The Toys R Us catalog was serious business for 80s kids. Flip through the 1986 Out of this World Toy Book and holiday catalogs from ’87 and ’88.
games
80s arcade games took over America one quarter at a time. See the vintage ads & photos that capture that golden era of Pac-Man, Space Invaders & more.
Dungeons & Dragons changed how a generation played — and socialized. See vintage ads, photos and original articles from the game’s heyday.
The range of 1950s board games surprises people — cold war strategy to Candy Land. See the vintage ads and box art from a prolific decade of family game night.
Golf ball history goes from hand-stuffed feathers to rubber cores to space-age solids — and the story is wilder than you’d expect.
Rolling hoops were a go-to childhood obsession for generations — here’s the fascinating history behind this classic outdoor toy.
Dive into the nostalgia of 80s toys! From Transformers to Strawberry Shortcake, explore the iconic playthings that made the 1980s a decade of fun.
Reminisce about the world of 1960s toys — when kids had talking dolls, moon missions, and toys that taught them how to build, steer and imagine.
Explore teen Halloween party ideas from 1963 featuring spooky games, handmade decorations and festive food for a night full of fun.
Discover old-fashioned activities for kids from the ’60s that still inspire fun, creativity and imagination today — no screens required.
Step back in time with 80s Playskool toy sets, from Candy Land Kids to Sesame Street playhouses, and see the classic toys that fueled hours of fun.
A whole new era of vintage pinball machines was ushered in by the Humpty Dumpty pinball machine released in 1947 – and then dozens more of the games hit the market. Take a look back!
Who remembers Peter Coddle, Shoot the Hat, and Snap? They were antique board games that provided hours of entertainment before radio and TV. Find out more here!
The original vintage Slinky toy was an all-metal spring that thrilled kids by ‘walking’ down stairs. Invented by accident back in the forties, it’s one of the classic toys that has stood the test of time.
The vintage Spirograph toys let you create millions of colorful, startlingly beautiful extraordinarily intricate designs in infinite variety – all you needed were pens, paper and the kit’s plastic gears and wheels. Take a look!
We found a treasure trove of letters to Santa dating back to the 1930s (and they are adorable!). Come see what kids were asking for back in the day.
What were vintage Magic Slate Paper Savers about? Think of them like a really low-tech tablet – you could draw and then erase… and do it over and over.
After hitting the market in the early 1980s, it didn’t take long for the Rubik’s Cube to become one of the most popular toys ever. Here’s a look back!
Tiddlywinks (originally Tiddle-dy Winks) seems like a simple kids’ game… but there’s a lot more to it! Find out about it – including how to play – here.
These fun vintage mechanical rides – including the ubiquitous coin-operated horse – made millions of kids smile.
Millions know ‘Say, Say, Oh Playmate’ – also known as ‘Playmate’ – but few today know much about the rhyming song & hand clapping game. Find out more here!
If you were a kid during the 70s & 80s, be prepared for a wave of nostalgia from this collection of vintage Mattel toys for little kids, including See n Say & those little yellow shopping carts!
Let’s take a dive into the nostalgic maze of the original Pac-Man game – plus see point values and scoring, plus home and arcade version of the OG and his family, including Ms and Baby Pac Man!
The party favorite – more fun than throwing custard pie! Wham-O Silly String shoots a plastic stream of plastic string 1/4 mile long!
Intellivision gaming systems from the 80s were supposed to be more realistic than anything else available at the time. You may be surprised to see (or remember) how simplistic and pixelated the games really were!
Hot on the heels of the flower child era, back in 1974, Mattel introduced a set of toys that were sort of the anti-Barbie: The Sunshine Family dolls.
Some hardware stores in the 70s used to stock tons of great toys and Christmas gifts for kids – like dolls and trucks, bikes and ride-on horses, car sets and craft kits. Take a look!
Candy Land, the vintage board game that made millions of kids dream of an ice cream & lollipop world
Here, take a look back at some of the game pieces, cards, and several game boards for the vintage Candy Land game. Which ones do you remember most?
The chance to take a trip through the aisles of Toys R Us in the 1990s is over forever, but you can join us in reminiscing with this collection of the toys and games kids wanted back then!
The old VTech PreComputer 1000 from the 80s was a small 3-in-1 computer ‘teacher’ that helped kids learn touch typing and basic computer programming – plus had a 3500-word dictionary, and knew more than 1000 facts
Anyone obsessed with vintage Strawberry Shortcake probably dreamed of these pieces of sugary sweet delight featuring their favorite gal – dolls and toys, of course, but also bedding, wallpaper, roller skates and more.
Press the Clock-A-Word lever and new group of letters appears – the clock starts ticking and you try make the longest possible word fast.
Called ‘the world’s greatest toy catalog,’ vintage FAO Schwarz toy catalogs like this gives you a peek at what children of all ages loved to play with back in the sixties.
Follow us backward through time, and check out dozens of the old roller skates that were so well-loved in the heyday of roller skating!
Merlin, the ‘electronic wizard,’ was a red telephone-shaped toy used buttons, lights and sound effects to let kids play a variety of simple games, and was one of the earliest gaming consoles.
More than one billion Colorforms sets have been sold since the ’50s. They started with basic geometric shapes, then moved on to branded playsets.
The first vintage Etch-A-Sketch toy was made back in 1960. It was a big seller from early on, and over the years, Ohio Art made several other creative, artistic toys – such as those shown here.
Jigsaw puzzles: The fun & addictive fad that took over American living rooms — more than once (1908)
Jigsaw puzzles swept America not once but twice — first in 1908, then again in the Great Depression. Here’s the wild history behind the hobby.
The Campbell Kids appeared in Campbell’s Soup advertising for decades, always with those little round faces. Here, see dozens of vintage toys, cups and more with their images, find out how they began, and meet the artist!
Do you remember these vintage Mad magazine back page Fold-Ins – where, with a couple of folds, you could change the page’s picture, and its message? Look back at a few of these clever pieces of art created by Al Jaffee.
This creative collection of ideas came from Crayola, the famous crayon maker, back in the 1950s. They suggest some simple old-fashioned ways for kids to have quiet fun at home with crayons and paper.
Are you ready for Halloween? A look back at some old-fashioned Halloween party tips from 1910, in the days when the holiday was more about gatherings than candy collection.
See some of the dozens of the most popular vintage board games from the ’30s & ’40s, including Camelot, Ro-Nock-O, Crow Hunt, Senet and more old-fashioned fun.
Originally played with people in place of the pieces, vintage Parcheesi had a long and unusual history before becoming the popular board game we know today.
The classic Nintendo Entertainment System came with a robot, a light-sensing video gun, ‘true-to-life’ graphics and a library of games. Here’s a look!
Here, take a look back at some of the most popular vintage Tuppertoys of yesteryear, including the now-iconic Tupperware shape sorter!
Are you an undiscovered military genius? You could find out with these Vintage Gamemaster board games from MB, by living the drama of history’s most exciting battles.
Here are just a few of the toys you could find at a Woolworth’s store in the ’50s – the old discount retailer that seemed to sell just about everything!
How to have fun with Lite-Brite: Put in the black picture outline, insert colored glow pegs, then watch them light up the screen with your fun design!
The Hula Hoop fad had millions of children and adults shaking their hips to make the hoop spin. See what the craze was all about – and how to hoop!
What is Pickleball? Is it… (a) an hors d’ouevre on the sour side; (b) a Christmas tree ornament; (c) a delicatessen decoration; (d) none of the above. If you chose (d) give yourself a prize.
Explore the rise of vintage video games in the 1970s and their impact on home entertainment!
