One board game from the ’90s defined dating goals for a generation of Millennial and Gen X girls: Dream Phone. Created by Milton Bradley and released in 1991, it was part board game and part technology, way ahead of its time.
It featured an electronic phone that players used to “call” one of 24 cuties on the game’s board to gather clues and deduce which boy was the secret admirer. With three action cards (Speakerphone, Share a Secret, and Mom Says Hang Up), it was an interactive experience perfect for sleepovers, after-school hangs, and more.
And now, one Millennial comedian is on a “Where Are They Now?” mission to track down what happened to all the boys. Comedian Hannah Young started the search back in May with an Instagram callout for help.
The search for the Dream Phone boys
“It’s so wild how many people remember every part of this game!” she told Upworthy.
For many Millennials, including Young, it was their first foray into crushes.
“I have such a core memory around these guys, and calling them over and over, hoping I’d get the guy I wanted,” she added. “And I was thinking about these were real people, and where are they? Why haven’t we heard from them? I had no idea it would turn into this full on investigation, and now I absolutely need a full on documentary on these men.”
Young has tracked down the guys through several sources.
“A lot of detective work and a ton of help from the Internet,” she said. “Some of them I’ve found through their wives, or sisters, cousins, high school classmates. I’ll get hundreds of messages after every video, and I’m just reading them all looking for clues, tracking them down. I’m on Facebook cross-referencing their friends’ friends. I am dedicated to finding them all.”
Finding Bob, George, and Tony
So far, thanks to her investigative work, Young has found two boys from Dream Phone: Bob and George.
Bob, whose real name is Mark, lives in Baltimore and runs a non-profit.
“Bob’s wife bought him Dream Phone for Christmas one year. He was paid $150. They lined up Polaroids of these men and put personality traits under them. Bob’s trait was cute—that’s it,” she said in the video about Bob.
She added that he was 24 when the photo was taken and that, at the time, Young was just 8 years old, “calling him on repeat.”
Next, Young found George, whose real name is Aaron.
“Today he lives in Spain with his wife and four kids,” Young said. “George, aka Aaron, started going to modeling castings because he was trying to avoid getting a real summer job. He was 15 years old in this photo, and his mom made him wear the orange shirt.”
She added that Aaron had also won “Boyfriend of the Year” by Seventeen magazine. And when he met his wife, she thought he looked familiar. She had played Dream Phone growing up in Spain.
Finally, she also found Tony—”Tie-Dye Tony,” named for the tie-dye shirt he wore in his Dream Phone photo—whose real name is Scott and who just turned 50.
“He was only 15 years old when he modeled for Dream Phone. He doesn’t remember much about the audition. He thinks he was paid around $150,” she said, noting that he modeled for other brands.
Scott, aka Tony, also shared that in high school, girls would call him by his Dream Phone name and tape his playing card and flowers to his locker.
“Scott has been married to his high school sweetheart for almost 25 years. He has two kids and says his life is really good,” Young added.
The Dream Phone search continues
For Young, it’s been a joyful, nostalgic journey that’s allowed her to connect with others.
“The response has been so incredible. Obviously, none of us ever got over our first Dream Phone crush. It has unlocked so many memories,” she said.
Her mission is to engage Millennials and Gen Xers, bring a lot of smiles, and find every single Dream Phone boy.
“It’s been a really nice reminder of what a fun place the Internet can be,” Young added. “Sometimes thousands of strangers will help you track down the real people behind your childhood board game crushes. And now, we just need to find them all!”
