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: The 1800s |
 The first American “board” game was produced in 1822 by F & R Lockwood. Their game, The Traveler’s
Tour Through the United States, was an educational game. The game board was a map, and players moved along paths to reach different cities. Once there, they were
asked to name the city and its population (in the advanced version). If a player did not know the answer, they would lose a turn. The first to reach New Orleans was
the winner. F & R Lockwood mainly published and sold books in New York, but decided to try games for a short period. Only months after this first game, they produced
another called The Traveler’s Tour Through Europe.
W. & S. B. Ives Company’s Mansion of Happiness was once believed to be the first American board game ever published before the discovery of F & R. Lockwood’s game.
Mansion of Happiness was produced in 1843 and focused on being good and doing the right thing. In this game, good deeds led players and their playing pieces down the
path to “eternal happiness.” In 1860, Milton Bradley created a game that dealt with a similar theme. The Checkered Game of Life rewarded good deeds and punished bad
ones. It was a big hit, and many people still play this game today!
As traveling 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 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-themed games like these remained popular into the early 1900s.
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1,232,187
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2011 Supporters |
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