Tomy Run Yourself Ragged

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A quick note on repairs...

I don't know of anyone (including me) who repairs these games or has spare parts. The games are just toys and probably not meant to be serviced. This webpage exists only because I like to take stuff apart. If your game is broke you have nothing to lose by taking it apart and tinkering. But I have no advice beyond what you already see on this page. The two most common problems appear to be missing balls and missing or broken hoops. I can't help with the hoop, but the balls are just 9⁄16" steel balls. Pinball parts supply businesses usually sell odd size pinballs including 9⁄16" balls. If you can't fix your game, replacement games can still be had on eBay for not much money. Good Luck!

On to the game...

Not pinball, but "Run Yourself Ragged" is another Tomy game I had when I was a kid. The game is still available today, but probably called something else like "Screwball Scramble" or "SNAFU". The object of the game is to use the front controls to maneuver the ball through the obstacle course as fast as possible. The game conceals an interesting array of links and levers that connect the controls to the obstacles. The timer runs on clockwork. No source of power is required. As I recall, my all time record for this game is one second. I punched the initial tilting walkway button and the ball jumped up and landed right on the finish bell.

In typical Tomy fashion, the inside of this mechanical game is as interesting as the outside. Scroll down for some more pictures inside and out.

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Bottom cover removed.

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Inside the timer.

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Instructions. Click for larger image.

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Shown above are patent drawings for Run Yourself Ragged. Click drawing for larger image. U.S Patent 4,290,605 and U.S. Design Patent 266,681.

I believe the game shown above is an original Run Yourself Ragged molded in original colors and with original box art. In later years Run Yourself Ragged was repackaged around the world under various other names such as SNAFU, Screwball Scramble, Tricky Bille, Tricky Ball and so on and so forth. There seems to have been countless variations of colors, decals and box art. Over the years the plastic parts of the game were also molded in a variety of different colors from one version to the next.

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Name and box art variations.

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Another alternate example. Image courtesy of Jonx from Switzerland.

Around 2022 Tomy came out with a sequel game called Screwball Scramble Level 2. Since I have no nostalgic connection with this game, I might be overly cynical about it. I wish they would have stuck with the original colors and original Run Yourself Ragged name. The new game is pretty obnoxious looking. No timer is included. There's a shelf for a phone which is what you're now supposed to use as a timer. But there's also a socket for an original mechanical timer if you happen to have one. Balls are easier to lose. There's no lip around the base and no effort to funnel errant balls forward. Most stray balls end up on the floor. On the other hand, balls that fall off the Ferris Wheel Maze end up in little crevices that are small for adult fingers to retrieve.

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Screwball Scramble Level 2.

There is more of a luck component with this game. The Pinball obstacle doesn't have much of a feel to it. You just keep flicking until the ball happens to land in the upper holder. The Pot of Luck Dish is literally that. You have an uncontrollable 50/50 chance of making it through.

Having said all that, if you like the original Run Yourself Ragged, you'll likely like this new game.

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Box art.

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Side by side.

There's a "game connector" piece that can be placed over the bell to pass the ball from one game to the other thus creating one big obstacle course. But you'd really need to have both games rigidly mounted to a common board to make that practical.

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Game connector.

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Instructions. Click picture for larger image.

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Instructions. Click picture for larger image.

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Innards.