Gifts FUN AND GAMES

The situation is familiar: It’s two days before Christmas and you’ve finally begun to tackle your shopping list. Uncle Harry is just impossible; he has everything. But be practical, you tell yourself. He can always use another tie. And come Christmas morning, Uncle Harry will unwrap the inevitable, mutter a less-than-enthusiastic, “Thanks, I’ve always liked purple,” and somehow manage to lose the box, tie enclosed in a pile of discarded gift wrap. Think again. Uncle Harry may have everything-everything, that is,but what he’s missed since he was just a tyke: toys, fun, and games.

1. “Councilations” are the brainchild of artist and ad agency owner, . David Council. His one-of-a-kind submarine, made from an old copper fire extinguisher and pieces of brass, has a “laser cannon” flashing light and a wind-up device that keeps the sub ticking like a bomb. $1800. The Outfitters, NorthPark. 2. a. Rack Rummy, the American adaptation of an Israeli game called “Rummikub.” It’s similar to gin rummy and played with two, three or four players using numbered tiles corresponding to two decks of cards. $35. Brentano’s, NorthPark. b. “Word Master Mind,” a challenging new version of the old game. Test your skills against the “Wordmaker” in English, or if you’re multi-lingual, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. $5.98. Crown Hobby & Toys, Preston Center. C. The “Xylo-drum,” a modern version of the African slit-drum. Made of Philippine mahogany and California redwood. Play it and relive memories of old Tarzan movies. $27 or $37.50. The Final Touch, Olla Podrida. d,e. Soft-sculpture flasher dolls are definitely for adults only. Underneath those raincoats, Uncle Sherman and Aunt Sophie have something to hide. 15″ tall, $20 3. a. Don’t believe every-each. John Simmons, NorthPark. thing you see. Small objects placed in the bottom of “The Illusion” appear to float miraculously over the opening. $20. Innerspace, The Quadrangle, b. The first outboard motor-powered toy boat. The boat, equipped with a tiny gasoline engine and a radio control device to manage speed and direction, will go up to 35 mph. Made of fiberglass in red, yellow, black, orange, or brown. $300 for the kit, $350 assembled. Crown Hobby & Toys, Preston Center. C. Three visual tranquilizers. If gazing at the ocean relaxes you, you’ll like the wave-maker. Liquid plastic, enclosed in a solid plastic cube, makes waves that will keep you hypnotized. $20. Innerspace, The Quadrangle, or Neiman-Marcus. d. Watch the air bubble go through colored rings in a clear plexiglass cylinder, making new shapes as it rises. Two sizes, $22.50 or $42.50. The Final Touch, Olla Podrida or Innerspace, The Quadrangle. e. Two different colored oils overlap each other in this plastic window, creating new colors and ever-changing designs. $13.50. Innerspace, The Quadrangle; John

Simmons, North-Park; or The Final Touch, Olla Podrida. f. The Think Tank. Inside the porthole are 13,000 words printed on small strips of plastic that are bound to trigger new ideas, or at the very least, expand your vocabulary. In white plastic, about 9″ tall. $40. The Horchow Collection.



4. a. More than a watch, the Hewlett-Packard HP-01 wrist instru-. ment has an alarm, a calculator with memory, a 200-year calendar, a timer, and a stopwatch. Use its alarm to time a seven-minute steak or its memory to remember an important phone number. Comes in stainless steel for $650, or gold for $750. A matching keyboard-stylus pen is hidden in the wristband. Corrigan Jewelry Stores.



b. Your very own computer. The TRS-80 micro computer can do everything from balancing your checkbook to advanced computations using BASIC programming language. Play blackjack with it, learn high school algebra, or let it make your grocery shopping list and estimate the bill. Tape recorder, 12″ video screen, and ASCII keyboard, $599.95. Components are available separately as well. Radio Shack.



C. Another brain teaser: The TI Programmable 59 calculator and PC-100A alphanumeric display and plotter. The calculator has a capacity of 960 program steps or 100 memory registers. The magnetic-card memory capability doubles that capacity. $299.95. The printer and plotter will output letters, symbols, numbers, and will plot histograms at 60 characters per second. $199.95. Texas Instruments, NorthPark.



d. For the budget-minded, a push-buttontelephone that’s also a push-button calculator, digital clock and calendar. Thefull function calculator with floating decimal and eight-digit readout capacity functions while you’re on the phone or off,allowing you to figure your phone bill ordispute your electric bill while you talk.The readout display will also tell you thetime and date. In white or brown, withphone jack and electric wall plug. $239. Sanger Harris, The Horchow Collection, Dunhill’s of London, NorthPark.



e. For an existing phone, a phone-timerattachment to help you reduce the expense of long distance calls. Battery notincluded. $29.95. Sanger Harris.



5. a. New items for the outdoors-man. Nordica ski boots made of . Rilsan, a very strong nylon that’s lighter in weight than previously developed materials. Comes in blue-gray. $175. Ski Skellar, Old Town Village.



b. A tent for the lazy backpacker. The nylon “trail wedge backpack tent” by Jansport weighs only five pounds, stays up in 70-mph winds, takes just five minutes to assemble, and can then be repacked into a carry pouch about the size of a rolled sleeping bag. $140. Cullum & Boren.



C. Heavy-duty ski glasses by Bausch & Lomb. No more squinting when the light is too strong on the slopes, no more dangerous shadows when the sun hides behind the clouds. The tinted lenses adjust to varying light conditions. $30. Ski Skel-lar, Old Town Village.



d. The latest in cooking gear for the campsite: This lightweight Dutch oven allows you to bake as well as boil and fry. Place the two pans together and cook a souffle. Separately, they’re frying pans that fit inside one another for easy packing. $12.50. Mountain Hideout, 14010 Coit Road.



e. A new variation of the jigsaw puzzle and a nice stocking-stuffer. Fit the 15 plastic pieces together and the puzzle becomes a three-dimensional hamburger smothered in onions. $5. A hot dog puzzle is also available. $5. Brentano’s, NorthPark.



f. Company for the lonely. The dummy’s not just a prop, he’s for sale. $35 or $45, depending on size. John Simmons, North-Park.



6. a. Computer chess: When you can’t find a partner, you can . play alone. Test your skills a-gainst the computer. Caution: it tells you when you move illegally and usually beats its opponent 25 to 70 percent of the time. $200. Neiman-Marcus, Dunhill’s of London, NorthPark.



b. Calculate your biorhythm or your checkbook balance. The Kosmos I adds, subtracts, divides and multiplies, and figures your physical, emotional and in-tellectual biorhythm cycle for the day. It will also forecast your biorhythm for the future or tell you what it was two weeks ago. $50. Neiman-Marcus, Sanger Harris, and Brentano’s, NorthPark.



C. “Auto-Race,” by Mattel. This pocket-sized electronic game simulates auto racing, complete with four-speed gear shift, digital timer and sound effects. Batteries not included. $29.95. Crown Hobby & Toy, Preston Center.



d. Video games. You can program thegame you want to play, when to start, thespeed, and the time you want to play,then display it on your television screen.The game comes with two hand controls,which can move left or right, forward andbackward, or up and down. Tennis andhockey games come with the set. $169.95.Or add new ones: A tank game, blackjack and a fighter-plane game are nowavailable. $19.95 each. Sanger Harris,Neiman-Marcus.