“The Grip It, Grab It Action Game!”
Released by Parker Brothers in 1989, Early Birds was a classic dexterity game where players battled their opponent to “snatch and grab the most squirmy worms” and place them in their worm nest. The game relied less on strategy and more on tenacity, concentration, and hand-eye coordination, making it a great option for children or adults who wanted quick gameplay without requiring much brain power.
GAMEPLAY
The game’s main component was two all-plastic birds with a Seussian flair. Using a handle at each bird’s tail, players could manipulate them into position to grab a worm. Then a trigger mechanism could be deployed to open and close the bird’s mouth to capture the worm.
There were four ways to play the game: 1) a basic worm grab that was a straightforward race to acquire as many worms as possible and drop them into their worm nest; 2) a hi-lo worm grab that assigned two points for captured orange worms and just one point for green worms; 3) a worm wrench that earned players two points for orange worms and deducted two points for every green worm collected; and 4) a worm squirm that started with players depositing worms from their worm nest into the centre of the playing surface and then racing their opponent to re-capture it.
A complete game included a game base with two Early Birds birds (orange and pink) and 16 worms (orange and green). A printed sheet of instructions was also included.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
When acquiring Early Birds, look for a game with undamaged plastic components. The frenetic nature of gameplay was hard on the plastic pieces, which may have also become brittle over time.
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