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Hawk remembers...Like many here, I had this but never played (or even knew how) to play the game proper, I just ... More »
Posted on 08/09/09
Manufacturer:
The tales of origin vary. Some say it hails from the name of a biting insect in Malaysia, Polynesia, or some other pacific island. Others believe that it cursed the American occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the twentieth century. Still others believe it came out of the American trenches in Europe during the first World War. But one thing everyone could agree on was no matter where the term came from, Cooties were imaginary.
Born out of the combined ether of popular myth and individual imagination, Cooties became real enough in 1948. At that time, the parts and pieces were simply whittled from wood by their inventor, Herb Schaper. Schaper’s skill was so formidable that, contrary to common belief concerning whittling, he hand-crafted upwards of forty thousand complete games before handing over the duty to the manufacturers. Despite most children’s intense aversion to the imaginary version, the wood and plastic toy/game has enjoyed sustained success from its debut to the present.
Although while some of the fun may just come from giving the toy to another child and wildly proclaiming “Now you have Cooties!” the toy was first and foremost a game that even had an objective: Be the first one to build a complete critter and win. Simple enough that any pre-schooler could understand (which was good since the game was designed for and marketed toward that age group). Not only were children now playing with Cooties but they were also putting bugs together instead of pulling them apart! If Schaper were alive today, he’d have some explaining to do.
When one opened up a box of Cooties, what one found was a mess in need of sorting. This mess ultimately produced four large Cooties, brightly colored insects made up of a segmented body, a large head, a curly proboscis, two sloping antennae, to beady eyes, and of course, six spindly legs. The trick to constructing a Cootie was to roll the requisite dice the corresponded to each feature. For example, to gain a head, one would have to roll a two. A body was one, eyes were a two a piece, antennae were a three a piece, and the tongue was five. Naturally, each leg was a six, so low-rollers often came away from a game of Cootie with something that was more akin to a caterpillar than a cootie.
While lacking in strategy, Cootie never lacked for fun. Sure, tormenting insects is one of childhood’s great joys. Who would have thought that building them could be just as enjoyable?
