Ep 11: Stop Thief Board Game Review (Parker Brothers 1979) + How To Play

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A review on how to play the 1979 game "Stop Thief" by Parker Brothers.
ELECTRONIC COPS AND ROBBERS. Featuring the ELECTRONIC CRIME SCANNER.
A crime is being committed…but where?
In the jewelry store? The bank? Where will the thief strike next? You and your opponents are licensed private detectives. The thief you’re after is computer controlled and completely invisible. But you can hear him! With your ELECTRONIC CRIME SCANNER you can eavesdrop on the thief whenever he moves on the board. You can hear him in the act of committing a crime. You hear him, too, as he opens a door, crosses a floor, breaks a window, runs on the street and escapes on the subway. Each sound you hear is a clue that will help you track him down. You’ll need all your skills of deduction and logic to follow the thief and corner him. Then you can call the police. With luck, the police will arrest the thief and cart him off to jail. Sometimes, though, he escapes from them. At other times, he’s just not where you think he is! If you can catch this thief, you’ll earn a large reward. If he gives you the slip, he’ll rob again…and again…and again…
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[@Sparrow779]

My childhood here - thank you for posting this. Brings back memories.

[@notmillionaires]

We juat ordered one. Loved this as a kid. And even in the early 90s in college used to play it a ton again. Still think about the game often. Our family started doing a game night and my Mom got me this for my 51st bday. For some reason I just have the best memories of this game. From a decade apart. Early 80s and early 90s. 30 years later we get to play it again. Thanks for the video.

[@Juniperjsml]

I loved playing this game when I was a kid!

[@FilmAppreciationSociety]

Just found this game for $3 at a thrift store, it was missing the instructions but I found them for a $2 on Ebay. Really looking forward to trying this one out soon.

[@craigdavidson5613]

I found a practically complete set of the game at a local Charity Shop recently. It cost $15AU, but it was worth the money. I checked the contents, and it was missing two dice. At least that would be easily replaceable. On the other hand, the battery snap that you attach the 9V battery to in the Electronic Crime Scanner was a little broken. Thankfully a relative of mine was able to replace the broken snap with a new one, and put in a new battery, and it's working good as new! Thank goodness for a bright idea. I would have returned it to the Op Shop, but this was a better solution.

[@briancormier6054]

Just saw an old family Christmas pic of ours from 1979 with this game under the tree!

[@ericdfranklin71]

I remember this game as a kid. I had so much fun with this. I have a lot of vintage games to this day. And probably worth a lot. But I am holding on to them as a memory.

[@buzzbang7930]

This was one of my favorite game EVER!! I would still like to find one new.

[@CameronInEgyptsLand]

One of my favorite board games me & my brother played. :-)

[@someonezmom]

I loved this game wow nice to see it again

[@noname-ve7wo]

My grandma bought this for me at a goodwill when I was a kid. Was fun

[@lauracristine230]

Yes 🙌🏻 this was my very favorite. I used to play it with my Dad ❤

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

It's a classic. Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@themilitariacollector9449]

I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!!

[@RollTideRising]

Love the subway sound

[@sha11235]

Yeah, me too. Wasn't used much since the thief didn't always use the subway.

[@Warriorking.1963]

Would love to get a copy of this. I suspect it would never be played, but I'm a real sucker for board games with gadgets, and those scanners are right up there.

[@clayrauch9718]

I bought many from ebay. average 30.00. Gave to siblings

[@tigerwom1]

My friend just got this for her husband for Christmas (he said it was his favorite board game growing up), hence my interest in it.

[@scotthughes7440]

Loved this game..broken glass...sound of subway...someone sneaking around..pay attention to the clues to know where the thief is

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

I just try to imagine what it was like back then when this game first came out

[@sha11235]

@@BoardGameMuseumer It was new technology for its time, I'll admit that. I remember the game. There were some things you left out that I put up here in various posts.

[@jimminshall7449]

For years I’ve been trying to remember what the name of this game was. I loved this game when I was a kid. I saw the updated version in Barnes and Noble where you use an app on your phone in place of the classic handheld unit. I think I might try and found an old edition with the unit.

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

Restoration games did a reprint of it. But the old version is fun.

[@clayrauch9718]

Ebay for 30.00

[@boblawblaw6875]

Loved, loved this game growing up. I bought an updated version of it on Amazon. Can’t wait to play it

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@CollectionTHX1138]

Those were the days of a lot of red LED games from Mattel ; I remember the box top but never saw the game. Interactivity way back then.

[@sha11235]

This was from Parker Brothers.

[@sha11235]

One other correction: The player who goes first presses the on button twice to get the thief to commit a crime. He does not press the Clue button again, since his clue is the crime.

[@midniteraver73]

Wow used to play this with my siblings back when it first came out on the market...loved it! Thank you for posting

[@jaxson3887]

Nice! Found this at the thrift store for 2$.

[@marktinasteinke8900]

You did a great job explaining and videoing - NOT boring. I loved this game as a kid.

