Darlings, Remember When $1.39 Brought You Everything You Thought You Wanted In Life??????

                             During the middle years of my  childhood, girls--between the ages of eight and ten, before I moved on to the sophistication of Parker Brothers--Milton Bradley was my game brand of choice.    I started with "Candy Land," "Chutes And Ladders," and a TV spin off game called "Video Village."  As time went on, I had this ambition to acquire ALL the Milton Bradley games.  I was not altogether successful , (never obtaining "Pirate And Traveler," or "Game Of The States") but during this time, two stood out--"Go To The Head Of The Class," which I played ad nauseum, and "Uncle Wiggly."

                               The Milton Bradley game catalog (would you believe I had one, dears????) described the game as being "based on the world's most gentlest bedtime story for children."  Now, I was a literate kid--you better believe it, dolls--and I had never heard of Uncle Wiggly!  But there was something comforting about these words, so I just HAD to have this game.

                                 My parents, who generally gave me whatever I wanted, were going through one of these periods where they felt I should save up for what I want, so that I would appreciate it more.  Someone (and I have my ideas!!!!!!) must have gotten to them!!!!!!!!!

                                    Anyway, the game cost $1.39!  In fact, that was the standard price, then (we are talking between 1963 and 1965) for all Milton Bradley issued board games.  It became, for me, the number of choice, my ticket to all I could, at that time, desire in life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       I did save up, and I did buy Uncle Wiggly, but I don't think learned what my parents expected me to.  When have children ever, darlings?????????  From Time Immemorial!!!!!!!!!!

                                       What I did discover was that this game was not as gentle as I had hoped.  In "Candy Land" fashion, you used plastic Uncle Wiggly rabbit tokens to follow him from starting point on the board, to his home, to win the game. Along the way, you lost one turn, if you landed on the swamp and encountered something called the Bad Pipsisewah!!!!!!!!!!!  I am not even sure, to this day, what that was, but it was something bad, and it was not altogether comforting to a child. Not that, with my precocious affinity for horror films, this scared me; it just seemed to violate the tone of the game, as promised in the catalog ad!!!!!!!!!  Perhaps this was my first encounter with false advertising!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          I think "Uncle Wiggly" is still sold today.  As for $1.39--forget it!!!!!!!!! It won't even buy you one bunny token!  I would guess the going rate for the same game I played as a child is ten times that--about $13.90!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            Try telling THAT to the Bad Pipsisewah, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!