here at FYA HQ, we firmly believe in talking the talk AND walking the walk. we don’t just read books, WE LIVE IN THEM. we don’t just constantly refer to cocktails, WE DRINK THEM.
that’s why, after all of our rhapsodizing about slumber parties, we felt like it was HIGH TIME we threw one in real life. and since meghan lives in a state that is not TX and is therefore too inconsequential to be named, her recent visit to houston provided the perfect opportunity for the four of us to get together and SLUMBER PARTY IT UP.
now, i’m sure you’re all familiar with the necessary ingredients for a successful sleepover: doritos, champ cans, a john hughes movie and smokin’ hot gossip. but if you really want to take yr party to the Next Level, you need something more. something scandalous. something provocative. something ridiculously cray cray enough to induce binge drinking.
i’m speaking, of course, about THE SWEET VALLEY HIGH BOARD GAME!

that’s right, dear readers, we got our hands on this cardboard masterpiece of strategery and decided to play the all-american blue-eyed SHIZZ out of it!
besides this vital ingredient, we also included the following bonus factors:
1. mr. t. in his outer space jim jams!

2. red velvet whoopie pies baked and decorated by our lovely hostess, meredith (you may know her as The Chatterbox).

3. peeta’s croissants, baked with love (and yeah, a few tears) by meghan:

4. a plethora of effies
because we didn’t learn our lesson at the talegate, obvs.
5. PARTY PEOPLE!!!!
we quickly discovered that, um, life in sweet valley? IT’S COMPLICATED YOU GUYS. i mean, just look at these directions:

i swear you could put together an ikea desk with that manual.
in order to determine our popularity (i.e. character), we rolled the die, which was a rather deep commentary on social status that i’m pretty sure was not intentional on milton bradley’s part.
meredith and meghan got to be lila, and we all hated them for it, because SHE’S SO PRETTY:

erin got enid, and jenny got stuck with being elizabeth. SUCKS TO BE YOU, I.E. ELIZABETH, JENNY.

and guess guess GUESS who got to be the best and most popular girl in school? THAT’S RIGHT BISHES I’M JESSICA!!!!!

now, the goal of the game is to collect all of the cards that match yr character board by moving around the “school” so that you can have THE BEST AND MOST MAGICAL NIGHT OF YR LIFE. it’s obvs that i would need my COUTURE pink dress and corsage, but the teacher thing sorta stumped us. like, was ms. taylor my chaperone? and if so, was it important that i get her because she’s the most easy going and wouldn’t mind if bruce patman and i didn’t leave any room for the holy spirit?
of course, we all know that collecting cards isn’t the TRUE goal of the game. because this is sweet valley, and the only thing that matters here is proving yr superiority by decimating everyone else’s self-esteem. or, in elizabeth’s case, MEDDLING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S BUSINESS.

we didn’t even have to stage this photo, because this ACTUALLY HAPPENED during the game. I KNOW. thankfully, lila knew exactly how to handle elizabeth and her sanctimonious ways:

it’s a shame, really, that milton bradley doesn’t make this game anymore, because kids today could really benefit from the wisdom gained by traipsing around a high school just to find the perfect dress and OMG WHERE ARE THE PROM DECORATIONS. gah, thomas is so lucky that he has us! otherwise he’ll never understand how to properly steal someone’s boyfriend!

