Matt Knight
November 8th, 2021
Being a kid in the 80’s meant SOOOOO MANYYYY TOYS! I had a giant toy chest in my bedroom that was mostly filled with Transformers and He-Man figures, but I loved board games just as much. There were so many things to play with and now I present what made my bedroom a mess as a kid with the top toys of the 1980’s.
Eventually, you’d probably lose most of the marbles which makes this game useless. There was absolutely no skill involved, but it sure was fun! But the time when we had a full complement of them meant hours of slamming that lever until you had more than 3 other friends.
This was the kind of toy you’d just display as art. Putting the colored pegs into the outline of a design and you thought you were a modern day Picasso.
Technically, this was a toy that got released in 1978, but my genius parents knew to get one of these as I got a little older in the early 80’s. I hauled ass on this thing down the street. Notice the kids in the commercial wearing no helmets while doing spinouts as the streamers on the handles would fly in the wind. What a time to be alive.
IT WAS A TALKING TEDDY BEAR! At the time, this was so futuristic as a kid that I didn’t know if any other toy could top this. You’d pop a cassette tape in his back and he’d start telling stories and singing songs to you. Come to think of it, this probably gave tons of kids nightmares.
I think John Moschitta’s fast talking commercials are really what got me to buy these tiny toys (probably a choking hazard), but you could stuff at least a dozen into your pocket.
A toy that actually helped your cognitive skills. Once it started going super fast, I’d hang in there for a while. Ultimately I was pretty much enamored by the sounds and lights. This kid walking up to the Simon like he’s king of the world was incredible.
This would make your house THE house to be at in the summer. Fire up the machine and make some sweet sno-cones for the neighborhood.
This was IT. There was no topping this for me. The amount of Transformers I had probably could have turned into a serious profit for me in 2021, but you’re not leaving toys in boxes as a kid. I was obsessed with Transformers and owning them all was just a bonus.
