Pre-Game Boy

Back in the good old days, Mattel came out with a handheld battery-operated football game. This was around the time I was 8 or 9. I never had one, even though I was a tomboy and played all kinds of sports in real-life and would have loved the handheld football game. In fact, I know I loved it because one of my friends had one, and I can remember playing it a time or two, probably at recess on a rainy day, when we had to play indoors.

You had to have pretty good coordination, at least with your thumbs, to maneuver the buttons that maneuvered your running back (which was actually a small red blip on the screen) down the field, trying to avoid defenders along the way.

By the standards of today, the handheld football game of the 1970s was crude, at best. But to me, it was just like being in an actual football game ... well, minus the pads and the helmets and the turf. And the football. And the other actual players.

Then Mattel came out with another version of the handheld football game. Except in this version, you could pass the ball! Yes, once a defender crossed the line of scrimmage, you could push the PASS button and throw the ball downfield to your receiver (signified by a blinking blip).

I got that game for Christmas that year, and I can honestly say it was one of THE BEST Christmas gifts I have ever received. Ever.

(And, thankfully, I also received a battery charger, and believe you me, I kept that 9-volt charger hopping, buddy, yes, I did!)

: )

The object of both games, of course, was to score touchdowns. I suppose this would have been a great game to play against a buddy, but I do not recall anyone ever playing with my game, except me. So it was always Me vs. Me, at the Pro 1 or Pro 2 levels.

I have to admit, I got pretty good at the game.

And then, like everything else when you are a kid: I outgrew it. And I forgot about it.

Until a few years ago, when Mattel reissued the white (first) game as Classic Football ... and I got it one year for Christmas. And it was nice and all, but really: It could not compare to the green (second) game. So I played it a few times and tossed it aside, never to be seen again.

And then Mattel reissued Classic Football 2 ... and I got it this year for Christmas. Or, rather, this year that just ended, 2004. And I played it tonight for the first time.

I have to admit, I am still pretty good at it. Though the Pro 1 option seems slower than what I remember, and Pro 2 seems a little bit faster.

The Me running to the right defeated the Me running to the left 14-0 in the first game, 18-7 in the second. (Actually scored on a couple of safeties in that second game, who knew?)

: )

I also received handheld Boggle for Christmas. That and Classic Football 2 and the 20Q game I bought with the intention of giving it to someone as a Christmas gift should have had me all set for the flights to and from Miami last week ... but did I remember to take any of them?

Nooooooooo!

I have to say the Boggle game is kind of a nightmare. Letters are somewhat difficult to read, and you have to maneuver the cursor over the letters in order to record your words. Nearly impossible to compile a respectable word list in 3 minutes; however, the game does feature an untimed version, so who knows, maybe I will play it another time or two before losing interest.