The year is 1960 and Singapore is under attack, as usual.

However, the enemy is not an Indonesian commando waging Konfrontasi or the yet-unborn Al-Qaeda franchise Jemaah Islamiyah.

Instead, it was a nefarious homegrown terrorist—the Tikam Tikam man. Armed with his Tikam board and an arsenal of delicious snacks, he would set up shop outside a school to corrupt innocent school children, turning them into ‘scoundrels’ and ‘gamblers’ with his seductive game of chance.

For 5 cents, you could get an envelope with a number inside. This number corresponded with a prize on the Tikam Board, which could be a toy, a piece of stationery, a snack, or if you’re lucky, something even bigger!

And hence, many kids would waste their lunch money trying to win the top prize at Tikam Tikam. A fool’s wager, because as a government report notes, the top prize had no corresponding number and was thus un-winnable.

In short, Tikam-Tikam was not only illegal but completely rigged.