The Little House on the Prairie Board Game

November 15, 2019 MarkWGC

Wintertime in my childhood home meant a lot of things. For one it meant that there was always a fire to tend to in one of our 3 fireplaces. Our home on Pepperidge Rd in Hewlett, Long Island was built in 1896 and was completely updated and modern for 1978 but for whatever reason, my family needed to have a fire rolling as soon as the last week of October showed its’ cold nose. It also meant that Thanksgiving was approaching which of course meant, gift giving season was also upon us! In 1978 I was not yet 6 years old but there were a lot of toys I wanted/needed. I recall having a focus on the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, Kiss Albums, Fonzie, Star Wars, Snoopy, a fiberglass Nash skateboard and The Six Million Dollar Man toys and although I recall possessing these things, sadly I have no idea what happened to most of them. Every year I would receive at least 3 board games, Monopoly, Clue and something new. We must have had 4 incomplete Monopoly games and 1 new choice each year. As for Clue, I don’t recall ever playing it and I know we had an unopened one in the basement for at least a decade. As for the other board games I received, I recall having a horror game, Star Wars, Happy Days, Mork from Ork and the least played game of the collection, always on the bottom of the pile…The Little House on the Prairie board game. I hated Little House on the Prairie in 1978, it was a ‘girls show’ and not nearly as cool as Star Wars, to this 6 year old anyway.

Hey, that’s the way it was….period.

Thankfully, years later I would come across the reruns and secretly, a religiously watch each day on WPIX-NY Channel 11 from 5pm – 6pm. You know the story.

I don’t know what happened to that crushed mint-in-box, likely never played Little House on the Prairie Board Game that sat in our playroom. I often think about it. Did we just throw it out one day? Did it get thrown into the fire one evening to see ‘what would happen’? I don’t know. But just a few days ago a package showed up at my doorstep. I brought it in and shook it, wondering what the contents could be. It was addressed to me from eBay but I didn’t order anything. Later that day I brought it up here to my office and carefully began unwrapping it.

It didn’t take long to discover that Kim Layer had been so kind to send me the Little House on the Prairie Game!

Wow! I am floored! I also have a lot of guilt about this. I mean, I OWNED this game while neglecting and ignoring it. I still question whether I deserve it! Well, for now I am going to share some photos and try to redeem myself!

The game is in really great condition! There are no missing pieces or cards and the artwork is really great! I love it!