How do you "play" with your joes?

[fierce krypton]

Ok so I am actually fairly young compared to most gijoe enthusiast. I am 19 and I have been playing since I was very young. I was brought up playing gijoes with my brother who was 5 years older than me. He "taught" me "how to play" and gave me access to his Joes(later he gave them to me). We would sit on the bed, sit our box full of joes next to the bed, and he would create a storyline from his head. We never grabbed joes before playing he would just grab one or two and start that way and then grab different guys when we needed them for a role. We basically played Joes like it was a movie. We also did all our fights and scenes in real time. We never chose sides, like me playing cobra or anything like that. We just played with both to create a good story line. If one of us had a good idea for a cobra character who was already in play we would just let it out, same with the joes.

Also he created a very particular way of holding and playing with a joe. We held a joe with both hands, right hand is laid out like this....index at top of head to control where he looks, thumb in middle of chest/waist to control left and right movement,thumb and index can also drop those roles and control left arm then return to there stock position,We also bring our thumb up to help the right index control the head, we use our third finger behind knee and pinky on shin right above the foot, these two fingers control the motion of the leg. Now for the left hand.... We use our index and thumb to move the right arm(this is appropriate esp. b/c we did a lot of punching and gun aiming. for the movement and control of the right leg we just drop out thumb and combined it with the middle finger behind the leg. This gives me total control of my gijoe. this is prob why I dont like the 25th style characters, without the o ring it doesnt work nearly as well.

Does anyone play like this at all? Can anyone relate to this style of holding a joe? Anyone ever play like its a movie with a story line? anyone play real time or do yall just pose em? Let me know, we always wondered if anyone played Joes like us. Guess now Ill know.

[fierce krypton]

P.S. Anyone else around my age? maybe 21 or less?

[fierce krypton]

should I take the silence as no one plays, just collects and poses?

[THALASTDRAGON]

over 21, dont really play like that anymore, i just take some out from time to time, and do short scenes

[dawg99]

to old to play with them let mey son play with them though still set up displays though

[Jose Castro]

If you mean that i have to wait till my fiance falls asleep so i can go to my "computer room" (the joe den) so i can have ridiculous battles while supplying my own sound effects....then yes i do play with my figs..(silly man i buy two of each so i can display them in my "wall of joes").. :-D good thread!

[blndweasel]

re: playing with joes

Awesome thread, man. I'm a bit older now (29) and I don't play with them in the same way, but instead do still photography and like to set up storylines with the figures.

Right now I'm working on a large scale Joe base made from foamcore, which I will use as the basis of an upcoming photo storyboard with my figs... (shhh! it's supposed to be a surprise!)

[darth_henning]

P.S. Anyone else around my age? maybe 21 or less?

Actually, I'm 18. I also grew up after inheriting the Joes from my older brother (11 years). He had a large portion of the line from 82-88 and while he lost interest in his teens (early 90s), I have come to collect them.

As for the point of this thread, I will play with them occasionally. Hey thats what they're meant for, but for the most part I find creative ways to display the armies.

I suspect I won't recreate the world wars that took place in the basement until after I have kids of my own.

[fierce krypton]

Woot for the people who still play!! I mean, Im in college, got tons of friends, got a wonderful girlfriend who is gorgeous and a genius, i have solid values, and most of my friends are in there upper 20's because throughout my life I have always thought people my age were immature.... Yet I still own hundreds of Joes and I play with em all the time! I dont think its wierd or immature at all, its the most creative fun I have. Even more than when I do art. Anyways thanks for the responses, another quesion to tag on to the end of the first slew of em, whats the longest battle you have played?

[popsicleviper]

Hey fierce krypton!
I just turned 20 this week and yes I still PLAY with my G.I. Joes.
I've been doing it the same way since I was young, I have what I call a "show", where I'll write down a storyline, play it out with the figures for about an hour or so and call it an episode.
It's very similar to what you and your brother call a "movie".
Your very lucky to have an older brother,I only have an older sister.
Back in the day when I was just starting to play with action figures, I had just moved to a new neigborhood and to my surprise BOTH of the neighbors closest to me had boys around my age who loved action figures. I can't begin to tell you all the memories from thoes days.
Now I have a younger brother and we both play G.I. Joes together, and we aren't on sides. We're both bad and good.
As for holding G.I. Joes, I pretty much do it like you.

