Skateboard Construction System was released for the Sinclair Spectrum in 1988 by a company called Players Software in the Uk. Players had a reputation for low budget software. This game cost £1.99 with is roughly $10 today, adjusted for inflation and the pounds to dollars exchange in 1988. It must have been a flop, because you can’t find any video footage of gameplay, and people will play anything.

With a price of $80 (!) I thought this might be something special but it turns out that “Rara Bambola Skateboard Girl Vintage Anni 80 Avventura Daisy Tanya Hong Kong Nuova!” just translates to “Rare Vintage 1980S Skateboard Girl Doll, Daisy Tanya Adventure, Hong Kong, Brand New!” I did a little digging and couldn’t find anything rare, (or anything else) about it. The seller may be trying to past off as Dashing Daisy related, but it doesn’t get close to rising to that level of quality. It’s not Barbie’s little sister Skipper, nor Skipper’s friend Fluff, or even Cool Times Ken. It’s maybe a step above Skateboard Action Teen but I think it’s just another entry in a long line of cheap Barbie knockoffs. On the plus side, it does have “rooted hair and vinyl head.” Made in Hong Kond, labeled in English, but someone in Italy thinks they are worth a lot. What’s Tanya got to do with it?

It’s time for another installment of crap Commodore 64 skateboarding games, and this time I’m showing Skatin’ USA, a 1990 release by Atlantis Software, a UK company that would go out of business in 1992 after an 8 year stint. It looks like the premise of the game is an American kid on a skateboard battling English Punks. Seems like those two parties ought be be natural allies and not enemies!

I can’t make a simple post to save my life. This was going to a bundle about handful of crappy vintage computer games that weren’t interesting enough merit their own post. Curiosity killed my free time, and so here we are. In 1988 a 16 year old kid named James Closs programmed a crappy skateboard computer game for the Sinclair Spectrum called Skateboard Joust. He sold it to a publisher and made enough money to buy a car and have some cash during college. James had never stepped foot on a skateboard at the time, or actually played the game Joust. By his own admission the game wasn’t very good, and that always bothered him. 32 years later he released the sequel, Jetboard Joust on the Steam platform in 2020.

The Adventures of Willy Beamish is a classic point and click game developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-Line in 1991. From the game box, advertisements and splash screen you might think that skateboarding figures heavily in the storyline. I’ve scrubbed through hours of gameplay and I only found a few sequences. The frog is more important to the storyline, but that didn’t stop me from wasting a good chunk of time on this post. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve made a vintage video game post.

Don’t Bite the Pavement is clone of another mechanical game from Tony called Kongman. Game play vaguely resembles the video game Kong I suppose, but it’s all mechanical. There are buttons to punch activate pinball-like levers, and a battery that runs some of the steppers and the swinging guy on the top. You have to maneuver a metal ball through various stages all the way up to the top. Earlier on there are opportunities to get the timing wrong and have the ball return all the way to the beginning of the puzzle, but it seems like once you get past a certain point you’re pretty safe. If you do get to the end, the ball is returned to the star anyway. Kongman came out in 1982, but I’m not sure about Don’t Bite the Pavement. My guess is a little later because they were probably figuring out what to do with unsold stock.

– Thanks to Wesley for the pics

My sister sent me these pics and the text is lifted straight from the American Girl web site.

Isabel™ & Nicki’s™ 2-in-1 Tennis Court & Skate Spot for 18-inch Dolls  (Historical Figures.) Isabel and Nicki love heading to the park where they each can pursue their favorite sports. Isabel wants to learn to play tennis and show off her sportiness, and Nicki is determined to do tricks on her skateboard to impress the local skaters. Both twins can perfect their skills with this 2-in-1 tennis court and skate-spot set.

– Thanks to Ehales for the pics

When I published that old No Fit State post one of the characters caught my eye. I didn’t recognize Thrashor, and wasn’t sure if he was an actual thing or just one off made up for the pin, but it turns out it was some cross licensing from an outfit called 8-bit Zombie that makes mostly t-shirts and stickers, but also made a Thrashor action figure that looks pretty rad. More rad than their Rad Alf t-shirt and the Gremlins shirt that features Gizmo on a skateboard. They make some Screaming Hand variants too.

Spotted at a Daiso store in Redmond, Washington. The packaging sends mixed messages. On one side it says “Yeah!” but the other side says “Not a toy.” What is it then? A Unique puzzle eraser. I don’t care what they say, I’m putting this in the “toys” category. Erase and Destroy!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle spotted at the Goodwill in Forest Grove, Or. It was only $1.99 and now I’m regretting that I left it there, but I’m trying to downsize… I think his name is Michelangelo or Andy Warhol, possibly Jackson Pollock or maybe even Robert Indiana.