Released in 1979 by Parker Brothers, the Frosty the Snowman game tasked kids with bringing Frosty back to life by being the first player to reach his Magic Hat.
The character of Frosty was first made famous in the 1950 “Frosty the Snowman” song performed by Gene Autry. The story has been retold in many other ways over the decades, including the 1950 Frosty the Snow Man storybook published by Little Golden Books, and in the 1969 animated television special by Rankin/Bass Productions.
GAMEPLAY
The object of the game was to collect the necessary costume pieces to outfit Frosty and be the first player to reach his magic hat.
The player who spun the highest number started the game. Players took turns spinning and moving their pawns along the board’s outside path.
Stops along the way fell into two categories: Costume spaces and Frosty spaces. Costume spaces allowed players to accumulate the costume cards necessary to outfit Frosty, such as mittens, a scarf, boots, a broomstick, a corncob pipe, and eyes of coal. The Frosty spaces allowed players to advance along the board to collect a Costume card missing from their inventory without having to wait to land on the specific item.
Once a player had collected all six costume pieces, they could move to the board’s inside track, which led to the space illustrated with the Magic Hat. The first player to land on the Magic Hat won the game.
IN THE BOX
A complete game included a game board, four Frosty cards with plastic bases, 24 costume cards (four of each: mittens, scarf, boots, broomstick, corncob pipe, and eyes of coal), and a spinner. Instructions were printed on the cardboard platform inside the box.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
Pre-loved copies of the Frosty the Snowman game appear regularly on online marketplaces and at resellers of vintage goods. Collectors looking to add a special element to their collection should seek out an edition that still has the player, costume, Frosty cards still affixed to the perforated sheet, and the spinner attached to the cardboard platform.
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