Popular Toys and Games from the 1970s and 1980s

February 18, 2013

A trip down Toyland Memory Lane. Remember these? I played with the ’70’s toys, and remember the younger kids playing with the ’80’s toys while I discovered video games. Frogger was my favorite. I never did get into Pac Man nor Mario Brothers, though.

70a toy clackers — LOVED my Clackers. I remember the rumors about these shatter and putting kids eyes out.

70b toys early hand held electronic football game — I had this handheld football game. I thought I was the shit back then!

70b toys merlin the electronic wizard — This was the popular choice when we had free time in school

70b toys silly putty — LOVED my Silly Putty!

70b toys simon — Electronic games were my favorites.

70b toys trouble bubble pop game — When I was very young, the popping noise didn’t bother me in the least. But when I was older and around the young children playing Trouble, that very same noise would drive me insane!

80s rubiks cube — I solved Rubik’s Cube!!!

Retro Commercial for the Cabbage Patch Kids.

I do not remember this commercial. But then, I thought the Cabbage Patch kids were the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. Eventually Pet Rock came around and beat out the stupidity of the Cabbage Patch Kids.

[youtube http://youtu.be/YYh3KGhhjic]

Retro Sony Walkman commercial:

[youtube http://youtu.be/qbH6njSlhEo]

TAGS:

1970’s, 1980’s, 70s, 80s, commercial, Educational, Frogger, Mario Bros, pac man, popular, retro, toy, Toys and Games, video game

28 responses to “Popular Toys and Games from the 1970s and 1980s”

PiedType

February 18, 2013 at 11:18 pm

I remembered some of these because I had them when I was a kid. And a Walkman was my prized possession when they came out. I wouldn’t have bet my son had even 1/4 of these, but he described them each in great detail when I read him the names. Seems he had almost all of them and the parent who gave them to him didn’t remember. Doh!

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El Guapo

February 19, 2013 at 2:22 pm

I LOVED the fisher price garage!
For a while recently they were selling keychain sized versions of the etch a sketch,and the coleco vision football.

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1. Michelle
  
  February 19, 2013 at 10:47 pm
  
  Oh, yeah? LOL… this sounds stupid, but that electronic football is what helped me start to understand the game. I was all about basketball as a young child. I never went to a high school football game. It wasn’t until college that I really started watching football.
  
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2. Anonymous
  
  April 27, 2017 at 9:55 am
  
  i like turtles
  
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helens1

February 19, 2013 at 4:23 pm

Some of these I remember from my youth ( etch-a-sketch, play-doh, slinky and view master). And I had a walkman as a young adult. Some are from my daughter’s childhood ( Rubic’s cube, pac-man and most anything by Fisher Price). All brought back some great memories of being a daughter and raising one, pictured with me here. She’s on the right. Thanks.

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1. Michelle
  
  February 19, 2013 at 10:48 pm
  
  Love you picture! So that’s who is in there. I’ve wondered. Thanks!!! Beautiful daughter – just like her mother. 😉
  
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helens1

February 20, 2013 at 10:46 pm

Well thank you very much (blushes).

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hip is everything

February 21, 2013 at 11:58 am

too cool, a flashback that didn’t put my sanity at risk … lol
and the “clackers” … next to lawn darts, the greatest proof that our parents were trying to kill us all off … lol

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1. Michelle
  
  February 21, 2013 at 9:23 pm
  
  OMG… I didn’t think about adding the the lawn darts. Weren’t they called “jarts”? LOL.. I was playing Scrabble on my tablet the other night and tried to enter “jarts.” That was a “no” from the computer.
  
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2. Cailtyn
  
  November 15, 2015 at 5:59 pm
  
  😅😅😅
  
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3. Anonymous
  
  July 3, 2019 at 11:45 am
  
  Lawn darts! Most dangerous toy ever! And one of tge best
  
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Helen Cherry

March 2, 2013 at 3:24 am

😀

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1. Cailtyn
  
  November 15, 2015 at 5:58 pm
  
  So cool okay
  
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Best Three Fads of the 1980s | best 3 of everything

March 6, 2013 at 6:27 pm

[…] Popular Toys and Games from the 1970s and 1980s (motleynews.net) […]

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Anonymous

July 6, 2013 at 11:37 am

They brougt a few of these back. My kids play with them now. Toys then outdo todays. Speack and spell was my toy of choice. My kids like the Atari today and pacman…. great post.

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Motley News Passes 2 Million Hits! « Motley News and Photos

August 20, 2013 at 5:33 pm

[…] Two other enjoyable posts which are also in the top 5 daily now are Can you Solve this Problem? and Popular Toys and Games from the 1970s and 1980s. […]

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tinah

February 26, 2015 at 3:16 am

Anyone got a picture of Sloppy Jalopy, the car that fell apart when it smashed into something, then you put it back together. I’m pretty sure it looked like an army jeep. Want to show someone but can’t find it on search engine.

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tinah

February 26, 2015 at 3:23 am

Post. I hated the clackers but I loved my sunglasses with blue lenses and windscreen wipers and my flocked potted flower which was changed colour with the weather. I also was in the bionic woman fan club. Jamie Sommers was so cool – and check out the tan!

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Scott

May 4, 2015 at 4:44 pm

I have seen or had every toy on your list. I am trying to find a sample of a toy I recall. There was a gloopy kind of putty that went into a plastic mold. After waiting, out came this weird pinkish monster thing. It had a very peculiar smell which I can nearly recall in memory. No idea what it was called or exactly what it looked like, but would love to see a picture or at least find out the name. The sculptures were not very durable, and maybe even a little bit flexible. Any ideas? It’s from the mid to late 1970’s.

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Anonymous

May 24, 2015 at 3:58 pm

Been trying to find a toy my sister used to have, it was called a whizzer or wizza? Anyone remember them??

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1. Anonymous
  
  July 9, 2015 at 12:15 am
  
  Yeah a mobile wizza I’m looking for it too it had a different name in America.
  
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2. Angie Farrar
  
  January 26, 2020 at 7:06 pm
  
  i think it is a top with a rubber point……you turned it sideways and rubbed it on the floor a few times and it was wound up.
  
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Canady

August 18, 2015 at 10:16 am

This electronic football sounds awesome and it will be helpful for me to understand the game.

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Carol Brands

October 7, 2015 at 12:24 am

My daughter is trying to locate a small electronic hand-held game she owned in the 1980s. It was a game to motivate a child to speed with number-word recognition. It was triangular shaped, about the size of her palm today. It had a rectangle in the center which would display a number word, and six little circles on the edges which were like buttons that you pressed to match the number to the word. She was so proud of that little game! She wants to use it with her small son now. Anyone know if this is still available?

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Cailtyn

November 15, 2015 at 5:56 pm

It’s all cool know but some people in 2015 more cool

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Cailtyn

November 15, 2015 at 5:57 pm

It’s soo cool

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cornell.edu

December 13, 2016 at 6:45 pm

Picking up 4 cartons of soap and twenty-five bottles of scrub
can change your property in to a little Walmart if something.

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Is Your Two Year Old Changing the Internet? – Mad Fish Digital

March 27, 2017 at 5:19 pm

[…] back to the 1970s, an era of children’s toys as technologically advanced as Legos, Slinkys, Etch A Sketch, and the ever-mesmerizing Lite-Brite […]

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