[electrikwarrior]

Sadly, i dont play with the joes now. They are currently just on display... i just sit and stare. When i did play with them, as a kid, i would create huge long battles that involved dice(maby die)... or a Gijoe karate tournament like "karate kid"... something like a roll of 1 would be a kick to the face, 2 stomach.. "4" was always in the crotch. Was it sucessfull or not?... fun times.

[crock master]

i pile up like 10 dudes on scarlet

[delta]

i have solid values
Then there is NO place for You here Sir!!! J/K:)

I still "play" with my joes, and plan to remain doing so. I'm 27 as of yesterday

[redstripe]

about once a year, i set something up. i don't really play anything out with sound fx anymore.

although after this thread i'm thinking about it...

[crazyfellow1]

I'm 16 and I play with my joes, nothing extravagant maybe 2-6 figures at a time and I don't play very often, but when I do It's enjoyable and let's me really use my imagination plus it reminds me of when I was young and care free :)

[fierce krypton]

popsicleviper the whole wright it out is hardcore!! I wouldnt mind getting some scans of those pieces of paper!!! AKA I wouldnt mind reading your show! Oh and I cant believe anyone holds there Joes like me!!! That is awesome! Total control for the win!

Warrior thats crazy about the Die, Dungeons and Dragons style, I like it!!(what happens to scarlett on a role of 4???)

Crock Master you are my freaking hero! haha I laughed out loud for like a minute straight at that crap. I appreciate your wit.

Delta keep it up brother! Real time? or poses?

Redstripe with all these sick new remakes of old school stuff you gotta whip em out and make some noise!

"Im 16...plus it reminds me of when I was young and care free" If that was sarcasm then I am laughing! If not then.... whoops Im laughing. haha jk brother keep it real. I never do many epic battles either I always get to caught up in controlling the battle and forget the story line.

[john shaft]

I don't have a choice. My son decides for me. He always plays the Cobra side and I am forced to play the Joe's (which his Cobra's outnumber the Joe's).
Anyway he makes me have the Joe's infiltrate the Cobra base and although they put up a valiant effort they always manage to get KO'd. Usually it starts out with two guys getting injured and Stalker always performing some first-aid on them then slowly but surely the other Joe's get killed.
I always beg him to have the Joe's win once and a while but the answer is always the same "No!".

[Nemesis_Enforcer]

I don't play anymore, I hope when my son is of age he'll want to play, but right now they hang in their packages on my walls and stand loose on my shelves staring at me... mocking me. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

When I did play it varied. I would have small rescue missions for figures that I accidentally left outside the day before. I'd have huge epic battles that would take hours just to set up (storywise, not physically). I had some pretty cool storylines when I was younger. When I knew that I was getting a certain vehicle or toy for my birthday or for Christmas I would have the characters start talking about a new recruit or building a new vehicle or base. I had some great times.

Oh yeah, when a character died it was over. I never used them again. Not many died though. My Duke lost both of his legs below his knees (sister stepped on him) and I came up with a clever way to use it. I had the handicapped kid toy from Burger King and took his wheelchair and put Duke in it and gave him more of an administrative role instead of a ground officer.

[sgtapon]

i don't play anymore...i usually just set up a scene and leave it for a few weeks until i decide to make it into something different.

[crazyfellow1]

"Im 16...plus it reminds me of when I was young and care free" If that was sarcasm then I am laughing! If not then.... whoops Im laughing. haha jk brother keep it real. I never do many epic battles either I always get to caught up in controlling the battle and forget the story line.

I was serious, I'm having a lot of medical problems right now and my quality of life really isn't what it used to be, so a "blast from the past" (a reminder of when I was younger) cheers me up. and trust me when I say I am nowhere near being care free.

[delta]

Delta keep it up brother! Real time? or poses?

Poses mostly.

Keep it up yourself dude!!
Welcome to the Tank

[SPLINTER CELL]

My oldest son and I have battles and we set up sea, land and air bases. The house looks like a military ground-map. We use a dice system to decide levels of damage to vehicles and figures. We have dice rolls for interrogation of captured figures, rescue attempts and anything we can come up with. I look foreword to every time we play. My son and I talk about it weeks in advance when we set a date. Sometimes we use limited sets if time is limited, like 13 figs and 1 base each.

[fierce krypton]

"I was serious, I'm having a lot of medical problems right now and my quality of life really isn't what it used to be"

Hey man Ive got the healing power of Jesus within me, he can totally heal you, the name of Jesus is bigger than any sickness! Hit me up with a PM and we will talk! No reason to live sick, I havent been sick in 3 years because of God's power, not even a cold.

First a Jesus fan, then a gijoe fan!

