Reuben Klamer was among the most prolific toy and game creators of the modern era.
With over 200 toys and games to his credit, Klamer was unparalleled in his contribution to how the world plays!
Check out the entire collection of Games and Toys on iCollect:
Board and Party Games: https://www.icollecteverything.com/share/1426677/boardgame_Board~Games/main/title/
Toys and Dolls: https://www.icollecteverything.com/share/1426677/doll_Dolls/main/title/
Master List for Details of all Classic Toylab² Games and Toys
Licensed Exclusively by Toylab² (Intent-to-Use Trademarks are Pending with USPTO)
4 alarm game
An Exciting Fire Fighting Game!
4 Alarm: Exciting Fire Fighting Game” published by Milton Bradley and created by Reuben Klamer.
Overview:
• Theme: Firefighting strategy game
• Objective: Players respond to fires on a city grid by dispatching their fire trucks from different district stations, likely aiming to control or extinguish fires based on alarm levels (2, 3, 4 alarms).
• Components: Alarm markers, firehouse figures, colorful buildings, and a numbered board representing a town layout.
• Recommended age: 7–14
a game of pivot
A 2 to 4 Player strategy game of numbers for all ages! Created by Reuben Klamer for Milton Bradley in 1960
all the kings men game
A clever and exciting twist on the classic game of Chess!
Bash! A Real knockout game
BASH! A classic interactive smash and balance game for kids
A real knockout game of patience, skill, strategy and coordination!
Created by Reuben Klamer for Milton Bradley
bird brain game
A cagey card game created by Reuben Klamer for Milton Bradley.
Camp Granada Game (aka Alan Sherman's Camp Granada Game)
Camp Granada Game, a vintage board game from Milton Bradley, inspired by the famous 1963 novelty song “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” by Allan Sherman and created by Reuben Klamer.
A nostalgic journey through a crazy summer camp!
Game Overview:
• Title: Allan Sherman’s Camp Granada Game
• Publisher: Milton Bradley
• Year Released: 1965
• Target Age: 6 to 14
• Tagline: “A very funny GAME for boys and girls!”
Theme:
The game is a humorous and chaotic take on summer camp life, mimicking the song’s satirical and silly complaints about camp misadventures.
Gameplay:
Players drive around a board with a small red “Goofy Camper” bus, trying to pick up “icky” campers from various trouble spots like “Haircut Hut,” “Poison Ivy Grove,” and “Leaky Tent.” The goal is to fill your bus with kids and return home — with plenty of comical mishaps along the way.
Notable Features:
• Cartoon-style artwork heavily influenced by the song’s lyrics
• Plastic 3D camper bus and cardboard bunkhouses
• Wacky obstacle-filled board (e.g., crocodiles in the lake, barbers with giant shears)
Cultural Note:
This game was part of a wave of novelty-themed family games during the 1960s and capitalized on Allan Sherman’s popularity at the time. It’s now considered a collectible item, especially if complete and in good condition.
Reuben Klamer was directly involved in the creation of the Camp Granada Game.
His Role:
Reuben Klamer is credited as the inventor of the Camp Granada Game, which he developed in collaboration with Milton Bradley, the same company that published his most famous invention, The Game of Life. He worked closely with Allan Sherman, whose novelty song inspired the game, to translate the song’s humor into a playable board game format.
Notable Connections:
• The game was produced under Klamer’s “Key to Fun” branding (visible on the top left of the box), which was his signature line used on several of his Milton Bradley products.
• It demonstrates Klamer’s skill in adapting pop culture into commercial games, a trend he helped pioneer in the 1960s.
chase back game
Overview:
• Title: Chase Back
• Publisher: Milton Bradley Company
• Era: Mid-to-late 1960s
• Gameplay: Strategy-based, involving colorful pegs or pawns and a board that resembles logic or sequencing puzzles.
• Age Range: Marked “For Ages 10 to Adult”
Cherry Pie Game
The thrilling pie – filling fun game. To fill your slice, you must defy the ever so tricky rotating pie. Created in 1966 by Reuben Klamer for Transogram.
