My Favorite Childhood Game - Stratego

Can You Plot the Perfect Victory?
The gameboard is your battlefield.  You have an army of men and six bombs at your disposal.  Your mission:  Capture the opponent's flag and protect your own.  You and your opponent secretly place your men, bombs, and flag on the gameboard.  Once the armies are in place, advance your men.  When you're one space away from the enemy, attack.  You and your opponent declare ranks.  The lower-ranking man is captured -- and taken out of play.  Move with caution and courage.  The next piece you attack could be a bomb that will "blast" your man off the board!  The first to capture the flag is the winner!
(back cover copy:  Milton Bradley Stratego Board Game Box.)

This was my absolute favorite boardgame when I was in elementary school.  It was fun to line up an army, try to strengthen defenses around a flag, and advance across the battlefield.  It was an excellent game to start kids thinking and planning tactically and strategically.  It was only $3.  But, I left it for a kid to find.

By User François Haffner on fr.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 If you'd like to buy this game, bang the picture below to check it out on Amazon:

Do Retro Work Outs Still Work?

Remember the great work out gurus of the 80s?  Did your mom watch Richard Simmons?  Did your family have Jane Fonda's workout tapes stacked by the VCR?

In this Shine! video, a professional trainer offers a review of the old work outs here:
Which Retro Workout Methods Stand the Test of Time

Remember the PDA?

Does anyone remember the PDA (Personal Data Assistant)?  They seem to have come and gone in a the blink of an eye.  Today, they have been completely replaced by Smart Phones.  But, once upon a time, the PDA was very cool.  I've still got a couple.  For example, I picked up the Sharp OZ-5500 Wizard Personal Information Organizer for $4 at a thrift store.  You can read a complete review here -

Retro Gadget Review:  The Sharp OZ-5500 Wizard Personal Information Organizer

Sharp Electronic Organizer

Thrift Store Find: A Fisher-Price Record Player

It was cool to have access to a record player as a kid.  Whether you were spinning a 45 of kid's music like "Puff the Magic Dragon" or using Dad's Victory at Sea soundtrack to  listening to spur your little green Army men onto victory, a record player was lots of fun.  I recently found this old Fisher-Price Record Player at Park Avenue Thrift in Marietta, Georgia, for only $3.

I opened it up, plugged it in, and played a random track from a Johnny Cash record pulled from the nearby bin of vinyl.  It still worked and it still sounded pretty good.  Since the store was getting ready to close, I turned it off and left it on the shelf.  There were plenty of kids records in that vinyl bin.  Hopefully, the record player would add to wonderful childhood memories for someone else.

Enjoying a Totally Free TV!

Remember when a television set was the coolest prize you could win?  Well, I sort of won a TV about a week ago.  I didn't actually enter a contest.  I just happened to get to the trash compactor at our apartment complex where I found it sitting by the curb waiting for a new owner.  It's a good-sized conventional cathode ray tube style Sony set.

Millions of Americans are kicking conventional televisions to the curb.  So, it's easy to scoop one up on any given weekend at almost any good-sized apartment complex.  You can also find them on Craigslist or for $20 or less at your local thrift store.

Once you've got your free TV, the fun can begin.  You can hook up video games, VCRs, an HD converter box and you can start enjoying your new to you TV set.  Here's an article with some great ways to enjoy your free TV:  How to Make the Most of a Free TV

The Jakk's Pacific Pacman Plug-n-Play Game Unit

If you are looking for an easy way to experience retro gaming, check out plug and play gaming units.  I have several.  One of my favorites is the Jakk's Pacific Pacman Game.  It has a lot of old arcade favorites and a few extra games that weren't quite as popular.  The games onboard include Bosconian,Xevious, Galaxian, Galaga, New Rally-X, Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Super Pacman, Pacman & Pal, Mappy, Dig-Dug, and Pole Position.

For a full review, check out this article:  Retro Game System Review:  Jakk's Pacific Plug-n-Play Unit.

Retro Writing

Many potential writers fall into the trap of thinking they need some special equipment in order to start writing.  They think they need the latest printer, word processing software, and computer before they even write one word.  People think they need office supplies and a nice quiet place to contemplate, reflect, and compose stellar prose.  In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.  People have been writing for a long time.  You just need to capture your words somewhere and soon.  There are plenty of old school, even vintage, tools to help you write.  Here are a few examples:

Four Useful Retro Tools for Writers

Getting Clacking!