A trip down memory lane: 1980's Zaxxon Rub-Off Cards...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

If you grew up in the early 1980's (1982-1984 to be exact), the American baseball card manufacturers, Topps and Fleer, produced a series of "Rub Off Game Cards" that were essentially "low-tech" versions of your favorite arcade games...only in pocket baseball card size format.

By heading to the candy/bubble gum aisle of your favorite store, one could pick up several packs of "rub-off" games to enjoy at his or her's leisure. Of course, quarters were scarce in the early 1980's because they went to feed those hungry full-sized arcade game cabinets anyways. ^_~

For fifty cents per pack of Fleer or Topps "Rub Off Game Cards", you'd not only get about three or four "Game Cards" but a small stick of bubble gum to chew away while one played the game cards. Of course, the bubble gum wouldn't last very long and turn quite flavorless after a few minutes of chewing. ^_~

One of those rub-off game cards was Zaxxon. Based on the classic 1982 Sega arcade upright, one could buy such "rub-off" game cards of Zaxxon and try defeat the evil Zaxxon robot once and for all! Zaxxon was the only shmup inspired rub-off game card to be produced...but what such fond memories of playing with those rub-off game cards. ^_~

One could get a variety of rub-off game cards based on your favorite arcade games of the early 1980's such as:

Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Frogger
Turbo
Zaxxon
Donkey Kong

I'm pretty sure that Fleer and Topps paid some serious $$$ to get the exclusive rights to print & distribute those intellectural properties directly from the arcade game manufacturers themselves such as: Bally Midway MFG Co., Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Sega Enterprises Ltd. (at the current time of 1982-1984) for such "rub-off" game cards that bear the likeness of said arcade game title.

The objective was to score as much points before you died "three" times and the "rub-off" game card was "game over". By counting how many icons scratched "off", one would add up all the points and that would be the "high score" for that particular rub-off game card.

Of course, by holding to a bright light source, one could cheat his or her way and score the maximum number of points without scratching off the "dreaded" enemy icons (which would subtract one 1 life from the 3 lives given to the player at the start of a rub-off game card session).

Fleer and/or Topps should re-release some of these old retro 1980's rub-off game cards again for old times sake -- the original 1980's produced unscratched "rub-off" game cards still sealed in packs fetch some serious $$$ on eBay to this very day.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Twiddle]

good to know

[Dave_K.]

I'm not sure if I remember rub-off cards, but I know I still have some of my old Pac-Man sticker cards that came in a pack of gum.

[HayakawaKen]

*snicker* I could only imagine something like DDP or Mushihimesama being made into a scratchoff card... big poster sized with like 400+ little scratch off points *lol* plus how would you maintain a chain on a scratch off card?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I'm not sure if I remember rub-off cards, but I know I still have some of my old Pac-Man sticker cards that came in a pack of gum.

For Dave K.,

What you have are the left-over remains of what used to be included with a brand new pack of rub-off games:

3 rub-off game cards

3 sticker cards

1 piece of stick bubble gum

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Daigoro]

wow, blast from the past!

i totally remember these. not sure if i ever played the Zaxxon one or not though. my dad was a huge Zaxxon fan though (still is, id love to get him a cab one day...), so he may have picked up a few packs for me to play with.

i loved all of that 80's video game paraphanalia though. they had some wacky stuff back then.

edit: oh yeah those pac man stickers. i had a bunch of those for sure. man, pac man was HUGE back then.