[@jean-francoissoucy8340]

holy crap, i remember playing this game back in the days. Thanks for making me feel old :p

[@robtberardi]

The second arrest result sound is the "raspberry"... the thief sticking out his tongue and going pblblblth!!

[@vinclash7763]

Did you ever check out the new version? The sound effects are cool! The board and device are different looking.

[@SamuelAna4Ever]

Nice clear explanation. Thanks for making this.

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@fmoros]

got that one, but havent played it yet. Thanks for the clip.

[@jayvalentine2046]

Just bought the second edition remake and love it

[@futuremillionaire72]

Great game! Did you ever hear of a similar game called "Lost Treasure"? It too had an electronic device as part of the game play.

[@jimcastor8601]

Thanks for the quick reply,

[@unlimitedrabbit]

So glad to see the relaunch in stores.

[@gregspot]

I still have mine.

[@jondavidtheauthor6318]

We used to have one...I wish we kept it but my brother sold it. :(

[@dudemcmann6936]

wow. that looks amazingly cheesy. I love what they were doing with board games in the late 70s & 80s to try and compete with the quickly growing world of video games. kids loved gadgets and this one sure has it. that things would drive my wife nuts! ha.

[@earlofrednecks9533]

Very cool game!

[@jsoo67]

awesome review i just found this when my friends nieghbors got evicted has everything except the yellow cop havent played it but will eventually since i have a general idea of how to play.

[@JunkyardAcademy]

I have a copy of this game but it was missing the rule book...while I love how you've explained it in this video, it's easier to have the rules on hand. I see that in the upper left corner of the frame there is the instruction booklet. While there is a PDF of it is online, whomever scanned it didn't get all the pages and it's poorly presented. Where can I get a better copy of the rules? Can you scan them for me? Pretty please? Thanks!

[@Meganrenee333]

I just bought this game from goodwill and it came with the booklet.

[@XRay44]

If you pick up the new version by Restoration Games, would love to see a comparison video! The new version looks awesome.

[@susancox4177]

My boys just got the new version for Christmas. You use an app on your tablet or phone as the scanner. The older version seems a lot more challenging than the restored version. In the newer one the thief cannot take the subway, he will never stay in the same spot and the sounds are much more obvious. There are no dice, just move cards that are different for each investigator. The cards have the special abilities on them. After seeing this video we came to the conclusion that they kind of "dumbed it down". On the app there is an option for 4 different difficulty levels, however they are not available yet. I am hoping an update will be available soon.

[@XRay44]

In the settings of the new version, you can select to have the app play the sounds from the original game if you want the retro experience. I believe it's even called "Retro Mode".

[@XRay44]

The latest app update for the new version included a brand new game mode Co-op Mode... where everyone works together to catch the thief instead of competing against each other. It plays a bit different than the standard game and it pretty interesting.

[@SocomBlitz]

I still have this game from when I was 10 but the scanner doesn’t work. One of my all time favorites!

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

Fun game

[@attiliocapuozzo5105]

Can investigators retrace their steps during their move by passing through one or more spaces even more than once?

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

I believe so

[@vinclash7763]

The box is different too.

[@tigerwom1]

So does the scanner work on its own or do you have to press the buttons? I feel like it must be the former because if it were the latter it would defeat the purpose of the game.

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

You just have to punch in the location you're at and then it will make a noise sharing the thieves action

[@sha11235]

40 years old now.

[@lloyddobbler8246]

This game is awesome!

[@attiliocapuozzo5105]

Congrats for the video. Would you be so kind as to send me the full scan of the rulesbook? Thanks.

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

R ULE B OO K boardgame.bg/stop%20thief%20rules.pdf

[@attiliocapuozzo5105]

​@@BoardGameMuseumerthanks

[@TimelordUK]

The artwork and board look great but that electronic thing makes it seem a bit naff

[@72dodge340]

That's the charm of playing old games like this!* *I admit, the new version does look good too though.

[@Metalgirl2000]

I used to have this game

[@Metalgirl2000]

left it at a family camp now missing..

[@jimcastor8601]

can you still buy this game anywhere??? Can't find it.

[@bethb.2100]

I have seen it on Ebay

[@MuckBulligan]

Saw it on eBay awhile back. Bought it, but it turned out the device didn;t work. :( Still looking.

[@alwillk]

Another rule: thieves can move through windows and doors, while detectives can only move through doors

[@sha11235]

Ah, you updated it a bit. Right, you don't play all the thief cards. The first player to 2,500 wins.

[@austinandsarahramstead6179]

Can you use the app to play on the old game board??

[@BoardGameMuseumer]

I dunno if it's the same board

[@austinandsarahramstead6179]

@@BoardGameMuseumer Okay. That’s what I was wondering.

[@tigerwom1]

Geez, this seems awfully complicated for a children's game, but maybe I'm just stupid 😂

[@kraiglarson3144]

Gtetxhen n i pleyef this all rhr time snd mrmorized Xanadi too! jmm!!!

[@thaliarubio4087]

TRUMP BROUGHT ME HERE