VCR California Games from 1988 is a board game that sends players racing down the California coast from San Francisco to San Diego. As you navigate the tangled highways, you’ll roll dice, draw event cards, and land on spaces that trigger beach-style competitions using a VHS tape. The goal: reach the end of the board with at least $100 to buy your plane ticket home. When a player lands on a competition square, the group plays a short VCR clip showing an athlete attempting a stunt. A successful run earns you money; a wipeout leaves you empty-handed. The clips are often funny and unpredictable, adding an extra layer of excitement to the gameplay. Lighthearted, competitive, and a little chaotic, it’s a family-friendly trip through California culture—no sunscreen required.

In 1987 and 1988, Epyx chose to diversify their product offerings to consumers by developing a category of VCR and audio board games.  According to testimony during one of the bankruptcy hearings, this category of products was relatively strong in 1987, but disappeared in 1988.  It was also apparently an expensive endeavor to put these games together.  We’re going to retire the entire audio and VCR board games category. Perhaps the best legacy of this title was the television commercial: