Let’s twist again… ‘Twister’ turns 50

It seems like yesterday that I was a kid playing Twister with my friends and getting all knotted up on that big bright sheet in the middle of the games room; almost twisting arms and legs to the point of breaking them! Alas, no such injuries were sustained, though I was careful to trial the game again recently when it arrived in the form of its 50th Anniversary Edition.

Yep, Twister has turned 50. That twisty turvy floor-game boasting the big coloured dots celebrates half a century this year.

Thing is, while most retro games hold onto minimalist aspects of their original aesthetic as they evolve to appeal to contemporary markets, the Twister mat and spinner pretty much look the same as they did all those years ago. There are, however, two new ways to ‘rock the spots’, as they say.

It seems like yesterday that I was a kid playing Twister with my friends and getting all knotted up on that big bright sheet in the middle of the games room; almost twisting arms and legs to the point of breaking them! Alas, no such injuries were sustained, though I was careful to trial the game again recently when it arrived in the form of its 50th Anniversary Edition.

Yep, Twister has turned 50. That twisty turvy floor-game boasting the big coloured dots celebrates half a century this year.

Thing is, while most retro games hold onto minimalist aspects of their original aesthetic as they evolve to appeal to contemporary markets, the Twister mat and spinner pretty much look the same as they did all those years ago. There are, however, two new ways to ‘rock the spots’, as they say.

And now here’s an interesting tidbit: Twister was the world’s first game to use players as ‘pieces’. It first came to market in 1966 and gained fame when Tonight Show host Johnny Carson challenged celebrity guest Eva Gabor to a game. The mind boggles at the thought of Carson literally getting tangled into knots with the very wild Gabor…

Back to the here and now, Twister makes for a fab family gift, available from authorised retailers listed at www.hasbro.com, RRP $39.99.

Spin that wheel!  Lisa Andrews