From 1972-1978, the television show Emergency! centered around the lifesaving exploits of Station 51 paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto, as well as their interactions with colleagues, nurse Dixie McCall and Dr. Kelly Brackett, at Rampart General Hospital. The show was often fast-paced and featured interesting medical technology. Typical treatments involved “starting an IV with D5W” and giving the patient “10 cc of Ringer’s lactate, stat!”
In an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the show, Milton Bradley released The Emergency! Game in 1973. The object of the game is to be the first player to complete three emergency calls. Players spin-and-move around a board that depicts the a layout of a city and its corresponding suburbs. Just like in the TV show, speed is of the essence!
Players draw cards to learn of a specific emergency situation taking place somewhere on the board. Each player must get to the emergency through the use of the spinner. A rescue mission is considered complete when a player reaches his or her destination and returns back to headquarters. “Hospital” cards provide an added wrinkle to game play. When drawn, these can be used or transferred to other players, requiring them to move to the Hospital section of the board prior to completing their mission.
The Emergency! Game was available on store shelves for about five years, about as long as the series lasted on television.
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