you’d think that finding all of this stuff would only require an hour or so. i mean, yeah, it’s prom, so IT’S A BIG DEAL OBVS, but everything’s already inside the school! for some reason! how long can it take?
THREE HOURS. THAT’S HOW LONG IT TAKES. WHAT IS THIS, THE HUNGER GAMES?!!! actually, by the end, we were totally pulling a cato, begging each other to just win already and FREE US FROM THIS MISERY.
lucky for you, i took all of the trauma and scandal we experienced and condensed it into LESS THAN SIX AND A HALF MINUTES. that should tell you something about the vacuousness of this game. and also the number of champ cans/effies we consumed.
and so, without further ado, i present: FYA vs SVH! PLAY ON PLAYERS!
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I still have this game. I kept it from my mom’s garage sale pile along with my New Kids on the Block board game. It was always out at slumber parties.
NORA. HOW SOON CAN YOU & YR NKOTB GAME GET TO AUSTIN?
Haha, I would love to come to Austin. My husband’s there a lot for work and says it is my type of town.
NKOTB?!? OMG you were the LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD. i only had monopoly and don’t break the ice. sa-noooooze.
oh, dear.
Dear Mom,
I apologize for that last gesture. And for using the word “fucking” amongst company. And for doing sex and drugs with George Warren when I was 13 and nearly killing a kid, I Know What You Did Last Summer-style. No wonder my boyfriend dumped me for Former Fattie Robin Wilson.
Love,
Enid
Where on earth did y’all find this game! Did 1 of U already own it or was it an AMAZINGLY AWESOME Ebay purchase? This right here is my totally jealous face :{
(Which kinda looks like Charlie Brown’s “good grief” face. But that’s OK.) Also, i’m VERY much hoping 4 more SVH reviews. & soon. i heart them so hard it’s ridiculous!
& here is something that i find interesting/funny: the Wakefields college years, when abbreviated, spell out SVU. As in Special Victims Unit! That is 2 good!
Ha! Just watched Ur video! U guys R the coolest chicks around! Wish i lived in TX (but not in any kind of weirdo/stalker-y way.)
That’s probably the 1st time EVER that Enid has been a winner!
i have GOT 2 find this game somehow & get 2gether w/ my best friend (who is the only 1 i know cool/nerdy enough 2 appreciate it) 2 play it.
i call dibs on Lila tho.
Oh my. Reading this post was almost as much fun as living it, and a lot less fuzzy about the details…
can I just say that I love how En Vogue is playing in the background of the video? What an all-around awesome evening!
OMG I AM OBSESSED WITH EN VOGUE. When I heard that, my girlcrush on the FYA girls got kind of bigger. Kind of. Kind of REALLY SUPER TOTALLY bigger.
en vogue was playing cos we were listening to the ULTIMATE slumber party soundtrack, i.e. the frankie landau-banks badass prankster rebel girl mix!!
http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/2010/04/28/the-frankie-landau-banks-badass-prankster-rebel-girl-mix/
Oh man….talk about the cool kid slumber party that everybody’s whispering about the next Monday. Awesome!
That. Was. Incredible.
Enid, you hussy.
Why do I not own this game? It looks a krillion times better than Monopoly or Life. Also, I happened upon this commercial for the game and watched it about 8 times. I almost cried from laughing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDc5SVYwB8g. Possibly the best part is when the ten year old says, “Jessica, you stole my boyfriend!” and then they all giggle.
“just like in the books!!”
ahh, i love it when life imitates art.
I wonder what happened to my old MAD Magazine game…
This was a thing of beauty. The comments throughout the game – hysterical! Always remember, no one likes a meddler, Elizabish!
OMG! I had this game! I had pretty much every girlie-girl board game from the early 90s though, so it’s not too surprising.
Did you have Dreamphone? I played the shizz out of that game…
Oh Dreamphone. I played a bit of Dreamphone in high school/college. That game is like a fine wine – only gets better.
Sadly, I’m am really proud to say I’ve never lost a game of Dreamphone. I never get tired of hearing ‘YOU’RE RIGHT, I REALLY LIKE YOU!’
Sarah, I am in awe of your editing skills! I feel like such a Luddite, I’m all: “HOW DID SHE DO IT?!”
Yay, I loved hosting FYA so hard! Come back, funny ladies! I miss you all!
meredith, i really don’t have any skills, but i DO have access to imovie!
thanks again for being the hostess with the mostest!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this slumber party looks as much fun as my recent Will Smith themed birthday party. Just the right balance of board games, toddies, and really cool people. Well done!
wait ANNA MARIE HOLD THE (dream)PHONE. you had a will smith party?!!! YOU GOT JIGGY WITH IT FOR YR BIRTHDAY?!
i think the FYA party planner pants position just got filled.
PoshDeluxe – has anyone ever told you that you are a dead ringer for Laura Harris of 24 fame?
It definitely sounds like it was a night of boyfriend-stealing, hussy prom dress-wearing fun. Was I too young or too stupid to realize that Enid had sex with her boyfriend when she was 13? I totally missed that part.
ooooh laura harris is HAWT! THANK YOU!
i usually get dakota fanning. who i love, obvs, but it’s not necessarily a “you so foxy!” kind of compliment.
Don’t forget your Evil Scientist Doppelganger Sarah Polley!
DUBS TRUE MEREDITH. plus she played ramona AND was on a show about avonlea, so that doppleganger reference is like the best compliment everrrrr.
So as I was continuing my romp through the TUTS archives-labeling CDs and checking database entries-I came across a demo CD for . . . Sweet Valley High: The Musical.
No, I am not kidding.
You are welcome.
KATIE THIS IS A GODSEND. i expect a copy of the CD to arrive immediately so we can begin our scientific analysis.
So funny! Anyone remember playing Hearthrob at sleepovers? I was just telling my husband about that game the other day.
Possibly the MOST ACCURATE EVER depiction of high school through the medium of “board game” I have ever seen! Beside the Hunger Game one, of course. You want an honest, groundbreaking account of North-Oxford state school? Hunger Games, people – the truth is in the trident. (Oh FINNICK!)
It’s a shame that they don’t make it anymore. I’m finding it impossible to get my hands on the HG board game in England, let alone SVH (which looks even better, btw).
Elizabeth got what she deserved. LILA FOR WIN (she *is* stunning!)
Wow! I played that game, unironically, back in elementary school. Haven’t thought about it in years.
I LOVED playing this as a pre-teen – my friend had it and no one wanted to play Enid (I would totally choose her first now!).
Have you all played the Buffy The Vampire Slayer Game? It’s the game of choice at my house.
em, i own the BTVS game but… um… i’ve never played it. it’s just that the directions look so complicated!! and every time i open it up, i get overwhelmed and it’s just easier to pop in a dvd of the show than figure out even the POINT of the game.
obvs i missed out when buffy passed out the slayer gene…
That looked like SO MUCH FUN. I’m jealous!!! You guys are hilarious!