How To Play Operation

Created in 1965 by John Spinello, and produced by Milton Bradley, Operation is an old fashioned wire loop game that forces its players to use both eye and hand coordination when removing body parts from the operation table. Operation is best played with 1 to 6 players, all 6 years or older.

The game board is made up of an "operation table" with a patient proudly displayed on the bright red table. This patient has been nicknamed Cavity Sam. Operation requires the following pieces to be removed or manipulated within Cavity Sam:

• Adam's Apple (100 points)
• Broken Heart (100 points)
• Wrenched Ankle (100 points)
• Butterflies in the Stomach (100 points)
• Spare Ribs (150 points)
• Water on the Knee (150 points)
• Funny Bone (200 points)
• Charley Horse (200 points)
• Writer's Cramp (200 points)
• The Ankle Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone (200 points)
• Wish Bone (300 points)
• and a Bread Basket (1000 points)

Prior to beginning the game, separate the two stacks of cards labeled Specialists and Doctors. The Specialists cards should be dealt evenly between all players. The Doctors cards should be placed face down, and each player takes his or her turn choosing a Doctors card. The player is then required to remove the item shown on the card with the provided tweezers. If the tweezers touch the metal side of the board, a buzzer sounds and Cavity Sam's nose lights up. The buzzer sounds because the metal of the tweezers and the metal of the game board close the electrical circuit of the game.

The player with the Specialist card for the item then tries to remove the part. If they succeed, they are paid double the amount the piece is worth. If the player has the doctor and the specialist card they are able to attempt the action twice. The winner of Operation is the player with the most money at the end of the game.

Operation requires batteries to play. There have been various versions of the game created in the last couple of years. These variations include Shrek, Spiderman, SpongeBob Square Pants, T-Rex, and The Simpsons.