Mall Madness Continues Unabated!

Mall Madness

I swear that I was not a teenaged girl in the ’80s (Tiffany tapes aside…) and didn’t typically make a habit of playing with dolls or anything, but I used to really want a copy of Mall Madness.

Who knew they still *made* this?

There were so many great board games in the ’80s that are now long out of print–Fireball Island was my personal favorite, and I still play it somewhat regularly despite missing half of the pieces–that I’m kind of shocked that this bizarre ode to consumerism has managed to stick around for over twenty years. I always likened the Mall Madness mall to the layout of my favorite local mall, the Gruen-designed Rhode Island Mall, a sign that even then I was more interested in the architecture and social function of the center than to the “shopping” necessarily. Interestingly, this odd little game has actually managed to outlive a sizeable number of its real-life breathren, including the aforementioned Rhode Island Mall which sits around rotting nowadays. Looking at the user comments, it appears I wasn’t the only little dude who wanted this thing:

My family is probably way off the demographic map for this game. My 6 yr old son picked out this game much to my husband’s dissatisfaction (he wanted him to get a nerf target shooter). Well, we all had a total BLAST playing this game!!

If you’re still looking for a Christmas gift for a fellow mall lover, you might want to pick this one up. I’m ashamed to admit I wouldn’t mind playing around with it a little myself… for a few minutes, maybe…

Author: Caldor

Jason Damas is a search engine marketing analyst and consultant, and a freelance journalist. Jason graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a minor in Music Industry. He has regularly contributed to The Boston Globe, PopMatters.com, Amplifier Magazine, All Music Guide, and 168 Magazine. In addition, he was a manager for a record store for over two years. Currently, he focuses on helping companies optimize their web sites to maximize search engine visibility, and is responsible for website conversion analysis, which aims to improve conversion rates by making e-commerce websites more user-friendly. He lives in suburban Boston.

12 thoughts on “Mall Madness Continues Unabated!”

  1. I had no idea they made that either. The Mall Tycoon game series is going strong as well. … I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have actual executives from some of the mall companies sit down and play these games and see how they do.

  2. First thing I thought of was the Hannah Montana version of this game (but someone beat me to it). It was on sale at Toys R Us recently. It’s very popular (as is anything with that marketing whore, Hannah Montana).
    I also particularly enjoy the Mall Tycoon game. 🙂
    Scott

  3. It’s been a long time since I thought about this game (or played a board game for that matter). Looks like fun.

  4. I wanted this board game too when I was younger.

    I also have the Mall Tycoon series…..well the first two titles anyways. They’re a bit fun, if somewhat buggy and have flaws. ie: no ‘two-sided’ storefronts to fill out corner spaces….lots of jewelry stores and food tenants take up these slots, ‘food court’-sized spaces, and the ‘department stores’ work oddly..in both games.

    Then again, they’re set in a virtual world….they’re not meant to resemble realism.

    I have so many ideas for a ‘perfect’ simulation / game, but it’s all locked away in my mind, and I’d hate to spin this off topic.

  5. I used to have a mini version of a mall board game. It was when they had a few different games that folded up into little cassette tapes. It had little magnetic peg pieces.It may have been called Mall Madness too but I don’t remember for sure.

    I have not played this large version but I do have a young niece who I might get this for when she’s old enough to play board games.

    I also have several of the Mall Tycoon type PC games. I wish they did a better job with making them but at least someone tried.

  6. I have one of the earlier copies, with the pink and purple box. It’s so funny to see items like “cassette tape” listed on the shopping card. It’s a fun period piece from my childhood, and my friends and I drag it out every once in a while.

  7. I have “The Mall Game” that was mentioned by Jonah.

    Never played it, but it’s cool to have around for the graphics and long-lost stores.

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