Charley 'n Me

[Tinplate6]

For the longest time I wondered; who is Charley? I mean, I've seen him before, usually in very poor condition, but who was he really? I always assumed he was just another plastic robot figure with an odd wistful expression, without a purpose...now I stand corrected.

I recently picked up a near mint "Charley 'n Me" game...a game? I never knew he was part of a game. It all came in a huge cardboard box with bright graphics and a photo of two kids looking...amazed?

Inside was a large plastic console with a dial, several plastic game pieces, three brightly colored cardboard overlays, and of course...Charley.

The first thing I noticed was that he had a clear fluorescent orange disk on his head and antennae, which were always missing from any examples I'd seen. He stands 15 inches tall, and is made from dense, hollow, high-impact plastic. The only moveable parts are his red arms.

The console is black plastic and has a circular rotor with a stepper motor, with a small stand attached for Charley to put his feet.

When attached, Charley's hands insert into the board to activate the game play.

The best game is the horse race. It consists of four concentric rings, the outside two are active, the inside two are not. The first track is for the player, and the horse has brass tabs to register position on contacts that run around the outside. The second track is Charley's, and holds the magnetized horse, allowing the automated motion from the rotating arm beneath the track. The player spins to see how many spaces he will move. Once Charley senses the position of your horse, he makes his move, randomly. This continues until one of the horses reaches the finish line. The game is reset with the large red knob at the center of the board.

Overall, it's a lot cooler than I originally thought, and Charley now fits center stage in my collection.

[kennetzel]

Very nice pick up.

[Roboto]

What a perfect addition for your collection.

[robothut]

You might upload some videos of the game operating on You Tube. I don not remember if the boxed one I have out in the hut is operational or not. might have to test it out and see.

[Morbius]

Nice pick up Tinplate6, that antannae really makes it with that toy.

BTW, separated at birth??

[Tinplate6]

Thanks guys...yeah, the look on his face cracks me up...what is that robot thinking?

John...I'm not too savvy with uploading to Youtube, but I just might give it a try.

[Tinplate6]

Geeze...I can't believe I left out the mandatory historical information; who made it and when.

Here are the other game overlays you could get to play with Charley. Baseball I could see, but football on a circular field...dunno.

Here is a close up of the Horse Race board,

As you can see in the lower left, the two kids and Charley are cheering on their horses.

C'mon baby, Charley needs a new servo!!

Here's the game pieces.

[Andyman]

Very cool, Brady. I have a Charley without the antennas and disk.

I was under the impression that Charley himself doesn't actually do anything. He just attaches to the box.

[robothut]

Its true Charley does not do anything persay, but his hands have to be pushed in to the game base or it will not power up, so you could say that he does do something. yes you could push anything in the hand slots on the game board to turn it ON, so it does not have to be charley.

[Tinplate6]

Yes, but while you are playing, Charley does have a hand in it.

[Andyman]

It more like Charley is cheating by putting his hand on the scale. ;)

[Phil R]

I've never heard of this game. Love the figure and the game seems pretty interesting for a kid to play. Another one of the cool games that falls through the cracks. Congrats on the purchase.