Holiday Gifts...

[Ian Wallis]

We may have talked about this before, but since it's that time of year again, have any of you had game-show related Christmas gifts in the past?

When I was a kid I remember finding home games like "Joker's Wild", "Beat the Clock", "Hollywood Sqares", "Concentration" and "$20,000 Pyramid" under the tree in various years.  More recently it was the third edition of "EOTVGS".  Also, a few years ago a friend of mine actually gave me a copy of the first GSN Game Show Themes CD (unaware that I already managed to get one shortly after it came out!)  I didn't want to tell him that I already had it, but it's still sitting sealed in my CD case!

[tvmitch]

I distinctly remember the shiny cellophane-wrapped Wheel of Fortune Deluxe Edition under the tree when I was 10 or so. Love it. Other than that, I seem to get a new Monopoly edition once every three or four years. I think I got that WoF Blue Thing that connected to the TV to play the puzzles.

Still don't know how that thing worked. I got a couple of the puzzle tapes too that Christmas.

[PYLdude]

I remember getting an old Pressman Jeopardy! set for Christmas when I was 5, the Tyco version when I was 10, and the Simpsons version last year.

My grandmother bought me the Trivial Pursuit Game Show Edition for Christmas one year, but I lost the rules and such, so I have no idea how it was played. I also don't know if it is still in my possession, or if I threw it out. (I think it was already asked, but how similar was it to the TV show?)

I think I got Wheel one year, but I can't be certain.

[Neumms]

I got the Concentration home game, then got one the next year (because those little numbers and prizes have a way of getting lost) then one the next year before my mother finally said I should have taken care of the ones I had. (It was when the show was still on NBC, so I was a mere child at the time.)

I remember getting "Beat the Clock," too, with the way-cool timer. Also the "Dark Shadows" home game, which I liked because it had a plastic skeleton and fangs in it.

[Dbacksfan12]

I seem to remember getting a new edition of Wheel of Fortune yearly...through about '92.  Never get the Family Feud game like I wanted tho.

[Jay Temple]

a Pyramid home game (probably $10K)
at least one FF home game (I want to say the first, in '78.)
EoTVGS last year

[Tony]

I've had two:

I've received the Pressman Wheel of Fortune 2nd Edition twice in December 1987. The latter copy came from my maternal grandmother, who of course had no idea that I had already received it days before from my siblings for my birthday (which was/is very close to Christmas).  Of course, what I really wanted was the Deluxe edition.

That same year I also received Pressman's Electric Jeopardy!.  I was rather disappointed that the board legs broke off so easily, but otherwise it was a cool game (especially with the signaling buttons).

After that first month, none of my siblings wanted to play with either of those games, so I wound up throwing them away (stupid, I know;)).

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' date=\'Dec 12 2005, 10:50 AM\']Still don't know how that thing worked. I got a couple of the puzzle tapes too that Christmas.

[snapback]104497[/snapback]

[/quote]
Gun to my head, I'd have to guess that it had something to do with the blanking interval, the microscopic portions of time when the electron gun in the TV is resetting itself from the lower-right corner of the screen back to the upper left to draw the next field. What, I don't know, but that seems to be the most popular way to transmit non-picture data over a television signal.

[MikeK]

Several Xmas gifts come to mind:

*  The year Endless released its first Concentration home game (1998 or 1999), my cousin got me a copy of it.

*  Like several other folks, I got the Deluxe WoF game in the late 80s.

*  In 1986, I got the Jeopardy! box game.  The material was a smidge difficult for a then 11-year-old.  The adults ended up playing that game more than I did.  The same year, I got the J! game for the PC.  Again, the material was quite overwhelming for l'il ol' me.

*  Around 1982, I got the Concentration 25th Edition.  I remember playing that home game quite a bit with my parents back in the day.

*  For some reason, I got the Hollywood Squares home game in 1980.  Apparently I must've watched the Squares quite a bit as a youngster.  Why a first grader would be interested in Squares, I don't know...

[whammy5000]

The most memorable game show Christmas gift I've ever gotten was a real wooden Plinko board built by my granddaddy.  I was soooo spoiled.

[The Pyramids]

Don't underestimate the power of a host presenting the home game on tv. I got the 3rd. edition Milton Bradley 'TPIR' probably in '75 even though I was too young for it. I wanted it because Bob had showed it on tv.

[wheelloon]

Hmmm, game show gifts were always a staple of my Christmas gift list. I got my Nintendo in 89', and for about 10 years I got at least one of my game shows Nintendo made for the system (4 WOF's, 4 J!'s, FF, WLoD, Classic Concentration, HS, Double Dare, Remote Control, Fun House, and American Gladiators) every year. Also, my parents found my 3 Concentrations and various other GS board games at yard sales, not to mention the other PC and Super Nintendo game show video games I have.

[ChuckNet]

Let's see...board game-wise, I've recieved:

- WoF (Pressman 1st ed.)
- J! (see above)
- $1M CoaL
- Deluxe WoF
- High Rollers
- WLoD
- Electric J!
- Remote Control

And as far as computer games:

- Classic Concentration
- High Rollers
- WLoD
- Wipeout

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

[The Ol' Guy]

These do bring back nice memories -
Grandmother over the years gave me Lowell Beat The Clock, You Don't Say, and goofed up once and gave me a Beany and Cecil Match-It Game, thinking that was the Match Game I asked for.
Bless Ma's heart - she was good for Video Village, Seven Keys, and Say When. I think from then on, they considered me a lost cause and attempted to brainwash me with shirts, socks..you know, actual human requirements. Or so they thought...

[BrandonFG]

-High Rollers one year, maybe '88 or '89.
-I remember getting Family Feud for X-mas '90...something happened to it (can't remember what), so I got it again in '91.
-Scattergories sometime in the mid-90s. OK. so it wasn't based on the game, so?! :-P
-Then I got the Millionaire CD last year...or did I buy that with X-mas money? ;-)

IIRC, I got most of the game show home games for birthdays.