“Everybody loves to play Turn On!”
Released by Kenner in 1977, Turn On! was a dexterity party game built around the human body’s ability to conduct electricity. The game used a battery-powered electronic unit with an integrated timer and two metal contact bars extending from opposite sides.
GAMEPLAY
Players divided into teams of two, with each team attempting to complete a series of physical challenges before time ran out.
At the beginning of a turn, the team set the timer and drew a card containing a sequence of actions. Although the instructions varied from card to card, each challenge required the teammates to complete an electrical circuit by maintaining contact with each other while touching the red and blue metal bars.
When the players successfully completed the circuit, the electronic unit buzzed and the team earned the number of points indicated on the card. Teams attempted to complete as many cards as possible before the timer reached zero.
After four rounds of play, the team with the highest point total won the game.
FROM KIDS GAME TO ADULT PARTY GAME
Turn On! appears to have undergone a shift in how Kenner marketed the game. Some of the action cards incorporated physical interactions more commonly associated with a party game, including challenges that required players to kiss, clutch another player’s neck, or stand cheek-to-cheek while completing the circuit.
The original packaging featured a photograph of children playing the game, recommended it for ages 8 to adult, and carried the tagline “Fun Game for Everyone…” Kenner subsequently revised the packaging with a photograph of adults playing Turn On!, changed the recommended age to 10 to adult, and adopted the slightly revised tagline “Party Game for Everyone…”
IN THE BOX
A complete Turn On! game included the electronic unit with a timer and buzzer, 54 cards, and a score pad. Printed instructions were included in the box. The electronic unit required three D-cell batteries.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
Despite its lack of popularity and limited shelf-life, finding copies of Turn On! on the secondary market is relatively easy. Many copies of the game can even still be found in unused condition. Collectors looking to amass key versions of the game should focus on the original 1977 release and the version with the reissued packaging also released the same year.
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