Description

The Wogglebug Game of Conundrums. Salem, Mass.: Parker Bros., Inc., 1905.

The Wogglebug Game of Conundrums is a formalized guessing game, a contest of wit and skill in which players take turns asking riddles. The player that cannot answer loses.

The "What Did the Woggle-Bug Say? Contest" made this Oz character a household name and inspired all kinds of novelties. That was the beginning of a "Woggle-Bug" craze.

Parker Brothers quickly produced their own tie-in for the hype, introducing The Wogglebug Game of Conundrums the same year. The Wogglebug Game of Conundrums is a game of riddles (none having to do with Oz) produced in 1905.

This is the first toy connected to the Land of Oz as it predates The Wonderful Game of OZ. This unauthorized novelty was only in production for a short time, and is the oldest Oz toy to be found.

Neither Baum nor his book The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) are mentioned anywhere on this game.

The complete game consisted of a chromolithographed box containing a set of 51 gray colored Conundrum cards and 51 buff-colored Answer cards with one page "Rules for Playing The Woggle Bug Game" and Parker Bros. flyer for two other card games, Pit and Quit .

Sampled below are some of the Woggle Bug's silly questions, and the corresponding answer cards for the game. Popular Culture themes of the time were referenced, as seen in the answer to "What was Adam's favorite popular song?"

Some examples of the Conundrums (questions relying for their effects on punning in either the question or the answer) are:

Why didn't the dog want to go into the Ark?
Because he had a bark of his own.

With what would you fill a barrel to make it lighter than when it was empty?
Holes.

What was Adam's favorite popular song?
"There's only one girl in the world for me."

What kind of medicine does the iceman take?
Pond's extract.

It is unfortunate that the colorful design of the box cover did not extend to the playing cards.
As this was an unauthorized game, Parker Brothers might have found it too difficult to reproduce Neill's stylish illustrations past the images of the Woggle-Bug and Jack Pumpkinhead on the box cover.

The earliest toy associated with Oz and one of the rarest examples of Oziana.