could get worse:

1970s

Rubik’s Cube
Originally called the Magic Cube, the Rubik’s Cube was the brainchild of a Hungarian sculptor called Erno Rubik.

Software developer Susan recalls the struggle to solve the puzzle by finding the one in 43 quintillion configurations of the Cube that would make each side a single colour: “I got a line and felt renewed hope, I got one whole side and was jumping up and down with joy. Could I get any further, could I heck. I was beat.”

We’re sure a few of you will have resorted to this tried and tested method:

Blogger Emma is still keen to share the fun: “I love watching my own children play with toys I used to own, especially something as simple as the Rubik’s cube.”

Raleigh Chopper
Every child of the 70s wanted a Raleigh Chopper and this Cadillac of bicycles was at the top of many a Christmas list.

The Chopper was so popular it even graced the front cover of The Beezer:

Even if it wasn’t a Chopper, owning your first bike meant independence: “I remember having my first bicycle [and] the freedom I felt whilst riding it...” says blogger Rebecca.

Blogger Amy also remembers the joy of a new bike but for a different reason: “One year I got a bright red Raleigh bike with a seat on the back for my doll. It was the best present ever!”

Battleships
A game of tactics, Battleships was first launched as a board game in the 60s, with the first computerised version introduced in 1977. It was a favourite of blogger Kirsty: “Miss, Miss, Hit... You sunk my battleship! A great strategy game, Dad and me used to play this loads when I was a kid.”

1980s

Super Soaker
The Super Soaker water gun is responsible for some of the most brutal water fights up and down the country. When it was launched as the Power Drencher in 1982, boys and girls just couldn’t get enough:

Rebranded the Super Soaker in 1991, the toy’s appeal is just as strong with children large and small today. When blogger Chantelle’s hubby went to buy one recently, she saw right through him: “I think this was really just a way for the husband to get himself a super soaker but passing it off as being for the girls made it acceptable.”

My Little Pony
The pastel coloured plastic ponies captured the hearts of horse-mad kids all over the country. So much so, 30-something blogger Kat is struggling to give hers up: “The very thought makes me feel slightly ill inside...I just can’t imagine them being played with by anyone but me.”

Pictionary
One for the artists among us, the ever popular, Pictionary was first published in 1985. But it’s not just for adults, as Mum and blogger Emily says: “Pictionary has been an absolute joy to play with [her little boy] JD (5), who loves words almost as much as he loves drawing.” But there are limits...

1990s

Game Boy
Ironically (considering the name) the Game Boy one of the first digital games machines to successfully target girls. By 1995, 46% of Game Boy users were female.

Furby
It was the ‘must have’ robot toy from 1998 to 2000, but we’re not exactly sure what a Furby is supposed to be (Hamster? Owl?). But that didn’t deter its legion of fans who bought over 40 million of them in just three years.

Blogger Laura remembers hers well: “Whilst it looks loving on the outside, it was in fact quite an evil being. At least mine was! The furry robot that resembled Gizmo from Gremlins spoke in its own language and had a list of demands from feeding to sleeping.”

Tamagotchi
Anyone for a digital pet? A Japanese invention, the Tamagotchi was launched in 1996 and soon became a craze in the UK. But being the proud parent of an electronic creature could be a daunting prospect.

Blogger Kerry remembers dreading “hearing your Tamagotchi go off in class and hoping they lived until break time.” Turns out they could be pretty pesky outside the classroom too:

Rex London vintage toys and games

Rediscover a simpler past with Rex London's vintage toys and games
Pictured: Catapult toy with 4 foam balls - £2.95, Traditional battery operated train set - £29.95 

Has all that got you hankering for simpler times? Check out our extensive range of vintage toys and games and relive your youth!

Start the water fight to end all water fights with our Spaceboy Water Pistol or channel your inner Dennis the Menace with one of our catapults.

Or how about a vintage style train set? Young rail enthusiasts will love it. For something more hands on, try our quirky balloon powered train toy.

And last but not least - can you get any more old school than a game of cup-and-ball? We think it has the potential to get quite competitive!

 

 

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