Here's a poem I liked when I was a kid. It's the poem that used to be on the inside of the box of the boardgame, "Clue."What amazes me about those old boardgames is how successful they were in creating a mood and an identification with the characters. Haunted house and crime games actually gave me a creepy thrill. I thought the games were assembled in real haunted houses which had to be vacated before dark. A Yogi Bear game actually made me feel that somehow Yogi existed and was pleased to know that I was playing his game.
I missed the golden age of board games, which I think was in the 30s and 40s, but I can get a sense of them from museums and antique stores. They were designed to create a whole world when the box was opened. The graphics on the inside of the heavy lid, the weird proportions and textures of the trays, even the weight of the playing pieces was somehow important. A lot of thought seemed to go into giving the user a sensual rush on opening the box.
I saw a 30s Mickey Mouse cel painting kit behind glass in an exhibit on Wilshire. You won't believe this but the inside of the box actually conveyed the real atmosphere you'd encounter in an animation studio. In fact it was BETTER than the real atmosphere! How did they do that!?
Anyway, I'm running out of space. Here's the poem that gave me shivers when I was a kid:
ALL IN THE GAME
by Suzanne Weaver
12 comments:
What's a Wandering Jew?
Thats what I was wondering.
Turns out it's a poisonous plant! SO perhaps this means the murder weapon was dropped in the bushes?
Eternal Jew
Hey Eddie, can you post an original poem again?
Detailed board games kick arse. There was one I bought from a car boot sale once which was loosely based on the Alien movie franchise. The box had a bunch of muscular people on the front saying things like "Let's all totally be awesome and stuff!"
You rolled dice, drew cards with things "Oh no! Alien attack! Unradical!" on them.
I think I played it...once...maybe.
Anyway, it was good.
I started to reply to the comments that are up but I stopped when I realized that an answer would require a whole post. Even if you're not interested -truth to tell, I'm only interested in one aspect of them - you should still check in tomorrow. I think you'll find it interesting.
Marlo: I always assumed that a Wandering Jew was a type of vine. Maybe they're also called Eternal Jews but I prefer "Wandering" because it's more evocative.
Interesting. Mrs. White was sleeping with Mr. B.? This was part of a kid's game?
I think video games have pretty much destroyed the board game industry, which is a shame, because I remember playing lots of different board games with my friends when I was just a kid back in the seventies, but my own son, he just never really had an interest in them.
I even developed one of my own back in high school that I wanted to market, but the political climate has always been wrong, and after Sept 11, I didn't think anyone would be interested in a game called INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.
not to change the subject, eddie, but I don't have your email address & you gotta see this:
http://www.arariogallery.co.kr/exhibition/exhibition.php?Page=1&code_up=&word=
it's unmistakably 40's bugs
Duncan M.
P.S. best blog EVER!
The version I played of Clue was terrible- so jealous....
EDDIE! An original poem! Please?
Duncan: Thanks for the compliment! The skeletons on the site you linked to are amazingly realistic. It's spooky!
Marlo, Kali:....Mmmmmm...er, OK, I'll post a fragment of a poem that you might not have heard yet. I have a feeling you'll be sorry you asked.
Marlo, Wandering Jew, as I was learnt it, was/is somewhere inbetween Clover and Ivy. It is a groundcover, often outcompeting grass for the same territory.
Of course, I was also taught that that Virginia Creeper (5 leaves) was Poison Ivy (3 leaves). "Leaves of Three, leave it be", now there's a poem.
The game of Clue I grew up with, always reminded me of Commander McBragg for some reason, it somehow reminded me of that "lets rip off Jay Ward" look that was so popular in the Sixties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_of_Commander_McBragg
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