Crossfire: The Shoot-Out Game with the Most Amazing ’90s Commercial

Hoverboards, lighting, an arena ON FIRE. It’s some time in the future…the ultimate challenge… Crossfire!… Crossfire!… CrrooosssssfffiiiiiiiiiYAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Crossfire, the game that every 90s kid at least remembers from that crazy post-apocalyptic 1994 commercial:

Crossfire, the game that had everyone’s blood pumping as marbles would go flying around a board. Crossfire, the game where the only time you’d get a breather was when the game was over – whew! Crossfire, the game that had you turning on your best friend in a battle… to the DEATH! Crossfire was fast, frenetic and chaotic fun, but aside from the memories of that silly Mad Max style ’90s commercial — what do we REALLY know about the game? Let’s take a trip through the historic wasteland that is… CrrooosssssfffiiiiiiiiiYAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Love the commercial and want to hear more of your favorite ’90s jingles? We got you: The 10 Best ‘90s Commercial Jingles To Get Stuck In Your Head – Ranked

Check out the picture of the game Crossfire in all it’s glory above! Wait — you are telling me that the picture above is not the game you remember from that zany commercial in 1994? Welp, I got news for you, pal — Crossfire didn’t come out in the ’90s. In fact, you can trace the roots of the game all the way back to 1971 when Milton Bradley first released the game! In the original iteration of Crossfire, two players would use a spring-loaded gun to shoot marbles at the same puck, trying to push that puck into the opposing player’s area to score a goal. The game board used in the 1971 version was a smooth, level playing surface that made it a bit more difficult to propel the puck’s momentum and push it toward the opposing goal.

While Crossfire wasn’t an instant smash hit in the 1970s, it was popular enough that someone ripped off the idea with a similar game in 1973 called Gunfight at OK Corral. The biggest difference between 1971’s Crossfire and Gunfight at OK Corral was that Gunfight had you shooting marbles at the opposing opponent’s cowboy figure to “knock them off their feet” instead of hitting a puck back and forth.

Not much happened with Crossfire’s popularity for the next 20 years until Milton Bradley brought the game back from the dead with the iconic 1994 commercial. But a flashy new commercial wasn’t the only change for the 1994 relaunch of Crossfire. Nope, the game had some pretty major gameplay changes to not only make it a bit more strategic, but also make the game play a bit quicker. In the version of Crossfire circa the 1994 commercial, gone was the flat rectangular game board of the ‘71 version, as the ’90s board used a dome shape. The new dome shape not only created a bit of a dip in the board to let the puck move easier to the opposing side, the board was also smaller and rounder to facilitate games that were a lot more chaotic, quick and fun. Some of you may be thinking, how is Crossfire even a game? Chaotic, quick — how is this fun? Where is the strategy in hitting the same puck back and forth? Welp, another pretty big change was made to the ‘90s version of Crossfire that would make it a bit more of a “game” by adding player decisions to the mix.

It wasn’t only the board that was updated by the time that Crossfire commercial aired in ‘94 — the actual game mechanics also got a pretty cool update. No longer were players frantically shooting at the same puck like the 1971 version. Nope, players in the 90s version each had their own puck that they were trying to shoot into the opposing player’s goal. This might not seem like a huge change at first, but it actually led to some decision-making and strategy as you played the game — do I risk it all for a quick win and try to slam my puck into the opponent’s goal? Or should I play it more defensively and wear down my rival by stopping their puck from getting into my goal? Decisions, decisions.

Through its 20-year evolution — Crossfire went from a repetitive, slow, hit-the-same-puck game to the faster-paced, more strategic game all kids in the ’90s grew up with and loved. Even if you didn’t play Crossfire back in the day, there is no doubt you remember the commercial for the game and the lasting impact it has had on every ’90s kid’s TV memories. And as silly as that Crossfire commercial was in 1994 — silly, over the top commercials seem to be missing these days and one wonders if Crossfire would have even been on the ’90s kids radar without that commercial (probably not). Today, if you want a dose of nostalgia, it seems like you can only easily grab a copy of Crossfire at your “local” big box online toy retailer Target.com (do small local toy stores even exist anymore? sad face). Of course, the Crossfire game you can buy today is (probably) even more cheap and flimsy than the version you remember in your youth, but… at least some nostalgia is better than none? Oh and in case you watched the commercial and then read this article, and the commercial theme is no longer in your head — Crossfire!… Crossfire!… CrrooosssssfffiiiiiiiiiYAAAAAAAAHHH!!! You’re welcome.

Do you remember flipping the Crossfire game over in defeat and disgust? Or how about some old school remembrance of victories against your friend, sibling, or cousin? Share your favorite Crossfire memories in the comments below and we’ll all take a little trip back to that nostalgic war torn wasteland that was Crossfire.

In the most “modern” iteration of Crossfire that ’90s kids will remember from that rad 1994 commercial — one player’s puck was shaped like a star while the other player’s puck was the shape of a triangle.
Crossfire set itself apart from other games by having no downtime — the 1v1 battles don’t require you to wait for your opponent to roll dice or take their turn, so there was never a lull in the fun.
In order to “win” Crossfire, you must get your puck into your opponent’s goal three times.
The actor who declared victory at the end of the popular 1994 Crossfire commercial was played by Tim Maynard. Tim was actually a Shakespearean trained actor who would go on to do some daytime soap opera acting.
In case you haven’t played Crossfire in awhile and are thinking of giving it another go, please first heed this warning per the game’s description on BoardGameGeek.com: “Suggestion: Wear protection (e.g. a glove) on your firing hand – the moulded plastic gun trigger will give you a blister”… YIKES!

In the most “modern” iteration of Crossfire that ’90s kids will remember from that rad 1994 commercial — one player’s puck was shaped like a star while the other player’s puck was the shape of a triangle.
Crossfire set itself apart from other games by having no downtime — the 1v1 battles don’t require you to wait for your opponent to roll dice or take their turn, so there was never a lull in the fun.
In order to “win” Crossfire, you must get your puck into your opponent’s goal three times.
The actor who declared victory at the end of the popular 1994 Crossfire commercial was played by Tim Maynard. Tim was actually a Shakespearean trained actor who would also go on to do some daytime soap opera acting.
In case you haven’t played Crossfire in a bit and are thinking of giving it another go, please first heed this warning per the game’s description on BoardGameGeek.com: “Suggestion: Wear protection (e.g. a glove) on your firing hand – the moulded plastic gun trigger will give you a blister”… YIKES!