Operation Game

Today we looked at the game of Operation and how it has changed over the years. The reason we chose this game is because it works on circuitry.

1962

It was metal with holes and crooked lines drilled through the top and came with a metal rod. Players had to have a steady hand to get the rod in the openings without touching the sides. If the probe did touch, a circuit would be completed between two oppositely charged metal plates and would set off a loud bell.

When the game reached the Milton Bradley Company, the game was redesigned while keeping the core, structural concept. The game went from the deserted Death Valley to the hospital operating room, and thus the game of OPERATION that we know today was created.

It was designed with a buzzer and a light bulb instead of a bell. Tweezers replaced the metal probe and the holes were filled with plastic pieces, such as a pencil for Writer's Cramp and a horse for Charley Horse. Players had to steadily place the metal tool inside the hole, while also removing the cause of the patient's pain without hitting a nerve and causing him more grief.

1965

In 1965, the game came out on the production line with a patient identified as "Cavity Sam". Cavity Sam came with a red rubber-coated light bulb for a nose, but also he had bigger problems as he was troubled by 12 medical ailments, including: Ankle Bone Connected to the Knee Bone, Bread Basket, Spare Ribs, Butterflies in the Stomach, Water on the Knee, Funny Bone, Charley Horse, Writer's Cramp, Wish Bone, Wrenched Ankle, Adam's Apple and Broken Heart.


2008
In 2008, an updated edition of the classic OPERATION game introduced even more fun and laughter to the "O.R." Cavity Sam returned to the operating table with 13 unusual and embarrassing "Funatomy" parts, or ailments, that are stretchy, shiny, slippery and squishy. Each part, from Toxic Gas to Phone Finger, had a sound associated with it that directs game play. Players must listen carefully for the sound of the "Funatomy" parts. Was that the sound of a toilet flushing? Quick - operate on the Bad Plumbing ailment! If the operation was a success, the doctors-in-training press Cavity Sam's nose and the game lets out a "Ta-Da!" sound that congratulates them on a job well done.

Beginning in September 2008, players ctook the OPERATION game to another level with online and PC games from Electronic Arts. Gamers can download a digital version of the game at www.pogo.com. Or, fans can play the PC version at home on their computer.