Perfection

Perfection

Synopsis of Toy

Some games are empowering. They’re complimentary, they’re warmly effusive…some of them build your esteem up and convince you that yes, even you can own four railroads and a handful of hotels someday. But with other games, that old “tough love” tactic goes to work. These games punish, but they punish because they “care.” They poke and prod at your ego, but in so doing, whip you into better game-playing shape. In this latter category belongs Lakeside’s early 1970’s Perfection—for players at the ripe old age of five and up (because anybody younger than that might not be able to brush their prideful selves back off again after a couple of rough losses).

Oh, okay, it wasn’t quite that bad. But there was a certain severity about it, you have to admit. Inside the Perfection box came the game cabinet, a slew of geometrically shaped pieces and another slew of ‘cover cards.’ Each card was peppered with a different arrangement of holes, so to start the game, seekers of that elusive perfection chose a cover card, affixed it to the cabinet, and then turned that timer on and went to town. As precisely as they could, players hurriedly jammed the pieces into their corresponding holes. And if they didn’t do it in the space of time that was allotted by that unforgiving ticking clock, the pop-up tray sprung up and all the pieces went a-flying. Game over.

In 1979, Lakeside issued a computerized version of their tough love game. Now with the added pressure of sound effects and flickering lights, players chose one of the four games (Countdown, Brain Bottle, Black Hole and Light Race) and tested their smarts. It was akin to the memory game Simon, but with a few more spins on the standard ‘repeat from memory’ concept. For the advanced players, there was also Super Perfection, which forced perfectioneers to fit pieces together even before they tried to put them in the board holes.

So choose your poison: electronic or traditional, regular or super, batteries or not. Perfection cultivated nimble hands and nimble minds, and the game’s built-in parenting methods, be they a buzzer or a pop-up tray, would invariably make you a player to be reckoned with.

Release History of Toy

early 1970's - Perfection
1979 - Electronic Perfection
Super Perfection

Sub Categories of Toys

games
electronic games

Toy and Game Manufacturer

Lakeside Toys

Other Toy Links