Drop In The Bucket Game
Drop in the Bucket Game! An exhilarating party game for adults and kids alike! Created by Reuben Klamer for Milton Bradley in 1966.
Easy Money Game
The Classic Game of Easy Money. Making money was never so easy!
Created by Reuben Klamer for Milton Bradley in 1956.
Erector Construction Set
Erector™ Construction Set
Including both The Master Builder’s Set and The Young Engineer’s Set.
Created by Reuben Klamer for Gilbert.
Game Of The States (1960)
Grand Slam Game
Grand Slam Game, a physical tabletop game involving launching balls or pucks onto a scoring platform. The tagline reads:
“You call the shots in this high-flying, high-scoring skill game.”
Reuben Klamer created and developed the Grand Slam Game. He is credited with creating this game as part of his prolific career in toy and game invention during the 1960s and 1970s.
Klamer worked extensively with companies like Ideal Toy Company (whose logo is visible on the box), and he was known for designing high-concept, hands-on games with innovative mechanical features—this game being one of them. Grand Slam fits his signature style: active, skill-based gameplay with tactile components.
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Summary of the Game:
• Released: Likely mid-to-late 1960s.
• Published by: Ideal Toy Corporation.
• Gameplay: Players use launch sticks to flip discs or pucks toward a raised scoring platform (as illustrated on the box cover and instructions).
• Objective: Aim for target zones to score points—requiring coordination and timing.
Game Of Hopscotch, The
Hang On Harvey! (1969 Reuben Klamer Original Version)
Hide 'n Thief Game
Hide ‘n Thief Game
A surprise game of hide and seek!
Created by Reuben Klamer for Whitman Games.
How To Succeed (Game)
Game Overview:
• Title: How to Succeed
• Publisher: Hassenfeld Bros., Inc. (now Hasbro)
• Tagline: “A family fun game with easy to understand rules…”
• Goal: Each player controls their own board and “succeeds” by acquiring:
• Life insurance
• A home
• A car
• Common stock
• Cash for a rainy day
It blends economic simulation and goal setting, similar in spirit to The Game of Life, but more grounded in everyday financial decisions rather than life milestones.
How to Succeed was created under the direction of Reuben Klamer, the same inventor behind The Game of Life. Klamer had a long-standing relationship with Hasbro and was instrumental in designing games that both entertained and educated. This particular title was part of Hasbro’s early push toward games focused on real-world skills and personal success — a notable cultural theme in 1960s America.
NIRTZ (aka The Game Is Nirtz)
SPLIT (An Intriguing Strategy Game)
SUMMIT: THE TOP LEVEL GAME OF GLOBAL STRATEGY
The players accumulate chips representing their overall power on the military, industrial or political spheres, and use those chips to exert pressure on other players. For example, you can ”demand” that a player withdraw his steel mills from a country you consider to be ”yours” by paying a chip (of any colour). The other player either complies or counters with a chip of his own. This can escalate until either player buckles. Escalate too much and you leave yourself open to ”attack” by other players later on.
Random events complicate matters. Alliances can be precious, but only one player will win…The game takes its name from the Summit events, which are scoring rounds.
Tilty Game
What's Cooking? (aka The What's Cooking? Game)
What’s Cooking? (aka The What’s Cooking? Game)
Whirl Out (Game)
Whirl Out Game
Publisher: Milton Bradley
Created by: Reuben Klamer
Description:
Whirl Out is a rotating wheel game where players try to get all their marbles balanced on the wheel without it turning and losing all the marbles down the chute. A spinner determines how many turns each player spins the wheel. As the box confirms, the tagline sums it up well: “Place your marbles on the wheel as directed by the spinner — you must keep the wheel from whirling for you to be a winner.”
It’s a dexterity/balance game for ages 7 to adult. The core tension is that each turn, the spinner dictates how many times the wheel must be spun, and players have to carefully place marbles in the numbered quadrants of the wheel to keep it balanced. If the wheel tips and whirls, the marbles fly off.
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