Battery-free toys and games

[NOTDilbert]

Mark N's comments down in 'Functional cellphone....' started me thinking (not ALWAYS a bad thing....)

Popular toys with some longevity to their history; and (purchaced) games (not those that just require people - Tag and Red Rover and such).

Are Tinkertoys still made? I loved Erector sets (could build stuff without the motors).

Legos.

Let the memories commence!

[Jabberwonky]

Never had an Erector set, but had plenty of Tinkertoys. Still have a HUGE tub of Legos. Hee, hee, hee...

[shadowinthelight]

Legos are awesome of course. One Christmas I got a bucket of Lego compatible Tyco Super Blocks. I used to build things like semi-functioning Transformers with standard parts, not all that special shaped stuff that exists now. Then there were entire squadrons of space fighters that would have massive battles. At one point I must have had Gameboy envoy because I know I built portable video game machines complete with removable cartridges. That bucket is still in my closet.

[MerchManDan]

LEGO? Let me tell you about Lego. (no bloody "s," for starters ) I just happen to be the proud owner of +100 different sets - still haven't gotten around to counting them all, yet. With the godsend that is eBay, I've finally purchased vintage models that I've dreamed of owning for 20 years.
I'm a LEGO Maniac. It's a new toy every day.

[Yamara]

Hot Wheels, people. That should be enough for any living human being.

But since we live in a time of wonder, look no further than boardgamegeek.com if you want experience joy without electricity.

[DinkyInky]

Lincoln Logs. My grandmother's house still houses a box of them that's older than my father.

My wee one is enamored with Angry Birds and Bad Piggies.Santa started it all with a box of them that also held tiny Birds and Pigs, and my child spends hours making up real-life Angry Birds levels. Recently, my father bought another box to add to the collection, and I bought Pipe-cleaners. He finally did get the Angry Birds Space "board" game, but uses the Birds and Pigs with his Lincoln Logs and Pipe-cleaners...the creativity never ends.

Talking about my grandmother's house, it's packed full of vintage games that kids find amazing. Pick-up Sticks. The predecessor to Jenga. Keeps kids occupied for hours at my grandmother's house. Skedoodle, Spirograph, Husker-Du? Guess Who?, Connect Four,, Magna Doodle, Etch-a-Sketch, Kerplunk(Which my Grandma calls Don't break the ice), Cooties(before they made the faces all scary), Hungry Hungry Hippos, Perfection...the list goes on. When the kids go into the back room, there's never a TV in sight. WFMT is always present in the background, or a nice classical record.

[jwhouk]

Legos (I'm using the PLURAL there) and Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars are all over my desk. Oh, and a couple of stuffed animals, too.

[Atomic]

Lincoln Logs. Erector sets. Kinex. Tinkertoys. Blocks, alphabet or otherwise. Lego.

Crayons, chalk, paper, construction paper, white glue, paste.

Sand, shovel, water. Finger paint, water.

Popsicle sticks, glue, thread, yarn, colored paper, colored pencils, crayons, markers.

Board, nails/pins, thread, scissors, yarn.

Aluminum foil, blunt pencil or popsicle stick, scissors.

Scrap cloth, thread, needle, scissors, cotton balls or other stuffing.

Newspaper, add all of the above in any quantity or mixture.

Batteries? What batteries?

Among the greatest treasures of my youth was my mother explaining all the cloth swatches that made up the various quilt blankets made by Her mother -- quilts made from all the various dresses and blouses she wore as a girl! These are the very definition of a family heirloom.

[bmonk]

Lincoln logs--including many extras turned out by Dad.

Lego, or a similar type of thing--back in the day when 95% were 2x4 peg blocks, and the rest were longer (or shorter) versions. Still a wonderful aid to imagination.

Tinker toys.

[Fairportfan]

When i was six or so, had a construction set that worked sort of like Legos, but the parts simulated real brick and block (including transparent ones that simulated glass block) and could be used to built quite realistic-looking structures.

There was also (and apparently still is) Plasticville USA.

Lincoln Logs?

[Mark N]

I remember the Riviton toy. It was an all plastic erector set with some dome parts and instead of nuts and bolts it used rubber rivets and a rivet gun that held and stretched the rivet so they would fit into the holes and expand when released. I believe that the toy was a recall item at some point in the late Seventies.

[Fairportfan]

I remember the Riviton toy. It was an all plastic erector set with some dome parts and instead of nuts and bolts it used rubber rivets and a rivet gun that held and stretched the rivet so they would fit into the holes and expand when released. I believe that the toy was a recall item at some point in the late Seventies.

