6 Things a Singaporean Kid do in the 80s

1) Nintendo GAME BOY

If you were born in the 80s, this will not be unfamiliar to you for sure.

Nintendo GAME BOY is a an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo in 1989. 

This was the coolest device you can own in the late 80s.  I could still remember how me and my brother saved our pocket money to buy one.

Game Boy started a revolution for portable gaming and my favorite game is Super Mario and Donkey Kong. If you are bored of the game, you can buy game cartridges to insert into the device to play.

2) Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game

I still remember there are card machine near my primary school which I can buy these cards.

Back then each card cost 20cents and depending on your luck you may get a special gold card which makes kid like me fascinated.

3) Block Catching

CAUGHT YOU!

What is block catching you may ask?

Block here is referring to HDB (Housing & Development Board) Block. And I remember me and my primary school classmates will often play block catching after school at the HDB block nearby our school. Normally the kids are split into 2 group and one group will be the Police and the other group will be the thieves. The Policeman's duty is to catch the Thieves and put them in jail. The designated area for the jail is usually at the lobby area of the HDB block. 

When the Thieves are caught, they are sent to the jail, where the other free Thieves can rescue them by touching their hands. But this is not an easy task, as the Policeman is always guarding around near the jail, waiting for other thieves to fall into his trap of saving the captured. But the free Thieves at the other end have to work together to distract the Policeman and lure him away. 

This game can be exhausting but really challenging.

4)  Goli (marble) Playing

This is one of the most common game for male students in the eighties which involving skills and accuracy. Typically played on sand, the marbles were placed in a drawn circle. All the players are to stand behind a straight line drawn several meters away and throw their marble to knock those marbles placed in the circle and each marble that was knocked out of the circle was a victorious claim. As if that was not exciting enough, some even resorted to put coins into the circle. And if you hit the coins out and the money goes to you too!

5) Rubber (Eraser) Playing

Still remember this erasers with flags?

They are not just for correcting mistakes in your schoolwork, students also use them to pit their 'tossing skills! I remembered I used to play with my classmate beside me when we find the lesson boring. 

How do we play this? Usually play within 2 players and you have to try to overcome the opponent by tossing the eraser on his/her. If it lands on top, you win.

6) Collect Saga (Love) Seed for love

Back then, school boys like me will collect Saga seeds in bottle and present them to the girl as a form of expressing our love. Best time to pick them will be after a heavy rain and there will be a lot of Saga Seeds fallen from the trees.

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I think a lot of such practices had already discontinued.

You don't see kids running and screaming around the corridor playing block catching anymore and they are more likely seen playing their iPad on the sofa or bed. 

Check out how kids react to GAME BOY!!!