Toy giant Hasbro has stepped forward to help the creator of one of it’s most popular board games, Operation, pay for an operation of his own.
John Spinello, who created Operation in the early 1960s and sold the rights to it for $500, is in need of a reported $25,000 in oral surgery. When the game creator couldn’t afford the operation, two of his toy designer friends Tim Walsh and Peggy Brown, set up a couple crowdfunding campaigns to aid in fundraising for the operation.
After the fundraising drive went viral, Hasbro stepped forward Wednesday to announce they will purchase the original Operation game prototype that Spinello had planned to put up for auction in order to offset medical costs.
“Today we informed Mr. Spinello that Hasbro plans to purchase the prototype with the hope that the funds will help to defray his medical costs,” the toy company said in a statement Wednesday. “We plan to proudly display it at Hasbro’s global headquarters in Pawtucket, RI to honor his contribution to Hasbro’s gaming history.”
Seems like Spinello is making up for the measly $500 he originally got for the game, not only with help from Hasbro, but from the already $29,000 his crowdfunding campaign has garnered.