"Small parts that could pose a choking hazard...", likely.

Yep:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 1978
Release # 78-103

Riviton Sets Voluntarily Held

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. II) -- More than 125,000 toy construction sets manufactured by Parker Brothers are being voluntarily held in inventory in two company warehouses in Salem, Massachusetts and Des Moines, Iowa, after the company announced its voluntary recall of 900,000 Riviton sets. A Parker Brothers spokesman told the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that 27,000 of the Riviton construction sets have now been returned.

Parker Brothers had made the decision to voluntarily withdraw this product from the market because of two accidental deaths associated with the product. The company reached this decision after the recent death of a 9-year-old child was attributed to the choking on a rubber fastening rivet from the Riviton Construction Toy.

Riviton Construction Toys have been distributed nationally during the past two years. Parker Brothers, a subsidiary of General Mills, Inc., is asking all consumers to return the product for a full refund to the store from which it was purchased or to mail it direct to Parker Brothers, 190 Bridge Street, Salem, MA 01970. All retailers have been asked to remove the product from their shelves.

Any consumer seeking further information may contact Parker Brothers, Consumer Response, Riviton Recall, 50 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915. Consumers can call Parker Brothers collect at 617/927-4900.

Can you imagine the furor if bicycles didn't exist and somebody invented one and tried to sell it for this Christmas season?

[Atomic]

Unfortunately, the All Purpose Disclaimer is no longer effective for legal protection:

• Not for use by Stupid People

Sadly, we've come to the point where screwdrivers require warning labels advising against use as a rectal thermometer, that coffee is hot, and plastic bags are not for use as face masks.

Oh -- Caution! Sleeping pills may cause drowsiness!
Avoid operating chainsaws, heavy machinery, locomotives, aircraft, steamships, automobiles, and stage coaches while using this product.

Just so you know.

[lake_wrangler]

Fisher Price Little People (1965-1990 style)
Lego
Meccano
Monopoly
Parcheesi
Snakes and Ladders
Chess
Checkers
Pick-up sticks
Mille Bornes
Dominoes
Mouse Trap
A set of tools designed for kids

[Jabberwonky]

Lincoln Logs. Erector sets. Kinex. Tinkertoys. Blocks, alphabet or otherwise. Lego.

Crayons, chalk, paper, construction paper, white glue, paste.

Sand, shovel, water. Finger paint, water.

Popsicle sticks, glue, thread, yarn, colored paper, colored pencils, crayons, markers.

Board, nails/pins, thread, scissors, yarn.

Aluminum foil, blunt pencil or popsicle stick, scissors.

Scrap cloth, thread, needle, scissors, cotton balls or other stuffing.

Newspaper, add all of the above in any quantity or mixture.

Batteries? What batteries?

Among the greatest treasures of my youth was my mother explaining all the cloth swatches that made up the various quilt blankets made by Her mother -- quilts made from all the various dresses and blouses she wore as a girl! These are the very definition of a family heirloom.

A picher of something I did to show one of my Iraqi guys things you can do with the printer...

Stand up.jpg (206.18 KiB) Viewed 13456 times

I've been considering making 'Cardboard Heroes' versions of the Wapsi gang, but it's hard to find good full figure shots of everyone...

[DinkyInky]

I went to a Goodwill a few months ago at the recommendation of a friend, because my wee one is enamored with Chess. I bought for less than $20 two 12-in-1 game tables. Only thing I needed to do was use a bit of Old English on them(furniture oil).

All hardwood pieces, one drawer and two removable double sided boards, and a Chess/Checkers board built into the top. Chess, Checkers, Snakes and Ladders, Parchessi, Tic-tac-toe, Mancala, Backgammon, Chinese Checkers, and I'm too lazy at the moment to go and check the tables to see what the others are. In daily play I've already made my money's worth. I've also purchased cards to play "go fish" and crazy eights" with to set in the box. I've bagged everything so that pieces will be together and cleanup's a snap. If it's not a brain game on the PC, I try to play snakes and ladders or "go fish" before school.

I found out there are a few more of them, and may return to find decent homes for them. I know several kids that are game crazy, and how cool is it to have a small table for games? Even if the kids lost all the pieces(not that they would), it's still a cool table for holding things.

I thought of a toy my parents got us when me and my siblings were younger--Weebles. We had tons of them, and I had a huge chest of Matchbox/Hot Wheels. We also had a plasticine kit, which was cool for making "California Raisins" and "Gumby" figures. Pose, click, pose, click. I wish they had a Wallace & Gromit kit, as my wee one thinks they are cool. Well, them and Shaun the Sheep.

