Monthly Archives: February 2023

Weekend Reading 02/26/23

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Every weekend, I like to share a curated list of retro, geek, & nostalgia-themed articles, stories, and posts that I’ve come across in the last week. It gives you a chance to escape the daily grind, and just sit back and pass the time reading about the good old days. So with that in mind, here are some things I wanted to share with you.

In the News

Nostalgia

Show & Tell

This week’s Show & Tell blog challenge was Board Games. Several talented folks participated, and you can visit their entries below. Check back tomorrow for this coming week’s topic and play along!

Time Capsule: TSR Gateway to Adventure Catalog from 1981

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In this Time Capsule, go back to the early days of Dungeons & Dragons with this TRS Catalog from 1981. There was a surprising amount of products available from TSR even back then, and this catalog showcases them all. It’s a great look back at the pioneering days of role-playing games and a real trip down memory lane.

The flip book below is super easy to use. The controls are in the control panel below the book, and you can use them to go forward or backward. I suggest using the expand button to blow it up to full screen for maximum enjoyment.

Rollergames in HD

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I’ve talked about my fandom of Rollergames in the past. I talked about it when I covered the Rollergames Nintendo game comic book ad, and again not that long ago when I posted the Rollergames Yearbooks as a Time Capsule. But for those of you who don’t know, Rollergames was a syndicated “sports” show that debuted in September of 1989. It was a version of roller derby played on a figure-8 track. In addition to the game itself, episodes also featured “live” rock music performances. This version of roller derby also featured a pit that housed alligators that would be used during “sudden death” overtime periods in tied games. This version of roller derby was obviously heavily influenced by the theatrics of the World Wrestling Federation.

Recently, the original episodes of Rollergames have been remasted in HD and released on YouTube. If you never saw the show in its heyday, check out the good-looking video of the very first episode, and see why I was such a big fan of it. Maybe you’ll become a fan too.

Hog Tied Board Game

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Ever since I was a young retro rambler, board games have been one of my favorite types of toys. While not a “toy” in a traditional sense, board games still made up a large part of my playtime through the years. I’ve written before about several of my favorites, but I’ve yet to talk about Hog Tied, the game of chase and chance. Let’s remedy that travesty here today.

To start with, let me tell you a little bit about the game. It was produced by Selchow and Righter. You may recognize the name as the one behind classic games Parcheesi, Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit. They would eventually be bought out by Coleco in 1986, who in turn went bankrupt and had their assets purchased by Hasbro. But in 1981, they released Hog Tied.

Hog Tied is a two-player game, where the object is to capture all of the opposing player’s pigs and/or hogs. Each player has five pigs and five hogs, but only the pigs are in the game at the beginning. The five pigs start the game on the starting row, and advance their way across the board, trying to reach the opposing player’s starting row. If they reach the starting row, a pig becomes a hog. Pigs can only be captured by hogs, so getting your pigs to the other side of the board is the first goal of the game. Once you have hogs, you can then start capturing your opponent’s pigs. Hogs can move in any direction, backward and forwards, while pigs can only advance in a forward direction.

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Weekend Reading 02/19/23

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Every weekend, I like to share a curated list of retro, geek, & nostalgia-themed articles, stories, and posts that I’ve come across in the last week. It gives you a chance to escape the daily grind, and just sit back and pass the time reading about the good old days. So with that in mind, here are some things I wanted to share with you.

Weekend Reading 02/12/23

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Every weekend, I like to share a curated list of retro, geek, & nostalgia-themed articles, stories, and posts that I’ve come across in the last week. It gives you a chance to escape the daily grind, and just sit back and pass the time reading about the good old days. So with that in mind, here are some things I wanted to share with you.

I don’t know if you heard the news or not, but I’ve partnered with Jeff from Yesteryear Retro to launch a new podcast on The Retro Network called the Gnarly ’90s Podcast. In every episode, we’ll be covering all aspects of the ’90s, both good and bad. Our first episode just debuted, and to support the launch, we’ve taken over the front page of The Retro Network with seven new ’90s-centric articles. Here they are for your enjoyment:

With Valentine’s Day just a couple of days away, it’s the perfect time to highlight some mixtape ideas. A handmade mixtape is about as great of a Valentine’s gift as you can give your significant other. Eric from The Retro Network has put together some mixtape theme ideas for us, and I want to highlight them here.

And now we’ll get to our regularly scheduled programming and share other great retro content from around the web.

That’s going to do it for this week, but before I go, I want to remind you to check out the awesome ’80s Weekly Newsletter produced by Jason at Rediscover the ’80s. It’s loaded with even more great links to great retro content for you to enjoy.

Time Capsule: Suburban Commando Magazine From 1991

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In this Time Capsule, we’re taking you back to the fall of 1991 and the debut of Hulk Hogan’s movie, Suburban Commando. This souvenir magazine is full of information on the movie, photos from the set, and several pinu-up posters. Check out this magazine at your leisure and reminisce about the days when Hulk Hogan was a budding Hollywood star.

The flipbook below is easy to use, and I suggest enlarging it to full size for maximum enjoyment.

The 1993 MTV Rock & Jock BBall Jam

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MTV’s Rock & Jock series of sporting events are a big part of my ’90s nostalgia. The softball games, basketball games, and later on the football games, were some of the highlights of MTV’s offerings for me. The basketball games were always my favorite, and the game usually aired on NBA All-Star weekend.

The teams were always made up of a combination of NBA players, actors, musicians, MTV regulars, and other pop culture personalities. This eccentric mix of talent always made for a memorable game, and in this post, we’re looking back at one of the more entertaining games from the series in 1993.

Weekend Reading for 2/5/23

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Every weekend, I like to share a curated list of retro, geek, & nostalgia-themed articles, stories, and posts that I’ve come across in the last week. It gives you a chance to escape the daily grind, and just sit back and pass the time reading about the good old days. So with that in mind, here are some things I wanted to share with you.

Time Capsule: Rollergames Yearbook From 1990

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Rollergames was a U.S. television series that presented a theatrical version of roller derby. It was broadcast for one season from 1989 to 1990. The show took place in the Super Roller Dome, and all shows were produced there. Instead of a banked oval track, it featured a figure eight track, where one side was heavily banked, and was known as the “wall of death”. In an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the show, a yearbook magazine was released highlighting the game, the skaters, and the storylines. I present that yearbook in its entirety for your enjoyment.

The flipbook below is easy to use, and I suggest enlarging it to full size for maximum enjoyment.

TRN Drive-In Podcast: Groundhog Day

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Groundhog Day

In observance of Groundhog Day, I wanted to share a fantastic podcast episode reviewing the 1993 classic movie, Groundhog Day. The TRN Drive-In podcast features a rotating cast reviewing movies from the ’80s and ’90s.

In this episode, Gary (@milehighsamurai), Karen (@KarenFlieger8), Tim (@OldSchool80s), and Jason (@RD80s) journey to Punxsutawney, PA to watch Phil Connors experience Groundhog Day, over and over again. You’ll hear facts you may not know, box office stats, casting what-ifs, Drive-In awards including their favorite scenes, lines, and which supporting actor stole the show.

Listen to TRN Drive-In Groundhog Day below and continue the conversation with your thoughts on the movie in the comments section.