Operation
Battery-powered surgery game — extract ailments from Sam without touching the metal edges and setting off the buzzer.
🌤indoor
What is Operation?
Operation is a battery-powered dexterity game published in 1965. Players take turns 'operating' on the patient (Cavity Sam) using tweezers to remove 12 comic ailments — the Butterflies in the Stomach, the Charlie Horse, the Adam's Apple — without touching the metal edges of the cavities. Touching the edges sets off a loud buzzer and lights up Sam's nose in bright red.
Quick facts
Category
Party Games
Type
Individual
Players
1–6
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
1965, John Spinello (patented 1964, Milton Bradley)
Olympic
No
Popularity
global
Sources & provenance
Last verified 2026-08-24.verified