Saturday, March 18, 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean Board Game - 1960's


Today is the 50th anniversary of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction!

I received this Parker Brothers "Pirates of the Caribbean Game" as a birthday present, back in the 1970's. Note that the box is dated 1965. The attraction didn't open at the park until 1967, but they must have been planning this game when it was still in the design or construction phases.


I like the cartoon-style graphics used on the game board. They are reminding me a little bit of the characters from the Rankin Bass Frosty the Snowman cartoon, or UPA's Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.....or even the characters from a segment of School House Rock! ♪ ♫ "Well, every person you can know....like a wench OR a pirate!!!" ♫ ♪


The instructions and game piece sheet has both 1965 (in Roman numerals) and 1967 printed on it.


At the bottom of the "Rules for Playing," it mentions that this game was one of six in a series of Disneyland games. The other games in the series were, Adventureland, Monorail, Riverboat, It's A Small World, and Fantasyland. I have the original edition of the Monorail Game, but it was also reproduced around the time of Disneyland's 50th anniversary. I will try to get it photographed and posted soon.


I remember the "Riverboat Game" being available at the local "Lucky" grocery store where my mom shopped. This was back when grocery stores had a toy aisle! The Riverboat Game actually sat there on a shelf and didn't sell for years. It's box got a little worn around the edges over time, that's how I knew it was the exact same one. I remember being tempted to buy it, but I never did. Now of course, I wish I had!

Happy 50th Anniversary, to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean!

(For anyone interested in other attraction-themed games, you can click on the links below.)

- Haunted Mansion Game

- Mad Tea Party Game

- Walt Disney World Game

12 comments:

K. Martinez said...

What a cool looking game! I always loved the box art on this toy. I remember seeing these in the local TG&Y store along with the Monorail and Jungle Cruise board games but I never purchased one. Just like I remember seeing a certain WDW board game but never purchased either. Awesome graphics and characters. They very much remind me of "School House Rock" as you stated. I'm amazed at all the stuff you've kept from your childhood. Thanks for sharing more of your collection with us, TM!

TokyoMagic! said...

Thank you, Ken! I still have one more attraction-based board game and that's Walt Disney World's 20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea game. I'll have to get that photographed and posted!

Dan Alexander said...

Whoa! This is the most amazing Disney Pirates thing I've ever seen. Yes, very Rankin-Bass/Schoolhouse Rock cartoon character designs!

TokyoMagic! said...

Thanks, Dan. This game was stored at my mom's and I hadn't looked at it for MANY years. It kind of surprised me just how cool it was when I saw it again!

Chuck said...

This is awesome, TM! I have the reprint of the Monorail Game, but never knew this one existed. I have absolutely no memory of any of these sitting in the toy aisle anywhere. I was probably still alerting on neoprene spheres or plush bunnies when these were on the shelf.

TokyoMagic! said...

Ha, ha, Chuck! Neoprene spheres and plush bunnies. I'm not sure I know what neoprene spheres are, but I love that statement anyway!

Major Pepperidge said...

Whoa, how did I miss this post? The artwork has such a familiar look - I think I must have seen a zillion ads, illustrations and products with a similar appearance. Which is awesome. You mentioned the Adventureland version of the game, somebody just put up a photo of that game on Facebook recently. Thanks for sharing!

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I think I've seen pics of the Adventureland and the Fantasyland games. The one that I haven't seen....or even remember hearing about, is the It's A Small World game. Maybe I should google it and see if there are any images out there!

Anonymous said...

I just found one of these at a house I was clearing out today! It is pretty worn but looks complete. Thanks for the post which was the info I was looking for. Thanks again

TokyoMagic! said...

Anonymous, I'm glad that you found the info that you were looking for!

Dianne said...

I received this game in Dec.1968, as a prize at our church Christmas party. I Loved the it,and played it all the time. I was so excited when I was reminiscing,that I was able to find such great pictures of it.
What awesome memories, thank you so much for sharing !

TokyoMagic! said...

Dianne, I'm glad that you found my post and enjoyed the photos. Thank you, for commenting! :-)