TUMBLE BUG — THE CHICAGO BRAND MUSEUM

THE CREATION OF TUMBLE BUG

Tumble Bug was created by H.W. Schaper Manufacturing Company and released in 1956. Tumble Bug was directly inspired by the 1920s Tumble Bug amusement park ride created by Harry Traver, featuring bug-shaped trains traveling along a circular track filled with rolling hills and dips. Players placed their plastic bugs at the top of the track and raced around the board, offering a fun and easy-to-follow experience designed for children. Each track had changing pathways, and since the capsules moved through gravity and momentum rather than a mechanical drive system, making their motion was unpredictable.

TUMBLE BUG THROUGH THE YEARS

Tumble Bug was popular enough to stay in the toy industry for decades and was continuously updated. The most popular reissue of Tumble Bug was in 1971, tracks were made much longer, featuring a 2-foot track, elevated by a 5-inch stand to maximize speed. The redesign also introduced shared betting cards and independent chip markers, allowing unlimited players to gather around the track and bet on the same bug simultaneously, upgrading the once 2-4 person player game. Even the box was upgraded to a sturdy vertical tower-shaped box, making it stand out more on shelves. Tumble Bug was discontinued in the late 1970s because the weights inside the bug pieces were made of lead, which raised safety concerns. Along with new safety regulations, Tumble Bug became more expensive to produce compared to many competing games, leading to its eventual discontinuation.