Delta thanks for the official welcome, appreciate it.

Keep em coming this is very interesting to see how people play!

[crazyfellow1]

"I was serious, I'm having a lot of medical problems right now and my quality of life really isn't what it used to be"

Hey man Ive got the healing power of Jesus within me, he can totally heal you, the name of Jesus is bigger than any sickness! Hit me up with a PM and we will talk! No reason to live sick, I havent been sick in 3 years because of God's power, not even a cold.

First a Jesus fan, then a gijoe fan!
Dude, are you making fun of me?

[fierce krypton]

No! Dude i have been on missions trips and seen all kinds of crazy awesome miracles, I am telling you that if you have medical problems God can solve em, hit me up with a PM, Im sure no one wants to hear us talk about Christ on the "how do you play with your joes" forum.

[whiteknight]

I'm 35 and I play with my joes like I've never played with them before. I've always wanted to play like you do, with a storyline and such. But as a kid whose parents are always on a tight budget, there's not much to work with. Now, with my own spending money and the release of the 25A/modern era joes, I can now play out the stories I've always wanted to play out. All I'm missing now are props (bases, bunkers, warehouses, etc.). Mostly, scenarios are clandestine infiltration ops. For posterity's sake, maybe I'll do a dio-story like the ones that I've seen around the net.

Heck, I'd do a stop-motion movie if I had more time. And if I knew how to do it. :D

How I hold them? I half-move and half-pose the figs. These figures look so darn good in certain poses.

Immature? Hmmm. Let's start with "What's your definition of 'mature?'" . . .

(The last question is rhetorical. No need to answer, wise guys.:D)

[fierce krypton]

shucks, i was looking forward to being a wise guy.... wait i think I just was! Yes! :-) Good to hear the cash flows letting your imagination flow as well.

[whiteknight]

shucks, i was looking forward to being a wise guy.... wait i think I just was! Yes! :-) Good to hear the cash flows letting your imagination flow as well.

But the cash runs out faster than my imagination can run. Ah, well, c'est la vie. And time does not allow much opportunity for play. But I do when I can. Thanks.

Nice thread you got going. And you're a Christian, huh? Me, too. :) Shoot me a PM sometime.

[fierce krypton]

Hope they got Joes in heaven ;-) j/k

[Elite Force Cobra]

i just display mine.....my sig has the diplay link file

[Imperial_Serpentor]

I do a bit of playing with mine... mostly with the vehicles. and I'm not under 21... but I'm 24 so I'm still younger then the RAH toyline, but I got into it by seeing the video tapes in the rental place and finding comics and toys in flee markets (until finally I got a ton of stuff around the Ninja force time in 91)...

When I was young, most of my battles revolved around the 1992 GI Joe headquarters. and it wasn't always joes sometimes all my other toylines got involved... and I'd make intricate storylines.

Now I just pick them up once a while and do small skirmishes... I'm hoping to up the ante. But I want to build and buy some bases first.

[TheLongestDay]

I play with my vintage stuff-just like i did when i was a kid-mostly centres around Storm Shadow sneaking into a large gaurded complex where Snake eyes is being held captive,taking out the gaurds with his bow and neck breaking abilities only to find it was a trap and he ends up facing a TON of different martial arts experts one after the other...

until he gets to the end where he has to face "The Master" (Mortal Kombat Shang Tsung figure) who he is way to beaten up to stand a chance against-and just before the death blow is about to be deliverd on ol'Stormy...he manages to free his pal SNAKE EYES!

..and they kick the crap out of the master together


..I just use my 25th stuff for display tho :)

[crazyfellow1]

No! Dude i have been on missions trips and seen all kinds of crazy awesome miracles, I am telling you that if you have medical problems God can solve em, hit me up with a PM, Im sure no one wants to hear us talk about Christ on the "how do you play with your joes" forum.

sorry, thats one of the bad things about the internet, you can't tell if someone is being sarcastic or not, so you have to ask. :)

[fierce krypton]

Nice display elite force cobra, looks like at 25th correct? you got old RAH in a box somewhere or have you just recently started collecting? Nice work longest I can appreciate a good ol fashioned brawl! Sounds good serpentor, I look forward to seeing the bases. I never did much base stuff(although I did own the headquarters) just because it was so difficult to play in, not much room for my hands and arms I guess. great for displays though

[fierce krypton]

bumb :-)

[sharke]

naked and in the dark

[Derek2783]

I actually haven't "played" since I started re-collecting with the launch of the 25th. I pose 'em, and there they stand, pretty much permanently.

