Wasn’t I surprised to see this incredible game pop up in my neighborhood Facebook group this weekend. Some people’s trash is truly other people’s treasure, and I will treasure this one for a long time. I’ve been looking for a copy of this Godzilla board game for over a decade, and to have it practically fall into my lap while eating breakfast was surreal — now if I could just find the matching King Kong game…
Ideal released this game in 1963 when Godzilla was in his heyday and was raging across Tokyo and the world. This game is said to be the first Godzilla toy produced for the US market, and only the second Godzilla toy ever made, after a dart gun set that was released in Japan in 1955.
Like most of the board games of the time, the rules were simple and the board was fairly basic–but the graphics are definitely frame-worthy!
There are no dice here, just a nifty tri-colored spinner. Check out the eye-melting orange insert!
Too bad the playing pieces aren’t tiny little Kaiju, but these colorful cones get the job done.
The instructions are printed on the inside of the box lid, so that’s one less piece to lose. The object: “To get your marker to the Rocket Launch Area in order to fire the missile at Godzilla’s vital spots.”
This Godzilla board game is truly shelf-worthy, maybe not for its gameplay, but definitely for its looks. She’s a beauty, Clark.
That’s awesome! Love stuff like this
Wow, this is an awesome find. I had never heard of this game. The oldest Godzilla stuff I got is a copy of that orange Godzilla book by Ian Thorne from the late 70’s.
I have a 1963 Godzilla board game by IDEAL. The instructions are printed on a separate sheet. Am I correct in saying that the ‘rocket launching’ is simply a flick of the finger and that there is no actual launcher? I have the box, the spinner, the orange insert, 3 cones and 1 red disc. What is it worth? I’m looking to sell it. Thanks. -Mike
I forgot to mention I also have the board. -Mike
I think the “rocket launcher” is referring to the “rocket launch” area of the game board, in the upper right corner. This boardgames is very hard to find, and every Godzilla and monster collector would like to have it in their collection, so it’s one of the pricier board games out there. This would typically go for a few hundred dollars or more, depending on the condition.