About This Collection
Do you remember the WHOOSH?
If you were a kid at any point in the last 50 years, chances are you probably played a water game at some point. In the store as a demo, at a friend's house, or perhaps you even owned one.
Maybe you and a sibling or friend took turns trying to win, and you enlisted the help of an older relative, only for them too to become surprised that even they couldn’t finish it. But maybe you’re one of the patient few who after many tries were actually able to achieve that elusive win, and wore that achievement with pride. Or maybe you finally got frustrated enough at its deceptively simple layout and gave up playing it entirely, only to rediscover it years later in the garage or basement, and reminisce on it fondly, despite it all. Surely you’d be better at it today, you maybe thought, only to refill the game, sit down, press away at the buttons, and rediscover that same difficulty you knew so well. Perhaps that very game is one of the games on display.
Or maybe not.
But hey, some of you definitely know where I’m coming from.
Do you remember the WHOOSH?
If you were a kid at any point in the last 50 years, chances are you probably played a water game at some point. In the store as a demo, at a friend's house, or perhaps you even owned one.
Maybe you and a sibling or friend took turns trying to win, and you enlisted the help of an older relative, only for them too to become surprised that even they couldn’t finish it. But maybe you’re one of the patient few who after many tries were actually able to achieve that elusive win, and wore that achievement with pride. Or maybe you finally got frustrated enough at its deceptively simple layout and gave up playing it entirely, only to rediscover it years later in the garage or basement, and reminisce on it fondly, despite it all. Surely you’d be better at it today, you maybe thought, only to refill the game, sit down, press away at the buttons, and rediscover that same difficulty you knew so well. Perhaps that very game is one of the games on display.
Or maybe not.
But hey, some of you definitely know where I’m coming from.
How did I start collecting?
See, I myself was one of those kids I mentioned, though unfortunately like many of my other childhood toys, my original water games were lost to multiple moves and time.
In 2019 however, I had my interest reawakened while scrolling on eBay, having stumbled upon a few small games by chance, and found myself falling in love all over again with the simple yet endlessly entertaining nature of the toy. I began my new collection with the Handheld PC games, as I found their tech-mimicking look and silly backdrops quite charming, and the collection has been growing more and more ever since as my fascination continues to pique.
A majority of my collecting is done through buy-and-sell sites, many of the games I own being second hand and greatly varying in age. On the occasion I'm fortunate enough to travel however, I always try to find one I don't yet have to bring back with me, because luckily even after all this time, new ones are still being made.
How did I start collecting?
See, I myself was one of those kids I mentioned, though unfortunately like many of my other childhood toys, my original water games were lost to multiple moves and time.
In 2019 however, I had my interest reawakened while scrolling on eBay, having stumbled upon a few small games by chance, and found myself falling in love all over again with the simple yet endlessly entertaining nature of the toy. I began my new collection with the Handheld PC games, as I found their tech-mimicking look and silly backdrops quite charming, and the collection has been growing more and more ever since as my fascination continues to pique.
A majority of my collecting is done through buy-and-sell sites, many of the games I own being second hand and greatly varying in age. On the occasion I'm fortunate enough to travel however, I always try to find one I don't yet have to bring back with me, because luckily even after all this time, new ones are still being made.
What keeps me interested?
What has definitely added to the obsession is the fact that these toys are strangely under-documented, despite plenty of people expressing many fond memories of having them.
The toy company Tomy was responsible for skyrocketing the idea with the release of Waterful Ring-Toss, which was an instant hit. It’s no debate that Waterfuls easily became the most popular brand of water games, inspiring many other toy makers to try jumping on the popularity, some outright copying Waterfuls in the process. And yet, countless games under the Waterfuls brand are incredibly obscure, including ones inspired by it, and many are next to nonexistent on the web. I think it’s a shame really, and I’ve recently decided to archive and document as many water games as possible, starting with all the ones Tomy has made; a list that at the time of writing contains 120 confirmed finds, and soon likely many more.
What keeps me interested?
What has definitely added to the obsession is the fact that these toys are strangely under-documented, despite plenty of people expressing many fond memories of having them.
The toy company Tomy was responsible for skyrocketing the idea with the release of Waterful Ring-Toss, which was an instant hit. It’s no debate that Waterfuls easily became the most popular brand of water games, inspiring many other toy makers to try jumping on the popularity, some outright copying Waterfuls in the process. And yet, countless games under the Waterfuls brand are incredibly obscure, including ones inspired by it, and many are next to nonexistent on the web. I think it’s a shame really, and I’ve recently decided to archive and document as many water games as possible, starting with all the ones Tomy has made; a list that at the time of writing contains 120 confirmed finds, and soon likely many more.
What's next?
With all the information I've gathered over time, I quickly realized that I should really figure out a place to put it all, and a blog, while fun to have, simply wouldn't cut it for the sheer amount of stuff I'd need to post. Because of that, lately I decided to start teaching myself HTML to achieve my current goal of building a proper website that would fun
Collecting itself is a lot of fun for sure, but you may be thinking that all that seems just a bit stressful and maybe a bit much work for something like it, and wonder if it’s really worth it for me to be spending my time on such a thing. And I do get it, it is a bit silly after all! I'll be the first to admit that much. But it’s a fun kind of stress really, it keeps me occupied when I'm not busy, and I do think any media, even silly media, is worthy of documenting and recovering. In recent years there’s been a huge interest growing in finding lost media, mostly in the vain of TV, film, or internet related subjects, which is phenomenal! I think obscure physical media could use more of that same kind of enthusiasm, and if no one else will pour a ridiculous amount of hours into researching water games from nearly 50 years ago (because let’s admit it, there aren’t really a lot of folks out there to my knowledge who are), then I gladly will.
