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History of Board Games
When the tomb of the ancient Egyptian King Tut was discovered in the 1920s, among the artifacts found were a game board, dice and playing pieces. That means board games have been around for over 3000 years! Egyptians, Greeks and Romans have enjoyed playing games such as backgammon, checkers, dominos, and chess for thousands of years. Even before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, board games were being enjoyed all over the globe, by every culture except the Eskimos and the first Australian settlers.
Many of the early settlers to come to North America brought board games with them to trade or to keep their children entertained, but it wasn't until after the Revolutionary War that the first toy companies appeared. Most of the first games were made of paper and cardboard. Since printing companies were familiar with paper and cardboard, most toy companies began as printers.
American board games were a lot like real life situations. In the beginning, most of the games had to do with being good and doing the right thing. The first American "board" game was created in 1843 by the W.& S.B. Ives Company. It was called the Mansion of Happiness. In this game, good deeds led children and their playing pieces down the path to "eternal happiness." In 1860, Milton Bradley created The Checkered Game of Life, which rewarded good deeds and punished bad ones. It was a big hit. Many people still play this game today.
As travelling became more affordable in the late 1800s, more Americans traveled overseas. Companies created games that appealed to these travelers. When they came back, they could relive their trips by playing travel games such as Around the World, released in 1873, or the McLoughlin Brothers' Game of Round the World with Nellie Bly, which came out in 1890. Travel games like these remained popular into the early the 1900s.
As times continued to change, so did board games. America was suffering through depression and poverty when Monopoly was introduced in 1935. The object of the game was to acquire money and property. It was a big success. Game companies continued to create games based on popular pastimes, like sports and politics. However, the biggest influence on the popularity of board games was television.
Between 1948 and 1958, Americans spent over $15 billion on televisions sets. Game companies were worried that watching
television would replace playing board games, so they started making games based on the TV shows kids liked. The first of
these was a Hopalong Cassidy game by Milton Bradley. Hopalong Cassidy was a cowboy star on TV in the late 1940s and early
1950s. The game was a hit and soon there were hundreds of games based on television. Board games were as popular as ever.
In the ’70s and ’80s, video games became popular and board games lost some of their attraction. Many people even thought
board games would fade away ... until Trivial Pursuit. The challenge of the game made it appealing, and it sold millions in
the mid-’80s. The game tested our knowledge and really made us think, but it also was a lot of fun. Trivial Pursuit made a
path for other board games to follow by combining entertainment with brainpower.
This rediscovery of board games led to a boom in the 1990s, with many new brain-teasing games that also were fun to play.
Board games became popular not only among families, but they also became a big hit at adult parties. Two of the games
popular in the 1990s—TriBond and Taboo—have been included in Games Magazine’s Hall of Fame.
As the new millennium began, TV again played an important role in shaping the board games that we play. This time, however,
TV game shows were featured. Based on the TV success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, a board game of the same name allowed
people to play the game at home. Deal or No Deal and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? are two other popular TV game shows
that became hit board games in the 2000s.
The emphasis on family activities and other “nesting” behaviors after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, further
increased the status of board games. Although people still maintained ample screen time in front of computers and video
games, the need for human interaction continued to make playing board games a common pastime. Board games offer family and
friends a chance to reconnect with each other in today’s busy world.
Experts also point out that people turn to board games as an inexpensive source of entertainment during difficult economic
times. With today’s gas prices at $4 a gallon and the cost of other leisure activities rising, people recognize the value
they can find in a board game. And there’s a board game to fit everyone’s taste, whether it’s stimulating word games,
challenging trivia games, entertaining family games, shout-it-out party games, or old favorites like Monopoly and Clue.
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