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Twister (game)
Encyclopedia
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. It is played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has four rows of large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, blue, and green. A spinner is attached to a square board and serves to shows where the player has to put their hand or foot. The spinner is divided into four labeled sections: right foot, left foot, right hand, and left hand. Each of those four sections is divided into the four colors (red, yellow, blue, and green). After spinning, the combination is called (example: right hand yellow) and players must move their matching hand or foot to a dot of the correct color. In a two-player game, no two people can have a hand or foot on the same circle – the rules are different for more players. Due to the scarcity of colored circles, players will often be required to put themselves in unlikely or precarious positions, eventually causing someone to fall. A person is eliminated when they fall or when their elbow or knee touches the mat. There is no limit to how many can play at once, but more than four is a tight fit.
History and analysis
Twister was submitted for patent by Charles F. Foley and Neil Rabens in 1966, and became a success when Eva GaborEva Gabor
Eva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. She was widely known for her role on Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Duchess in the 1970 Disney film The Aristocats, and Miss Bianca in Disney's The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under...
played it with Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
on television's Tonight Show on May 3, 1966. However, in its success, Twister was also controversial. The company that produced the game, Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
, was accused by its competitors of selling "sex in a box". That accusation was probably because Twister was the first popular American game to use human bodies as playing pieces.
Although Twister was patented by Charles F. Foley and Neil Rabens, sources also mention a man by the name of Reyn Guyer. He claimed to come up with the idea for Twister while working on a Johnson’s Shoe Polish promotion at his father’s design company. It is said that Guyer originally called this new game idea Pretzel, but that Milton Bradley changed the name to Twister before they put it on the market.
However, this claim that Reyn invented Twister is said to be false. According to the United States patent office, there is no link between Twister and the name Guyer. Foley and Rabens are credited with the invention, and their names are the only names attached to the patent. Their only link to Guyer is that they were employees of his father’s company.
As a phenomenon
Twister, much like its counterpart the hula hoopHula hoop
A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck.Although the exact origins of hula hoops are unknown, children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history...
, was one of the many toy fad phenomena that came about in the second half of the 20th century. Microsoft Encarta
Encarta
Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation from 1993 to 2009. , the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive contents, timelines, maps and...
labels Twister as being an "industry phenomenon" that "briefly captures the public’s imagination, and sells in the millions". Being one of the earliest toy fads and a "national craze for a short time," Twister was a game that was able to bring all age groups together, whether children or adults. Twister being both globally spread and highly popular is unlike other games of its stature, in the sense that it is accepted by all social classes. In an article by Peterson and Simkus, they state, "While the evidence of the first half of this century suggests strong links between social status and cultural taste, there is growing evidence that there is no longer a one-to-one correspondence between taste and status group membership in advanced postindustrial societies like the United States." Typically, people who exhibit high cultured tastes encompass more diverse ideals, as well as a wider range of resources; whereas low cultured people tend to have a more narrow range of tastes and less access to resources. While having such distinct differences between high and low cultures, Twister is able to break the barrier and appeal to both demographics of people.
Globalization
Twister has been seen as a prime example of how globalizationGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
is able to influence culture, and how the different variations of the game reflect elements of cultural diversity. In an article by sociologists Ben Carrington, David L. Andrews, Steven J. Jackson and Zbigniew Mazur, they state, "…interpretations of the cultural impact of globalization can be classified into two distinct theoretical camps: the economic and the cultural camps." From an economic standpoint, Twister does not exclude any socioeconomic demographic, and has very little cultural resistance, seeing as it can be easily understood globally by all cultures.
Records
Since its release, many active participants have tried and succeeded in setting records for the most contestants in a game, and the largest combined amount of Twister game mats. The World's Largest Twister Mat was put together on June 18, 2010 in Belchertown, MA on the Belchertown High School football field. It consisted of 1008 Twister mats donated by Hasbro and measured 244.7 feet X 99.10 feet for 24156 square feet (2,244.2 m²). The purpose of the record breaking Twister Mat was to kick off a fundraising drive for Jessica's Boundless Playground. , ,The previous record, as cited by the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest game of Twister included 4699 square feet (436.6 m²) of mats that were combined together. Prior to that, the largest game was played in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in April 2005 with 2453 square feet (227.9 m²) of mats. The record for the largest number of contestants in a game of Twister occurred in 1987 with 4,160 contestants tangling themselves at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Use in fund-raising
Twister tournaments are used as a source of philanthropic events put on by college fraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
to raise money for a charitable cause. Many of these Greek tournaments are held annually, and are a good way to get involved with the community. Some of the Greek organizations that partake in these tournaments include: Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...
of Cornell University, Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
at Villanova, Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...
at Ball State University and Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...
at Missouri State University.
