Junk Love Monday: Game Night!

We are addicted to vintage games. We love the dice, the game pieces, the spinners, the boards--pretty much any part of a game that can be put into a bowl, used as jewelry, or propped up in a bookcase. But sometimes, instead of hinting at how wonderful its parts would be as decor, a game just begs to be played.

We both come from game-playing families. My childhood was spent in a rotation of Uno, Monopoly, Clue, Rummy, Life, and Checkers (both traditional and Chinese). I was an occasional player of Careers and Girl Talk (oh, those pimples!), an undefeated beast at the Sweet Valley High board game and Scrabble, and spent many nights with my grandparents learning the subtleties of Oh Heck (or variations on that name) and poker (which I then taught to my friends at school, much to the consternation of a particular administrator who shall remain nameless). My partner in crime grew up on a diet of Phase 10 and Payday, along with the other games listed above (we had very similar childhoods in some respects). And so, we have an enormous collection of board games. When we have time, we like to have a good, old-fashioned Game Night.

I suggest that it was the Blackbird girls, in the kitchen, having Game Night!

Game Night means no television. We clean off the kitchen table, each select a few games from the stack, gather a ridiculous amount of snack foods (often involving cheese) and cold Cheerwine, and play each game once until we've made it through the stack. We eat. We get silly. If we like a game, we keep it. If not, we put it up for sale and hope that it finds a more deserving home. Our most recent Game Night was a mixture of duds and gems, with the real highlight being a 1960s Barbie, Queen of the Prom board game that I found (complete!) at a thrift store. The box has seen better days, but the board is fabulous. After a hard battle, my compatriot earned the title of Prom Queen (I was Prom Princess, which is almost as good!). I demand a rematch. [It just proves that the wrong boyfriend really can keep you down.]

Get the boy, get the dress, get the crown!

We also played a round of Sorry! (another thrift store find). That one wasn't our favorite, but the box is so classic that it's hard to part with. Alas...you can't keep them all.

Not so fun...

Scavenger Hunt is a board game that involves going to houses to find items on  your list (while avoiding dogs and angry neighbors). We just knew that this game was for us--a board game for junk-loving people. But, with 12 years of college between us, we eventually concluded that the game makes very little sense. It just has too many flaws. I think the rule-writers might have been hungover that day at Milton Bradley. That game--not a keeper.

You get to find things in other people's attics!

The Magnificent Race is a 1975 spin on Around the World in 80 Days. You have to travel by various methods (boat, hot air balloon, etc.) to make it around the world before the villain, Dastardly Dan. Beware! Dastardly Dan is automatically entered in every race, and with an advantage over you. This one was fun, but took a long time to get through. We might try it again when we haven't already been at it for 4 hours....The graphics are fun, though.

You have to beat Dastardly Dan!

Now we just have to find this one, The Great Wall Street Board Game, just because it looks so cool:

I must have this board!

The Skinny: I'm Sorry, But Have We Met?

Does she look familiar? She should. Meet Bild Lilli, the doll who inspired the creator of Barbie.

dollreference.com

And meet Barbie, the doll who killed Bild Lilli. (Scandal!)

dolls4play.com

Lilli began life as a German comic strip character, and was certainly not intended for children's entertainment. She was a cartoon pinup, a sexy secretary who knew exactly what she wanted and how to manipulate men to get it (and okay, she might have been a hooker, according to some sources). Her weekly adventures became so popular that she was soon put into doll form and marketed to adults (particularly males, as gag gifts). She was commonly sold in tobacco shops.

vintage Lilli strips

The Bild Lilli doll has side glancing eyes (ever so coy!), perfect lips, and a cute little curl in the center of her forehead. She was made with a variety of outfits for any occasion, but since the doll was not intended for children, the outfits were not always sold separately. Her hair was attached to a removable scalp held in place by a metal screw (see? definitely not a toy). She was usually blonde, but brunettes were also available. Lilli even came with a miniature copy of the Hamburg newspaper than ran her comic strip.

chloevanparis.blogspot.com

Eventually, the demand from mothers prompted the company to switch gears, and Lilli became a popular toy for girls. She had a house with furniture (sold separately, of course)! They even made a movie. And then, Ruth Handler, president of Mattel, went to Europe. She bought three dolls, gave one to her daughter Barbara, and kept the other two for product development. She tweaked the design, created a killer marketing campaign, and Barbie was born.

theloveofvintage.wordpress.com

Ruth Handler was no dummy. Under her guidance, Mattel bought all of the rights to the Bild Lilli character (on the cheap, as rumor has it), and consequently, Lilli died in 1964. Mattel continued Handler's brilliant marketing strategy, and Barbie went on to become the gal we still love today. Lilli, on the other hand, was a fallen woman, reduced to walking the streets...--okay, not really. Her molds were sold to various foreign toy companies, and used to make knock-off Barbies. What a way to go....

rosieapplesandfriends.blogspot.com

But still, a real, original Bild Lilli doll, especially one with the clear cylinder package and correct stand, is just as collectible as the first Barbie (and probably much harder to find). Even one without the package sold on eBay for $1400 in 2008.


*information obtained from: dollreference.com; bildlilli.com