Vintage Toys & Games

Spaldeens – the pink, bouncy rubber balls – were upcycled before upcycling became a “thing”.

Released in the mid-1960s, Topper Toys’ Secret Sam Attaché Case was a comprehensive spy kit concealed in a black plastic carrying case.

The Show Beam from View-Master combined the company’s quintessential stereoscopic images and flashlight technology. The result is a portable hand-held projector ideal for car rides and family camping trips.

In 1977, TOMY released the Tutor Typer, an educational toy designed to help children, ages 3 to 8, learn to spell, count, and use a keyboard. 

Released by Remco in 1957, Big Max and his Electronic Conveyor introduced children to the concept of automated conveyor belt systems.

Released in 1970 from Aurora, the Can-Doo game challenged two or more players to test their moxie by sliding Campbell’s Soup cans out of a stacked pyramid display.

Released in 1979 by Coleco, Quiz Wiz was a computerized question-and-answer game that challenged players to answer 1,001 questions from a variety of categories.

Released in 1965 by Ideal, Tigeroo was a roaring tiger made to attach to a child’s bike or trike.

Released in 1964 from Remco, Barney’s Auto Factory was a follow-up to the company’s other successful car-themed playsets, such as the Movieland Drive-In Theater.

In 1995, Parker Brothers released Merlin: The 10th Quest – the company’s second attempt to re-capture the magic of Merlin.

A year-end top 10 list of the most popular articles on Toy Tales based on readership statistics and engagement through various social media channels.

Contack from Parker Brothers challenges two to seven players to use strategy and math skills to create winning combinations of colours and numbers.

Released in 1965 by Remco, the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Seaview Submarine Set was a direct tie-in to the Irwin Allan produced science fiction TV series of the same name that ran from 1964-68.

Toy water guns have been a summer fun rite of passage for generations of children and in the 1950s, Kenner decided to get in on the action with the Trick Squirt water pistol.

In the legacy of wacky products that Wham-O released in the 1960s and 1970s, Poke-a-Bone is surely top of the list.

Some items featured on Toy Tales stick in our minds, many of them would be fantastic gifts. This is our 2019 holiday gift guide, chock full of objects that are sure to delight and inspire conversation about the ingenious nature of the gift and the gift-giver!

Chutes and Ladders has been a hit with the kindergarten set since it was introduced in the United States in 1943, by Milton Bradley.

Before the proliferation of handheld electronics and computer-based video games, there were the Tru-Action sports simulation tabletop games – powered by a rudimentary engineering concept: vibration.