| Remembering Charles Schulz | |
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by Erik Arneson
I remember reading books full of Peanuts comic strips when I was young, watching the Peanuts Christmas special, and being comforted every Sunday morning as I turned to the comics section and knew that Charlie Brown would be at the top of the front page.
Alas, those days are over.
With the recent passing of Charles Schulz, 50 years of audiences enjoying new stories with Charlie Brown, Sally Brown, Lucy and Linus Van Pelt, Schroeder, Franklin, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Pig Pen, Snoopy and Woodstock comes to an end.
But all is not lost. The Christmas special will continue to appear like clockwork every December. I'll always remember cheering for Snoopy in his epic battles against the dreaded Red Baron (I used to have a floppy phonograph record with a song about Snoopy and the Red Baron somewhere...).
And we can always play some classic Peanuts games!
Desi Scarpone, author of Board Games: With Price Guide and the man behind the Web site Games Gone By, took some time recently to compile the following list (and accompanying text) of Peanuts-related games.
Peanuts (1959, Selchow & Righter)
Snoopy (1960, Selchow & Righter)
Snoopy Card Game (1968, Milton Bradley)
Snoopy And The Red Baron (1970, Milton Bradley)
Good Ol' Charlie Brown (1971, Milton Bradley)
Lucy's Tea Party Game (1971, Milton Bradley)
Snoopy Come Home (1973, Milton Bradley)
Charlie Brown's All-Star Baseball Game (1970s, Parker Brothers)
Snoopy's Doghouse Game (1977, Milton Bradley)
A small game with a yellow "photo" cover of the game, as well as a big picture of Snoopy. Came with 4 take apart plastic dog houses, and a spinner. Plays like Cootie, as players try to put together their doghouse first based on what part of the house the spinner tells them to grab.
If you're interested in trying to purchase any of these games, try Locating Hard-to-Find Games. If you know of more Peanuts-themed board games, please post a note in the About Board Games Forum.
18 February 2000
The first game based on Charlie Brown and his pals. The cover is blue, with a large picture of Charlie Brown, and a small strip of the "Gang" chasing after Snoopy. Came with a board, 4 playing pieces, dice, and 20 illustrated tiles. The object was to form complete sequences of the card tiles.
The cover of this game is divided into two equal parts of red and white, and it has a large picture of Snoopy. Included were a board, Snoopy disc, spinner, and 16 cardboard discs of different breeds of dogs. Object is to get each dog back to his home. Kind of boring, in that the game has little to do with Snoopy, and a lot to do with the different breeds of dogs, which are presented in a realistic style, not a cartoon style.
When Peanuts and Snoopy became associated with the Apollo Space Program, quite a few games started to come out. Snoopy was on the cover of this small box, which contained a standard card game.
A large game which depicted Snoopy atop his Sopwith Camel, and the Peanuts gang frustrated in their attempts to play the game, set against a red background. Kind of a 3D game with cardboard and plastic pieces fit together to create a little diorama of Snoopy fighting the Red Baron as the Peanuts gang looked on. Players fire colored marbles at Snoopy, who has to "catch" the correct colored ones. Good ones score for the player, bad ones score against him.
Probably based on the movie of the same name, the cover is similar to the original Peanuts game, with a large picture of Charlie Brown against a red background. Standard track board game.
A very large game which has a large picture of Lucy on the cover, and smaller pictures of the gang playing the game. Came with a large vinyl play mat, plastic serving tray, four plastic tea cups, tea pot, and plastic sugar cubes. Players actually filled up their cups with water, and as sugar cubes were awarded through the game, put them in their cups until they overflowed. First player whose cup overflowed was the winner.
Based on the movie of the same name, with a blue cover depicting Snoopy and Woodstock. Standard track game in which players attempt to find Snoopy, and bring him home.
A large game which depicts Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang on the baseball diamond. Again, a game which may be based on a movie, or book. Standard track game.
Many thanks to Desi Scarpone for his contribution to this article.
