This month, I am honoring the premiere anniversaries of many classic TV shows. Check back frequently for episode recaps, fan magazine articles, special editions of Spin Again Sunday, and more. I will also be posting unique content on Facebook and Instagram.
Several classic TV shows celebrate broadcast anniversaries today–Bonanza, The Bugaloos, The Monkees, Lassie, Family Affair. Choosing which one to focus on was a no-brainer.
Today’s Game: The Family Affair Game.
Copyright Date: 1971.
Manufactured By: Whitman. (Remco made another, much more rare, Family Affair game. After years of trying to acquire it for a reasonable price, I finally purchased it last week. It will get the spotlight in a future installment of this series.)
Recommended Ages: 6 to 10.
Object: Be the first player to find Mrs. Beasley.
Box: A lovely pastel-colored portrait of Buffy and Jody playing in the park. Jody’s head looks weird and misshapen, yet it’s still one of the best Johnnie Whitaker likenesses I’ve seen on Family Affair collectibles. In the background, French looks younger, thinner, and somehow more sinister than his TV self. Speaking of sinister…
Bwa-ha-ha! They’ll never find me!
Game Board: Buffy and Jody’s favorite place, Central Park, comes to life in appealing illustrations. The zoo, a lake, a garden, and a playground dominate the scene.
The board, with closeups of its four park settings.
Disembodied Cissy, French, Buffy, and Jody heads float in the middle of the board.
At least, I think this is supposed to be Cissy.
Game Pieces: These are also Cissy, French, Buffy, and Jody.
We even get to see their backsides, so to speak.
The game also includes a spinner and, as we will see, eight cards.
The spinner.
Game Play: To set up the game, players place the cards face-down in designated spaces. On his turn, each player spins and moves his pawn toward a card space. If he lands on one by exact count, he turns the card over.
The card images are pretty random. They look like they’d fit in with the artwork at Chez Davis, though.
The winner is the person who turns over one particular card.
If I’d seen this as a kid, I’d still be having nightmares.
Other posts you might enjoy:
Embarrassing Treasures 
How come there’s no Uncle Bill game piece?
Mrs. Beasley looks extremely creepy here. I’m not so sure I’m NOT going to be having nightmares tonight.
I wondered about Uncle Bill’s absence, too. Maybe it’s because he hardly ever takes the kids to the park.