The Best 80s Toys and Board Games That Are Back in Fashion!

The Best 80s Toys and Board Games That Are Back in Fashion!

Whether you were a child of the eighties, or you’re obsessed with the popular culture from this era, there’s no denying it produced some classics.

And we’re not just talking about Wham! and the Pet Shop Boys. No, the 80s also gave us many other hits, like the Care Bears, My Little Pony, and some of the best classic family board games on the planet. I mean, who doesn’t remember a boring afternoon playing Mastermind with a sibling – it was a rite of passage.

If you’re a parent, you might well remember growing up with these classics, which is why so many are making a comeback. The toy industry is loaded with nostalgia, and now that many 80s children are of parent age, they are looking for toys that once brought them fond memories to pass on to their children.

So without further ado, let’s take a throwback look at the top board games from the 1980s, that are once again back in fashion for 2023 and a whole new generation to discover.

Best 80s Board Games:

• Hungry Hippos
• Trivial Pursuit, Classic
• Guess Who
• 80s Board Game
• Pac-Man Monopoly Arcade
• Mastermind
• Operation
• The Crystal Maze
• Care Bear Playing Cards

Hungry Hippos

Taking the theme of ‘greed is good’ to the next level (so eighties!), Hungry Hippos is an unmissable fun family board game to play whatever your age. The four-player game invites players to gobble up as many balls as possible, beating the other opponents in the process.

This is one game that gets very fast, furious and competitive. Proving its staying power, Hungry Hippos has never really gone out of fashion – snap it up quick – you need it in your board game cupboard.

Trivial Pursuit, Classic

Although it strictly came out in the late 70s, the 80s was really the era when Trivial Pursuit came into its own. Would you believe that today, it’s still one of the bestselling family board games Amazon has to offer too. Here’s why, the game is cleverly constructed with a board and pie, which contains six pieces to fill.

And yes my friend, this one gets highly competitive. Roll the dice, land on a topic and answer a question to win a piece of the pie. These range from general knowledge to history, sports and leisure, and some of these are completely obscure. Once you get all six pieces you can progress to the centre of the board and claim first place.

In the years since its launch, there have been many different iterations and editions of the game to look out for, as well as subsidiary question packs to keep it fresh and interesting. However, there’s something about the classic game that always gets our vote.

Guess Who

In a time before ‘Face Tune’ apps and TikTok, children were gently amused by looking at pictures of made-up characters on Guess Who. Don’t pretend you didn’t have a favourite – was it Eric!? We digress. This 80s classic has stood the test of time, appealing to every new generation as they stumble across its entertainment value.

There are compact versions for taking on holiday, as well as the original, perfect for lazy days at home. The aim of the game is to whittle down the characters through a series of questions and answers. Except it always ends up getting silly, half the fun is throwing out bizarre questions that somehow only siblings know the answer to.

Nonetheless, there’s magic in this simple board game for family time that is precious. Enjoy every minute.

80s Board Game

Now this is a twist on words. Not strictly a board game from the eighties, but rather a board game about the 80s. However, it’s so much fun, and one of the top family board games Amazon has, that we had to include it. If you think you know your stuff, and definitely everything there is to know about the 80s, then why not put it to the test?

This is a proper throwback in time, which includes 500 trivia questions spanning popular culture, sports, TV, music and movies from the era. So dust off your leg warmers and stock up on Tizer, this is going to take you back in time, to perhaps simpler times.

Pac-Man Monopoly Arcade

Bringing together an arcade classic with one of the best family board games of all time is genius. This 80s mesh of worlds colliding is everything you need for a fun night in, plus it also doubles up as a thoughtful gift for friends. Monopoly fans will not be disappointed with this makeover, which follows the same theme.

The main exception is that instead of playing for money, you’re playing for points. Moving around the board, beware the Ghost and other distractions, as you advance to or steal a Level, depending on which space you land on.

Pac-Man Monopoly even comes with a super cute arcade unit, where you insert your plastic coin before playing, ensuring the gaming theme is brilliantly incorporated.

Mastermind

When you’re craving the best classic board games from the 80s, Mastermind is one you might be familiar with. Using logic, reasoning and lots of fiddly balls to pin to the board, you have to make and break codes.

It’s great fun if your child is into code cracking of any type, and in this day and age, it’s refreshing that it’s not online either. This is best described as a battle of wits, that will ultimately decide the winner.

Operation

Calling all budding doctors and nurses, it’s time for a game of Operation. The hip bone is connected to the thigh bone… or at least that’s how the song goes. In this classic 80s game, players have to pick cards that inform them of which body organ to remove in an operation. It all sounds good… except that the tongs are wired up to a buzzing alarm.

Using a steady hand and the smallest space known to man, players have to carefully pluck out body parts. But one failed move and the board buzzes with a very mild shock! It’s a highly entertaining game that never fails to entertain – just be prepared for lots of loud shrieks.

The Crystal Maze

Somewhere in the late 80s and early 90s Richard O’Brien was terrifying teens with his unique sense of humour and unusual attire. This led to a huge cult-like following of The Crystal Maze on TV – a show that has endured decades in its many forms.

One of these includes the new family board game, which despite its makeover, still has a late 80s look about it! Suitable for 10+ years old, players encounter a series of challenges in a maze. The board game includes everything you need from riddle cards to a double-sided board, puzzle pieces and so forth.

In a game of wit, there’s mind-boggling puzzles and mental challenges that will ensure the best-equipped team makes it through to the final. If you always wanted to grab as many gold tickets as possible, here’s your chance (if you know, you know!).

Care Bear Playing Cards

If you didn’t have a Care Bear, you weren’t a child of the eighties, fact! The cult of Care Bears transcended gender and age, it was an 80s classic that is still much-loved to this day. The Care Bears all have their individual theme which captures and expresses human emotions. This works particularly well when it comes to card games.

You can now buy Care Bear Playing cards, which feature all your favourite characters throughout. In keeping with a deck of 52 cards, they feature King, Queen, Joker, Ace and so forth – and can be used to play a number of typical card games.

However, they are beautifully themed and illustrated with different characters, making them a lovely gift to treasure as well as play with.

Family board game for all ages:

Rebooted for Gen-Z (how old do you feel?!), Ghost Castle was at one point the must-have Christmas gift, and Argos even had queues around it as demand peaked. The good news is that today you can simply go online and within a few clicks, have it delivered to your doorstep. Ah, thank goodness for technology!

What we especially love about the updated version is that it hasn’t veered away from the original by any measure. Centred around a spooky haunted 3D house, the race is on to be the first to escape.

But with traps and ghouls at every turn, it’s not quite so straightforward. There are five room traps in all, with a glow-in-the-dark ghost. If not for Halloween, then for your own personal pleasure, this is an eighties board game you won’t regret buying!