Wonders of the World

Above: Front and back of a typical aluminum 'Wonders of
the World' game coin. The coins are 29mm in diameter,
printed front and back, and have a hole punched in them.

WONDERS OF THE WORLD was a promotional game issued by BP Oil Corporation in 1970. This was a collect-and-win game, with a skill element, but operated more like a sweepstakes. The game consisted of a game board, and aluminum game pieces given free to customers each time they visited a participating BP gas station, which were to be collected for a chance to win $100. That was the only prize in the game.

The game pieces are 29mm diameter aluminum 'coins' which are color printed front and back. There are fifteen different world wonder coins. BPs choice of world wonders is rather odd. For example, London, England is one of the wonders. Do they mean the whole city? Each game coin also has a hole punched in it. It is unclear what this hole is for - wearing the game piece on a necklace?

The game coins could be mounted on the official game card, and this is where things get real weird. Each game coin has a number printed on the back. In order to have a chance to win a prize, players needed to engage in a childish game of matching the numbers on the game coins to simple questions on the game card, and writing the numbers on the card. I understand that BP wanted players to go to the gas station over and over to collect all fifteen different coins, but I don't understand the point of "Testing Your Skill." After answering all the skill questions, players then needed to mail their completed card to BP and wait to hear if they were a winner of $100.

According to the rules, if less than 750 people submitted their cards, they all won $100 each. However, if more than 750 people submitted cards, a complex procedure kicked in. BP then contacted everyone who submitted a card and required them to "enter a more difficult tie-breaking contest," which, in the rules, sounds like an additional series of questions on world geography. Apparently everyone who correctly answered the tie-breaking contest questions won $100. I guess this means that if no one answered all the tie-breaking questions correctly, BP did not have to pay a penny. Odd.

The rules state the player was not permitted to get professional help to answer the skill questions, but they were allowed to get "incidential help from family and friends." This is the most bizarre game rule of any oil company promotion. Another unusual feature of this game is that you could mail in any of your "undesired coins" to BP and request to trade them for specific coins that you do in fact desire.

BP Flunks Geography

On the game cards, a map of the world is printed with the 15 'world wonders' plotted on it. Unfortunately, the geography expert over at BP must have flunked high school because several of the wonders are in the wrong place. For example, he placed the Rock of Gibraltar 300 miles away in Portugal, he missed London by 300 miles, and he missed Sydney, Australia by at least 400 miles. Ironically, in order to win a prize in this game you had to answer geography skill questions!

Above: Front of a 'Wonders of the World' game card. This card is populated with all 15 aluminum game coins. The cards are 9" tall by 11 1/2" wide.

Above: Back of a 'Wonders of the World' game card.

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