Accessibility
Twister has been criticized for being unnecessarily inaccessible to blind and color-blind players. Some creative individuals have responded by creating new versions. There are publicly available instructions on how to alter a Twister game so as to be accessible to color-blind individuals and to completely blind individuals.In popular culture
- Twister is featured in Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip when Dexter's parents play it. Also Twister appears in an earlier episode, "Game for a Game", where Dexter and Dee-Dee play different games; however, to avoid copyright, the game was called "Knotty Bodies". Their rules are slightly different as some of the calls are unorthodox combinations such as "Right Nose Green".
- In the "The Man Who Forget His Hand Was a Bomb" sketch from the the MadMad (TV series)MAD is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities and other media using various types of...
TV series, the man is playing Twister with a woman. - Twister is also seen in the film U Turn when crazy mechanic Darrell plays it alone.
- Musician "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
has a song "Twister" on his Even WorseEven WorseEven Worse is the fifth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1988. The album was the fifth produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer...
album about the board game, done in a style parody of early Beastie BoysBeastie BoysBeastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
. - In Bill & Ted's Bogus JourneyBill & Ted's Bogus JourneyBill & Ted's Bogus Journey is a 1991 American science fiction comedy film, and the directing debut of Peter Hewitt. It is the second film in the Bill & Ted franchise, and a sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin reprise their respective roles...
, the title characters challenge DeathDeath (personification)The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
to a challenge so they can get out of Hell. One of these games is Twister, where Bill and Ted ultimately defeat Death. - R.E.M.R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
's song "Man on the MoonMan on the Moon (song)"Man on the Moon" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from its 1992 album Automatic for the People. The song makes numerous references to the performer Andy Kaufman, including his Elvis impersonation and work with wrestlers Fred Blassie and Jerry...
" features the lyrics "let's play Twister, let's play RiskRisk (game)Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
". - In Honey and CloverHoney and Cloveris a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chika Umino. It is also known as and H&C. It is published by Shueisha, initially serialized from June 2000 to July 2006 in the magazines CUTiEcomic, Young YOU, and Chorus, and collected in ten bound volumes...
, Morita decides to make his own version of a Twister mat with way too many colors. - In Season 1 Episode 4 of FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, the main characters play Twister. - The tv game show Family Game NightFamily Game Night (TV series)Family Game Night is a television series based on Hasbro's family of board games. The show is hosted by Todd Newton, and also features announcer Burton Richardson. The 60-minute program debuted on October 10, 2010 on the new channel, The Hub, formerly Discovery Kids; it was previewed on October 9,...
on The HubThe Hub (TV network)The Hub is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that launched on October 10, 2010. The channel, which replaced Discovery Kids, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro...
uses the game "Twister Lights Out" – a combination of Twister and "Lights OutLights Out (game)Lights Out is an electronic game, released by Tiger Toys in 1995. The game consists of a 5 by 5 grid of lights. When the game starts, a random number or a stored pattern of these lights is switched on. Pressing any of the lights will toggle it and the four adjacent lights...
" – as one of their minigames. - In an episode of the Canadian television series Corner Gas, Brent has several fantasies about spending more time with his parents. In one fantasy, Brent imagines himself playing twister with them.
- In Sailor MoonSailor MoonSailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
episode 117, the Witches 5Death BustersThe ' are a group of antagonists in the Sailor Moon metaseries. They are the primary villains of the third story arc, called Mugen in the manga and S in the anime...
are seen playing Twister, with Cyprine as referee. - In SkinsSkins (TV series)Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
season 3, episode "Pandora", Pandora and Cook play Twister before having sex.