As Young Ben and I were writing our letters to Santa I wondered how long it would be before the dreaded Computer Games became part of his list replacing the likes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Multi-storey car garage and Pirate Ship. Strangely the Pirate Ship was also on my list and second only to Natascha McElhone from Californication. I believe Little Mix were top of Ben's List
Fortunately I have managed to avoid most Computer Games over the years and not been subjected to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Halo or Grand Theft Auto
I remember in the very early years playing 'PONG' which seemed like a revelation at the time and then moving on to Sega/Atari where I did enjoy Tetris for a while and the wonderful Space Invaders
There was also the strange game of 'Duck Hunt' with the hand held light gun which seemed so innovative at the time
My mate still has an old console for 'Blockbusters' and 'Jeopardy' which are still hugely entertaining after a few beers. "Can I have a P please, Bob"
Ah, it never fails
My own sons were never greatly into Computer Games other than the odd sports related ones like Madden NFL or Championship Manager
I do recall playing Thundercats with them however and growing increasingly frustrated as I failed to make it past Level 1 while they would be on Level 7 or thereabouts
Super Mario and Sonic made brief appearances but that was mainly on the hand held Game Boys which did prove extremely useful on long flights to The States when the boys were young
There was also a football game which required very little input which churned out your team's scores in the style of the old Teleprinter that used to be seen on Grandstand when you had the strange sight of groups of men staring through TV Rental stores' windows at 4.40 pm on a Saturday night looking for their team's score that day. I worked in Retail at that time and would sneak out for ten minutes every week to see who Ayr or Sunderland had lost to that week. Anyway in this game you watched your team's results for the whole season. I recall my eldest son and I were obsessed with this game for a while
I did not like the restrictions of the FA Cup, however and adjusted the cards to allow for the Scottish Cup, European Cup and World Cup so you could have Liverpool/Celtic/Real Madrid/Brazil playing Hartlepool/Stranraer/Nandori Tirana/Scotland although you had to be careful to avoid any crossovers where Hartlepool beat Brazil
Occasionally if one of the teams playing Ayr or Sunderland rolled a 5 you could always say the dice 'slipped' or that it wasn't a proper roll and roll again until a 0 appeared. It was strange how often a 0 appeared when Kilmarnock or N******** United were playing
When we used to go on holiday abroad my sons would often take some toys with them.
I recall when the WWF (Wrestling not Wildlife) was all the rage first time around my sons would take all their wrestlers and a ring and have a 'Royal Rumble' by the poolside.
Often figures from other genres were included and there could be tag matches with The Undertaker and Optimus Prime fighting He-Man and The Fat Controller
On one occasion The Ultimate Warrior met Barbie in the Final. No-one owned up to knowing how Barbie came to find herself amongst all those male combatants but the wrestlers seemed happy enough about it although she did make Optimus Prime transform into a Mini Cooper Cabriolet
On one holiday in Spain we lost 'Trap-jaw'. During a fierce battle on the beach he was somehow separated from his colleagues and missed roll-call when it was time for dinner.
Once we noticed he was missing we sent out search parties and put up posters all round the hotel but alas he was never seen again. He may still be buried in the sand awaiting some future generation to unearth him as a major find.
I like to think he was washed out to sea and made his way across the Mediterranean to North Africa where he joined the Foreign Legion and took part in Beau Geste type adventures
We salute you 'Trappie'. You were a true hero.
Right, where is that old box with Wembley in it. I wonder if Young Ben wants to assist me in some totally unbiased Sunderland and Ayr Cup victories. He doesn't know what a 5 looks like anyway and he knows his Grandpa never lies. Unfortunately he probably already knows that Sunderland and Ayr don't win cups. Or we could just have a Cage Fight with Mickey Mouse and Tigger. My money's on Tigger
I remember the dreaded board games more than their hi-tech successors.
ReplyDeleteIn my parents home we played a lot of cards - whist, rummy and a hundred others - but also Monopoly, which I hated, life being too short, and Risk.
I recall an occasion when my father and my son formed an alliance against my mother to conquer the world.
As they attacked her armies from both sides the gloating began.
We are going to rule the earth, my father exhorted his 6 year old grandson, who promptly destroyed his army in the tactically critical theatre of Kazakhstan.
I thought we had an alliance, wailed my father to my mother's great glee.
Alliance nothing, replied the youngster with a grin.
My father would repeat these words in mock horror for the next 30 or so years!