This Old Games That Doesn’t Suck Thursday features a board/plastic/toy/game that somehow does not get produced anymore while garbage like *grumble grumble* still exists.  Battledome is one of the best games ever and you don’t even know it yet.

I could go on for hours why this game is awesome.  Essentially it’s four-player competitive pinball taking place in a giant mesh cave (the mesh exists to keep stray balls in place).  The surface is curved in such a way that each side slopes away from the centre.  The top is an eggtimer that drops yellow and black balls into the dome area.  Your controls are two pinball flippers which block small containers to capture the balls that fall past your flippers.  The person with the least amount of balls at the end of the game wins.

There are a few interesting things about this game.  The first is that it truly is an action/board game and it works.  I love Crossfire and all but I feel like its a bit restricting in gameplay because you have to keep refilling your gun with little tiny marbles.  This game requires none of that.  Hungry Hungry Hippoes has no real player-to-player strategy so it’s difficult to be directly competitive .  This game manages to thwart both of these problems.

And let’s talk features for a moment.  The guard rails they give you in the package allow you to play 2/3 player when you can’t find four people.  The bells and pinwheels built in to the game provide constant obstacle even when micromanaging your side.  The black balls included among the yellow balls are really hard to see and provide a larger ball penalty.  The purple ramps between sides ensure that side players receive balls easier across the playing field.

This game cost $50 at retail.  I’m sure it costs more now as a collectors item but this game was awesome.