Favorites from The Big Game Hunter's Collection

By Bruce Whitehill

The number-one question I receive is "How much is this game worth?" The second most frequently asked question is, "What's your favorite game?"

With hundreds of games in my collection, it's hard to name 10 favorites (seven actually). Fifty would have been difficult! I love some games for their extraordinary graphics, some are great to play or have exceptional playing pieces, while still others have special themes.

Which games do I collect? I purchase mystery, advertising and cultural games, oddball items and games from 1937 - a banner year in game manufacturing. Here's some of my favorites.

• Buck Rogers, 1934-1935, Dille. The pick of the crop includes three boards, each with unbelievable graphics. I have yet to see the pieces that come with this game.
• Submarine Drag, 1917, Willis G. Young. This one has great graphics and a fascinating fun theme.
• Troque, 1956, Selchow & Righter. The game, the original with wood pieces, is simple, and there's an abstract geometry that pleases the eye.
• Bug-Eyed Monsters, They Want Our Women!, 1983, West End Games. I've never played it, but I love the cover and the title. My favorite early title is from 1858 - Travels and Sojourns of Ichabod Solo Esquire Among the Pee-Wee Indians.
• Slink 'Em, 1947, James Industries. A game based on a Slinky!
• Colored Number Game, 1920, F.C. Phillips. When you have to store as many games as I do, you come to love small games like this miniature dice game in a 1 ½-inch diameter tin.
• Ripley's Believe it or Not! Game, 1984, Milton Bradley. This game is great for trivia buffs. I invented it while working at the time for Bradley. My current game on the market is Stealth, a two-player strategy game produced by Talicor. Write or email me with your favorite (see elsewhere in this feature for my addresses). A future column will include more favorites as well as reader's choices.

The preceding material was written by Bruce Whitehill. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.