April 2, 2019
#301
Gentle reader,
Millennials are finding out about things that they think are cool which are in fact very old: LP records, books made of paper, film cameras and board games. There are more to the list but you get the idea. The ONE thing that ties them together, not one has a screen or requires WI-FI, or for that matter has a lithium ion battery. And they are enjoying themselves.
In fact, there is a book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax, if you are interested, read it, I did. A real hardback book. One of the many things I learned is that there are, in many countries, former stores that have become board game parlors. Young people line up for hours for a chance to get inside and play games!
I was born in the 1950's, and grew up in the 1960's and 1970's. Being a geezer now (at 62) and having three sisters and one brother, we played with each other as kids. One thing we loved to play were board games. We are all still very close.
Milton Bradley's THE GAME OF LIFE was one of my favorites. My wife is 8 1/2 years younger than I and yet we did many of the same things as kids. The difference is her sisters are ten and sixteen years older than she. So, there wasn't much they played together.
NOTE: Click on any photo and a new window will open over this page. You may click or use your left and right arrow keys to view the photos much larger. I do not know how that works on "devices", only computers.
We each had a number of board games which we combined when we married and played with some of them with our combined six kids. Then they all grew up and have their own lives now. So, we donated them. Then began to miss them.
For years we loved thrift store shopping. I came across a deluxe Monopoly game and bought it. That got us started again. But we never saw LIFE available in all of our trips. So we bought a new one, shown above.
That image (above) shows the size difference between the modern Hasbro version's box and the original one.
I came across this original edition on eBay and it is in fantastic condition for nine dollars. Many of the blue and pink "people" are still attached to the molding trees.
Man pictured on the cover was America's morality compass, his name was Art Linkletter. He "Heartily Endorses This Game". Many years later, he had a TV show called, Kids say the darndest things. Many years after that Bill Cosby did the same show. Not that he is a moral compass.
Above shows the boxes contents once the board is removed. The two red things are spacers to keep the folded board from moving around. The colored number strip is used in the game.
Above shows what one sees inside the newest version of LIFE. Below is with the board removed. All the pieces came in little zip-lock bags as seen below.
Below shows the old board on the left and the new on the right. One has to attach the spinner to the smaller board. It is part of the board as are the buildings in the original. It is larger as well.
EVERY space on the original has words on it in the original which makes the game much more fun and interesting.
Many of the tasks are the same in the newer version.
Check out the differences in the money, especially the denominations and details on the old ones.
The boxes in the original have lids that are slotted and labeled to hold all the money as well as promissory notes and various insurance documents.
These two photos compare the differences in each box. Those are small rocks in the boxes below to hold the stacks of newly folded certificates down for the photo. (My wife paints small rocks with sayings on them and leaves them for others to find. It's a thing. Search "Manassas Rocks".) The certificates were still flat for nearly sixty years. See the "people" below still attached?
This is the original price tag on the 1960's box. Try as I might, I could not quite tell the price they paid.
The point of all this? Sometimes older IS better. Yes, if I were to get in and drive any of the 1960's and 1970's cars I once owned, I would think what crap cars they are, yet I loved them so then. Modern cars are SO much: better, safer, reliable and economical. Not to mention more powerful. Oh and they have cup holders.
We were not happy with the new version of LIFE. So, eBay came to the rescue.
Our ten-year-old grandson likes to "Hang out with Grampa" on teacher work days and holidays. So, I got him interested in board games. We've played: Monopoly, LIFE and one he really likes, Mille Borne. I have an original one of these French "driving" games. He (and his younger siblings) are REALLY smart and he quickly learned how to win in all three games. It's what he most wants to do when he comes over. This is a boy that had a flat screen TV of his own at an early age and has several game consoles, tablets too, and loves to "game" and stream shows. But not a cell phone, yet.
So, go ahead and go to a thrift store or two and pick out some board games and bring them home. Or, buy new ones. Whatever, get yourselves AND your kids away from electronic screens and really have fun, TOGETHER.
Thank you once again for taking the time to read my humble words and view my photos. Your kind comments are what keeps me going. We are rapidly approaching one quarter million page views! It blows my mind and truly humbles me.
Scott
April 2, 2019
#301