[fierce krypton]

yeah derek for some reason I think the 25th series somehow encourges poses, I dont know if its the articulation or the tightness of the joints or what.....

[sambo_p]

This post motivated me to register it was so great. I can't say as I "played" with any of the 25th fellas but the ARAH figures earned their keep. My best friend and I would set up our collections in the back yard, vehicles, figures bases (boats?) Joe's on one side Cobra on the other. Depending on the distance dart guns or tennis balls were used to determine the outcome of the battle (in hind site dice may have helped in my figures overall longevity). Some battles may last mere minutes and some days and days. But only once was Cobra victorious. Survivors from one battle to the next would find themselves bandaged up in toilet paper with red ink to indicate how bad the wound was. Every now and then (mostly with tennis balls) no amount of toilet paper could fix the hurt. Weapons were lost and crotches were broken, but good times were had by all. Since then display has been more the way to go for me. Not so many broken crotches that way.

[fierce krypton]

haha thats awesome sambo its crazy how creative we all were as kids! I would like to think that I am still half as creative as I was back then but when I think back to the old days I definately had more creative story lines. I am glad you joined man, welcome, I havent been on these forums long but I have really enjoyed them so far.

[Derek2783]

The most creative I ever got was, when I got the GI Joe radio, I used the white styrofoam piece as an arctic base, and pushed a piece of plastic fencing into a section for a prison. I hollowed out gun holes in the walls, and made it pretty dang cool. Then I stored everything inside the box too.

I was super-proud of it.

[Novacaine]

Im 22 and I play with mine, my favorite thing to do to annoy my gf is to pick up beachhead and do my best southern grunt accent "Im beachhead, fourth in command of Gijoe and if I was in charge, things would be different around here" Then i drop the southern accent and tell him "but your not in charge of Gijoe beachhead HAWK is, then Duke, then Flint, then you" "You don't hear Sgt. Slaughter complaining about the chain of command" LOL it pisses her off every time. I do love to play with my Joes....

[fierce krypton]

hahaha that must be a good girlfriend, my girlfriend is adorable when I am excited about a new gijoe she trys so hard to get excited... In reference to my new serpent she said "awww you didnt tell me he came with snow shoes!!! Those are so cute let me put them on..." It was freaking epic haha

[paulpratt]

That's a good woman.

My son and i have played some epic stories. We play in the story style you mentioned at the beginning of the thread. I never played where one person was GI Joe, the other Cobra. The point, when i was younger, and the way my son and I play, is to make up the start of a story, and see where everyone takes it. Very fun, very improv, very dramatic. Some of our stories have taken a few days to work out.

Good times.

[fierce krypton]

I love it pratt!! thats what I like to hear!! Improve is the word of the day!! Improve is where its at.

[Gungho-joe]

I have introduced a storyline kind of play to my 4 year old son. we have "episodes". if we run out of time we finish the next day. thats the way my best friend and I would play 25 years ago. even tho he is only 4 my son is catching on quick. we have even come up with some creative ways to incorporate the indiana jones stuff in the story lines. we also have now included the 3.75 inch new dc figures. just recently I found a subway car with a 3.75 inch spiderman with magnets, he now is a unofficial member of the joe team. this style of playing is really bringing out his imagination. I have been thinking of posting pics of some of our "episodes".

[Flame Viper]

You guys are awesome that still play with your Joe's. Anyone who gives you crap about that are idiots.

As of now, I just don't have the space to, otherwise I think I would. As of now I just display what little space I have allotted for them.

But someday when I have a bigger place, you bet, I will have major wars going on. And you all are invited!!

[fierce krypton]

lol flame viper I use a card board box to hold my joes and my bed as my playing field, only recently have I got my vehicles out of the garage and stacked them next to my bed, up until I introduced them it didnt take up much room at all! Get to playing man!! Make it fit!! haha

[fierce krypton]

bump :-)

[Johnnyakiba]

(I'm Back..) I am 20 and I like posing them in various ACTION! poses. Usually the joes are beating up on Cobra but sometimes I mix my Star Wars figures. Cobra Emperor and THE Emperor fighting Joe side by side. Usually have Luke and Duke kickin' ass and takin' names.

[fierce krypton]

I can never deal with the star wars articulation.

[paulpratt]

Star Wars articulation sucks and never consistent. Everytime you open the package you have a 50/50 shot at getting a decent figure. My son has cried sometimes because the knees don't bend on some of his favorite guys.