“Left hand red. Right foot yellow.”

Originally called “Pretzel”, Twister came out in 1966, in the middle of the swinging 60’s. It created quite a stir with retailers and some were apprehensive to display it on their shelves, believing it too sexy. It was invented by Reyn Guyer and Charles Foley.

It includes a vinyl mat with a 6 X 4 array of colorful circles and a spinner. Each turn consists of the moderator spinning a spinner, which gives a result matching a random color with a random element from the set (left hand, right hand, left foot, right foot). Each player must put the relevant bodypart on the relevant color spot. No two players body parts can share the same spot and if a player falls or touches an elbow or knee to the ground they are eliminated.

It is said that Johnny Carson was the impetus of the games success since he played it, on air, with Eva Gabor, in the spring of ‘66, and by Christmas it was the best selling game on the market. It became a huge toy fad and sold out just about everywhere. It wasn’t all good press, however, as tales that the nation’s teenagers were participating in naked Twister parties raised fears over the game. It blew over, of course, proving more of an urban myth then truth, and the game went on to sell over 3 million units in its first year.

It is believed that over 65 million people have played the game at one time or another, and Twister tournaments have become popular as fundraising events, especially for college kids and fundraisers.

As Weird Al would sing:

Spin the spinner and call the shot
Twister ties you up in a knot
That's twister
Yeah, twister

As always, play more games!