This game was utilitarian in the sense that it had the subtle goal of nurturing professional ciphers starting in childhood. The game helped introduce Soviet children to the basics of radio communication and cipher work.
This is by no means a unique Soviet invention as the game, in its most primitive pen-and-paper state, was created long before the introduction of electronic devices. When the console version of the game was introduced, it took the Soviet Union by storm. The Soviet-made electronic version of Battleship had inbuilt lights and sound effects.
In 1988, the Soviets cloned the classic Monopoly and turned it into a board game with a socialist twist, though the game remained just as competitive as originally intended because the underlying principle remained the same.
Long before the world heard of the Need for Speed, Soviet kids raced in their own way. This tabletop driving simulator used the rotating disk and the steering wheel to create the illusion of driving.
This is what the Soviet clone of the classic pinball looked like. The fundamental principle remained the same but the visual style was completely different. Here, the drawings were inspired by the iconic Russian folk fairytale Kolobok.
We all know the iconic Rubik's cube that took the world by storm. Yet, its twin-game called Rubik's snake was just as popular with Soviet kids as the original. A player had to twist and turn various parts of the whole to create different shapes and figures.
This is yet another puzzle akin to Rubik's snake. The game consisted of a cylindrical tower with freely rotating levels filled with balls of different colors. A player had to rotate the levels manually and then use one empty cell to line all the balls vertically by their colors.
Those came in all shapes and forms. The game’s purpose was to direct a ball into the center of the maze. Games of this kind had more than one ball and required a lot of skill and patience to play.
This game had a board representing the field and each figure player was mounted on top of an elastic spring. To “hit” the ball, players had to pull it away and let go, releasing the figure player who in turn “hit” the ball, directing it towards the gates of the opposite team. Due to the lack of a safety net, the ball often went off-site.
This board game did not have figures or players. Instead, it was equipped with a field, with two baskets protected by a plastic roof over the top. Players had to push buttons on each side to “hit” the ball with the help of a mechanical tool installed in the body of the board game.
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
Subscribe
to our newsletter!
Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox
