Red, yellow, green...aarrrggghh!

In 1966, the Milton Bradley Company released a new game called TWISTER. It was the first game that used players’ bodies as playing pieces, requiring them to bend and stretch in challenging positions. The object of the game was to outmaneuver your opponents by placing your hands and feet on the colored circles as directed by the spinner.

To begin, each player places one foot on a yellow circle and the other foot on a blue circle that are nearest their TWISTER end. Spin the spinner to find out if you move a hand or foot and to which color. But watch out! Anyone who falls, or lets an elbow or a knee touch the mat, is out of the game. The winner is the last player who is able to stay balanced on the mat.




Milton Bradley had low expectations for TWISTER’s success and at first, game sales was slow. But an appearance on the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson changed everything. On May 3, 1966 Carson played a game of TWISTER with his guest for that evening, Eva Gabor.
The audience went wild with laughter as the two celebrities stretched their bodies into unusual positions, challenging each other’s dexterity. The sight of Johnny sprawled on the mat with Eva Gabor sent Americans rushing to stores to buy their own TWISTER. Later that year, 3 million copies of the game were sold to households across America. Milton Bradley had a winner on their hands!

TWISTER’s popularity continues today with an estimated 65 million people worldwide having played the game. Due to popular demand, new and exciting versions of TWISTER have been introduced in recent years that capture the same spirit of laugh-out-loud fun