Sunday, November 13, 2011

Cover to Cover: Adventure International Spring 1981 Catalog (pp. 31-32)

Our page-by-page journey through the Spring 1981 Adventure International catalog is nearing its end, but it's not exactly a 32-page catalog, so we won't quite wrap it up today.

Page 31 is a promotion for what has to be the world's longest-running computer magazine -- Computer Shopper, which was founded in 1979 and at the time was essentially a classified-ad publication for individuals to sell and trade.  It has grown with the industry, though it's been impacted by (and has adapted to) the Internet like most other print publications.


Page 32 presents a couple of more adult-oriented entertainment products:



The Amazing Blackjack Machine was not just a game, but a statistical package to allow players to develop and test strategies for beating the house at the one casino game where skill can make a difference, with printable data for detailed post-game analysis.  Strip Dice & Concentration was in the grand tradition of 70's "naughty" party games, wherein players were encouraged to remove clothing and, um, get to know each other better.  The ad copy notes that EXPLICIT SEXUAL LANGUAGE MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME USERS -- but I always say, if you find explicit sexual language offensive, don't use it!  And this TRS-80 game purportedly includes humorous sound effects and graphics -- given the system's 128x48 black-and-white display, I'm glad they didn't try to make the graphics anything but humorous.

Next weekend, I think we'll be able to wrap up this trip down memory lane.  So I'd better start digging through the archives for something else to share!

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