Rock’em Sock’em Robots

This was maybe the best toy of the 70s in some ways. Loved this game to death. We would play this for hours. Now comes the sad part. When I saw they were making them again around twenty years ago, I had to order them (for my son, of course!). I got it, and it was like Rock ’em Sock ’em Cheap Miniatures. They are small and very cheap now.

Marx released this great toy in 1966, the world’s first boxing robots with “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots,” a game designed by Marvin Glass & Associates. At the time, the toy became hugely popular during the 1960s and ‘70s.

You would control the robots by joysticks, and you would counter the other person’s moves by dodging the oncoming punch. You would maneuver your robot and  hit the other robot at just the right angle, you’ll be able to “knock his block off!” In other words, the robot’s spring-loaded head is knocked loose and pops up, signaling the end of the “round.”

When that happened, you would just push his spring-loaded head back down and go again. The great thing about the game is you do not need batteries… you just pulled it out of your closet or from underneath your bed and played.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

37 thoughts on “Rock’em Sock’em Robots”

  1. This was a pretty cool game. I never had it myself but played it a few times at a friends. I recall seeing the commercials way more than anyone actually owning the game. Perhaps not as widely available or a higher price point.

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    1. Exactly…
      Kevin you are right…I never really thought about it but…a super name for this toy. I still remember playing it for hours against my friends….or if I could rope my older sister in playing.

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  6. those were the days, right? My brother had them, I don’t think he ever let me play with them though, but I did think it was sort of cool. Around same time, remember Battling Tops? He had them too and those I did play with him, loved watching those psychedelic designs on the tops spin around!

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    1. Oh the Battling Tops! I forgot about those. Yea I loved the Robots fighting…what kid wouldn’t like it? I need to refresh my memory on the Batling Tops…it’s been a while but I remember them.

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  13. Here’s one of my favorite childhood toys: $600 asking price on Bay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175840400384?_skw=tonka+aerial+sand+loader&itmmeta=01JS2TPVPEFH1SQSK8VK85VG25&hash=item28f0e79400:g:OsQAAOSwFDVkgPig&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cxijbkNQpxGV5gQXTVg6cwMVijYXd%2FciIfE1SBDOwxcWDrqvaMqFqoEeDgZ%2FLKdWKwr8BzYaxmbk%2FC8VC8%2FyBxj2XCpG%2FJLWHn9hhicxoMCwN8%2FufCVCm0eRw3kOwUbMgf7FWBlNdkmv%2FzfcMeXs0DMiX3NkeitaR%2FYQOtkJ16yLT2soXmgm7KZro4hJyZJZwvrWuef1FcBNwRnTYB9KCX7jlNyxd9burjZoci9ZHeX4JTd5KevF8m%2Bl%2FUZFxB3S%2Bngb%2BVP0ldwHurG0nsBS7JPtoebIsmOWIoQOygZE4AsDw5L%2Brs6fx7VNdk0uArsfU%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7K729rIZQ

    While it was a called an “aerial sand loader”, I played with it in the house with dried beans – much less messy than sand.

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    1. Thank you! I love real toys like that. I bet it was built like a tank. The closest thing I had as a kid were Tonka Trucks but they were not that detailed.

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  14. We didn’t have those here, they look like they were fun. It reminds me of table football and subbuteo.

    I can imagine your disappointment with a small version – things are never allowed to stay the same, are they?

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    1. We had table football and hockey…and I have an air table…I guess it would be soccer or hockey with a puck.
      Yea…I’m so happy I grew up when I did. I was so disappointed in that small cheap version.

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    1. Yes they were…the new ones not as much…but I put the original through hell and it was still working when mom got rid of it later on.

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  16. Never played with them, but remember the commercials. I had the Battling Tops that were mentioned. I remember the green one I named Dazzling Dan and the Light Blue one Twinkling Tim.

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      2. I didn’t when you said it but I looked it up…YES I had one or two of those. At first I thought you meant that tube you looked through.

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