Play-Along Games & Songs is a 1986 Sesame Street video. It's a compilation of game and puzzle-themed skits, as well as songs which encourage viewer participation.
In the framing story, Big Bird leads a series of games with Elmo, Forgetful Jones, Oscar the Grouch and a couple of kids. He starts with a "keep the beat" game, imitating a cartoon penguin who's banging on the ground. They play a rhyme game, but Forgetful Jones has trouble coming up with a word that rhymes with "hop". Big Bird makes shapes in the air for the others to guess. The final game is the "Remember the Game Game", with Big Bird quizzing the others about what they remember.
The insert sketches include Herry Monster playing a game with a kid, and Guy Smiley playing "Beat the Time" with Cookie Monster. Cookie Monster also sings "One of These Things", and Gordon sings a play-along song, "I Heard My Dog Bark".
The video was originally released on VHS by Random House in 1986. It was first released on DVD by Sony Wonder in 2005. The most recent reissue, by Genius Entertainment, was released in 2008.
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Big Bird tells Elmo and Forgetful Jones that it's time to play games, but Forgetful refuses, claiming he's "No-Games Jones", until they point out he's "Forgetful Jones." Big Bird calls in two kids who are playing with Oscar the Grouch, and they start the first game: they watch a cartoon of a penguin making beats (EKA: Episode 2847) and Big Bird points to someone who repeats that beat. |
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Muppet & Kid Moments: Herry Monster plays a game with a boy named Eric, who closes his eyes and guesses what Herry hands him (a ball, a feather, and his head). Note: The sketch is edited to remove Herry's third round of the game. |
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The next game is "The Rhyme Game", where Big Bird says a word, points to a person and they must make a rhyme. His word is "top" and when he calls on Forgetful Jones, they all hop to help him think of a word. He takes so long to guess that they all get tired. Big Bird tells him to play along with the next segment. |
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Guy Smiley hosts "Beat the Time". In order to win a cookie, Cookie Monster has to bring in three things that rhyme with the word "rain" before the hand goes around the clock. They turn out to be an old man's "cane", a "chain" (to which Frazzle is attached), and finally a "train" which destroys the set. (EKA: Episode 0536) |
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Big Bird's next game featured him drawing shapes in the air, having the rest of them guess what it is. He makes a rectangle, a triangle and his own creation - a ball of squiggly lines called "Fun." |
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Cookie Monster sings "One of These Things." (EKA: Episode 3008) |
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Gordon sings "I Heard My Dog Bark" as Susan, Bob, Uncle Wally and some kids make the animal sounds. (EKA: Episode 2258) |
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Lefty the Salesman wants to sell Ernie a painting of a tree, which he says is a picture of four elephants. Ernie doesn't see the four elephants, so Lefty offers to show him the elephants if Ernie will buy the picture for a nickel. Lefty points out the elephants, which are actually spaces in the tree's branches. Ernie shells out for the picture. Ernie wants to pull the same trick on Bert, but Bert notices the elephants right away. (First: Episode 0278) |
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Shape organization (EKA: Episode 1090) |
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Grover sings "Over, Under, Around and Through." (EKA: Episode 0299) |
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The final game is "The Remember the Game Game!" Big Bird asks questions about the games and segments they saw with 60 seconds on the clock, but Forgetful forgets everything. Big Bird reminds the viewer that they can play the same games with friends and even with their Sesame Street friends again! |
![]() VHS1986 |
![]() Beta1986 |
![]() VHSRandom House Home Video |
![]() VHSSony Wonder |
![]() DVD2005 |
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