Ancient Games
A company that re-develops and re-releases old board games and toys from the 19th century and earlier. For instance, in 1896, Parker Brothers released a board game called “Christian Endeavor: The Game.” Here were the instructions for it:
This is a simple game which may be played by the youngest member of the family, and its moral tone will commend itself to all those who desire to place in the hands of their children a game teaching the good results sure to follow an upright life.Each player takes one piece.
The one to play first spins the indicator and, beginning at the upper left hand corner of the board, moves his piece along the track as many spaces as the indicator shows, after which players spin and move in turn.
If there are any directions upon the space upon which the player’s piece stops, he must follow those directions, which will either advance or put back his piece a number of spaces.
The order of the numbers on the squares shows the direction the player moves. The player first reaching “Honest, Honored, and Upright Citizen,” WINS THE GAME.
And an anonymous “Marxist Businessman” has this to add about early American board games:
America’s entry into the board-game derby came toward the middle of the nineteenth century with Mansions of Happiness. In this game, one tries to land on squares called “Justice and Piety,” and to avoid others called “Cruelty,” “Immodesty,” and “Ingratitude.” No doubt sticking to a subject that we Americans knew best, other similar games followed: the Checkered Game of Life and the Game of Christian Endeavor, where players get rewarded for such niceties as “Taking flowers to the sick” and “Stopping man from beating horse.”
“Stopping man from beating horse”! What a game!!
I tried desperately to find “The Game of Christian Endeavor” to give to my girlfriend for Christmas, but it’s over 100 years old and doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Wouldn’t that be great if you could still buy it?
That’s when I had the idea for a company that finds orginal copies of these old games and toys, or at least blueprints for them, and remakes them, while keeping the rules and visual style intact.
The only difference is that you wouldn’t have to travel around the world, visiting mom and pop antique stores to find them. Plus, the entire game wouldn’t turn to dust just because you moved a space.
6 years ago