As kids, puzzles, Uno, Rack-O, macrame, embroidery, knitting(my brother crochets and knits by hand better than I do by loom), quilting(I challenge anyone to say it's not an artform with all the details you can do to them). Shrinky-Dinks, colorforms, tubed watercolours(family's full of artists).

Monopoly(My best pal got me a Beatles version for a birthday years ago, and from time to time I take it out and let my wee one have fun(we play Beatles albums and have a treat out of my newspaper taxi "cookie" jar(which never holds cookies).

[Julie]

I loved my Lite-Brite as a kid. Yes,it uses electricity, but not batteries! It still counts! I think my mom still has it, too. I also was a fan of Guess Who, Connect Four, Chutes & Ladders, and Candy Land. Oh! And Monopoly! I LOVED Monopoly. I used to think that counting money was one of the greatest big-kid things to do, so I adored it.

I've already been talking to my husband about how we can keep our future children from becoming addicted to the newest toy or piece of technology. We haven't managed too many ideas (he's going to be one of those parents who worries about his kid feeling left out or uncool apparently), but we know it's going to be important.

[Mark N]

I've already been talking to my husband about how we can keep our future children from becoming addicted to the newest toy or piece of technology. We haven't managed too many ideas (he's going to be one of those parents who worries about his kid feeling left out or uncool apparently), but we know it's going to be important.

My best guess in keeping your kids from getting "The New Shiny" disease is to start them on the path of loving the old tech stuff, like real paper books. It may fail, but at least you gave it a shot without the home school and segregation from other kids options.

[Atomic]

I've already been talking to my husband about how we can keep our future children from becoming addicted to the newest toy or piece of technology. We haven't managed too many ideas (he's going to be one of those parents who worries about his kid feeling left out or uncool apparently), but we know it's going to be important.

My best guess in keeping your kids from getting "The New Shiny" disease is to start them on the path of loving the old tech stuff, like real paper books. It may fail, but at least you gave it a shot without the home school and segregation from other kids options.

Anything, anything, that engages their brain and lets them express their own explorations and solutions, rather than just follow the path of what the video game offers. Build things, then tell a story about it. Make a mobile out of cut-out cartoons they drew. Read a story, then make a diorama of some exciting scene. Have a detailed argument over whether Batman would beat Superman. Make them look it up in the encyclopaedia (or dictionary, or thesarus, or whatever).

The sandbox games, which can become whatever your imagination leads you to create, are invaluable! Don't fall for the self-esteem crap -- let them build and fall and fail and build again, so their self-esteem is their own when they succede, not someone's projection.

Good luck!

[DinkyInky]

Anything, anything, that engages their brain and lets them express their own explorations and solutions, rather than just follow the path of what the video game offers. Build things, then tell a story about it. Make a mobile out of cut-out cartoons they drew. Read a story, then make a diorama of some exciting scene. Have a detailed argument over whether Batman would beat Superman. Make them look it up in the encyclopaedia (or dictionary, or thesarus, or whatever).

The sandbox games, which can become whatever your imagination leads you to create, are invaluable! Don't fall for the self-esteem crap -- let them build and fall and fail and build again, so their self-esteem is their own when they succede, not someone's projection.

Good luck!

I agree. I've made Jack Sparrow's costume(and prop weaponry out of weighted PVC and foam), and showed while stylish, it's a LOT of work being a dashing pirate. I've made my wee pirate jump and climb in garb and weapons to demonstrate this(while being in garb and peace-bound live steel myself) first hand.

I will say this much from the shiny pool(I let my child play Angry Birds and Bad Piggies. I've also played games like Sherlock Holmes Nemesis(aka Holmes versus Lupin) together. Angry Birds made one think of gravity, trajectories, angles, arcs. Bad Piggies give some engineering perspective. Similar to Wallace & Gromit's Inventions game, you build machines to get the Bad Piggy from a to b. Lot's of thinking and plotting. This has led to building some real world models to learn more about it in practical uses.

Sherlock Holmes Nemesis has you pitting Holmes brain vs the Gentleman Burglar, Arsene Lupin. You've been challenged, and have to travel through many different areas of England, answer riddles, logic puzzles, etc. I have also read some of the stories which helps get more of an idea of what Holmes would do next...which has been my undoing, since I have to make that damned deerstalker and cloak/coat of his as a Halloween costume. @#$%! Well, since I'm sewing anyway, I guess I'm also making it a new Winter coat.