Everyone has their thing, and this one’s mine :]!
What's next?
With all the information I've gathered over time, I quickly realized that I should really figure out a place to put it all, and a blog, while fun to have, simply wouldn't cut it for the sheer amount of stuff I'd need to post. Because of that, lately I decided to start teaching myself HTML to achieve my current goal of building a proper website that would fun
Collecting itself is a lot of fun for sure, but you may be thinking that all that seems just a bit stressful and maybe a bit much work for something like it, and wonder if it’s really worth it for me to be spending my time on such a thing. And I do get it, it is a bit silly after all! I'll be the first to admit that much. But it’s a fun kind of stress really, it keeps me occupied when I'm not busy, and I do think any media, even silly media, is worthy of documenting and recovering. In recent years there’s been a huge interest growing in finding lost media, mostly in the vain of TV, film, or internet related subjects, which is phenomenal! I think obscure physical media could use more of that same kind of enthusiasm, and if no one else will pour a ridiculous amount of hours into researching water games from nearly 50 years ago (because let’s admit it, there aren’t really a lot of folks out there to my knowledge who are), then I gladly will.
Everyone has their thing, and this one’s mine :]!
Tidbits!
The smallest water game displayed would be the Water Game Twirlems Happy Holidays Pencil Topper. The aim of the game is to twirl the pencil to try and fill Santa’s bag with the green balls, which also take the cake for being the smallest play pieces out of the collection (the largest play pieces belonging to the Salem Cigarettes Water Puzzle). I actually restored this game myself, as the tank was dried out and Santa had broken off from the base when I first received it. Out of all the restorations for these I’ve done, this one required the most delicate work in order to not crack the thin plastic.
The largest water game displayed and arguably the jewel of my collection so far, is Geyper’s Water Pinball. I have only ever seen it for sale twice, and years apart at that. I couldn’t risk losing it the second time, and had to have it. It’s an ingenious design, having working flippers, a ball launcher, spinning pins, and a mechanism that allows the entire game to be reset at the push of a button, all through the power of water pressure. Fun fact: Pinball was actually banned in certain parts of the US from the 1940s until 1976, which just so happens to also be the year the oldest and most iconic game on display here, Tomy’s Waterful Ring-Toss, was released.
Tidbits!
The smallest water game displayed would be the Water Game Twirlems Happy Holidays Pencil Topper. The aim of the game is to twirl the pencil to try and fill Santa’s bag with the green balls, which also take the cake for being the smallest play pieces out of the collection (the largest play pieces belonging to the Salem Cigarettes Water Puzzle). I actually restored this game myself, as the tank was dried out and Santa had broken off from the base when I first received it. Out of all the restorations for these I’ve done, this one required the most delicate work in order to not crack the thin plastic.
The largest water game displayed and arguably the jewel of my collection so far, is Geyper’s Water Pinball. I have only ever seen it for sale twice, and years apart at that. I couldn’t risk losing it the second time, and had to have it. It’s an ingenious design, having working flippers, a ball launcher, spinning pins, and a mechanism that allows the entire game to be reset at the push of a button, all through the power of water pressure. Fun fact: Pinball was actually banned in certain parts of the US from the 1940s until 1976, which just so happens to also be the year the oldest and most iconic game on display here, Tomy’s Waterful Ring-Toss, was released.
Tidbits! (cont.)
As mentioned, several of the games displayed had to be restored, some of the worst offenders being the wheel-shaped "Dolphin" Water Game (their naming, not mine!) which came to me with a broken axle and tank full of nearly opaque murky water, as well as Playtime Kittens whose base was full of hundreds of old beetle shells, yuck! The latter's restoration isn't quite finished yet, and I intend to make a mold to cast a new stopper for it.
The Glo-Bear lives up to its name! It has a small LED bulb in its head that really glows when the dial on its paw is turned. Because of this, its the only game present to need batteries.
A good portion of the collection is sourced from all over the world! Notably, Geyper’s Water Pinball is from Spain, Totosha Hippo (a Soviet Era bootleg Waterful Pottamus Pit) from what’s now Ukraine, Tomy’s Charmy Water Furi Furi Piyochan and the full set of Kirby gachapon games from Japan, Tomy’s Hippopotamouth from France, and the Playful Teddies and Treasure Hunt Pop Cans from Greece- amongst others!
Can you find them all?
Tidbits! (cont.)
As mentioned, several of the games displayed had to be restored, some of the worst offenders being the wheel-shaped "Dolphin" Water Game (their naming, not mine!) which came to me with a broken axle and tank full of nearly opaque murky water, as well as Playtime Kittens whose base was full of hundreds of old beetle shells, yuck! The latter's restoration isn't quite finished yet, and I intend to make a mold to cast a new stopper for it.
The Glo-Bear lives up to its name! It has a small LED bulb in its head that really glows when the dial on its paw is turned. Because of this, its the only game present to need batteries.
A good portion of the collection is sourced from all over the world! Notably, Geyper’s Water Pinball is from Spain, Totosha Hippo (a Soviet Era bootleg Waterful Pottamus Pit) from what’s now Ukraine, Tomy’s Charmy Water Furi Furi Piyochan and the full set of Kirby gachapon games from Japan, Tomy’s Hippopotamouth from France, and the Playful Teddies and Treasure Hunt Pop Cans from Greece- amongst others!
Can you find them all?
Optional Survey:
Have you ever won/completed a water game?
Yes, several times
Yes, only once
Almost, got close
No, not once
No, I'm still not convinced these are winnable
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