Category: Games

Stratego 1961

I picked up a 1961 copy of Stratego at a garage sale yesterday for two dollars, and it is in great condition! Unfortunately, I think this now certifies me as a collector of Stratego games.

The copy on top with the battle scene is the same version that I learned on at my grandma’s house. The one below it with the General making a move, that is the same version (I don’t know where my original copy ended up) I received for my birthday in the 1980s. The white version with the father and son playing is the copy I just bought.

In addition to these three, I have a really nice bookshelf version in a wood case, it goes on a bookshelf like a book (I have a version of RISK like this, too).

The last Stratego is from a thrift store and is the more modern version, but thankfully not with the reverse piece-numbering. The original games had the most powerful piece as “1”, and the weaker pieces going down to the more pawn-like “9”. For some reason, the modern versions are backward, from 9-1 instead of 1-9. Why did they do that?

Unfortunately, there is a Pirates of the Caribbean version of the game, as well as a 50th Anniversary version. I must have these, but only if I come across them. The good thing about having more than one copy though, is that if one is missing a piece (the General version is missing a “9”), I can substitute one from a different game.

The modern version also didn’t come with a board (a common risk at the ARC Thrift Store, where they seal the used games so you can’t inspect them. But if they didn’t do this, there would be total chaos because kids already leave a mess everywhere with the bigger toys in that area as it is). So, I can just use one of the four other boards I have.

This is a lot like Classical music cd’s, or books and DVD/Blu-ray… so much value for next to nothing in cost. And no commercials.

Odyssey 2

On Saturday, I aquired something I’ve wanted for many years: an Odyssey 2 video game system, circa 1982 or so. My cousin and I used to play this, along with his Colecovision (which had an Atari 2600 add-on) all day long, day after day, in-between riding bikes, playing guns, (pow pow!), jumping on the trampoline, and watching R movies like Predator, Robocop, and Aliens. This program upgraded in 1986 when the original Nintendo came along. Good times.

These Odyssey 2 game consoles are all over eBay, but I could never justify the purchase and was uneasy with purchasing this kind of thing from there, as to whether it would work or not, etc.

After several dud garage sales this Saturday, Dad and I hit another bad one… except I saw this, in a good-condition box, too! The price was a bit lower than eBay, and the people selling it were, to my judgement, very reputable and honest. The machine itself is very clean, but I need to decide how I’m going to hook it up to my modern television, and I have ordered a newer power adapter instead of the aftermarket, multiple-voltage one that came with it. Just to be safe.

I’m going to go through a VCR, which has what is needed built-in into its antennae input. I’m not sure of the specific terms, but after several YouTube videos, this is the cost-effective way to go instead of specific adapters I’d have to buy. Once I get this sorted out, I can go ahead and shop around for the classic titles we played back in the day. This unit came with seven, but only two were familiar to me, and none of them were our really big favorites.

In any case, if I hadn’t picked this up, I’d be kicking myself forever because it is such a nostalgic blast from the past, and the games we played are going to be fun to go through again, after all these years. It isn’t enough of a priority to spend big money on, but it is something I can’t pass up if the opportunity presents itself like this.

Last year, I compiled lists of the games we played on all three systems (Odyssey 2, Colecovision, and Atari 2600) so that if I ever ran across them (They are usually dirt-cheap when found in person), I’d be ready to select the right games.

I’m pretty happy about this find. We almost didn’t go to that sale!

Classic Collection: List of Games Needed

This is a list of games that I played back in the day, and want to own/play again.
A low-priority project, I prepared this list in case I come across the right garage sale.
Luckily, all of these games are dirt-cheap, as are most of the systems.

ODYSSEY 2
K.C. Munchkin
K.C.’s Krazy Chase!
Quest for the Rings
Gunfighter/Showdown
Alien Invaders Plus!
UFO!
Amok
Attack of the Timelord
Demon Attack




COLECOVISION + ATARI ADD-ON
Centipede 
Defender
Donkey Kong
Galaxian
Gorf
River Raid
Pitfall
Pitfall 2
Q-Bert
Q-Bert 2
Smurfs: Rescue from Gargamel’s Castle












ATARI
Asteroids
Space Invaders
Defender
Defender II
Galaxian
Missle Command
River Raid
River Raid II
Robot Tank
Jr. Pac Man
Ms Pac Man
Pac Man
Frogger
Q-Bert
Donkey Kong
Pitfall
Pitfall II
Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Atlantis
Fathom
Riddle of the Sphinx
No Escape!
Chopper Command
Starmaster 
Demon Attack
Spider-Man
Journey Escape
Spider Fighter
Sea Quest
Laser Blast
Cosmic Arc
Demon Attack
Star Voyager
Megamania
Solar Storm

Sim City 2000

I pulled out my old G4 PowerMac Tower, so that I could play one of my favorite games of all time: Sim City 2000.

The picture of a Sim City that is burning, that’s what I did today. First try. The other city screenshot is from 1994, when I was in my Sim City 2000 prime.

Goes to show, if you don’t keep up on your skills, they’ll fade away until all you have is a pitiful little excuse of a city, in crippling debt and on fire.

Atari 2600+

I had a nice collection of Atari 2600 games back in the day. When I really wanted a Nintendo, I had to make do with a 2600, and this was after years of having to play at friend’s houses, wishing I had my own. But I did acquire a nice library, something I lent out, and never got back. The entire system and games, just gone. I think I had my Nintendo by that point, but still.

So, a very low priority project I have on the brain is to re-aquire all of the games that I had, and after some research, I have the list.

The good thing, though, is that Retron has a nice console for playing 2600 games, and also this week, Atari has a brand-new, updated 2600 console coming out.

I’m in no hurry for either one of these, but whenever I come across games (pretty rare), I’m going to pick them up. The good thing is that 2600 games are very cheap, but video game stores don’t stock them much as they don’t sell.

In any case, here is my list:

Asteroids
Space Invaders
Defender
Defender II
Phoenix
Galaxian
Missle Command
Combat
River Raid
River Raid II
Robot Tank

Jr. Pac Man
Ms Pac Man
Pac Man
Frogger
Q-Bert
Donkey Kong
Pitfall
Pitfall II
Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Atlantis
Fathom

Riddle of the Sphinx
No Escape!
Chopper Command
Starmaster 
Demon Attack
Spider-Man
Journey Escape
Spider Fighter
Sea Quest
Laser Blast
Cosmic Arc
Demon Attack

I know that there are mini-2600 consoles with more games on them, but those are emulated, they’ll have games I don’t want, and miss games that I do want.

It would be nice if there was a new Odyssey 2 console, but unfortunately those didn’t sell enough for anybody to make a retro console update. They sell for a reasonable price on eBay, but I can’t bring myself to get one, because of the room I don’t have for it. And, I can only remember two games that I really, really liked on it, although there were probably some other games for it that I liked.

The ColecoVision had a few games I liked as well.

All of these, are just things I’ll get if the opportunity arises. I’m not sure how much I’d play them if I had them, but it sure would be nice to have them around. Especially when not that many people seem to care about these ancient consoles… go into any video game store, and you’re lucky if you can find any of them, or their cartridges.