board games Archives : The Retro Network

Dark Tower: The Holy Grail of 80s Board Games

Dark Tower mixed fantasy adventure with electronic magic, creating one of the most unforgettable and ambitious board game quests of the 1980s.

How Dungeons and Dragons Got Caught Up in the 80s Satanic Panic

Mickey Yarber

In the 80s, Dungeons and Dragons became an unlikely target of the Satanic Panic, turning a harmless fantasy game into a misunderstood cultural flashpoint.

The Fugitive: The Board Game That Let Kids Join the Chase

Mickey Yarber

The Fugitive board game turned sixties TV suspense into a colorful cross‑country chase, letting families hunt the one‑armed man long after the episode ended.

How to Know if Your Vintage Board Game Is Complete

Mickey Yarber

Finding a vintage board game is exciting, but the real treasure is a fully complete set. Here’s how to tell if yours has every piece.

Red Flags To Watch For In Online Listings

Mickey Yarber

Online listings can hide surprises. Knowing the red‑flag phrases helps collectors avoid risks and buy vintage toys and games with confidence.

Caught Up in the Crossfire: A 90s Classic Revisited

Mickey Yarber

Crossfire turned living rooms into battlegrounds, delivering fast‑shot chaos, steel‑ball mayhem, and one of the most unforgettable toy commercials of the 90s.

Plastic Terror: The Jaws Toy That Ruled Toy Boxes

Mickey Yarber

Ideal’s snapping shark turned Jaws into a hands‑on thrill, letting kids recreate the movie’s suspense with a plastic predator that made every game feel like a close call.

Penguin Random House Announces Massive Dungeons & Dragons Encyclopedia for 2026

Walter King

A sweeping new Dungeons & Dragons Encyclopedia arrives this fall, gathering decades of realms, monsters, and legends into one definitive 320‑page volume crafted by some of the game’s most trusted historians.

Crossbows and Catapults and the Joy of Total Destruction

Mickey Yarber

Crossbows and Catapults turned living rooms into battlefields, mixing creativity, chaos, and pure childhood excitement. It was simple, loud, and unforgettable, and it became one of the great action games of its era.

Dream Phone: Crushes, Clues, and Pure 90s Fun

Mickey Yarber

Before smartphones ruled every conversation, Dream Phone turned sleepovers into neon‑pink mysteries, letting ’90s kids dial up clues, crushes, and laughter with a plastic phone that felt like the height of high‑tech fun.

Axis & Allies: When Strategy, Snacks, and All‑Night Battles Ruled Childhood

Mickey Yarber

Hey kids, gather round. Before video games took over every spare minute of free time, there was a board game that let you command entire nations during World War II. Axis and Allies put players

Ghost Castle: The Haunted Board Game That Turned Fear Into Fun

Mickey Yarber

In the mid-1980s, when board games were branching into three-dimensional designs and Halloween-themed fun was creeping into toy aisles, Ghost Castle emerged as a standout. Released by MB Games in 1985, Ghost Castle was more

The Spooky History of the Ouija Board

Mickey Yarber

So there’s no gray-haired psychic in your town? And you can’t sneak another call into the astrology hotline without your mom noticing the long-distance charges? If you need some answers in your life, and answers

Fireball Island: Treasure Hunts, Lava Runs, and Legendary Escapes

Mickey Yarber

In the golden age of 1980s board games, few titles captured the imagination quite like Fireball Island. Released by Milton Bradley in 1986, this wasn’t just another game, it was a spectacle. With its three-dimensional

Time Capsule: 1981 TSR Gateway To Adventure Catalog

The Retro Network

Go back to the golden age of role-playing and table-top gaming and browse through this TSR catalog from the early ’80s!

The Retro Resurgence Podcast – Episode 15 | Retro Grab Bag Vol. 1

Chad Droze

Episode 15 comin’ at ya! It’s a special sweetened and condensed version of the Retro Resurgence Podcast. We try out a new type of format that we’re calling the “GRAB BAG”. Ken and Chad bring