Dexterity Games: They Wasted Time Decades Before Computer Chips

One thing is clear about the art on these vintage games: They’re enthusiastically not educational. While the cheap plastic versions of both styles were ubiquitous when I was a kid in the 70s, it was the handheld baseball toy used by NYC detective Mark McPherson to calm his nerves throughout the classic 1944 film Laura that first showed me how cool-looking the toy used to be. Search for “vintage dexterity toy” on eBay or Etsy and you’ll find dozens of examples. I was delighted when I found “The Bughouse” decades ago, because the one-color art was crude, and the vulgar “Ima Nutt” was a touch that would never be included on a kid’s game in my lifetime.

The cartoon art and its coloring on the rodeo pinball also appeal. Although I’m not a sports fan, I’m reminded more of county fairs than baseball. As with “Bughouse,” there’s a soupçon of inappropriateness in both the portrayal of the snoozing sombrero-wearing fellow on the donkey and a smattering of fat-shaming toward the lady in the upper-right corner. While juvenile humor isn’t something society has ever celebrated, there’s an innocence in these that may be forgiven, even if we realize today just how inappropriate these depictions were. And there’s a certain “lest we forget” bonus for later generations.

Poosh-M-Up’s Rodeo Bagatelle, 4-games in one (Baseball, Bagatelle, Put-N-Take, and Pennants), Northwestern Products, St. Louis, Missouri, 11” x 17”, 1930s

The Bughouse, with the sensitive “Ima Nutt” as the Superintendent, 2.5” x 3.5”, 1920s

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