The History of Twister

Many people will remember playing the game Twister as a child. But did you know that it almost didn’t catch on? Twister started out as a game called Pretzel. It was devised by Reyn Guyer, Charles Foley, and Neil Rabens, who took the idea to the Milton Bradley Company. When the team realized the name Pretzel wasn’t available, they renamed the game Twister instead. It hit the market in 1966, but because Sears Roebuck refused to carry the game due to concerns that it was too racy, Milton Bradley moved to cancel manufacturing. However, they had already scheduled a spot on The Tonight Show and the producers never got word about the cancellation, so Johnny Carson played Twister with Eva Gabor on the air. People were so entertained that the one New York store that stocked the game sold out! Milton Bradley decided to continue manufacturing the game after all, and Twister became a hit. It was especially popular among college students in the 1980s, who held large Twister matches. Today, the game endures on the toy shelves of young children, who enjoy the simplicity of play (after all, knowing your colors is all that is really needed to understand the game).